Cover Fire (Valiant Knox) Page 7

  Right. Finding out who’d ordered her to be killed—life-and-death situation. Totally not the time to be distracted by Sebastian Rayne and all that he had going on.

  She gave herself a mental shake and tapped at the ship’s console screen in front of her, making it light up with information. While she couldn’t fly the ship, she could still work the systems connected to the Knox’s larger onboard computer.

  “I’ve got a vague idea. I just need to iron out the details.”

  “And you’re going to tackle this all on your own?”

  She glanced over at him, catching a hint of something in his voice she couldn’t decipher.

  “I don’t know who I can trust. Any of the people I would’ve turned to could be the ones involved in the plot…if there is a plot.” Her chest tightened and she rubbed her sternum.

  “What are you going to do?”

  This time, there was no mistaking the quiet intensity of his words.

  She swallowed, compartmentalizing her emotions after long years of experience. “In order to disguise how I got onto the Knox, I’m going to check the schedule of incoming transfer shuttles, so I can pretend I got off one. After that, I’m going to do whatever I can to find where the order to kill me came from.”

  “It would help if you had a connection on board, like someone you were pretending to visit. I could help with that. You could pretend you’re my sister or cousin, or something.”

  She evaluated Seb and the larger situation. An aching part of her wanted to jump at his offer of help, simply so she didn’t have to be in this alone. It was definitely reassuring to think she might not have to take this on by herself. Except, did he have any idea what he’d be getting himself into? When backed into a corner, CI could be the deadliest organization in the known-worlds.

  You can talk to me. When he’d said those words to her on the ground earlier, an intense and utterly serious gleam to his gaze, her heart had gone into a mini-free fall. But that was before she’d sabotage his trust in her—

  “I didn’t kill him.” The words burst out of her, running together until they were almost incoherent.

  “Who?” Seb cut her a carefully detached glance.

  “The CS Soldier in the woods. The one who nearly took your head off.”

  His brows drew down, as if he was assimilating that information. “But I heard—”

  “I shot him in the leg. A flesh wound, nothing fatal. I checked his ID then told him if he told anyone about us, I’d track him down and the next blast wouldn’t leave him breathing.”

  The confession left her feeling lighter. Like the misdirection of truth between them had been a heavy mantle on her shoulders. She hadn’t had to answer to anyone but Stanton for so long, and even then, he never really asked why she did anything. Having Seb know the truth was vital to her in a way she didn’t want to examine at this point.

  He gave a slow nod. “That’s… Good. It’s good. I thought—”

  “I wanted you to think that.” She crossed her arms and slouched farther into the seat.

  “Why?” The word was so quiet, she almost didn’t catch it.

  Her agent-honed instincts, the ones that had always kept her alone and isolated, growled at her not to answer. But long-forgotten desires were rising up within her, basic human yearnings to make a connection. She wanted to do things differently with Seb, wanted to let someone help her for a change.

  “Because you got under my skin,” she replied into the heavy silence. “You were being too nice to me, and I wanted to alienate you.”

  He gave a darkly amused laugh. “Well, congrats, you did one hell of a job with that.”

  Yeah, she was nothing if not proficient at recognizing people’s weaknesses and exploiting them. His deeply ingrained morals had been obvious, and she’d picked up on the way he second-guessed himself when it came to his actions in this war. She sensed he’d questioned—a time or two—whether he was any better than the people they were fighting.

  It’d been the obvious ploy, letting him think she’d killed that soldier in cold blood, knowing he would recoil at the utter brutality and ugliness. The worst part of the whole thing was, if Seb hadn’t been there, hadn’t already sown tiny atoms of doubt in her subterfuge-wearied mind, she might have actually done it. Killed the young soldier because it was the easier thing to do. Once, she would have reasoned that she’d made such choices, done such ruthless things for the sake of survival, for the sanctity of the mission, for the bigger picture. Today, those mantras rang hollow, and she could no longer believe them.

  She forced the uncomfortable introspection aside and refocused on how she was going to get by on the Knox. “So you have a sister? It would work if I could pretend to be someone like that.”

  “No, actually, I don’t.”

  “I’m assuming there are people you work with, friends who would know that and find it suspicious you suddenly turn up with one. Plus, why would anyone’s family visit them in a war zone?”

  He cut her a dismayed look. “You’re right. It was a dumb idea, forget I said anything.”

  Before she thought about what she was doing, she leaned over and covered his hand with hers, wanting to reassure him. “No, it wasn’t a dumb idea. It’s really a very good one. And I’d like to take you up on it, if you’re really sure you know what you’re signing up for. This isn’t going to be like any assignment you’ve ever taken on. It’s going to be dangerous, but you won’t see your enemies coming, because they’ll be sneaking up on you. And it’s not the kind of thing you can go into guns blazing. This calls for patience and subtlety.”

  “I don’t care what I’m getting myself into, though I’ll admit, patience and subtlety aren’t exactly my strongest attributes.” He sighed and dragged his free hand over the lower half of his face. “Look, I’m aware we don’t know each other very well, but you shouldn’t be facing this type of thing on your own. I know exactly how it feels to be betrayed by someone you trusted with your life.”

  Right, his friend who’d turned out to be a CSS mole. Was that the only reason he was helping her—some misplaced guilt or anguish about his own circumstances? The thought sobered her right up. But she couldn’t let his motivations matter. She needed an ally, and he was all she had.

  “I’m grateful you’re willing to help me, and I think your idea could work, but I’d be better posing as an old family friend rather than a relative. I can forge some documentation that gives me a ground posting on Ilari starting in a few days. We can make like I came out here early to catch up with you before I take up the position.”

  Seb nodded. “Okay. I can go along with that.”

  She gave his hand a quick squeeze, but when she would have let go, Seb caught her fingers and returned the gesture, adding a reassuring smile, as if she were the inexperienced one in this scenario.

  With her pulse skipping, Jenna returned her concentration to the screen in front of her, checking the incoming schedule for the Valiant Knox.

  “There’s a shuttle due soon, it should be docking not too long after we get in ourselves. Obviously I can’t board it, but I can sneak into the terminal and slip into the crowd disembarking, and with a few alterations of the booking system, it’ll look like I had a seat on the passenger manifest.”

  “So, how do we proceed after that?”

  For the remainder of the trip, they discussed particulars, giving themselves a detailed history of how they knew each other, deciding on childhood family friends who hadn’t seen each other for years. Seb filled her in on a few details about his neighborhood and growing up. It all sounded perfectly mundane, normal, and charming. She hadn’t exactly had a bad childhood, but she’d been an only child, lived in an apartment building where they didn’t know their neighbors, and her parents had both worked long hours. By the sounds of things, growing up next door to Seb would have been idyllic.

  By the time they closed in on the Knox and were contacted for docking procedures, Jenna felt confident that Seb could help he
r carry this plan off. Once the final details were in place, she went to the back of the ship and clambered into a maintenance hatch to hide.

  In the dim, cramped confines of the space, she set her personal comm for a reminder and then settled herself into a semi-comfortable position for a power nap. She’d been awake for nearly twenty-four hours, and considering she had no idea what the next few hours and days would bring, taking a quick recharge seemed like a smart idea.

  Chapter Six

  Seb clasped his hands behind his back, his knuckles aching with tension as the doors to the command center slid open and a stationed soldier waved him through.

  And now the real game begins.

  Landing his boosted shuttle and making his way up to the central control of the Valiant Knox had been easy. Facing the CAFF, Commander Yang, and Jenna’s CI handler so he could lie to their faces was a whole other story.

  At least he didn’t have to fake his shell-shocked demeanor. Ever since Bren had informed him that Jenna had been killed, the punches just kept coming. When he’d gone into the old bank vault and found the body, something hadn’t seemed right, but he hadn’t quite been able to work out why. Then a slight figure had appeared out of the gloom, her presence shocking him even more than the news of Jenna’s apparent death.

  The woman who’d stood in front of him hadn’t been anything like the fake CI agent he’d flown behind enemy lines and hidden in a tree house with a few hours before. The general shape of her face had been the same, yet also somehow softer and definitely younger looking.

  Her skin had a more natural glow to it, and in the direct beam of his flashlight, he’d spotted a smattering of freckles across her nose. Goddamn freckles. What kind of CI agent had freckles? Her hair had even darkened to a lush honey color, and he hadn’t been able to connect any of that to the superficial bimbo-looking chick he’d met in the commander’s wardroom earlier. Until he’d looked into her eyes and recognized the too-honest jade green. And he hadn’t been able to ignore the truth of the desperate shadows in her gaze.

  All the pieces had come together with the force of a vacuum. That striking gaze made more sense in the new face he saw. Hell, the ruse of childhood family friends would almost be too easy to pull off when people looked at her, because she had that gorgeous, wholesome, girl-next-door thing in spades. Except as he’d quite recently learned, looks could definitely be deceiving.

  After Lawler, his trust wasn’t just in short supply, it’d up and left the building. No matter how innocent Jenna appeared, he couldn’t forget she was a highly trained, very deadly CI agent. One who apparently could mind-screw him hard and dirty without batting an eye. Christ, he couldn’t decide if he was relieved or downright dumbfounded that she hadn’t killed that young CS Soldier in the woods, but had wanted him to think that because he’d—what had she said—gotten under her skin? Yeah, he had a whole lot of that going on himself.

  Seb paused outside Commander Yang’s wardroom, not sure whether he should go in or wait until someone came out to find him. His debate was cut short when the door slid open to reveal Bren. She sent him a small guarded smile and indicated he should come in.

  At first glance, Bren probably wasn’t what anyone would picture at the term “fighter pilot.” She was tall and lean, but had a mop of not-quite shoulder-length thick blond curls and clear blue eyes. Yet it didn’t take more than a few minutes in her presence to work out she didn’t take crap from anyone.

  He grabbed in a quick fortifying breath and braced himself. He’d never been good at this subterfuge stuff, couldn’t lie to save his own mother. Yet Jenna was relying on him, and for her sake, he was about to give the performance of his life.

  Commander Yang greeted him from behind his desk, while the CI handler stood in a far corner, out of direct light…kind of like some vampire or lurky bad guy. Bren came to attention beside him, and he focused on Commander Yang. Not that it would be easier to lie to the guy in charge of the whole damned battleship, but something about the CI handler unsettled him in a way he didn’t want to examine.

  “What have you got to report, Sub-Lieutenant Rayne?” Commander Yang leaned back in his chair, one finger tapping against the armrest.

  Seb reached into his pocket and pulled out the storage device Jenna had given him.

  “I hope this is what you were after. It was too hard to get the body out. I got pinned down by a group of local law enforcement who were out stirring up the squatters.” That bit was almost true, at least. He set the device on the desk and then slid it forward. “I searched her body and came up with this. If it’s not what you were after, then CI will have to send one of their own agents in.”

  The handler strode forward and picked up the small drive. “This is what we needed. Good work, soldier.”

  I’m not a soldier, douche. Refraining from pointing out the guy’s mistake, Seb clenched his jaw and inclined his head. Although, he wouldn’t have been surprised to find the CI handler had known it was mildly insulting to refer to a pilot in one of the universe’s most elite fighter squadrons as a soldier.

  “You got what you needed, Stanton, so if you’ll excuse me, I need to debrief with my people.” Commander Yang straightened in his chair, the hard look he sent the CI handler pronounced get lost loud and clear.

  The CI douche nodded and left the wardroom.

  “What, no thanks for risking my hide twice in less than a day so he could get his precious information?” Seb muttered, watching the door slide closed.

  “CI think they’re above general human politeness, and that includes saying thank you to the grunt who may or may not have died for their ultimate means.” Commander Yang stood and moved around his desk.

  “Then, with all due respect, sir, you won’t mind if next time you request me for a CI-related assignment, my answer will be something along the lines of screw that.”

  Bren elbowed him with a stern look, because people just didn’t talk to Commander Yang like that if they wanted to keep their limbs attached. The man had a fearsome reputation, but Seb had always found the Valiant Knox’s commander to be fair and respectful.

  Commander Yang’s lips twitched, though his expression remained neutral. “Of course I’ll understand if you feel that way, Sub-Lieutenant, and I’d be happy to pass those terms on to CI on your behalf.”

  Seb shot a half grin at the man. It seemed they were on the same page. “Thank you, sir.”

  “As for this mission, you’ll be expected for a full debrief with Lieutenant Brenner and Captain Alphin before we can clear you for any further duties.” Commander Yang glanced at Bren. “Lieutenant, have you set up a time for that?”

  Bren nodded. “I knew Sub-Lieutenant Rayne would want it taken care of as soon as possible, so we’ve scheduled it for fourteen hundred this afternoon.”

  “Good.” Commander Yang leaned against the front of his desk. “As soon as I’ve seen Lieutenant Brenner’s report, you’ll be back on active duty for the following shift, probably tomorrow. In the interim, enjoy your downtime, get some sleep, catch up with your buddies, watch some bad TV, whatever it takes to decompress. This assignment didn’t pan out like any of us expected, and I want to make sure you’re dealing. Okay?”

  Seb gave a single nod. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

  Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had any kind of time off that hadn’t been the usual off-rotation break. And when those happened, any number of the guys he flew with were usually off-rotation with him. It would be weird hanging around doing nothing while the rest of his buddies were still on duty.

  And then he remembered Jenna’s plans, and the fact he was meant to be pretending he had an old friend coming to visit. He glanced at the multifunction device on his wrist, noting the shuttle was about due.

  “Excuse me, sir, Lieutenant Brenner, but I’ve got a friend to meet, coming in on the shuttle that’s due about now.”

  Bren glanced at him curiously, but he kept his gaze trained on Commander Yang.


  “Of course, Sub-Lieutenant, you’re dismissed.”

  Seb stepped back from being at attention and then turned, walking out of the wardroom. He thought he’d gotten away clean, but then Bren caught up with him.

  “What’s this about meeting someone coming off the shuttle? You never mentioned that.”

  He sent Bren a self-deprecating grin. “Actually, in all the commotion, I nearly forgot.”

  “Who is it?”

  “An old family friend. I haven’t seen her since I was a kid. She’s got a posting on Ilari, starting in a couple of weeks. She came out early so we could catch up.”

  “She?” Bren flashed him a teasing smile.

  “It’s not like that. Really, I’m just doing a favor for my parents. She was like the bratty kid next door who wouldn’t stop following me around.”

  Wow, he’d taken to this lying stuff like a duck to water. Sure, he and Jenna had worked out the details beforehand, but the story spilling out of him sounded so natural.

  “Mind if I come? I’d love to meet someone who knew you before you were an egotistical stick jockey.”

  He plastered a grin on his face, though his insides had stalled. Telling Bren about it was one thing, having her observe their interactions was a whole other matter.

  “You don’t have anything better to do than tag after me and poke your nose into my personal life?”

  Bren’s returning smile had no shame to it whatsoever. “Nothing half as interesting as meeting the annoying next-door neighbor kid. I bet she’s got some great stories about what a little rascal you were.”

  His slapped-on-cover-up grin started making his jaw ache. “Oh, I bet she does.”

  “Come on, then, we don’t want to be late.”

  No doubt Bren could tell exactly how much he didn’t want her there. Unfortunately, she was too good a friend for him to flat-out refuse. If he did, she’d end up more determined to meet Jenna and wouldn’t leave him in peace until she’d gotten the juice on his supposed childhood friend.

  They made their way up to port level bravo where the general population shuttles docked. Stepping off the transit, they plunged into the crowd of people either meeting incoming travelers or waiting to depart on the outward-bound shuttle.