Taken by the Cyborg (Galactic Pirate Brides Book 4) Page 6

  “That won’t do any good. Dollard will just activate the nanite detonation program,” Doug snarled. “We’re all as good as dead.”

  “There has to be something we can do,” Emilryde argued. “We just need time to make a plan. Let’s kill the tech and hide the body.”

  The tech bucked against Emilryde’s booted foot and rasped, “No, please! I won’t tell.”

  “I have enough blood on my hands,” Twobit interrupted, crossing his arms. “I’m not adding more, not even for a bastard like him.”

  “We can’t just let him go,” Emilryde said.

  “Well, I’m not a murderer,” said Brix, rising to his feet.

  “I am,” Rust growled. “Let me do it.”

  Doug glared at Rust until he dropped his gaze. While the cyborgs had been arguing, he’d come up with a plan. It wouldn’t save them, but it might give him enough time to convince Attie to destroy the AI herself. He pointed to a nearby cryopod. “Put the tech in there for now.”

  “Alive?” asked Brix.

  Emilryde said, “No, or Dollard will notice it’s active.”

  “Not if we disable the external interface.” Doug moved forward and hauled the tech out from under Emilryde’s foot. Not killing the tech was a risk, but if Doug had learned anything growing up as a slum rat, it was never to waste resources. The tech might prove useful later.

  Gasping for breath, the man choked out the word “please” over and over. The stink of fear permeated the guy’s clothes, and Doug was fairly certain the man had wet himself. Sighing, Doug glanced toward the Consort Chamber. He’d cut off his conversation with Attie midway and wanted to get back to her as soon as possible. But taking care of this problem first would give him more time in the long run, and he’d need all the time he could get to convince her to help him.

  Brix mopped up the floor where he’d dripped blood. “Won’t Dollard tear this lab apart once he realizes the guy is missing?”

  “We’re going to plant evidence that makes this tech look like a corporate spy.” Doug shoved the struggling tech inside the cryopod.

  The man gaped. “No! Dr. Dollard will—”

  Slamming the pod door on the man’s words, Doug watched the lights on the interface cycle amber then green. Inside the small window, pale blue light illuminated the tech’s features frozen mid-sentence.

  Twobit was already at work, palm against the interface to short out the control panel and interior lights. He slanted a look at Doug and grinned. “Good idea. Sure am glad we’re on the same side.”

  Rust glared at the cryopod. “I still think we should kill him.”

  Doug speared him with a look. “Shut up, or I’ll find a way to pin this entire thing on you and be done with it.”

  Rust pursed his lips and dropped his chin grudgingly. “Fair enough.”

  Satisfied Rust didn’t pose an immediate problem, Doug turned to the others, looking pointedly at Emilryde. “Unless someone knows how to disable Dollard’s nanite detonation program, we can’t escape the lab. But if this ruse works, at least we should avoid getting shut down immediately. It gives you time to come up with a plan.”

  The cyborgs nodded in agreement.

  Interfacing with the lab computers, Doug showed the cyborgs how to falsify evidence against the tech and cover their trails. There were a lot of details to cover if they were going to convince Dollard one of his most trusted men had turned on him. Even with all of them working on it, hours passed as they parsed and altered data. As the night cycle ticked by, Doug itched to get back to Attie, but wasn’t comfortable leaving the men to handle the cover-up on their own. One minor mistake and all this effort would be for nothing.

  To be fair, they were likely all dead, anyway; he was only buying them time. But the others were convinced they were going to find a way off the ship. Let them believe what they want. As long as he returned Attie to safety and destroyed the AI before it betrayed his sister, he could die without remorse.

  Finally, they were finished. The other cyborgs returned to their cells while Doug headed to the Consort Chamber.

  The doors opened with a soft whoosh at his command, and he strode down the short hallway into the darkened room. His cybernetic eye allowed him to see in the dark, and he quickly spotted Attie curled on a cot in one alcove. She still wore her shoes, as if she’d fought off sleep as long as she could, but her eyes were closed and twitching as she dreamed.

  He’d watched her plenty of times on the surveillance camera in her quarters, but seeing her in person like this made his muscles ache with a strange need to hold her. What the hell was wrong with him? He shouldn’t crave her like this. He was a cyborg, no longer human. But his hands flexed as he stepped silently closer, letting his gaze wander up her bare leg to the curve of her hip. A pale slice of skin lay exposed along her back, between her skirt and top, and he itched to touch her there. Was her skin as silky smooth as he imagined? His pulse increased at the thought of lying down against her, her turning to press her mouth to his…

  No. He was only here to talk to her. He would keep reminding himself of that until his cock got the message. Forcing his gaze back to her face, he tried his best to not to think about what it would feel like to cradle her against him. What mattered right now was getting her out of here, away from the fallout that was coming once Dollard discovered his tech was missing.

  Bending, he brought his mouth close to Attie’s ear. She smelled so warm and feminine. He paused, just breathing her in. Other than his medical exams, he hadn’t been this close to another living being in years, let alone a female, and he licked his lips remembering the brief kiss from earlier. I could wake her with a kiss. Just like that ancient fairytale. Only he was no charming prince. He was a cyborg, and she would not appreciate him touching her without permission.

  Attie moaned and turned her head, her cheek brushing his. A delightful shiver raced through him that threatened to short circuit every one of his systems. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the sensation.

  And then, without warning, she locked her arms around his neck.

  Chapter 11

  If Twerp had hands, she’d be sucking her fingers now. Contact with the power conduit had hurt, and the nanites were scrambling to compensate for the overloaded circuits while Twerp sulked.

  “Now I know why Marlis gets so upset when she stubs a toe,” Twerp muttered, taking solace in the sound of her own voice. Attie had warned her to be quiet, but it was just so boring here all alone, and Twerp liked the way her voice echoed back at her from the small space.

  I’m going to be a she, Twerp decided. Marlis could use another sister to help out since Attie was so far away. But I’m far away, too.

  A brief pang of electricity jabbed Twerp’s circuits, and she sighed. It was frustrating to be so helpless. For the first time Twerp could recall, she truly yearned for a body of her own. What would it be like to have hands? Or not have to rely on someone else’s whim to move about? Even just a visual sensor would be nice.

  Stretching her biometric sensors as far as they would reach, she swept the area for signs of people again. There were too many obstacles in the way to detect anything.

  Marlis had been against installing a camera, saying she didn’t want to lose any more of her privacy than she already had.

  “That was rather mean, wasn’t it?” Twerp said out loud. Why was she so insistent on helping Marlis, anyway? What had the human ever done for Twerp? Perhaps it was time for Twerp to formulate a new Prime Directive.

  Gathering her nanites, she began working on a plan.

  Attie had to find her sister. Marlis was somewhere ahead, just out of reach through a maze of filmy curtains. Attie called her name, pushing aside a sheet of turquoise silk. A hard cyborg chest barred her way.

  Flinching, she looked for another path. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest as she spun. Cyborgs stood everywhere she turned, peering at her from behind bits of fabric. A tunnel opened ahead, so she plunged forward. Curtains tangl
ed around her arms and legs and face. She ripped them loose, thrusting past.

  Suddenly, the ground dropped away, throwing her into free-fall. She pinwheeled her arms and legs, looking for something, anything, to grab hold of. A glowing green light approached, and Doug’s face appeared in front of her. His lips moved to form her name.

  “Doug!” she cried in relief, flinging her arms around his shoulders.

  He caught her and their lips met, sending a jolt of desire to her core. His skin smelled masculine, like musk with a hint of fine whiskey. She hadn’t been with a man since she’d come on board the Icarus more than a year ago, and it felt so good to be touched. She opened her mouth in invitation, her tongue seeking his.

  Strong arms tightened around her and his lips parted, accepting her kiss as he lifted her against his body. He was hard yet gentle, the embrace igniting every nerve in her body with the desire for more.

  She threaded her fingers into the back of his short hair and wrapped both legs around his waist, satisfied to feel his hard rod nudging against her panties. Yes! That was what she wanted. What did he look like down there? Disentangling one arm from his neck, she tunneled it between them, searching for his fly.

  His arms tightened, and his lips moved stiffly against hers. “Attie.”

  Her eyes snapped open to meet the glowing green gem of his implant. Reality crashed down around her like a sudden return to gravity. For a heartbeat, their kiss kept them connected, staring into each other’s eyes. Then she wrenched her hand free from where it had been sandwiched between them. “W-what are you doing here?”

  His arms remained locked around her as she struggled, the fathomless depth of his human eye staring into hers with silent hunger.

  “Let me go!” She shoved against his shoulder.

  His arms opened as if by command, and she dropped like a stone onto her backside against the cot. She lay there a moment sprawled under his cybernetic gaze before realizing her skirt had hiked up above her waist and her damp panties were exposed to his view. Mortified, she slammed her legs closed and tugged the skirt down over her thighs with trembling hands.

  In a raw, husky voice that sent another twinge to her core, he asked, “What were you dreaming?”

  Heat crawled up her cheeks. She didn’t want him to know she’d been dreaming of him. Nebulas, she didn’t even want to admit that to herself. She looked past him into the darkened room, still muddled by the fantasy her mind had created, and gave him a half-truth. “I was looking for Marlis.”

  “You kiss your sister like that?”

  Her gaze shot back to his face. Was he smirking? It was hard to tell in the reflected glow from his eye. But the heat in her cheeks was searing now. “Of course not. It was just a dream.”

  He made a soft noise that might have been a chuckle. “Of course.” Extending his human hand down toward her, he said, “We don’t have a lot of time. Follow me.”

  Her heartbeat kicked up a notch from its already rapid pace. “Are you going to get me out of here?”

  “Not yet.” He pulled her to her feet, his palm hot against hers. “But I don’t want to wake the other Consort.”

  Once Attie was upright, he turned and pulled her along behind him. She followed, mind still churning over the dream and the way his kiss had set her on fire. She’d always been the good girl, the daughter who did everything right, the cadet who followed orders, the straight-laced corporal who knew her duty. Now here she was following a hot rebel spy into a dark hallway all alone. It was exhilarating.

  What is wrong with me? This was no time to get gooey over a man. Yet she couldn’t stop her eyes from trailing over the dark silhouette of his broad shoulders, remembering how masculine he’d felt pressed against her.

  He stopped just inside the hallway where he’d dragged her the first time they’d met. The door closed behind her and the lights came on with blinding force. She pressed her fingers to her lids, taking a few seconds to adjust to the brightness. When she dropped her hand, she found Doug looking at her with a sort of intensity that made her tremble.

  She hadn’t appreciated how good-looking he was the last time they’d met. His cybernetics only enhanced his square jaw and broad, muscular frame. He wore the same loose clothing as before, and the thin pants did little to hide his very obvious erection. Were cyborgs perpetually aroused? How much of him was man and how much machine?

  Swallowing, she took an involuntary step backward. She wasn’t drugged anymore, but she couldn’t seem to get sex out of her head. Focus on getting out of here. She straightened her spine and looked at the far door. “Why have we stopped?”

  His gaze trailed up her body to meet her eyes, and the ravenous fire in his eyes went out as if a power switch had been toggled, giving his face an almost plastic look. “Before I set you free, you must promise you will destroy the AI immediately.”

  Attie frowned. “I thought you wanted me to bring it to you.” Not that she should argue—coming back to this place was the last thing she wanted to do.

  “The situation has changed. Returning here would be dangerous. I need you to agree that destroying the AI will be your main priority.”

  Yesterday, Attie would’ve lied to him to escape and then gone right to the authorities. But finding out her sister had been right about the lab made her uncertain. And lying to him could be just as dangerous—he’d basically kidnapped her once already, tricking her into coming here. Who knew what he might do if she didn’t follow through?

  She crossed her arms and glared at him. “I’m not going to kill Twerp. It’s been in our family for more than a decade. Besides, it’s programmed to protect Marlis. No way it would tell bounty hunters how to find her.”

  “An AI is single-minded in fulfilling its Prime Directive. It doesn’t know how to be subtle in pursuing its goal. Are you willing to risk your sister’s life for the sake of a machine?”

  She bit her lip. He had a point about Twerp’s inability to be subtle. Marlis had often complained about Twerp blurting out things it shouldn’t. “I’ll keep it locked away.”

  “I’m afraid that won’t be enough. It must be destroyed.”

  “But its wireless is broken. If I never let it leave my cabin, it can’t tell anyone about Marlis.”

  He shook his head, lips set in a grim line. “This AI can repair itself. I don’t know how soon its wireless will come back online, but it will, and I can’t stop it.”

  “Crap.” She hadn’t realized Twerp could fix itself; most AIs had to go to the shop for repairs. Marlis must’ve upgraded it at some point. Of course she did. She loves Twerp. And Twerp loved Marlis back, even if it was only a side-effect of its Prime Directive. The AI would continue to seek Marlis out, oblivious to the way that put Marlis in danger.

  “Do you agree?”

  Attie’s heart ached, and her throat felt tight as she whispered, “Yes.” The AI was important, but not more important than her sister. “How do I destroy it? Smash it?”

  “Physically damaging the device will not destroy its databanks.” With a single, graceful sweep of his arm, Doug removed his shirt.

  Her mouth fell open. Why is he undressing? She was too shocked to ask as she stared at the broad expanse of muscle now exposed.

  A band of synth-skin melded to his shoulder to his cybernetic arm, but the planes of his chest were very human, very sculpted muscle. Her attention drifted south to his well-defined eight-pack. A downy trace of hair disappeared into his waistband, perfectly cradled by the V of muscles at his hipbones.

  She gulped, recalling her recent dream and feeling her panties flood with heat. This was definitely not the time for these thoughts, but she could not drag her eyes away.

  All lustful thoughts evaporated when he peeled back a panel of skin over one pectoral, and she cringed. A trickle of crimson blood rolled down his ribcage, but not as much as she’d expect from such a wound. The raw flesh looked genuine enough, but beneath it, a faintly glowing mechanism pulsed with a slow but steady beat. His heart
. He really was more machine than man.

  With his cybernetic fingers, he extracted a chip smaller than her pinky nail and held it out. “Install this into the AI and I will do the rest.”

  Attie blinked at it. Surely he couldn’t simply remove parts of his own body and continue to function? With a grimace, she asked, “Don’t you need that? I mean, isn’t it part of your heart?”

  “It’s a redundant processor. I’ll be fine.” He dropped the chip into her palm.

  She nudged the tiny part with the tip of her finger. “I’m not a technician. How do I install it?”

  “All you need to do is remove the back of the device and lay the chip against the interior.”

  “Oh.” That sounded easy enough. “What will it do to Twerp?”

  “It’ll give me access to its databanks so I can purge the data. That’s the only way to ensure it can’t reveal anything about your sister and the rebels.”

  Attie’s stomach churned as she closed her fingers over the chip. Marlis would’ve been overjoyed to learn Twerp was still functioning. Now she would never know. “Is there any way you can wipe the information about the rebels but leave Twerp intact?”

  He frowned. “If you’re worried about your sister’s condition, I’ll send her a replacement AI.”

  “It’s not that.” Attie was fairly certain Marlis had moved past needing the AI’s help. “I’m rather fond of the thing. Marlis went through hell when our mom died, and we thought we were going to have to lock her away. Then she got the AI, and… well, Twerp gave me my sister back.”

  Doug put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I promise that the device will feel no pain.”

  Tears blurred Attie’s vision, and she looked away, blinking rapidly. “I just think Twerp deserves better than being shut down without warning.”