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8
NIKATHY
"This is Rhiannon. She's a weapons expert, and she knows more about the Patrol than any of us." I could sense the men eyeing her doubtfully, and bristled.
"She doesn't look like much," one of the men remarked. I scowled in his direction. It was the same man who was here earlier, only this time, he had lost the poorly shined shoes and the ridiculous tie. He was wearing only the shorts he had gone to bed in.
"She was a captive of theirs, and she spent a lot of time aboard their ships. If we're going to hold them off, we're going to need her," I growled in warning.
The other men looked away, not daring to challenge me. I wondered if word had already gotten around about our earlier exchange, or if the man had kept that to himself. Just the thought of it made anger bubble up to the surface again, and I had to remind myself that this was meant to be a diplomatic meeting. I needed these men to help me, and I couldn't afford to turn them against me. Not now. If they thought the Patrol was closing in, they might see it as a moment of weakness, expecting me to be distracted so they could take what they wanted from the estate and claim Kychek for themselves. I couldn't have that.
"Tell her what you told me about the Hive," I instructed calmly, speaking directly to the man who positioned himself as their leader.
To my relief, he took a step forward and cleared his throat, unbothered by the awkwardness of her laying prone between us.
"The Hive is Kychek's militia. It's nothing formal, just volunteers and concerned citizens. But every one of them was prepared to go to war with the Patrol at Pops' word." He paused and eyed Nikathy, as if trying to decide whether he measured up. He seemed to reach a conclusion one way or another, and continued. "They monitor the nearest airspace for any sign of danger, and I imagine they will be leading this fight when the Patrol gets close."
I looked down at Rhiannon, waiting for her thoughts on the matter.
"How many ships do they have? What kind of weapons are we talking about?"
The man shrugged. "Hard to say. I imagine a few of them will defect. You know some of these guys just like to act tough when there ain't nothing going on, but when the trouble starts up, they'll run underground real quick."
That wasn't very encouraging. Fortunately, I had another idea. As soon as we were done here, I was going to make a few calls. Herod and Adreax were still close enough to come to my aid, and they both had ships that were up for a skirmish. Plus, I knew I could trust them in the heat of battle.
"If they're on the way here now, we need to start working on a strategy," she insisted.
For the first time since I'd met her, I could see the fiery spirit that had been nearly extinguished within her. She was a fighter. I spared a moment for admiration of her. "Where does the Hive meet? Are they there now?"
She was spitting questions at the councilman faster than he could answer and he was beginning to grow defensive. "I don't know. The only way to know is to go there for yourself."
"All right then, we'll go," she answered curtly, looking at me to back her up.
But I couldn't. She was too weak to even stand on her own, much less go charging into battle. What would the Hive think if I brought her down there in this condition? They'd laugh us both out of the room. I couldn't afford to have them thinking I was a fool, and I couldn't stand the thought of them laughing at Rhiannon. I was just going to have to find another way to get her the information she needed.
Unfortunately, she noticed my hesitation, and when I looked up, the whole room was watching me, waiting for my answer. Shit. I was backed into a corner, forced to take her side or theirs, and either way I was going to suffer for it. If I gave in now, the men of the council would believe I had lost control of things in my own house. Given the fact that two of them had already tried testing the waters earlier, that was the last thing I wanted them to think.
I turned to Rhiannon and rested a hand on her leg. "I'm sorry. I can't let you go down there. It's not safe, and you're not ready."
"I don't need legs to do my job," she hissed between her teeth, the vitriol plain. "Just get me to a console. Don't take this away from me, too."
Her words sent a pang of guilt piercing through my heart. She still believed she was my captive, no better off than she'd been aboard the Patrol's ship. All she wanted to do was help, and I was the one standing in her way.
Turning away from her, I addressed the men, holding my expression steady so as not to betray the warring emotions inside me.
"I need all of you to start warning the residents. Get them to safety. Wherever you can find shelter, direct people there. Make sure there's food and water, and anything else they might need. We don't know how long this siege is going to last."
A few of the men were already moving off, accepting my orders easily. They might not be loyal to me, but it seemed they still had some sense of loyalty to my father, and that was good enough. However, the others were hesitating, staring at me impassively, as if to say that they intended to go right back to bed and deal with this some other time. It was a slight I could not overlook.
"I am giving you three seconds to get out of my sight and start helping, or I will have all of you strung up on the fence for the Patrol to use as target practice when they get here. Am I making myself clear?"
There was no answer, and for a moment, I thought they might try to mutiny now that the others had gone, but when I took a step away from Rhiannon's bed and toward their appointed leader, they quickly broke and headed for the door. All the diplomacy in the world could only get you so far. Sometimes you had to use the threat of violence to get things done.
As soon as they were gone and the door was closed, I turned back to Rhiannon. She was still stewing in her anger, and I knew she must feel betrayed, but that hadn't been my intention.
"I will get you there, but we have to make a few other stops first," I said, breaking her out of her stream of muttering. "I can't trustthem, but I know who I can trust, and if you're up for it, I will make sure that you have a place in this fight. I promise I won't leave you in here alone."
I felt ridiculous. Why was I making promises to her at all? I didn't owe her anything.
But if she could save the city, I wanted her on my side. And so far, I had more faith in her than I did in any of the so-called dignitaries that played at running this city.
"Let's go then," she answered, gripping my arm tightly and pulling herself up with much effort. Just having her fingers wrapped around my forearm was enough to rouse that dull heat inside me again. Only it was growing hotter.
Despite the determined look on her face, I wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't walk on her own, and the walker wasn't much better. If we were going to get anything done, I was going to have to carry her. But even the thought of lifting her into my arms again made my cock twitch unscrupulously.
"How would you like to do this?" I asked, falling back on my more chivalrous nature.
"You're a big strong man. You brought me in here, I guess you can carry me out."
So be it. Without a warning, I lowered myself, scooping my arms up under her shoulders and her knees, and pulled her in close to my chest. She was certainly heavier than she had been the first time I'd picked her up, but it was still hardly a challenge. I just had to take her to the radio room to make those calls, and then we could take my personal transport over to the Hive's makeshift base camp. Once she was inside, I could deal with the rest.
