The Torid Affair by Laurann Dohner
Chapter Seventeen
They’d almost reached their cabin when a petite brunette wearing a skirted business suit suddenly dropped her briefcase in the corridor, adjusted the eye visor she was wearing, and gasped loudly. “Oh my goodness! Abby Thomas! What in the heck are you doing here? It’s been ages since I’ve seen you!” Then the woman flung herself at Abby, hugging her tight. Though it looked more like a tackle.
Maith growled low, jerking Jessa to his side. The other Veslors also seemed alarmed when they growled. Jessa didn’t know what to think.
Drak tried to pull the stranger away from his mate with a loud snarl. The brunette clung to Abby tighter, if possible, whispering something in her ear.
“It’s okay,” Abby suddenly blurted. “I know her. Let’s go home and I’ll introduce you to my old friend.”
The brunette released Abby, grinned big, then backed away. “Sorry! I’m just so excited to see a face I know, so far out in space.” The woman spun, bent, and retrieved her briefcase off the floor. “What’s it been? Six? Seven years? You look so good! I want to hear everything that you’ve been up to, Abby.” Then the woman noticed the Veslors, and visibly gulped. “Oh my goodness. How cool!” Her big grin returned. “I’m not surprised Abby Thomas is hanging out with aliens. Great-looking ones too.”
They began to walk again. Maith was tense against Jessa’s side, where he kept his arm tightly around her waist. One glance at his face told her he wasn’t happy about the reunion. He didn’t protest though when they reached their quarters and Roth accessed the door. All of them entered—then Drak and Gnaw nearly pinned the stranger against the wall inside the door, keeping her away from Abby.
The door sealed and Roth pushed forward too, also blocking the stranger. “Who are you?”
“What’s going on?” Jessa whispered to Maith.
“Easy, Veslors.” The woman’s voice changed from high-pitched and perky to calm and husky. “I mean you no harm. What I whispered to Abby is important—I’m here about Anabel Brick. But no one can know.”
The woman craned her neck until she could see around Roth, looking at Jessa. “Your grandmother always smelled like flowers. She wore a pendant and matching bracelet of red roses and talked about all the ones she grew in her garden on Earth. When your grandma died, Anabel started calling you Tinker anytime she wanted to comfort you. It was your father’s nickname for you. It’s because you were always trying to take things apart to figure out how they worked. That included one of his work data pads when you were five. But he didn’t get mad. He just taught you how to fix it. Everyone assumed you’d grow up to be an engineer.”
Jessa sucked in a sharp breath, staring hard at the woman. Only one person would know any of that. Anabel. She hadn’t seen her since they’d been separated as kids, but she was certain this woman wasn’t her sister. “Anabel sent you?”
“Not exactly. Can I get a little space, please? You’re making me nervous.” She glanced at the three Veslors crowding her. Then she stared at Jessa again. “Your sister sent you a med kit for graduation. Two days later, a guy collided with you and you both went down. He slipped a note into your pocket as he helped you back to your feet and told you that Anabel had sent him. You were to read the note while alone and destroy it afterward. It was telling you which compartment in that kit had a false bottom, how to open it, and inside was a picture of her. You’d told your sister that all you wanted for graduation was to see her. The big bosses wouldn’t let her be there, so that was the best she could do.”
Jessa choked up. “Back off her.” She tried to walk closer to the woman.
Maith growled low, keeping a tight grip around her waist. “No.”
She shot him a look. “Only my sister would know that stuff—and it’s all true. Let go.” Jessa jerked to get away, and he released her.
The three Veslors stepped back and Jessa really studied the woman. She only stood about five foot one, minus the heels, and was small boned. The visor she wore over her eyes was for people who liked to do work on the go. It was like a computer screen, but transparent enough to see information displayed and their surroundings at the same time.
Jessa stopped a few feet away. “Are you a friend to my sister?”
The woman reached up and removed the visor. She had blue eyes. On closer inspection, Jessa was pretty sure the dark hair was a wig. It was a good one, but her pale blonde eyebrows gave it away.
“You can call me Paris. I don’t have much time. You’re going to have a lot of questions but the truth is, I don’t have all the answers.”
“What is that low hum I hear?” That was Roth, and he suddenly glared at the briefcase the woman had placed on the floor.
“There’s a signal blocker transmitting from the lining of my briefcase,” Paris answered. “You’ve got incredible hearing if you can pick that up. It fucks with any recording devices. We can talk with it on and not worry about someone overhearing anything.”
She turned her attention to Jessa. “Four years ago, I met your sister when she saved my life. We were trained to do the same job. I was sent to retrieve something important. By the time my handler figured out I’d been betrayed and captured, he decided I’d be too damaged to bother saving. They sent your sister in to complete my failed mission. She heard about me, but was ordered not to attempt a rescue. She outright lied and told them I was at the same location as the item she was sent to get. That way, she could justify bringing me back. She practically carried me to her shuttle, since I had a broken leg. Anabel said she wasn’t leaving one of her own behind. Your sister is an amazing person.”
Jessa felt tears in her eye. “She’s a spy. Am I right?”
Paris gave her a sad look. “You know I can’t confirm that. I will reiterate that people like us are assigned handlers. They manage us, prepare us for whatever job needs to be done, and our lives are in their hands. My handler fucked me over by reporting I’d be useless at my job after being captured and tortured. In reality, I was betrayed by his contact, and I was the only one who could prove it. So he didn’t want me coming back. The big bosses were going to leave me there to die, and I would have if your sister hadn’t come after me. She cared enough to risk serious consequences by breaking direct orders and making me part of her mission. Hell, she risked her life to rescue me.
“People in our line of work don’t get to live if our handlers make a call like mine did. Your sister’s handler was the first person I saw when I woke up, after the doctors worked to fix my body. They only did it because he’d reassigned me as one of his operatives. He gave me a purpose, so the big bosses wouldn’t order the medical team to ‘pull the plug,’ as they say. I’ve worked with him and Anabel ever since.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Though Jessa was grateful Paris had shared so much.
“So you understand how close our team is. That man who knocked you down and passed you the note? Your sister saved him, too. He took multiple shots during a mission and his own team left him to die. Anabel saw him go down and dragged his unconscious ass to her own transport. She got into trouble for that one, but she didn’t care. Our handler took him under his wing too, and he got the best medical care possible. Anabel and her handler made us a team. We owe the two of them everything. Otherwise, we’d be dead. We’re all orphans with no family. Anabel is the only one with a sibling. But the shit we know…there’s no retirement fund in our benefit package. We work until we’re deemed too injured or too old to do the job, and then bam. If it’s a career-ending injury, there’s a ‘surgical complication.’ Otherwise…fatal accidents happen.”
Jessa had a bad feeling. “The fleet isn’t going to let Anabel go, are they?”
“I don’t know if they would have or not.” Paris sighed. “The Veslor king has the big bosses shitting their pants. They’d decided to comply before you were even called to that meeting. It wasn’t like they had a choice. Anabel also makes the big bosses nervous, because of all she knows and has done over the years since they activated her. I’m guessing she would’ve had an ‘accident’ before she could reach you. But the big bosses don’t have the option to kill her…because they don’t have her.”
That shocked Jessa. “She’s really on vacation?”
“No.” Paris slowly reached inside her skirt pocket and withdrew a piece of paper. “I don’t have many details, but this is where she is.” She held it out.
Roth took it before Jessa could. He frowned and passed it to Maith. Jessa snatched it from him, then it was her turn to frown. The paper held space coordinates. At least she thought they were. Her attention went back to Paris.
“Four months ago, your sister was sent on a mission. It was working on a civilian space freighter. I have no clue why or what she was sent after. I just know it’s very hush-hush. Five weeks into the job, our handler got a message from her. Anabel had to blow up the freighter but was planning on jumping inside a life pod to hop a ride to the nearest planet. She reported that it’s life-sustaining but primitive. Those coordinates are out of fleet boundaries. We’re talking Elth- and Kriror-controlled space. Our handler keeps arguing to send in a rescue to pull Anabel out, but he’s been denied every time. The big bosses won’t risk losing a stealth-class flyer or a full crew for one operative. They’ve written your sister off as a loss.”
Jessa felt a range of emotions flooded her. Mostly anger and grief. “I wasn’t notified.” Then the rest of the details sank in. “She blew up a freighter?”
“Yes. Again, I don’t have details. Just those facts. Our handler thought that might be useful information for you, if you try to locate her. She’ll be somewhere in pod-flight range of that destroyed freighter. And you haven’t gotten a death notice because our team hasn’t given up hope of getting Anabel back. We were planning to hire mercenaries. They aren’t the most trustworthy sorts, but they’re crazy enough to take jobs like flying into dangerous space if the bribe is high enough. We’ve been trying to secretly put together the funds to approach them.”
Paris lowered her voice. “It’s a death sentence for all of us if the big bosses ever find out we’re even thinking of doing something like that. Our handler sent me here weeks ago, to remain close to you just in case the big bosses bypassed him and sent a death order for you. I was authorized to tell you the truth. You deserve better than to never know what happened to Anabel. And we were worried you’d hack a classified database to find information on your own, getting arrested in the process. That would really piss off your sister.”
“You know about what I can do?” Jessa asked.
“I didn’t until recently. But our handler did. I’ve been read in. He said Anabel worried about what you’d do if she ever died, and she made him promise to try to stop you from committing treason to get answers.” She waved a hand down her body. “So…here I am. Then you mated a Veslor.” Paris glanced at Roth, Gnaw, Maith, and Drak. “Which one is yours?”
“I am,” Maith answered.
Paris gave him a nod. “That changed everything. I just got off a secure call with my handler less than half an hour ago. He heard what was going on and told me to come to you now.” She gave Jessa a look. “Veslors travel in areas of space humans don’t dare to tread. The Kriror are known to blow up Earth ships on sight, and we’re basically at war with the Elth…but your mate and his people can go after Anabel, now that you know where she is.”
Jessa turned to Maith.
He pulled her into his arms. “We’ll go.”
“No,” Roth immediately stated.
Jessa jerked away from her mate to glare at Roth. “Yes, we are. That’s my sister!”
He met her gaze calmly. “We don’t have a ship that is equipped to handle that kind of battle if we run into either race…but I know who to send.” He looked at Maith next. “The hunters.”
Jessa clutched at Maith’s shirt, fisting it. “The who?”
He bent his head, pulling her close once more. “It is a grouping that we trust. We’ve worked with them before. Their ship is heavily armed and they have retrieved stolen aliens many times from the Elth and Kriror.” He gently brushed her hair off her face before cupping her cheek. “They are good males who always find what they seek. We will send them after Anabel. They’ll bring her to you. To us.”
Jessa didn’t know what to think. She was too upset. “What if the Elth or Kriror have found her? What if Anabel has been captured by them?”
“The hunters will find her and get her back. It’s what they do,” Maith assured. “Trust me, mate. Roth is correct. Those males are the ones to send. They are the best at their job.”
Paris cleared her throat. “I have to go. I can’t be caught here. And please don’t look for me. It puts us all at risk every time we meet or speak. I’ll be in touch if I get more news.” She held Jessa’s gaze. “You’re free from your contract. So is Anabel, once you find her. Our handler has already made sure they processed the void on her contract despite being considered a loss. He convinced them it would look good if anyone demanded a paper trail, and told them you’d grow suspicious if they didn’t. As Anabel’s handler, the big bosses had called him in to assess the best way to deal with you.
“Take my advice. As soon as your mate’s stint on Defcon Red is over, get your asses to one of the Veslor home worlds. United Earth isn’t happy about having its hands forced. The big bosses won’t dare do something to you now…but our handler worries about later, when they feel they could get away with you having an accident of your own. Especially if you get Anabel back. She knows way too much.”
Jessa pulled away from Maith and walked closer to Paris. “Do you really think she’s alive?”
Paris smiled. “We’re talking about Anabel. Your sister is tough as nails, and if anyone could survive, it’s her. Trust me on that. She’s kind of become a legend as the one who always gets the job done. That means coming back alive.”
“I’ve got so many questions,” Jessa admitted.
“Ask your sister all of them when you see her.” Paris put the visor back over her eyes. “If anyone wants to know who your visitor was, we went to boarding school together, Abby. I’m Paris Holden.”
Abby frowned. “No, you’re not. I remember her.”
A chuckle escaped Paris. “I’m her for now. She’s currently in some overpriced but highly confidential health clinic getting extensive plastic surgery, after her third wealthy husband paid her off so he could be with the much younger woman he knocked up. We temporarily switched identities while she’s out of the way. It’s a good cover for another week, but then I’ll have to become someone else when she can resume her life in public.”
Paris turned to leave.
“Thank you,” Jessa told her. “Thank your handler and your team, too.”
The woman paused by the door. “Get Anabel back and keep her safe from the big bosses. That’s all the thanks we need. I’ve always wanted to repay her for saving my ass. Now I have.”
Then Paris was gone.
Tears rolled down Jessa’s cheek as she turned back to Maith, hugging his waist. He held her tight and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “We’ll get her back.”
“We will.” Roth promised. “I’m contacting the hunters now. Jessa? I need everything you can tell me about your sibling. They are going to need details to help them identify her.”
“I have a picture of Anabel hidden inside my med kit. It’s nine years out of date, but it’s a closeup of her face. She couldn’t have changed all that much.”
“Get it,” Roth ordered. “I’ll send a message to the hunters that I have a priority job for them. I’m hoping they respond quickly.”
Maith was the one to retrieve her med kit. Their entire grouping assembled in their living room as she took it from him and set it down on the nearest table. She opened it, removing all the supplies to access the secret compartment. It wasn’t a big space, and it was super narrow. Her precious photograph was stored there at all times.
“This is Anabel,” she told them, bringing it out and staring at the picture. Big green eyes stared back at her from a makeup-free face. Anabel’s black hair had been shorn close to her head. A small scar marred her forehead. It was from the accident when they’d become orphans. A blemish that minor could have easily been fixed, but Jessa suspected it had been left on purpose as a reminder of the past.
“She’s beautiful. She looks like you.” Maith put his arm around Jessa’s waist.
“She’ll be older now.” She hesitated, then handed it over to Roth. “It’s all I have of her besides my med kit.”
Roth carefully accepted it. “I will copy this image and send it to the hunters.” His golden gaze held sincerity. “They will find her and bring your sister home.”
Tears flooded Jessa’s eye, making her bury her face into Maith’s solid chest again. The idea of gaining her freedom finally, but Anabel not being a part of it, hurt deep. Whoever those hunter Veslors were…she hoped they could find her sister.
“The grouping will bring her to us,” Maith vowed, hugging Jessa tight. It was almost like he had guessed her thoughts.
“Can we go to our room?” She didn’t want to break down any further in front of the rest of the grouping. They might be family, but it was going to take time to adjust to having people around who cared. She was a little embarrassed by her tears. She’d spent most of her life trying to hide her emotions, beyond anger or indifference. It was the only way she’d managed to protect herself for so long.
Maith did the unexpected by scooping her into his arms. “I’m going to comfort my mate.”
Jessa kept her face pressed against Maith until he carried her into their bedroom and she heard the door seal. “I’m sorry. I should be celebrating getting free of my contract, but…”
“It is understandable. They promised you Anabel but lied. They had no intention of transporting her to us.” He growled. “I don’t like your leaders.”
“Me neither, but don’t blame all humans. Not all of us are dicks.”
He chuckled. “That word I know.” He took a seat on the bed with her on his lap. “Look at me.”
She reached up and wiped her face, before lifting her head. His green eyes were beautiful, and she saw concern in his gaze as they stared at each other.
“We will get Anabel. You heard that female. Your sibling is tough as nails. I don’t know how that is considered tough though, since your finger claws aren’t strong or sharp enough to cause any real damage. Is it a human thing? Do your people fear small scratches?”
That made Jessa laugh. “She didn’t mean fingernails. It’s a small piece of metal, that’s sharp on one end. You strike the other end with something hard to drive it into a solid surface. They’re used to support things, or to hold something together.”
“That makes more sense.” He reached up and cupped her face. “You are my heart. I am here for you regardless of what happens. You will never be alone.”
“I love you too.”
He smiled. “I love you. That’s you being my heart.”
“I got that. Can you make that rumbling noise? I find it very comforting.”
“I’ll do anything for you, mate.” Then he snuggled her close and proceeded to do exactly as she’d asked.