Read Online Crossways by Jacey Bedford - Free Book Online Page A

For all she knew her mom might be back there already, if they’d cut her treatment short.
    Orton was interested. She widened her smile. “Say, I don’t suppose you’ve got a secure comm booth anywhere close by, have you? Ben—Commander Benjamin—warned us about not contacting family yet, but Mom worries. It’s not like she’s going to pass information on to anyone.”
    â€œI can show you where. Better still, I’ll walk you down.”
    â€œThanks.”
    She beamed a smile at him that lit up her face. She knewit did because she’d practiced it in front of a mirror when she’d been trying to get Ari to notice her.

    Ben sat in the waiting room at Dockside Medical, determined not to leave without some news of Serafin. Was it a good sign or a bad one that surgery was taking so long?
    â€œYou look like hell.” Suzi Ruka, psi-tech agronomist and Serafin’s on-and-off lover for many years, came back from a trip to the washroom and flopped down in a chair. “It doesn’t take two of us to wait here for news. I’ll let you know as soon as the old man is out of surgery. They said it might take hours.”
    â€œHe’s my friend.”
    â€œI know that. He knows that.”
    â€œI worked with him on my first mission for the Trust,” Ben said. “He was talking about retiring then.”
    â€œHe’s always talked about retiring. He was only forty when we met and even then . . .” Her voice cracked. “Ah, what the hell, maybe he’ll have to retire now.”
    â€œRonan says this surgical team is the best,” Ben said. “Garrick made a few calls as soon as he heard what happened. Crossways specializes in trauma medicine. I guess they have to. He’ll be all right, Suzi. He’s tough.”
    â€œSo why do you need to hang out here? I’ll be okay. Honest. This place is heaven compared to the bleachers in the stadium. Go back to
Solar Wind
and leave me to get some sleep on that nice soft couch.”
    â€œShe’s right.” Cara hovered in the doorway. “Gen and Max are fine. Syke is waiting for us in the lobby. You can’t do anything for Serafin if you stay, so you might as well get some rest and come back in the morning.”
    Ben shrugged and stood up. “You’re sure you’ll be all right, Suzi?”
    â€œSure I’m sure.”
    He pecked her on the cheek. “Yell if you need anything.”
    Ronan was waiting for them in the lobby. Captain Syke and four of Garrick’s private guard conducted the three of them back to
Solar Wind
. Security had been stepped up considerably, not that Ben minded. He’d rather not have to think about defense right now. Mother Ramona and Suziwere both right, he was bone-tired and this thing with Cara was preying on his mind.
    As they walked side by side he could see her in his peripheral vision. She didn’t look any different. What was going on inside?
    Solar Wind
stood on the dock, turned around ready for takeoff, ramp up and hatches secured. From here she looked smooth as a pleasure yacht, her wings and fins drawn in tight against her side, armaments safely hidden.
    *Knock knock,*
Cara broadcast.
    The ramp lowered. Gupta waited at the top, smart-dart rifle resting in the crook of his arm. Ben was grateful for Gupta. Nothing fazed him. He had spent thirty years in the Militaire before retiring from active service to run Trust security on colony planets. And now the fracas on Olyanda had turned him into a wanted man. Luckily he had no family waiting for him back home.
    Too many lives disrupted.
    Ben owed it to all his psi-techs to see that they were reunited with family, if possible, and resettled, if that’s what they wanted. He was still worried about his own family.
    Jon Moon, formerly part of Wenna’s mapping team, stood behind Gupta as backup, but when he saw Ronan he gave a strangled cry and rushed down the ramp.