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Authors: C. J. Miller
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she was misleading him, he couldn’t go through the process of coming to terms with his brother’s death again.
Aiden was his younger brother. Connor should have been looking out for him. He should have steered him to another profession before he’d gotten tangled up with Sphere. He should never have been proud that his brother had been recruited as a Sphere agent. He should have been the one who’d died, not Aiden. The list of what he should have done was endless. How much of his anger over losing Aiden was directed at Sphere and how much at himself?
“I believe Aiden is alive,” Kate said, her voice soft with hurt underlining every syllable. “I want to find him and bring him home. It wouldn’t kill you to be nicer and have a good attitude.”
Shame assailed him. She was right and her simple words struck him, made him recheck his words and thoughts. “I’m sorry. I have trust issues.”
“I know you do,” Kate said.
Connor waited for sleep as his fitful thoughts drifted between Aiden, Kate and Sphere.
Connor awoke to a knock at the door and his hand went to his knife. The sky was dark, the lights from the liquor store below shining through the uncovered window into their room. The whirl of the fan was the only sound.
“Who is it?” Kate asked him in a faint whisper.
Connor pressed a finger over his lips and motioned for her to move across the room. If this got ugly, he wanted her tucked out of reach. Perhaps her rejection of the snake-tattooed man at the bar had invited trouble. Gangs were territorial and perhaps they had underestimated who they were up against. Maybe someone had the wrong room.
Or maybe Sphere had found them. The same information Kate would have learned about Aiden would be available to Sphere. Had they tracked him and Kate to this jungle border town?
“What do you want?” Connor asked through the thin plywood door. The door would pop open with a strong shove, but the confidence and strength in his voice might intimidate a visitor and cause them to think twice about forcing their way inside.
“Let me in and I’ll tell you.”
A female voice, heavy accented and one he didn’t recognize. He glanced at Kate, who was shaking her head. She didn’t know the voice either.
A Sphere agent was his first guess. Bush league for them to approach in the middle of the night.
Connor swung open the door and came face-to-face with a stranger. A stranger who, if she wasn’t a Sphere agent, was clearly offering sex. Her bright purple dress was similar to one Kate had dismissed in the store as too short, too tight and too low-cut.
When he’d pictured it on Kate, he had visions of her dancing sensuously against him, her body moving to a slow, melodious song.
Seeing the same dress on this woman, he was repulsed. “I don’t want whatever you’re selling.” Drugs. Sex. Booze. He wasn’t interested.
The woman leaned against the doorjamb, thrusting out her hip to the right and her breasts toward him. “Give me a chance to show you a good time. Americans love to taste what I have to offer.”
The slur of her words indicated she was drunk or high. Pointing out that she slept with whoever paid for it was no lure. Before he could tell her he wasn’t interested, Kate’s hand slipped around his stomach and she tucked herself under his arm. He hadn’t heard her move and he stilled his startled reaction.
“He isn’t interested,” Kate said.
Annoyance registered on the woman’s face. She shrugged and walked to the next room. Connor shut the door. Kate fit easily against his side, her head reaching to his collarbone, his arm around her resting on her shoulder. They fit together well. Too well. Thinking about Kate as if she were his lover made him uncomfortable, especially considering he didn’t know much about her relationship with his brother. She had denied they were a couple, and if she was telling the truth, he didn’t understand why she had been insistent on coming to Tumara to find
Aiden was his younger brother. Connor should have been looking out for him. He should have steered him to another profession before he’d gotten tangled up with Sphere. He should never have been proud that his brother had been recruited as a Sphere agent. He should have been the one who’d died, not Aiden. The list of what he should have done was endless. How much of his anger over losing Aiden was directed at Sphere and how much at himself?
“I believe Aiden is alive,” Kate said, her voice soft with hurt underlining every syllable. “I want to find him and bring him home. It wouldn’t kill you to be nicer and have a good attitude.”
Shame assailed him. She was right and her simple words struck him, made him recheck his words and thoughts. “I’m sorry. I have trust issues.”
“I know you do,” Kate said.
Connor waited for sleep as his fitful thoughts drifted between Aiden, Kate and Sphere.
Connor awoke to a knock at the door and his hand went to his knife. The sky was dark, the lights from the liquor store below shining through the uncovered window into their room. The whirl of the fan was the only sound.
“Who is it?” Kate asked him in a faint whisper.
Connor pressed a finger over his lips and motioned for her to move across the room. If this got ugly, he wanted her tucked out of reach. Perhaps her rejection of the snake-tattooed man at the bar had invited trouble. Gangs were territorial and perhaps they had underestimated who they were up against. Maybe someone had the wrong room.
Or maybe Sphere had found them. The same information Kate would have learned about Aiden would be available to Sphere. Had they tracked him and Kate to this jungle border town?
“What do you want?” Connor asked through the thin plywood door. The door would pop open with a strong shove, but the confidence and strength in his voice might intimidate a visitor and cause them to think twice about forcing their way inside.
“Let me in and I’ll tell you.”
A female voice, heavy accented and one he didn’t recognize. He glanced at Kate, who was shaking her head. She didn’t know the voice either.
A Sphere agent was his first guess. Bush league for them to approach in the middle of the night.
Connor swung open the door and came face-to-face with a stranger. A stranger who, if she wasn’t a Sphere agent, was clearly offering sex. Her bright purple dress was similar to one Kate had dismissed in the store as too short, too tight and too low-cut.
When he’d pictured it on Kate, he had visions of her dancing sensuously against him, her body moving to a slow, melodious song.
Seeing the same dress on this woman, he was repulsed. “I don’t want whatever you’re selling.” Drugs. Sex. Booze. He wasn’t interested.
The woman leaned against the doorjamb, thrusting out her hip to the right and her breasts toward him. “Give me a chance to show you a good time. Americans love to taste what I have to offer.”
The slur of her words indicated she was drunk or high. Pointing out that she slept with whoever paid for it was no lure. Before he could tell her he wasn’t interested, Kate’s hand slipped around his stomach and she tucked herself under his arm. He hadn’t heard her move and he stilled his startled reaction.
“He isn’t interested,” Kate said.
Annoyance registered on the woman’s face. She shrugged and walked to the next room. Connor shut the door. Kate fit easily against his side, her head reaching to his collarbone, his arm around her resting on her shoulder. They fit together well. Too well. Thinking about Kate as if she were his lover made him uncomfortable, especially considering he didn’t know much about her relationship with his brother. She had denied they were a couple, and if she was telling the truth, he didn’t understand why she had been insistent on coming to Tumara to find
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