Seach stood in the hotel shower and let hot water sluice over his back. It had been far too long since he’d used his taps and he was regretting it now. The deep ache of overused muscles resonated through him and he tried to force himself to relax. He felt the heat of the water warm each little disc in his spine and turned.

God, he’d been so stupid. He should have let DeFrain fall.

The authorities hadn’t seemed to suspect anything and Ross had just been grateful DeFrain survived. Castillo and Collins were also relieved that they hadn’t lost a patron. But returning to the city had turned up several news cameras, all of them eager to learn more of the nearly fatal accident. Seach had barely managed to duck out of view and drag Devon away before Ross could point in their direction.

Seach wasn’t certain if he was relieved or worried that Devon hadn’t asked any probing questions on the way to the hotel. He knew this all looked suspicious, he just wasn’t certain how much Devon had actually seen. At the time he’d been too busy trying not to be crushed against the wall to pay attention.

Sighing, Seach opened the shower door. The water snapped off and he stepped out, grabbing one of the towels from the rack. He paused, listening hard for Devon’s movements in the other room. He heard light tapping, the normal sounds of his son at work on the computer, and went back to toweling himself off.

He’d gotten most of the way dressed before he caught a glimpse of himself, shirtless, in the mirror. He shifted and surveyed his taps in the reflection. Light glinted off the metal discs, winking at him as though in laughter and he swallowed tightly. He remembered the doctors when they explained the procedure, the smell of antiseptic in the surgery just before they’d put him out, and wondered if fate was laughing at him.

Of all the volunteers the Consulate had gotten for the tapped program, why had he survived?

Worse yet, why was he here instead of Relo?

Seach looked away from the mirror and pulled his shirt on. He covered all traces of his taps, slipping socks, boots, and gloves on before he turned to open the bathroom door. When he stepped out into the room Devon powered off his computer, looking pale and almost alarmed.

“You all right?” Seach asked.

“Yeah, fine,” Devon said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Seach quirked an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. He knew when his son was lying to him. The question was whether or not he should call the boy out on it. Deciding it was best not to confront Devon about things until he had managed to talk to Jo, Seach moved to his bed and grabbed his duffle.

“The shower’s all yours,” Seach said.

“Yeah, thanks,” Devon said, abandoning his computer far more quickly than usual.

Seach watched as Devon grabbed an armful of clothes and headed for the bathroom. He heard the latch of the bathroom lock and frowned. A minute later the water powered on and Seach started repacking his duffle. Devon’s computer lay on the opposite bed, beckoning Seach to go and see what his son had been up to. He stared at it for a long moment, debating whether or not he should invade Devon’s privacy. They kept a certain level of trust and respect between them but this felt different.

He needed to know the extent of damage this trip had caused.

So Seach moved to Devon’s bed and flicked the computer on.

The screen lit up in front of him, its last page still up for view. For a second Seach was pleased at his own luck. He wasn’t the technical guru that Jorry was and wouldn’t have been able to bypass any passwords. But then the page on the screen came into full focus and his stomach pitched in surprise.

It was a news article from the middle of the galactic war. More specifically, it was the news article announcing the Consulate’s newest breed of soldiers; the Tapped Division.

Seach glanced at the bathroom door.

“Dammit,” he muttered and shut down the computer.

Obviously Devon had seen more than Seach thought yesterday. In his defense, he’d been busy trying to save DeFrain, but Seach knew that didn’t matter. Walking back to his bed, Seach ran his hands through his hair and tried to figure out what to do.

Jorry was going to kill him.

With another sigh, Seach finished packing his duffle and waited for Devon. He stared absently at the hotel room, barely seeing the clean white comforters and metal floors. His mind dredged up memories like so much silt at the bottom of the ocean, replaying fragments of the past in no particular order. He remembered the first moment he saw Devon as a baby, so vulnerable and small in Jorry’s arms. His first instinct was to send the boy away, get him to safety somewhere and then run fast. It was the only way they could be sure Devon would be safe from the Consulate.

But Jorry wouldn’t hear of it.

Seach couldn’t decide if he loved or hated her for that. On the one hand, Devon was the most remarkable young man he had ever had the privilege of knowing and Seach loved him. On the other hand, it was going to hurt like hell when they had to tell him the truth.

With his duffle packed and Devon still in the shower, Seach sat on his bed and took a deep breath. He tried to imagine what Devon would do when he found out. They’d kept so many secrets from him that the conversation was bound to go badly. Devon would probably want to leave and Seach couldn’t blame him for it.

Rubbing his face, Seach rested his head against the wall. Life on Zephyr was going to be hard without Devon.

“Hey, Dad,” Devon said as he exited the bathroom. He was mostly clothed and still toweling his hair dry.

“Yeah, Dev?” Seach blinked out of his thoughts and focused on his son.

“Look, I know you’re not an idiot,” Devon said, his gaze flicking to his computer.

Seach glanced at the computer as well, tensing because he thought he knew what was coming next. “Thanks,” he said.

“And you know I’m not an idiot either.”

He met Devon’s blue gaze and held it.

Shit, please don’t ask me now, not without Jo. Jo has to be here.

“No, Devon, you are not an idiot.”

They were quiet for a long minute. Seach got the feeling Devon might have been waiting for something, some kind of confirmation, but for the life of him he couldn’t imagine what to say. Devon knew about the taps, or at least strongly suspected something about the taps, but that didn’t mean Seach should spell it out for him.

“Right,” Devon said finally. “Good.”

Then he turned and moved to pack his duffle. Seach let out a breath and closed his eyes. He knew by the angry sounds of Devon packing that he was upset. Seach felt a twinge of guilt for that but still didn’t speak. When they finished packing and left the hotel together Seach felt a new strain between them, an unspoken and unpleasant gulf that had never been there before. The hotel door closed behind them and Seach wondered if he had just lost his son forever.

~*~*~

Jorry stood in the private dock and eyed two-hundred crates of freeze-dried produce. Zephyr’s cargo hold would be completely full this trip. She ran calculations in her mind, allowing for the extra weight of three passengers and whatever luggage they might bring. Her eye twitched at the thought of three strangers invading her home for the next several weeks. She didn’t think any of them would find the smuggler holds or hidden caches, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be trouble either.

This was such a bad idea.

She rubbed her forehead and groaned, trying not to think of what Seach would say when she told him.

A long, low whistle drew her attention to the private dock door. Devon and Seach walked into the dock, neither of them looking particularly happy and neither of them glancing at her. She sensed tension between the two men and frowned.

“I bet that new loader is looking awful good right now,” Devon said.

It was meant as a joke but she could hear an underlying sharpness to his tone. She glanced at Seach, who was making a point of surveying the crates, and her unease intensified. Something had happened on the planet, something bad.

“As a matter of fact,” Jorry said, switching her focus to Devon, “I was just debating taking out a loan.”

Devon smirked as he walked through the dock. She watched him carefully, looking for any limp or injury, but he appeared to be fine. When she caught his gaze she held it, surprised to see just how angry he was. He hesitated for a moment before turning away from her and heading for Zephyr. Jorry stared at his retreating back, at the rigid line of his shoulders and aggravated stalk he made into the ship. She felt more than saw Seach’s approach on her left and refrained from speaking until they were alone.

“What is that about?” Jorry asked.

“There was a bit of an accident down on the planet,” Seach said.

She turned to look at him. His mouth set at a grim line and his eyes roiled with varying emotions that she couldn’t identify at first. It was an expression she had never seen before and she began to suspect what had happened.

“What kind of accident?” she asked cautiously, dreading the answer.

Seach’s gaze slid away from hers and he dropped his duffle beside them. “Well … a man fell and I sort of caught him.”

Jorry tensed. He didn’t have to elaborate, she knew what he was saying. Seach had used his taps to save a man. She turned away from him and rubbed her forehead, biting back several remarks about the danger he had placed them in and all the agreements they had made about not getting involved.

Given the circumstances she had no right to say those things. Not with three refugees making their way to Zephyr as they spoke. Jorry gripped the edge of a steel crate and held on tight, fighting for self-control.

“How many people saw you?” she asked.

“Just Devon.”

She expelled a harsh breath. “Just. Devon.”

Devon had seen Seach in action. He was too smart not to ask questions, too focused not to begin research. It wouldn’t be long before he connected all the dots. Jorry closed her eyes and bowed her head, thinking of her plan for one more holiday with her son. That would never happen now.

“I’m sorry, Jo,” Seach said quietly. She felt his hand clasp her shoulder. “I just couldn’t let that man die.”

“No, of course you couldn’t,” she said.

He wouldn’t be Seach Barlow if he had.

His hand moved to rub her back, sliding down her spine in a comforting manner. She wanted desperately to lean into him, to accept the sturdy comfort he was offering and share her grief with him. They were both on the verge of losing their son and it hurt in places she’d never dreamed possible. But she couldn’t tell Seach that, not yet. Not until she had made her own confession.

“So what do you want to tell him?” Seach asked.

“Nothing.”

“Jo, he knows. Or he’s about to know. Don’t you think he would prefer to hear it from us?”

“Whether or not he prefers to hear it, he’s not going to have time to deal with it.”

Seach’s hand stilled on her back and Jorry turned to face him again. Concerned suspicion filled his face. Jorry debated not telling him, just letting the three passengers show up and surprise them all, but that wouldn’t make things any easier. In fact, she was pretty sure that would only make the fight worse. So she cleared her throat and looked at a space just over his shoulder.

“What do you mean?” he asked slowly.

“We’re going to have passengers.”

His eyebrows hiked upward and he took a step away, his hand abandoning her back quickly. Jorry could see him work through the statement, saw the flint of anger barely suppressed by clenched fists. His jaw clenched so tight she swore she could hear his teeth grinding.

“I thought we agreed that taking on passengers was too dangerous,” he said. His tone was measured, clipped, and she nearly flinched in response.

“Yeah, well, they’re sort of a package deal.”

Understanding ignited in his face and she did flinch.

“You made a deal?” Seach hissed. He glanced at Zephyr and stepped in close. “With who?”

She took a deep breath and steeled herself for his reaction. “Movax.”

Seach glared hard at her. She could see his pulse beating at his left temple, the twitch of his mouth as he fought for something to say, and did her level best to keep her face passive. She hated upsetting him, hated the rift that grew between them with every fight, and hated how powerless she was to stop it.

“Let me get this straight,” Seach said after a long minute. “You sent me down to the surface with Devon so that you could have a meeting with one of the top criminals on the Consulate watch list?”

“No, it wasn’t like that,” Jorry said quickly. “I hadn’t intended to meet with him. I just …”

“You just decided on a whim to see if Movax was around?”

“No. I saw Pick-Axe the day we arrived and knew he was here.”

Seach rocked back on his heels as though he’d been slapped. “So it was premeditated. You just decided not to tell me about it.”

“No!” Jorry exploded, too exasperated to hold her temper. “That’s not what happened. Would you shut up for a second so I can explain?”

His mouth clamped shut and his face contorted into a snarl but he stayed quiet so she hurried through the explanation.

“When I saw Pick-Axe I’d already told Devon to get ready for his shore leave. I deliberately led Pick-Axe away from the ship and stayed gone for a good hour just to make sure I wasn’t followed. By the time I got back here you guys were gone. There wasn’t time to tell you he was here.”

“Fine. It wasn’t premeditated. But you should have sent word.”

“I hadn’t intended to go see him. There was no point in alarming you.”

“No point in alarming me?” Seach asked, more furious now than he had been before.

Jorry almost stepped back, startled by the vehemence in his voice. But she held her ground and watched him warily, trying to find her foothold in the argument again.

“Yes, there was no point in alarming you. They couldn’t find us and I honestly hadn’t thought anything of it until …”

“Until what?”

“Until I started thinking about Devon,” she said. “I intercepted his application to University several days ago. I was trying to find a way for him to go without the Consulate ruining his life.”

Seach shook his head and turned away from her. He rubbed his hair back with his hands, making little blonde spikes stand up in his wake. Jorry continued to watch him and tried to think of something to say. He had to understand her motivations. This was about Devon. There was nothing they wouldn’t do for Devon.

But he had every right to be angry, too. She’d taken a huge gamble by going to Movax and she hadn’t even paused to consider how he might feel about it until she’d gotten into the meeting.

“Seach, I’m sorry.”

He looked back at her and his expression made whatever apology she’d intended to give die in her throat. He was more than angry, he was hurt and her heart ached in sudden recognition. Before she could recover, Seach reached down and grabbed his duffle, stalking away from her and toward the ship. Jorry thought to call out to him, to chase him down and force him to talk things out, but she didn’t. Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the FindNøvᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Instead, she turned and kicked the nearest crate. The steel side dented and the docking bay filled with an echoing metallic twang of protest.

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