C lara shook her head, “I don’t understand. I was so sure it was him. He meets all the criteria .”

I could sympathize with her frustrations. We’d planned on coming back to my apartment and making love. Nothing long or fancy, but my cock was still throbbing to get back inside of her. Instead we walked in and saw her computer had been set on the counter by the servants. It was charging by the outlet and glowing a shade of green, letting her know that she had messages .

A woman with sharp features and hair pulled back into a tight bun appeared on the screen in the message. She addressed Clara only. “I knew that you would want a full report, even though these pricks keep telling me that you are in jail. I don’t know what they are thinking, but you and I both know you aren’t the spy. If you aren’t alone, then I suggest you get here. I’ll wait .”

Clara looked at me and rolled her eyes. “Jen is a little bit of a conspiracy nut, but she is one hell of a captain. She runs the ship when I can’t be there to take care of things. I left her in charge of Jordan while I was gone .”

“Okay,” continued the message. “Jordan, though incompetent and slow, did his duties to the best of his pathetic ability all day. I barely left his side. Only to go to the bathroom once and there is no way he could do anything shady in that short amount of time. Wherever you are, I’m going to carry on work as usual. Look me up when you get out of that bullshit jail and if that prick Adams makes another move, cut off his balls .”

“Well, doesn’t she just sound like a ball of fun,” I muttered .

“She is good at her job and thorough. If she says that she didn’t leave Jordan’s side then I believe her. Maybe we missed something .”

“Or maybe we’ve been overlooking the culprit the entire time. Why would someone want to frame you and not just eliminate you all together? Unless they had an ulterior motive. What about Adams ?”

She shook her head. “He’s about as smart as a rock .”

“Or so we think. Maybe it’s just a cover. If you think about it, this didn’t start until after you came here and after you first turned him down. Maybe he was working with the Federation all along, but this gave him the chance to make your life a living hell and serve his master .”

“He does work for the militia. That would give him access to everything that he needs to stir the pot. There is just one problem .”

“What?” I asked .

“If he is the culprit then I can’t do anything from my end. Everything here is blocked by the militia. After the first attack, they made sure to up their systems spyware. Of course, if it’s Adams he would know the way around that .”

“We need help then, someone who can get inside that system .”

“I’m open to suggestions .”

“I think it’s time for me to call my cousins. Pavar is a natural with electronics. If he can get into the system, then he’s got the clearance to look through the sergeant’s files and see what he is hiding .”

“Why don’t you call him ?”

I shifted uneasily. “We aren’t really big on calling each other, but I know he will be home. He just went to the Dragselian to talk about a few things. Tasha said they got back last night. I will need to go out there .”

“Okay, well I know my way around here and I know Jen would like to hear from me so you can go at any time .”

I frowned. “I don’t like the idea of leaving you alone. Even here. I think you should come with me .”

Her eyes grew wide. “And meet your family ?”

I couldn’t help but smile at her shocked look. I could tell that she hadn’t been expecting me to say that. It was becoming obvious that it was rare to catch her off guard. She was the type of woman who saw ahead ten steps from everyone else, needing to be on top of her game to captain her ship and run things smoothly. Tasha would absolutely love her. If I had any trepidations about us, they were gone with that single look .

“Well,” I said as I sat down next to her. “You had to know that you would meet them at some point, right ?”

“Sure.” She shrugged. “Maybe in like ten years, but not today. Not when I’m wanted by the law and everyone thinks that I’m a spy. It doesn’t really make for a great icebreaker .”

“When my cousin first came here, the Federation thought that all Dragselian and Infernians were alike. He was a wanted man from the second his ship crashed on this planet. Trust me, they all know a thing or two about being wrongly accused. I promise that they will love you. Did I mention that Tasha, Ragal’s wife is also a human ?”

“Oh, so there is a pattern in the woman you men like ?”

I laughed. “You could say that. We like smart, attractive, independent woman. Just trust me on this okay? You are going to love Tasha and they will all love you .”

She thought for a moment before nodding her head. “Okay. If you are sure it won’t be a problem. I don’t really feel like getting turned back over to Adams .”

I thought about Adams making another move on her. The horror of what she had to go through made my skin crawl. I wanted to string him up by his toes and light him on fire. He needed to suffer for his actions. Taking a beat to calm myself, I opened my eyes and did my best to smile for her .

“I won’t let that man touch you ever again .”

* * *

“A re they always this friendly?” she whispered to me as we unloaded our weapons at the guard station .

“Actually, it’s normally worse. Carl here doesn’t like my Infernian blood and he makes sure that I know it every time,” I said, pointedly looking at the man behind the large counter. “Isn’t that right, Carl ?”

The man said nothing, but continued to glare at me. It was no surprise really, but the fact that he seemed to hold Clara in the same disdain as myself was a little irritating. She had done nothing wrong. It took me a minute to realize that he probably heard the same rumor as everyone else, she was a spy of sorts. I clenched my fist together, but Clara touched my hand and looked up at me, instantly putting me back at ease .

“Can we go?” she asked him softly .

He nodded his head. “Have a nice day .”

“Thanks, Carl,” I hissed through clenched teeth. As he walked away, I muttered to Clara, “I really don’t like that guy .”

“Why not?” she joked. “He has such a great personality .”

Tasha was waiting for us at the top of the steps. I could tell from her beaming smile that I would be getting a slew of questions later as to mine and Clara’s relationship. I felt Clara start to pull away from me, but I held onto her hand until we reached Tasha and she hugged me tightly .

“You must be Clara. I am Tasha. It’s so nice to meet you!” she gushed. “I have to say, we were wondering if this one was ever going to meet a nice girl. It’s great to see another human around here. Sometimes I feel a little outnumbered .”

“Hi there,” said Clara as she shook Tasha’s hand .

True to form, Tasha took her hand before pulling her into one of her signature hugs. “Sorry!” she stammered. “I’m a bit of a hugger. Rizor tells me you need Pavar’s help with something ?”

Clara nodded. “We are trying to clear my name. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but someone is threatening Vaxvia and attempting to frame me in the process .”

Tasha grew worried. “I was wondering if the rumors were true. We heard they were able to bring down the GRAPE .”

“Huh?”

“Generalized Repositioning Aircraft Perimeter Eclipsing,” I explained. “It’s the signal that’s sent out from the main military base here on Vaxvia. Basically, it scrambles everything that isn’t approved for coming and going on the planet. If a ship doesn’t have clearance, they don’t have a specialized code to pass safely through. Their engines, communications, all of it will go dark .”

“Ahh,” she said in understanding. “To be honest, I just thought the code was for verification. I have to wonder though, if I didn’t know what it was and I’ve been flying here for years, how much of a secret is it ?”

“A rather well kept one,” said Tasha. “Only a select few officers know about it and after we talked on the phone, I did some digging. Your Sergeant Adams had the clearance level to know about it, unfortunately .”

“So, it’s possible he is the spy?” I asked .

She frowned. “If he is, then he isn’t a very good one. The idea of a spy is to keep a low profile, but Adams hasn’t always been on the right side of the law. He’s been tossed in the brig several times. Of course, those parts of his record were kept secret from civilians, but at the time of the first attack, he was locked up for public intoxication .”

“Damn it,” I muttered .

“I’ve looked over everything,” Tasha continued. “Whomever is doing this is going out of their way to frame you, Clara. Isn’t there anyone you can think of that has a personal vendetta ?”

“That would be a very long list,” she muttered. “Freighter pilots are mostly men still, so I’ve had to tick a few people off to keep them from stepping on my toes .”

“Well then, that doesn’t help us much. Is there anyone else that you think it could be ?”

Clara sighed. “Really just Jordan. I was so sure that it was him until we thought that maybe it was Sergeant Adams. At this point, I’m starting to wonder if I’m not the spy after all. Maybe I’m leading a secret double life while I sleep .”

“Hang in there, we will figure out what’s going on. Until then, I will dig a little deeper into this Jordan character too. At least now you have some dirt on Adams for the next time he tries to give you crap .”

“Thanks,” Clara said. “This means so much to me that you are helping out .”

“That’s what we do for each other. Anyone who can keep this bullheaded man in line is good in my book. Do you want to join us for a late nightcap ?”

I answered and shook my head. “Not tonight. It’s been a long few days already and this one looks like she’s about to pass out standing here .”

Clara leaned against me and smiled as Tasha spoke .

“I understand. We will get there. Have a safe trip home guys .”

We left Tasha without going to talk to the others in the house. I could tell that Clara was already overwhelmed .

She wrapped her arms around me as we pulled out of the driveway, “Take me to bed ?”

Her words rocked through me. I wanted to get her back home and do so much more, but I knew that she was getting close to exhaustion. It would be the hardest night of my life to lay next to her and not kiss every part of her body, but her health was more important than my throbbing need .

“As you wish,” I promised her .