Chapter Eight
Rhykar jerked the goggles off his head, rage burning through his veins. He’d slipped into Vast Innovations without incident and the tech had helped him locate Selea in Graiton’s office. He’d wondered how the devious man had planned to rein control over the Vitrion population. Nasal filters were a necessity.
He flipped the goggles over and wrenched the cover off, revealing the electronics below. If he wanted to save Selea from that bastard, Gelloh, he would have to work fast. Dislodging the goggles’ ground, he rewired the system to overload and emit an electromagnetic pulse when powered up, destroying the nanites inside her as well as any within an arm’s length radius of wherever she happened to be standing when it went off.
He pulled his pulsegun and swiped his other hand over the door release. A low bleep sounded, announcing the door was locked. Anticipating as much, he knocked.
“Yeh, room’s taken,” Gelloh’s voice rumbled from the other side.
Rhykar knocked again.
“Frick off.”
“Graiton wants to see you,” he said.
“Inna bit.”
He raised his pistol, tightening his fingers around the grip. “He says now.”
Gelloh muttered a string of curses. The door slid open. Rhykar aimed and squeezed the trigger.
Whump.
The beady-eyed bastard flew backward, the sonic pulse slamming his massive body into the opposite wall. Gelloh slid to the floor, unconscious. Minor satisfaction filled Rhykar. Slimy hustler dared to touch Selea? Frick that!
He strode into the room, intent on beating the ever-living scret out of the fiend, and staggered to a stop, his gaze landing on Selea. She stared at him, nothing but string and scant patches of blue lace clinging to her delicious curves. Oh, how he wanted to wipe away whatever horrors the beast might have done and replace them with tender kisses and gentle caresses. Unfortunately, now was not the time. He needed to get them out in one piece.
“You need to get dressed.” He tossed the rigged goggles to her. “Put those on.”
Kneeling, he removed the engetic bonds from his jacket and snugged them around Gelloh’s thick wrists. A ripple of satisfaction filled him, knowing his thumbprint rendered the asshole powerless. He touched the genetic encoder, and the bands snicked into place.
Turning away from Gelloh, he found Selea clothed and had donned the goggles as he’d told her.
“Power them on,” he said.
She traced her fingertip along the edge of the aluminum rim toward the button.
“Wait.”
Selea glanced at him, her brows lifted.
“I’m not sure I rigged it right.”
“Rigged what?”
“The goggles.” He gestured toward them. “To kill the nanites.”
Her brows knitted. “Haven’t you done this kind of thing before?”
“I’ve read about the theory.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But those goggles are new tech to me. They’ll either work, or they’ll….”
Selea pursed her lips. “Better than being controlled.” She reached for the button.
“Wait.”
She paused. “What?”
Rising to his feet, he said, “Isn’t there something you want to tell me?”
“Thank you for saving me.”
“No.” He strode across the room to stand before her. “Tell me how you feel about me.”
Her indigo eyes sparkled behind the goggles, and longing filled him. He’d loved her eyes, had the moment he’d gazed into them, and he’d been lost ever since. Selea opened her mouth to answer him, but his heart compelled him to hold his hand up.
“Wait.”
“What now?”
“I don’t want you to say something because I told you to.”
Exacerbation laced her breathy exhale.
Rhykar gathered her into his arms, her skin silky beneath his palms. If he’d mis-rigged the goggles, then they’d go together. He couldn’t imagine returning to a life without her. “When I kiss you, hit the power button.”
“But—”
“Just hush and do it.” He tilted his head and leaned toward her. “I love you, Selea.”
He crushed his mouth to hers, tasting the sweetness he’d craved for so long. His only regret was not following through on his attraction sooner. But his obsession with exposing a madman had seemed at overwhelming odds with her determination to stop him. Of course, now that he held her in his arms, it appeared anything was possible.
He indulged in her lips a moment longer before breaking the kiss and pressing his forehead to hers. “Did you do it?”
“Yes,” she said in a breathy whisper. “You told me to.”
He eased from her and pulled the goggles from her head, scrutinizing them for an indication as to whether they’d done the job or not. Finding nothing, he lifted his gaze to hers. “How do you feel? Headache, nausea, anything?”
“Nothing.” She frowned. “Did it work?”
An alarm blared. Rhykar twisted toward the doorway and drew his gun. “Drek. We’ve got to go.”
Taking her hand, he headed out into the hallway, knowing the guards wouldn’t be far behind. A few turns later, he skidded to a stop, and Selea stumbled into him.
“What?”
Gritting his teeth, he glared at a set of doors. Behind them stood a threat to Vitrion. He could fix that, end the problem once and for all.
“No.” She tugged his hand. “Graiton’s not worth dying for.”
Rhykar rounded on her, his heart squeezing at the fear he saw in her eyes. “I want to be with you. I can’t as long as I’m on the Most Wanted list.” He swiped his hand over the door release. To his surprise, the ornate entrance opened.
“Rhykar—”
He released her hand and strode into the monster’s lair. Behind an immense desk, the bastard sat, his fingers dancing in the air as he tried to download all of his schemes and lies onto a gel-cube.
He aimed his pistol at the self-proclaimed savior. “Graiton.”
The man glanced toward him and sneered. “Rhykar Evierse. I thought you would be dead by now.”
Rhykar squeezed the trigger, but somehow anticipating the act, Graiton dove to the floor at the same moment. The chair he’d been sitting in caught the sonic pulse and slammed into the wall. Rounding the end of the desk, he swept the business end of his weapon to where the bastard should have been cowering.
Nothing.
Where had the bastard gotten off to? He leaned over to peer under the desk, but Graiton’s hand shot out from beneath the edge, grabbed his ankle, and yanked. Losing his balance, Rhykar tumbled to the floor. The gun jolted loose from his hand and skittered across the carpet. Frick!
Graiton scrambled to his feet and kicked him in the ribs. Pain tore through him, and he rolled away. The bastard made a dash for the office’s rear exit, and Rhykar lunged after him, but missed and sprawled to the floor. He looked up and caught Graiton’s gleeful stare. Confusion filled Rhykar, and he rolled to his back to see what had caused the man to halt his flight.
Selea stood, holding the pistol in her hand.
“Well, Evierse,” Graiton crowed. “I guess you’re dead after all.”
Rhykar stared at her but her placid expression was unreadable. Had the goggles failed to emit an electromagnetic pulse and free her from nanite control?
“Kill him,” Graiton commanded.
She raised the gun, aiming the business end at him as she’d been told. He tensed, preparing for the inevitable. But his heart held out hope that she wouldn’t pull the trigger. Not after he’d confessed his love for her.
He held his hand out to her. “Selea….”
“Kill him!” Graiton roared.
Selea winked, shifted her aim, and fired the pulsegun.
Whump.
He twisted around, catching sight of Vitrion’s savior as he slumped to the floor. Shoving to his feet, Rhykar crossed to her in three long strides, gathered her in his arms, and kissed her soundly on the mouth. She returned his affection with fervor, but a moment later, she shoved him back.
“What were you thinking?”
He smiled, thrilled to see the fire in her eyes again. “Mostly about you.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Well, if you ever do something stupid like that again, I’ll frickin’ shoot you myself.”
He laughed. “Can’t make any promises. I protect those I care about.”
She shook her head. “Leave it to me to fall for the one guy who thinks he has to save the world.”
“The world needed saving.” He moved toward her again. “And what was that first part?”
“Nothing.”
“You’ve fallen for me?” Reaching out, he trailed his fingers down her arm, and she slapped him away.
“Wait.” She stepped to the side. “Graiton’s gone!”
Rhykar pivoted toward the place he’d seen the bastard fall. How the man had managed to escape after being hit with that sonic blast, he had no clue. The frickin’ thing should’ve rendered him unconscious—the one he’d been shot with had knocked him on his ass.
Selea bolted toward the entrance, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her.
“Doesn’t matter. Go secure the doors.”
After closing the rear exit, she strode across the room and set the entry at maximum, locking them in.
Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved the slim cylinder and pressed the button, extending the six-inch, gold wand. A low hum emanated from the device, and he nodded.
Selea frowned. “What’s that?”
“Tech courtesy of your Mr. Jones.” He walked around the room, brandishing the device. When he’d finished, a high-pitched, triple beep issued from the mechanism, and he moved behind Graiton’s desk. Plugging the end of the wand into the hub, he hacked into the system and sent everything to the public domain. “Now, every word that was said in this room will be heard by every Vitrion citizen.”
She scrutinized the cylinder. “How is that possible?”
“It gathers all the sound waves from the last day, all the words and sounds. Everyone will know the truth about Vast Innovations and Mertan Graiton.” He tapped a button on the desk, and a small panel slid open. Reaching into the hole, he plucked out a small, luminous blue gel-cube. He held it up.
Selea approached the opposite side of the desk. “All of VI’s technology and research. Graiton’s files.”
“This will clear my name once and for all.” He shifted his gaze from the cube to her face. “And allow us to be together.”
Banging sounded on the locked doors behind them. The guards had arrived.
“Took them long enough,” he said.
She snorted. “Yes.”
He rounded the desk and strode for the door, intent on setting the security detail straight, but she stopped him.
“I don’t trust them.” She grimaced. “With Graiton missing, they probably won’t wait for answers.”
“What do you suggest?”
She picked up the pistol and held out her other hand. “Give me the cube.”
He gave it to her. “Now what?”
She tucked the gel-cube in her pocket and pulled out a set of engetic bonds.
He lifted an eyebrow. “How many of those do you have?”
“Shut up and put your hands behind your back.”
He complied, and she set the device into place. The bands slipped around his wrists.
“I’ll identify myself as a bounty hunter,” she said. “I’ll tell them I got Graiton safely out the rear exit, for them to check on him while I take you, my prisoner, to jail. Once we’re at confinement, we’ll straighten all this out. I’ve got people down there I trust. When they see what’s on this gel-cube, you’ll be in the clear.” She urged him toward the door.
He peered over his shoulder at her. “You never did answer my question.”
She moved to the door release panel. “What was that?”
He stared at her. Gods, she was gorgeous. And brilliant. And fierce. His heart longed to hear that she belonged to him. “Earlier, you mentioned something that sounded an awful lot like you’d fallen for me.”
Her mouth quirked into a smile, and she lifted up onto her toes, brushing her soft lips over his. “I love you, you idiot. But don’t think that’ll stop me from shooting you if you don’t do what I tell you.”
He grinned. Well, at least he knew it wasn’t the nanites talking. Those words were pure Selea.