Colliding Worlds Trilogy 03 - Explosion Read online

  “Jax, I’d like you to meet Mike Ryan.”

  Jax shot a glance at the man, and then one at Roden. At least Jax hadn’t growled.

  “Two days ago, Mike was injected with antitoxin number forty-six, which included plant extracts,” Roden continued. “Yesterday he was injected with the Omega toxin. Today, his vitals are completely normal. No signs of Omega remain in his blood.”

  Jax’s eyes narrowed before widening. “You’ve found the cure?”

  Roden smiled and nodded. “More than a cure, a vaccine.”

  “That’s good.” He sucked in a breath. “No, that’s great. We have to get it distributed ASAP. When will forty-six be ready?”

  “Patience, Captain. We need to wait a full twenty-four hours to ensure that forty-six not only cures infected humans, but also prevents reinfection. By tonight, we will begin producing forty-six in mass quantities. Until then, everything is housed in this lab. We’ve been keeping this area off-grid so that it can’t be hacked by the Grax.”

  “How about the U.N.?” Jax asked. “Can you share the formula with them so they can start producing batches, too?”

  “I plan to do so as soon as they agree to a cease-fire.”

  Memories of the past two weeks flitted through Jax’s mind. He’d gone from Army Ranger to traitor to Resistance fighter. His own father tried to imprison him with a fucked-up thought to protect him. “Fair enough,” he said. “How soon can we distribute forty-six to the refugees outside?”

  “As early as midday tomorrow.”

  “Good.” Jax’s gaze fell to Talla. She continued to hold Mike’s hand. The man stared despondently at the wall, oblivious to everyone around him. The lights were on but nothing was going on. Was the cure’s side effects worse than the cure?

  He motioned toward the human. “Forty-six do that to him?”

  Talla shook her head tightly, the motion one of burden. “Mike’s wife and newborn succumbed to Omega yesterday.”

  Yesterday. If they’d found forty-six just twenty-four hours earlier, Mike would still have his family. Talk about irony. To have the one thing that could’ve saved his family now flowing through his veins. No wonder the guy volunteered to get injected with Omega. Not only did he have nothing to lose, but he’d already given up.

  Sometimes, Jax suspected if that was what his own problem had always been when it came to Talla. He gave a tight nod and turned to leave.

  “One more thing,” Roden said.

  Jax’s muscles tensed. Something in Roden’s voice led him to pause and turn back to face the Draeken.

  Roden’s features were hard. “Your father’s contracted Omega.”

  Air refused to fill his lungs. “How long?”

  “Nearly a day.”

  The General would be delirious by now. His father had never lost control; the man was an unwavering pillar of leadership. Now, the image of his father with a blackened nose, puking blood, seemed impossible. Tension pressed against his lungs, and he clenched his jaw. He refused to imagine General Jerrick as an infected. He was another casualty of a senseless war, that was all. “Then it’s too late for him,” he said bluntly and left the room without another word.

  “Wait up.”

  Jax kept walking down the hallway, though he could hear Talla jogging to catch up. When she closed the gap between them, she kept pace at his side.

  “I’m sorry about your father.”

  “Like you said before, we all die sometime.” He looked straight ahead and kept walking.

  “Trying to convince yourself to not feel anything doesn’t work.”

  “Who’s to say I’m even capable of feeling anything?” he countered.

  “I say,” she said and grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop.

  He looked down at her hand, and then leveled a hard gaze on her. “You can’t make me something I’m not,” he said in a lower voice.

  She didn’t budge, not that she’d ever been one to cow easily. “I’ve had over two years to see what you’re capable of. You can close me off and build walls upon walls around your heart, but I’ve seen inside you.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You saw what you wanted to see. Your entire life, you’ve always had a man to lean on. When you lost Laze, you turned to the only guy in the vicinity. That worked for a while, but you’ve got your brother back again. You don’t need me anymore.”

  A flash of hurt in her eyes made Jax feel like an asshole, but he didn’t apologize.

  “Believe what you want,” she said, her palm sliding down his arm to take his hand in hers. “Laze is my family, and I love him dearly. What I feel for you is completely different, and has nothing to do with needing a man. I want you. I won’t hide that, and I’m not willing to give up on you yet, despite the brutish manner in which you’ve behaved since after the first night on the Striga.”

  He went to pull away, but she tightened her grip. He lowered his head, sighed, and then met her gaze. Though it killed every last bit of good left in him, he forced the words out of his mouth, watching her expression change with every cutting word. “We fucked. It was great, but it’s over. You’re a Draeken. I’m a human. We both know it’ll never work. Besides, there’s too few of your kind left. It’s your duty to help continue the Draeken race. There are plenty of males to choose from without having to slum.”

  She snapped her hand away. “I’m not a brood mare. I make my own choices. What I can’t choose is who I do desire versus who I should desire. Even now, I’ve been pissed off at you all week, yet when you walked into Med in nothing but shorts and a sweaty T-shirt, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I desire you, Jax Jerrick, not anyone else. Even now. But … ” She held up a finger. “The average lifespan of my kind is fifty human years. Time is precious, and I don’t plan to waste much more of mine waiting for you to get your head straight. If you’re not careful, you just may get what you’re pushing for, and you’ll spend the rest of your life hating yourself for it.”

  Jax grabbed her arms and pulled her against him. “What the fuck do you want from me, Talla?”

  She wrapped her fingers around his wrists. “Who was she?”

  His lips tightened.

  “What did she do that scarred you so deeply?” Her question was no more than a whisper.

  He leaned his forehead against Talla’s. He stayed there for a moment, savoring her warmth and essence. Then he allowed himself to take one thing he knew he’d never have again. He kissed her, softly and gently, so as to apologize for everything he couldn’t give her. “She betrayed me, and I killed her.”

  Talla’s mouth dropped open slightly before closing it again. She pressed more tightly against him. “I would never betray you.”

  But how could he tell Talla that even knowing she was nothing like Risa, he still couldn’t bring himself to trust anyone? She leaned in as though to kiss him, but he broke away abruptly and stepped back, releasing her. “Move on, Talla. You’ll be far happier with anyone else.”

  An explosion rocked the floor and a thunderous boom shot forth from the direction of Med. Jax and Talla stared wide-eyed at each other for the split second before the alarms sounded. Talla took to the air at the same time Jax took off at a sprint back toward the sick bay.

  Roden must’ve left not long after them because Jax found the Draeken flying toward the sick bay from the other direction. The three of them stopped outside the blackened hole where they’d all been standing minutes earlier. The ship’s systems had already extinguished the fire, and cold oxygen was now being reintroduced to clear the air.

  Everything in the room was charred. Beds, desks, and cabinets had been blown apart. At least three unrecognizable corpses were tangled in the wreckage.

  Roden cursed. “Everything we had on forty-six was contained in that lab.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Without forty-six, they were doomed. Weeks of research had been destroyed. They’d have to start from scratch. At the rate of Omega’s progression, it would be impossible to get a new antitox
in built in time to save the humans. Omega would have run its course in the Americas and Europe within two weeks, Asia in under a week. Humanity’s hope was lost.

  Talla’s conscience gritted at the thought of another race facing extinction. Regardless of what the humans had done, no one deserved to experience the near-genocide her people had gone through. She nudged the shredded metallic skeleton of a cabinet with her toe as she sifted through the wreckage. The bomb had been thoroughly effective at destroying everything within the lab. A charred corpse lay in between two beds, and she knew it was Mike. Her lip trembled.

  The human had risked everything to help with forty-six, and now his sacrifice meant nothing. She wanted to kick something. She wanted to run into Jax’s embrace in frustration. Instead, she stood calm and firm, not betraying the slightest hint of emotion.

  A wrist-com chimed behind her, and Talla jerked to see Roden scowling at his wrist-com. “Surprise, surprise,” he said, glancing up. “It looks like Otas wants to talk now. How convenient.” He spoke the next statement into his wrist-com. “I’ll be there in under five minutes, my dear.” She said something, and he chuckled. “No, love, I’m coming with you because I don’t trust you to not kill Otas as soon as you see him.”

  Roden tapped several buttons, and then spoke into the device wrapped around his forearm. “Escalate all security to maximum alert. Search the rooms for everyone assigned to Med 071E2. Oh, and give Otas Olnek a temporary security code to land one transporter only. Nalea and I will meet him at the hangar.”

  Talla’s eyes widened. “You’re letting that imposter onto the ship?”

  “Talla’s right,” Jax added. “That bastard is behind this attack, as much as he’s behind Omega. You can’t trust him.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” Roden asked. “The humans’ interference pulled us a step back, just enough for Otas to take the lead. We’ve been playing catch-up ever since. He knows it as well as we do. He’s come to make his demands because he knows that as of sixty seconds ago our hands are tied.”

  Jax balked. “We can’t give into his demands. He’s nothing but a terrorist.”

  “But he’s a terrorist with the power to destroy the entire human population,” Talla said. “Without his help, Omega will continue to spread, and we can’t do anything about it now. Roden’s right.”

  Jax threw her a glare, but said nothing.

  She knew exactly how Jax felt, because she felt the same way. She hated being at the mercy of a tyrant. But one thing she’d never tell Jax was that she’d do anything to get the cure for him because she refused to see him get infected. Any other human but Jax.

  “I had just given approval to make backups of our research and prepare to broadcast the formula,” Roden said. “I don’t know who Otas got to, or how, but I’d venture to guess it was one of the scientists lying charred to a crisp in there.” He motioned toward the lab. “No one else could’ve detonated a bomb at a more perfect time. Otas won this round. Now, let’s go see what he has planned next. I’ll see you both at the briefing room shortly.”

  Roden left, and Talla spared a glance at Jax, who looked none too pleased. Emergency crews had now arrived on scene. With a sigh, she started walking toward the command room. Jax caught up with her.

  “I don’t trust having Otas on board,” Jax said.

  “Agreed,” Talla replied. “If we can get our hands on the Omega formula, Otas is unnecessary.”

  He turned to her. “Are you thinking of an assassination?”

  She smiled. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”

  “Good,” he said.

  She turned to find his lips curved upward. “Wow, we finally agree on one thing.”

  He didn’t reply, and she noticed his smile had faded. “Talla, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She swallowed, preferring to talk about anything instead of that, and so she said instead, “Otas probably guards the formula for Omega with his life.”

  His gaze narrowed, but at least he didn’t return to the prior topic. “There are always methods to get Otas to surrender the formula.”

  “Perhaps,” she said. “Although I’m more curious why he’s suddenly come forward. He’s a power monger. He’s clearly working some angle.”

  “Yeah,” Jax said. “I don’t like this situation one bit.”

  “Yeah,” she echoed.

  The rest of their walk was filled with uncomfortable silence. Talla thought about taking flight a few times, but she refused to look like he’d truly hurt her. She walked with her head held high. She hadn’t run from anything or anyone, and she wasn’t about to start now. Her only consolation was that Jax looked far more uncomfortable than her.

  Even though his features were hard, she noticed his brows were furrowed, the only part of him betraying his emotions, and it made her feel better. While she didn’t like seeing Jax hurting, she knew the only way he’d find the truth through his mental bog of denial was with a bit of painful self-reflection.

  By the time they reached the command room, Talla felt stronger and in more control than she’d been for a while. Scanning the room, the first face she came across was Laze’s. She smiled, taking the seat next to her brother, trying not to act surprised when Jax took the seat next to her, well away from the open seat by Ace across the room.

  Her heart sped up. Make up your mind, Jerrick, and do it soon. I can’t handle this on-off crap.

  Laze and she talked, but she found it was hard. Laze, who’d always been so easygoing and sarcastic, now was serious and quieter, his mood somber. Talla was careful to avoid the topic of Sarah and Jacen, knowing that he needed more time to cope with the loss. She’d seen Jacen’s wings displayed in Laze’s sanctuary. So small and delicate, seeing them wrenched her heart.

  It was never easy seeing innocents killed. But that was war. The thought of another war on another planet, made it hard to breathe. Gripping the armrest, she focused on breathing deeply, watching everyone in the tense room.

  She was almost relieved when Otas Olnek finally arrived. The traitor showed up less than an hour after the bombing. He strutted into the room like a proud peacock. He came with only one guardsman as though to flaunt his confidence. He wore the bright colors of the Grand Lord, yet he had no relation to Nalea Zyll and had no right to the colors. He’d simply been a body double for Nalea’s father, Hillas Puftan, a job he’d clearly taken too far. Instead of wearing the Puftan crest on his chest, he wore a new emblem, one Talla had never seen before. Trying to create a new royal bloodline?

  He looked down his nose at the attendees in the room, frowning slightly when no one acknowledged his authority, not that he had any royal blood in his plebian heritage. One chair remained open at the large round table, yet Otas continued to stand, even when Nalea and her consort Roden — arriving last per Draeken custom — entered the room.

  All the Draeken in the room rose and bowed their heads. Otas smiled at Nalea, the real Grand Lord of Draeka. She eyed him but make no further acknowledgement, and Otas visibly bristled.

  The guardsman at Otas’s side bowed to Nalea. Talla knew that man well. She and Meyt had dated briefly when she was a teenager and knew him to be one of the best and most noble of the late Grand Lord’s personal guardsmen. They’d remained friends and occasional lovers throughout the years. Their bed play had helped pass the long trip to Earth. It didn’t make sense that he served Otas now, but knowing Meyt, there had to be a good reason for it. He spotted Talla and smiled.

  A slight movement at her right brought her gaze to Jax, who was now scrutinizing Meyt like a bird of prey honing in for a kill. Despite his words and actions, Jax clearly cared, and it somewhat lifted the pressure on Talla’s heart. There was still hope. Hope!

  She turned to the guardsman and winked, her lips curved upward. If another man’s interest was what it took for Jax to come to terms with his buried feelings, she had no problem spurring things along. In fact, she would enjoy making a little payback. Intentionally avoiding Jax’s
gaze, Talla kept her focus on the traitor and his guardsman.

  “Otas Olnek,” Nalea Zyll said from Roden’s side. “Over a year ago, you took control of the Grax and refused to acknowledge the Grand Lord. Have you come to make amends?”

  The older Draeken smiled then. It was wide and false. “On the contrary, your majesty. I’ve always acknowledged you as the Grand Lord. Rather, I’ve come to offer my assistance in your time of need.”

  Nalea raised her brows. “You’ve done a poor job at showing your allegiance.”

  “I heard of the unfortunate accident with the antitoxin. My condolences for your losses. One of the deceased had family on the Grax.”

  Talla clenched her teeth to keep from speaking. There was nothing sympathetic in Otas’s statement. His words were as close to an admission of guilt there was. He knew it and didn’t care that everyone knew he destroyed the lab. He’d even inferred that he’d gotten to the scientist by using his relations against him. It was one of the oldest and most trustworthy methods to get results. Blackmail.

  “How timely of you,” Nalea said. “Considering the accident happened less than an hour ago.”

  “I like to keep up to date on Draeken events,” he replied.

  “Yet you’ve missed out on so much,” Nalea said. “How it is that you knew of the accident immediately while you’ve refused all hailing attempts for over a year? Taking control of a core ship without authority is piracy.”

  Meyt made no movement, but Talla noticed his face was hard, holding back strong emotion. Talking with him afterward would not only pique Jax’s emotions, but she might also learn more about how an unranked Draeken managed to take over a core ship. Two-for-one.

  “We had communication issues,” Otas replied.

  “And those communication errors prevented you from sending transporters to other ships or accepting my envoy onto your own?” Nalea asked.

  “I did not know if Roden Zyll was in charge or the Grand Lord. I am a patriot and do not follow traitors,” Otas said, glaring at the man to Nalea’s right.