Читать книгу A Small Degree of Hope - Lyndi Alexander - Страница 11

Chapter 6

Every time she returned, the first view of her family home shouted ostentatious overspending.

The estate, for so the Colonel liked to refer to it, encompassed half a planetary subdivision. He had started with a modestly sized property then slowly bought up those around him with a combination of large sums of cash and blackmail when possible. He hired a staff of twenty to tend to his every need, and once his needs were met, his family’s too.

Kylie and Nissa had wanted for no material thing while they were growing up. The Colonel’s business empire funded a private school education, debutante balls and the indulging of most any whim they’d come up with. They’d had their own vehicles at a young age, private lessons in martial arts and even a stable of quadrupeds to ride. Although, Nissa had preferred to ride the hot young stable boy.

Kylie asked the cabbie to drop her at the end of the driveway. She preferred to avoid the cloying fuss over guests who arrived at the front door, staff members helping them from the car, her mother, wrapped in her layers of imported pastel silk robes, coming out for a formal greeting. She slung her small suitcase over one shoulder and her work case over the other then walked through the perfectly manicured lawns with their collections of rare imported flora. She didn’t wave to the hidden cameras, though she was under no illusion that she wasn’t being observed. The Colonel’s security was top notch.

Each step took her farther into a world from which she’d tried so hard to distance herself. As much as she wanted her father to approve of her, to see all the good she accomplished, he refused. The pain of his rejection sparked her own, almost by automatic reflex. If he couldn’t love and respect her for what she had become, she needed to close that door.

But he wouldn’t let go.

She struggled to remain positive in the face of tentacles that sucked at her without possibility of escape, no matter how far she went. Her resentful haze tainted this landscaped beauty that the Colonel paid thousands each year to cultivate.

Greeting several groundskeepers as she passed them, she strolled up the drive to the front steps. She’d learned to be respectful and appreciative of the staff. It was the best way to garner their assistance in thwarting the Colonel’s directives. A smirk came to her lips as she thought about some of the mischief she’d gotten into over the years. No wonder her father assigned a security guy just to watch over her. She shook her head to clear the memories.

Focus on the present. And her anger at being summoned as if her own life activities didn’t matter. As if it was right to blackmail her through her boss, at the price of her co-worker’s career.

The polished stone steps of the three-story white building were spotless. Probably some poor employee had scrubbed them until the wee hours, whether anyone appreciated them or not. She reached for the door handle, promising herself she’d get through this.

The heavy wooden door opened without a sound. Amaranta had redecorated since Kylie had been here eight months before. Instead of heavy dark pieces with red upholstery, she’d now chosen white pieces with blue cushions and trim. A lot more antiques, good ones. Certainly the Colonel wouldn’t tolerate cheap reproductions.

Her observation was cut short by her sister’s shrill cry of surprise. “Kylie, you came!”

Nissa came running down the curving staircase, shiny black boots halfway up her leg, a tiny tank top in jet black, the cutouts across her collarbones the signature of an up and coming designer. She wore some frilly tutu kind of skirt in black with silver spangles, and silver hoop earrings. Her brown hair hung in a terrible, uneven shag, which probably meant it cost more than Kylie took home in a week.

“It’s been too long! You’re skinny. Have you been on a diet?” Nissa wrapped her arms around Kylie, squeezing her close in a cloud of suffocating floral perfume.

Kylie disentangled herself, and set her luggage aside. “No. I’ve been working.”

“Ugh. That’s what Mother said. Investigating bloody murders of homeless people or something.” Nissa grimaced. “And did you leave the house this morning without makeup?”

Kylie chuckled at her sister’s horror. “I didn’t leave the house this morning, Nis. I left last night and took the IP. I haven’t exactly stopped to make sure I was beautiful.”

Her mother’s voice came from the left, in the direction of the salon. “But you’re always beautiful, my love.”

Kylie tried not to roll her eyes at the inevitable maternal fluffing. “Hello, Mother.” She held out her arms as delicate, dark-haired Amaranta flowed toward her in ethereal lavender robes that matched her eyes and made her look like an exotic butterfly. Hugging her mother always felt like embracing a skeleton. She was a full human, but came from a planet where the gravity was a quarter less than it was on most human worlds. The result left her exhausted and frail. Her bones broke easily. Kylie’s father kept a doctor on location around the clock, just in case. The doctor had tended to the family, also providing vitamin shots and boosters to the girls as they’d grown up.

“It’s so good to see you, dear.” Holding her close, Amaranta whispered, “You should have called me.”

“Apparently,” she whispered. “What’s the big news?”

“Your father will tell you.”

“Oh, come on, Mother. We’re not acting out his mystery games, are we?”

“I can’t believe you’re letting people see you like that,” Nissa whined. “At least you’re wearing my jacket.”

“At least.” Kylie couldn’t stop the eye-roll. Of all the people who might criticize her, her sister shouldn’t have the privilege. “Not everyone lives the life of a fashion model, Nis. Or plays at being one.”

Nissa slumped. “I’m not playing at it! I got invited as guest celebrity at the spring Lantier fashion show.”

“Not for money, though. You mean Desmond’s turned metals commodities into a profitable enough career that you can live off him and spend your days wearing pretty clothes and dolling yourself up for free?”

Her sister’s eyes filled with tears. “Kylie, why do you have to be so mean?”

“You started it.”

“Did not!” She actually stamped her foot.

“Sprechan’s balls,” Kylie muttered. “Where’s Father? Let me get this over with and get back to my sane world.”

Her mother’s lips pressed together for a count of three before she jumped into the fray. “I don’t know how you can expose yourself to such tragedy day after day, dear. Your father could find you something much more—”

Kylie held up a hand. It seemed like each time she came home this fight happened sooner in her stay. This time, she’d come in with the chip on her shoulder, and it hadn’t even waited until the tray of aperitifs arrived. “No. No more.”

If I don’t get out of here, I’m going to say something awful to them. I just know it.

“I’m going to find him.” She left, taking the hall to the right of the front door to her father’s office.

First she passed through the solarium with a black and white tile floor, full of imported specialty fruit trees and exquisite tropical flowering plants, its glass ceiling allowing the sunlight in. The terra cotta-colored marble fountain burbled and splashed in the center of the huge room. She slowed down then stopped, letting the atmosphere fill her. In this room, at least, she could legitimately admit she found a warm spot in her father’s home.

After a few deep orchid-scented breaths, she was ready.

She marched down the hall and opened her father’s heavy carved office door without knocking. The rows of books on two walls hadn’t changed, probably hadn’t moved. The Colonel had always kept them for show, not to read. The wide, polished desktop held three baskets half-filled with papers. A young woman Kylie didn’t recognize fussed over the last one, sorting through while the Colonel’s voice boomed around her. He was on the comm, ranting at someone. It was his way.

Prepared to lay down an ultimatum when she walked in, she was deflected by the activity in the room. She stood before the desk, waiting for her father to finish.

Once he’d identified the miscreant with the audacity to burst into his workspace unannounced, he turned his back, concentrating on his call.

As usual. Business is important. Family, not so much.

He’d made her appearance here a matter of business, with his financial string pulling of Jaco Rand and the SIRT budget. So just maybe she was entitled to priority.

She reached for the base of his communications unit and pushed the button, cutting off the transaction.

The secretary bailed, her face draining of color.

Her father turned, blue eyes wide with surprise and even some emotion for once. “How dare you—”

“No. How dare you?” Frustration blazing through her, she glared. If she could have shot lasers from them, she probably would have. “You don’t have the right to interfere with my work day. My work life. My life at all. Your money doesn’t give you the right to buy me.”

He slowly set the comm back in its cradle and studied her, his outrage fading to a faint smile. “On the contrary. If it weren’t for my money, you wouldn’t be where you are now.”

“I got through school on my own, without your damned money. I got this job on my own. Again, without your money. So lay off.”

He just continued to smile, studying her with frigid blue eyes. “You always did perk up when thwarted. See, Cary? I told you she was a spitfire.”

Who?

Her heart sinking, she inched around. A tall young man, blond-haired, well dressed, attractive in a classic way, sat on a tall-backed, well-padded leather wingback chair.

What in all the hells kind of law officer was she? She hadn’t even noticed him.

His face emerged from her memories with an impish grin, sitting behind the wheel of a fast car. How long had it been? “Cary Ludlow?”

He got to his feet. “I didn’t think you’d remember.” He came closer, kissed her formally on the forehead. “Secondary school was a dozen years ago. From what the Colonel says, you’ve been very busy since then.”

“You know each other?” Her father sounded almost annoyed.

Kylie rolled her eyes. “Seriously? How can you have forgotten that night you came to get us both at the Prefector’s office before he could charge us with malicious mischief for what we did to the school mascot?”

The Colonel’s face twisted into a sour grimace, but Cary grinned. “I haven’t forgotten.”

Distracted, she had to wrench her focus to the point of her visit. That’s right, she was mad, damn it. “I can’t say I expected to see you here.”

“I’m working for the Bestelian embassy, and had some business that I needed to transact with your father.”

So we both have grown-up jobs now. The thought filled her with warmth. Or was that the memories of some of the late nights they’d spent being naughty?

Her father interrupted. “Actually, there were several items on our agenda for today’s meeting. Most of them had to do with his diplomatic employer. But we hadn’t gotten to the last one. It’s surprising, but convenient, that you’re here. I’ve decided you need a husband.”

“You need a hole in your head.”

“That’s disrespectful.” Her father eyed her with a definite scold.

“I certainly hope so.” She stared at him, fury building. How dare he? He had no say about her private life. And her life wasn’t even private. Here he was laying all this out in front of an old boyfriend, practically a stranger these days. A nice-looking, well-mannered stranger, taller than she.

“Perhaps I should step outside,” Cary murmured.

“Perhaps I should step outside,” she said. “Clearly I don’t belong here. Did you put Mother up to baiting me here for this? Did she join your little conspiracy voluntarily?”

The Colonel laughed. “Oh, please, Kylie, you’re not that important. I don’t build my whole day around you. Cary made the appointment to discuss the needs of his superiors. He’s impressed me with his upbringing, his bearing, and I thought he’d make a good match.” His amusement turned dark. “He had no idea I was going to bring up this subject.”

“I wouldn’t have stayed if I’d known,” Cary said. “Please excuse me.” He started for the door.

“Cary, please. Stay and conduct your business. I’m the one who doesn’t belong.” Kylie set her jaw, meeting her father’s gaze. “Whatever it is you’re really after, you can send a textual message to my office.”

She brushed past Cary, making it to the door before he did. He wore a very expensive aftershave she recognized. And loved.

No. No. No. No time for that.

Footsteps followed her into the hall. They weren’t from her father’s heavy Tirellian boots. She slowed her retreat. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“Not at all.” Cary hurried to catch up. “Col. Sanderson tends to come on a little strong.”

A frustrated snort was the best she could offer. She tried to make it sound like a dismissive laugh. “Tell me about it.”

“It sounds like I don’t have to.”

They came into the front hall. Her mother and sister had vanished, and Kylie’s cases still sat on the bottom stair. She took it as a sign. “Since I don’t have to go track these down, I think I’ll head out.”

“Which way are you going?” He waited while she shouldered the two cases then held the front door open for her. He was altogether too kind. She liked that.

“Returning to the spaceport, I guess.”

“Well, how about that? It’s just on my way.”

His grin rejuvenated her spirits. “Perfect.”

Nissa came running out the door. “Ky? Where are you going?”

The cloud of her mother’s dress swirled into the doorway, her expression stricken and disappointed.

“I’m going home. I’m in the middle of a serious investigation. No time to play games.”

Cary pointed at a sleek black sports car Kylie had noted when she’d arrived, but she had thought it one of her father’s toys. She nodded and walked with him.

Nissa chased after her, grabbed her arm. “You can’t go now. We haven’t seen you in months. Please. Mother wants you to stay.” Her voice faltered. “She hasn’t been well, Ky. You really should spend some time with her.”

Kylie suppressed a quick pang of guilt. She’d like to stay, but not at this point in the case. Timing was critical. If her father hadn’t forced her hand, she wouldn’t have come at all, not until these murdering criminals were locked up or dead.

“Nissa, I can’t. I’ve got to get back to work. If you really need me, you’ll find me at the office.” She reached for Nissa and held her close. “Good luck with him.”

She let Nissa go and stashed her cases in the back seat of Cary’s sweet ride. Her sister just stood there, mouth open. He held the door open for her, and she slipped into the low, form fitting front seat. Cary came around to the driver’s seat, and started the engine, which rolled out a contented purr.

“You ready?” he asked.

“I hope so.” Her sense of relief brought a smile to her face.

Avoiding Nissa and a couple of gardeners, he followed the driveway, shifting up through two then three gears, until the manicured lawn was a blur. “Hold on.”

“You bet.” Kylie fastened her seat belt and obediently grasped the side rail.

Cary swung out onto the main road, cornering nearly on two wheels and floored the accelerator. It was exhilarating.

Driving twice as fast as anyone on the road, Cary weaved in and out of traffic. Nirvana on his face, he had complete control of his vehicle.

Not in the least afraid, she leaned back while the thrill erased the bad taste of her exchange with her father.

Good thing the top wasn’t down. She’d be fighting with her hair all the way back to Andan.

Memories of Cary flooded in, dances they’d attended, parties she’d hosted, evenings spent walking alone in the woods at sunset. She’d liked him well enough, but both sets of parents had serious plans for their offspring. Cary had apparently followed his parent’s wishes. She was no less proud she hadn’t.

Their wild ride reset her anger meter back to exactly zero. When they arrived at the spaceport, Cary slid, tires screeching to a stop, into a spot in the departures lane. He closed his eyes. “That was amazing.”

“It was,” she agreed. “How do you avoid arrest and prosecution for the speeding violations?”

He chuckled. “My employer is kind enough to provide me with diplomatic plates.”

The bad-boy mischief in his eyes made her laugh. “Always making sure that back door is open. Kind, indeed.”

“Shall I walk you in?”

“What? Oh, no. Thanks. I can manage.” Hesitating until she regained her land legs, she opened the door, stepped out then rummaged behind the seat for her cases.

He climbed out, studying her across the car’s shiny roof. “Despite the matchmaking, it was nice to see you again, Kylie. The last girl left fingernail marks in the leather armrest.”

“Takes a lot to shake me up.” It was nice to see him, too. He was just the sort of fun spirit who made a great companion. Too bad she had duties awaiting her on another planet, and he worked here.

“I, ah, travel for business,” he said. “I might find myself on Andan in the next lunar phase.”

“Is that so?” A flush of pleasure warmed her face.

“Can I stop and take you to dinner? Not because the Colonel suggested it. Because I want to.” The warmth of his smile went right through to his laughing eyes.

“Sure. I may be tied up with a case, but let’s see.”

“Great!” He reached in his pocket then handed her a business card. She did the same.

She fumbled to get one of the cases hung over her shoulder. “Can we take a drive when you come? My car doesn’t have dip plates, but…” She was already anticipating another breathtaking ride.

“Can’t imagine anyone would pull over a member of the SIRT team. Win-win.” He winked. “Have a good flight.”

“Thanks. And thanks for not being put off by my father.”

“Had one like him. Not to worry.” He waited for her to step onto the curb before sliding back into the driver’s seat. He purred away from the spaceport, and a large black van took his place, discharged its passengers. After Cary’s car disappeared into the distance, she entered the spaceport, her mind already separating her from her family. Perhaps her father had intended to sidetrack her ambitions, but he’d failed.

You failed, old man.

Keep that in mind.

Now she had an investigation to conduct and an interrogation to plan, and plenty of new ideas. And she’d bet Jaco wouldn’t like any of them.