“It is not a crush.” She punched him in the arm. “One, I am far too old for crushes… And two, there would be no point. I’m not eligible for the mate program anyway.”
“Yes, you are.”
She sighed. They’d had this conversation many times.
“Cam, I’m still married.”
He stuck his bottom lip out in a pout. “That’s only because you won’t let me kill the asshole. Widows are eligible.”
She shook her head, ignoring him as much as the hottie on screen. Instead she focused on the B’Kaar again, wondering what the still ones were doing.
“I’m serious…” Cam insisted, sitting forward with his elbows on the table. It pulled his suit over broad shoulders, the light from the screens playing over his face. “One word, and he’s gone. Besides he’s been seen with some Terra First sympathizers, so it would be a matter of public service really.”
“No, you cannot kill my ex-husband,” she told him firmly. “Think of the ratings… your popularity would plummet if anybody found out.”
“If.” He grinned suddenly.
“Shut up.”
She turned back to the screen. Those silent B’Kaar were worrying her. All the readouts indicated that they were doing something, but she didn’t know what. They were active in the database… She could see the activity in the systems, but there wasn’t enough activity for that many users. She shook her head.
“We’re going to need to tap up Maxim for a hacker.”
Cam sat up and shook his head. “No. I have plans for Maxim… Bring in Raven.”
Her eyebrow winged up. “What plans for Maxim? Shit, you’re not sending him in as well. Are you? Are they aware they’re being infiltrated?”
Cam winked at her and hauled himself to his feet.
“They haven’t a clue. They don’t realize it’s not all about spaceships and rayguns… or that there’s more than one way to win a war.”
4
Cade was aware the instant the human president left the room. Oh, he was good. He’d made the rounds of the room, making sure he’d been introduced and at least chatted a little with everybody present.
How he’d managed that with the arrogant draanthic that was Prince Rohn, Cade had no idea. The guy needed an extra honor braid for managing to keep a smile on his face throughout what had to be a traumatic ordeal.
Only because Cade had hyper-focused on him, his instincts making him study every gesture and movement the male made, was he aware the president slipped away between talking to one group and the next. No one else seemed to realize that two of the other men, one in uniform and one not, had taken over for Murphy.
The emperor and champion were speaking to Risyn B’Kaar, he had no idea where the ambassador was at the moment, and Rohn was too busy trying to impress some of the humans in uniform to notice.
Casting a quick look to check where Jay was, he found the human and Berrick over on the other side of the room, eyeing up a table full of food. Although usually he could eat to bursting and never feel full enough, Cade had no interest in eating at the moment. Not with that delectable scent hovering on the air in the room like a fine perfume. It was fainter now, which was confusing. Ordinarily, with the source in the room, it should grow stronger. Was Murphy using some kind of scent blocker?
Perhaps it was the fact so many other scents were in here. When they’d arrived and crowded into that train, he’d been forced to keep his breathing shallow to avoid being overwhelmed by the scents. It was even worse inside where the wind and the rain couldn’t clear them away.
He frowned, putting the glass of liquid he’d been given on a side table. It was champagne, apparently an Earth luxury. He didn’t like it. The bubbles tickled his nose. Moving across the room, he wound his way through the different groups, avoiding the gaze of the humans who looked his way and nodding tersely to any B’Kaar. They had made their allegiance to him clear after that tussle during the emperor’s inspection, but he was under no illusion. It was only down to the blood debt they owed him for saving their lord’s life. The only thing they cared about, the only thing they owed him, was his continued state of breathing. Anything less, and they really couldn’t give a draanth.
That worked in his favor. Most of the time they ignored his very existence and turned away from him. He was sure that any record of his movements in their freaky hive mind were instantly tagged as not important. Which meant slipping from the conference room was as easy as avoiding the notice of the human guards.
He took care of that by loitering at the door and calming his mind. Leaning against the wall, he hooked his thumbs in his belt and froze all his senses. Waiting.
Less than a minute later the door opened and two catering staff rolled another trolley through, covered dishes piled high and obviously intended for the buffet table across the room.
Cade sprang into motion, turning his back to them as he slid through the door before it shut. It was a slick, quick movement, and then he was free and clear.
The silence of the corridor reverberated in his ears for a second, like an auditory weight after the chatter of the room he’d left. He stood just outside the door and opened all his senses again, casting this way and that to ensure he was alone. No footsteps rang out, no shouts of warning to tell him that he shouldn’t be here. The hairs on the back of his neck lay flat as he relaxed.
The corridor was just like all the others. Identical off-white walls with grey carpeting and kick boards. Soft strip lighting ran along the ceiling, illuminating the space in the absence of any windows. Even though nobody had explicitly stated, he knew they were underground, somewhere to the west of the landing field. The space, and the air had an oppressive quality, as though he could feel the earth that had been displaced.
Tilting his head back slightly, he scented the air and bit back a groan. Murphy had definitely come this way, the same evocative scent as earlier filling his lungs. With a soft growl in the back of his throat, he followed it, hoping no human troops were in the corridors. He’d have to talk fast if they were. Perhaps pretend he was looking for the facilities… all the holo-entertainment he’d seen indicated that was a classic move that always worked.
He followed the scent down three corridors and then lost it.
“What the draanth?”
Pausing with a frown, he backed up, retracing his steps a little. The scent was definitely fading, and a more pungent, masculine scent emerged. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but it definitely wasn’t the haunting fragrance that had hooked his soul.
Keeping his eyes sharp, he studied his surroundings as he walked, trying to pinpoint the exact location where he’d lost the scent. He found it in the middle of the corridor. Confused, he paused in the middle of the space.
There were two doors here, outlined in the same grey as the kick boards. He approached both, his nose and lungs working in concert to analyze the scents. Murphy had touched neither door so where had he gone? Placing his hands against one he leaned in, hearing the sounds of food preparation beyond. No Murphy had definitely not gone that way.
It was only because he leaned in, turning his head to look toward the other door, but he spotted a slight extra ridge in the texture of the wall between the two. Keeping his eyes on it, he moved forward, trailing fingertips down it until he’d outlined another, concealed door.