Bytes of Passion

Chapter 18

Skylar sat on the floor, in the corner of a dark cell on a station above a planet, though she had no clue which station and which planet. Why she was under arrest also remained a mystery. No one had told her anything. She'd been asleep when soldiers from DSPS had stormed the building and arrested her and a bunch of men and women she didn't know. She hadn't even known she was on a planet until they pulled her outside into the fresh air and sunshine.

Her last memory was of Garrox injecting her with drugs. Once again, the 'what' and 'why' remained a mystery. And she was fed up and tired of being used. As for the nasty cut on her arm right at the site where Teegan had implanted a tracker, she guessed someone had removed the tracker. That was no real loss, given how Teegan wouldn't be looking for her, but damn it, there were better ways of removing an implant instead leaving a gaping wound with only a medpatch to take care of it.

Once again, her thoughts turned to Teegan. She missed having him near, which made her mad at herself as well as everyone around her. He had betrayed her, not even for some ideal, altruistic or otherwise, but for money. That hurt more than she could ever have imagined.

"On your feet, Goldsmiths," said the DSPS officer standing outside her cell. According to the three metal dots at his collar, this man was a Compliance Officer in DSPS, which meant he was in charge of this facility, wherever they were. Her eyes shifted to the name stitched into his uniform. Dennison. At least he wasn't leering at her like the other DSPS officers.

"Where are we going?" she asked, as his meaty hand clamped down right over the medpatch, his fingers digging into her wound. She bit back a yelp. That had only been a warning.

"You're being charged with terrorism," he said as he dragged her along at a fast clip, past a series of empty cells. Where were all the others that had been arrested at the same time as her?

"Whoever is the first to rat out the other one gets a deal and can avoid life in prison."

"What are you talking about?" she asked as his meaty fingers thumped along a control panel. With a slight tilt of her head, she could see his code. The sizzle in the air halted long enough for the wall to disappear and for Dennison to shove her inside yet another cell, though this one was much brighter than the last. The wall rose before her eyes acclimated to intense light.

"Princess?"

Her heart raced. Deep and sultry, Teegan's voice threatened to bring up the feelings she had had for him, the ones she'd buried deep when he threw her away. He'd hurt her enough. If she turned around to face him, he'd find a new way to hurt her.

"I'm sorry, Skylar."

He'd already ripped her heart out, why couldn't he just leave her alone? She had enough to worry about, without him taunting her, reminding her that she'd been a fool to believe he'd ever cared about her.

"I failed you," he said.

"You betrayed me!" she said, spinning around to face him. "For money!"

"It was never about the money."

"Then what? You were tired of my company? Try again. Last I saw your hands were all over me," she said. He didn't even have the decency to stand and face her. She wasn't going to beg for him to treat her as if he cared. She could shove the memories aside just as easily as he had.

"Please, Skylar. Look at me."

Whether it was the desire she heard in his voice or her own weakness to walk away from him, she didn't know, but she could never refuse him, even when he'd first kidnapped her and she'd known nothing about him. Determined not to show how much he'd hurt her, she faced him fully and inhaled sharply. She hadn't noticed his condition before. His hands and feet were chained to the floor with energy cuffs. The Ephrams around his wrists weren't bruises, but burns. Whoever had interrogated him had used the highest setting to punish him – or he had resisted telling them what they wanted. As she took in his bruised cheek and the cut over one eye, her heart clenched, and a different pain filled her.

"They got you for kidnapping me?" she asked, wondering why seeing what they'd done to him had dampened her anger so easily.

"They didn't know about that. Until now," he said, his eyes pointing up to the area of the wall that she hadn't noticed was shimmering. She should have known they'd have a hidden camera in the cell. Dennison had put her in with Teegan for a reason after all, and she's played right into his hands. Her anger had gotten the best of her.

"Sorry," she said, meaning it. She had no desire to cause him further trouble, though two minutes ago the idea would have pleased her.

"I never meant to hurt you," he said. The contrite look on his face, the slumped shoulders, all of him was begging her to listen.

"But you did," she said. It was hardly the speech she'd planned to give if she ever ran in to him again, but talking was difficult suddenly. The lump in her throat, the pain of seeing him burned, battered and chained to a floor affected her on a level she didn't think possible. Despite his lies, his deception, she still cared for him.

She stood just beyond his reach, but that didn't stop him from trying to reach out and touch her. The chain drew taught as he extended his arms. A single finger touched the side of her hand, and he caressed her, slowly, lovingly.

"You're a bastard, Teegan."

"I know."

"You hurt me."

"I know." His voice was soft, ashamed... honest.

"I trusted you."

"If I could have avoided hurting you... Gods, Skylar, I'm sorry, but nothing will change what I've done... what I allowed Garrox to do to you." He swallowed hard as if struggling to contain his emotions. He really looked like he regretted turning her over to Garrox.

"Why'd you do it?" she asked.

"I...I can't tell you why. Not yet. And it's a lot to ask, but I need you to trust me, Skylar."

"Trust?" She didn't mean to laugh, but it was either that or cry.

Teegan thrust his hand through his hair. "I wish you weren't here, caught up in this mess."

She threw her head back and stared at the ceiling in exasperation. "I don't even know why I'm here! No one has told me anything except that they're charging me with terrorism. Terrorism, Teegan!" She'd inadvertently moved closer to him, so much so that he could reach her. His middle finger hooked her pinkie. For as small of a touch as it was, it calmed her. He always seemed to understand what she was feeling, or at least how to take the edge off the pain.

"DSPS threw cuffs on me while I was sleeping. I don't know where I was, what I was doing there, or where we are now let along why they think I'm a terrorist." She inched a bit closer, seeking out his entire hand. She hadn't forgotten his betrayal... it just seemed insignificant at the moment, especially when she needed him.

"Several Keepers have been assassinated," Teegan said, his face revealing his frustration and worry. "The last was yesterday, two days after you arrived on Traicos."

"Traicos?" How did she get to Traicos? She shook her head. It didn't matter, but the implication of what Teegan was saying did. "My dreams... they're real, aren't they?"

He tugged on her finger hard enough that she looked at him. "Don't tell them anything, do you hear me? They have no proof."

"But I'm ––"

"No, you're not, so stop thinking like that. You need to trust me on this."

Grey eyes held her even as she yanked her hand away. "Trust you?" What started as a laugh quickly turned into a muted sob.

"Dennison!" Teegan shouted to the walls. "I'll do it."

That sobered her. Do what? Dennison's words came rushing back to her. The first one to rat out the other... Teegan was going to sell her out again!