The Healer (The Order of Intergalactic Peace #1) - Kelly Lucille Page 0,34

through clenched teeth.

She sucked in a breath and ignored the small pinch of pain as she glared right back at him. “My father is off limits,” she gritted out.

“Little healer,” he said, the growl low now, as if his anger were winding down. “Don’t you know that nothing is off limits to me?” He looked at her for another long moment before he slowly lowered her to her feet and stepped back. His hand released its grip on her chin but moved over her cheeks to catch her tears with his thumb, first one side and then with the back of his hand the other. She stood silent through all of it. He finally dropped his hands to his sides. “How do we get him a message?”

“Get me to a com you haven’t destroyed, and I’ll send one out.” She breathed in a deep breath and fought for the calm she would need to pull this off. She was tempted to remind him of her threat but figured she had yanked the tiger’s tail enough for one day.

He was probably planning on using her com message to track her father, but it wouldn’t do him any good, so she didn’t bother to say anything.

She really needed to get this message right, because if her father didn’t stop a lot of people were going to die. She didn’t need to look at the mess Mal had made of med bay to know it would not be the High Lord that gave in. She just had to hope the old hunter would. Eventually when Mal Ryn had lost interest in her, she would escape, and she wanted her father to be there waiting when she did.

Chapter Ten

Jas had showered and changed into a new uniform by the time they stepped out of med bay. She looked him over. “You must be impressively fast in the shower.”

Of course, he flashed her a wicked smile and took it the wrong way. “Any time you want to find out how fast you just say the word little rabbit.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “I walked right into that, didn’t I?”

She assumed that Brin was still buried in his research lab but Meg and Marte stood in the corridor and stared with wary eyes over her head. She didn’t need to look to know that the High Lord Commander stood right behind her, scaring her assistants with his ice glare. She elbowed him in the gut and wasn’t surprised when her healing energy immediately flared to heal her bruised elbow.

“Did you just elbow me?” Mal asked his tone so incredulous that she rolled her eyes. And saw Meg blanch a shade lighter than her usual cream complexion.

“Stop scaring my staff and I won’t need to,” she muttered, before turning fully to find the man entirely too close behind her. She stepped away to give herself more room. “Can they go back to work now, or did you need to destroy more of medbay first?”

“I’m done,” he gritted out. His eyes so cold she was surprised a frost hadn’t formed on her skin. “For now.”

When Marte and Meg didn’t move she turned and waved them back inside. They skittered past the bodies in the hall, squeezing by Lord Ryn as if touching him was a death sentence. He, she noticed with chagrin, didn’t move so much as a muscle to make it easier for them.

The medbay door swooshed shut behind them and she turned to find herself alone with the High Commander, and his hunter. The hunter was looking at Mal Ryn with a contemplative look. Mal Ryn was looking at Serenity. The frost had not thawed.

“Where’s the com?”

With a narrowed eyed look he finally took her arm to lead her. Jas fell in behind them.

The room they took her to was two doors down from med bay, opposite her quarters. From the lack of furniture, it could be used for anything, or nothing. The com was against the wall and Mal led her directly to it, keying in his code and bypassing the security, while Jas took guard position right outside the door, ensuring that once it closed they wouldn’t be disturbed.

Alone with Mal Ryn for the first time since he had kissed her in his ready room. A little inaction and boredom suddenly didn’t seem so bad.

Serenity took a deep breath and directed her thoughts to more important matters. She had to assure herself her father would know how to get this message without placing himself