Her Commanders - M.K. Eidem Page 0,68

case ‘two and done,’ but it seems I was wrong. To him, I'm just an Earthan and not worthy of a long-term relationship."

"Maybe if he knew you weren't Earthan, he'd feel differently," he said quietly.

"Maybe he should be willing to enjoy the time we have together no matter my species, just like he and Jamis do with every other female they fuck," she fired back, then cursed herself for what she'd just revealed.

"So, your dad was right."

"He usually is," she muttered.

"True," Xanto agreed. "It's one of the gifts he received after he mated with the Paramount."

"It's not as if he had a choice."

The anger in Cali's voice had Xanto's thin eyebrows drawing together. "Why would you say that? Paul is fully committed to the Paramount."

"He's committed to my mother," Cali bit out, then waved her hand as if erasing what she just said. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. "Forget I said that. It's been an eventful day, and I'm tired. I'm going to go rest."

Xanto was still frowning when the panel leading to Cali's quarters slid closed. He'd known there was tension between Cali and the Paramount but hadn't realized it had anything to do with her parents’ unusual relationship. He wondered if Paul or Dakota knew their datter felt this way.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Entering the Command Center, Taarig caught Jamis’s eye and gestured with his head toward the conference room.

Rising, Jamis looked to his communications specialist. "Prue, you're in command."

"Yes, Commander."

Neither of them had gotten much rest in the two days since the explosion. Taarig had ruthlessly been tracking down every possible source for the actinic while Jamis had read every report generated from the investigative team and the Meddygs. He'd also personally inspected every piece recovered from the blast site and repeatedly viewed every moment of footage on the portable strip Cali had sent them. And found nothing that revealed who planted the bomb. He had been able to identify where the blast had originated from and, working backward, pinpointed a small, nondescript bag that looked like every other piece of trash that littered the corridor. He'd even isolated the time frame the bag was dropped. The problem was it had been right during the shift change when the corridor had been filled with so many beings that there was no way to isolate who dropped it.

Jamis waited until the conference room door slid closed before demanding. "You found out where the actinic came from?"

"Yes!" Taarig spit out, disgusted. "It came from our stores!!"

Clenching his teeth, Jamis demanded. "Who?"

"General Masala," Taarig told him.

"What?!" Jamis roared in disbelief. "How is that even possible? He's not even on the Star Base."

"I know," Taarig told him quietly, "but his datter still is. She hasn't been able to find transport willing to take her yet."

"So, the news has spread," Jami felt a kernel of satisfaction that Masala's datter was receiving some of what she'd so quickly dealt out, especially after what she did to Cali, but it was fleeting. "Could Masala be stupid enough to share his clearance code with his datter?"

"Maybe or maybe not, Vaine's conniving enough to have learned it without her tad realizing it."

"Where is she now?" Jamis demanded.

"Lens feed shows she's in a room on the workers’ level. Wafai is on his way there now."

"The workers’ level? Who the ruk would she know there?"

"The quarters are registered to Ja Le and Oke Tarka," Taarig told him. "I have no idea how Vaine would know them."

"I want all three of them brought in."

"I already informed Wafai you would. He'll notify us when he has them in interrogation."

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Xanto found Cali once again behind the bar getting ready for The Brink's reopening. "Security is headed to Oke's quarters."

"Oke's?" Cali frowned as she set down the towel she'd been using. "I did see her across the corridor right before the bomb went off."

"You did?" Xanto demanded. "Why didn't you say something before now?"

"Why would I?" she fired back. "Oke may be a vindictive bitch, but she wouldn't have a clue on how to build a bomb."

"She may not, but she shares quarters with one of the engineers who build the devices that destroy stray asteroids entering coalition space."

"Really?" Cali's eyebrows drew together, wondering how she hadn't known that. "Well, she wouldn't have access to the explosive needed to arm the device. That's a mandatory safety measure."

"True, but it seems Vaine Masala has been staying with Oke and her quarter mate."

"Oh, for Gods’ sake, she's