Free Captured by the Cyborg by Cara Bristol Page B

intentioned. She was nobody’s captive!
    “Yes, I can.”
    Let him try! “As you’ve realized,” she said, “I’m a master sensate. A computer system doesn’t exist that I can’t infiltrate. I can hijack one of your spaceships and be gone before you realize there was a breach. Your entry and exit protocols, for instance—”
    He leaned in until his breath caressed her ear, and he whispered, “Did your orientation tour happen to include a visit to the brig?”
    He was threatening to lock her up? She jerked away and rounded on him. “What are you saying?”
    “Moonbeam’s isolation can cause people to go a little crazy. We haven’t had anyone snap yet, but the possibility exists. You could be the first ward of the Deceptio jail.”
    “I can access computer-controlled doors, too!” She crossed her arms.
    He laughed. “You and half the employees on Deceptio—which is why they’re not computer controlled.” From his pocket he pulled out a metal ring and dangled some odd-shaped jagged objects. “Good old-fashioned locks and keys. The best antiques money can buy.”
    She leaped off the bench. “You’d imprison me?”
    He rose to his feet. “In a heartbeat, if it would save your life.”
    He would. She could see it in the determined set of his jaw. Not a man to cross. He was a mountain. Bigger, taller, and, if his taut muscles were anything to judge by, stronger than any man she’d encountered. Only March, her supervisor, approximated his brawn, but Dale still came out ahead.
    Alonio was slight but wiry and fast. He struck like lightning, inflicting thundering pain. Her wings had been gone before she’d realized his saber had been unsheathed.
    Could Dale protect her from Alonio?
    “My ex vowed to slay anyone who assisted me. He executed the guard outside my hospital room,” she said. “Then he planted a report in the official record that a crazed patient had done it.” She was insane for considering this. But oh, how tempting. She’d fought solo against an indomitable force for so long. “He won’t stop until he destroys me.”
    “He’ll stop.” Dale flexed his fists. Had he gotten bigger? Muscles in his shoulders, his chest, his biceps bulged. His face adopted a hardness she hadn’t seen before. “Because I’m going to take him out.”
    “Take him—”
    “Kill him.”
    “He’s an ambassador.”
    “He’s a threat.”
    “There will be repercussions. Intergalactic ones.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Perhaps you still care for your ex-husband.”
    “No!” Tender emotion had been decimated long before the final attack. “Why would you say that?”
    “You seem to be protesting his demise rather vehemently.”
    “I don’t want you to put yourself at risk to save me. No one can prove what he’s done. If you kill him, you’ll be charged with murder. You’ll be arrested.”
    “You don’t need to worry about that.”
    “I do need to worry about that.” This conversation was surreal. They argued about killing her ex-husband, weighing the pros and cons as if it were a debate. Alonio’s viciousness had driven her to moral ambiguity.
    “There’s no point to arguing or worrying because this is nonnegotiable. I don’t need your permission or agreement.” He stalked toward her. His musculature had swelled and tautened. He was primed for battle.
    Certainty that Alonio could prevail, would prevail, wavered.
    “I won’t allow you to leave until he is no longer a threat,” Dale said. “What’s it going to be? Do I put you in the brig or will you agree not to run?”
    His implacable gaze reinforced his words. He would lock her up if that’s what it took. That he offered a choice spoke volumes. Despite her lies and his knowledge of her abilities, he would believe her if she gave her word.
    He cared enough to risk his life for her. He trusted her.
    And because he did—he could. She would honor her agreement. The risks were enormous, but she would rely on her faith in him that they would win