Enemy Games Read Online Free Page B

says she’s found evidence that someone’s tampered with the data.
    “If it’s true, there’s a chance your father is innocent. Help me prove it. Call me. Please.”
    The message ended with the Intelligence Command director’s seal.
    Damen frowned as another compound altered Jayleia’s scent. The volatile smell made his heart pound.
    V’kyrri flinched.
    Cold terror , the telepath noted.
    Damen nodded once, agreeing. Why? He studied her, struggling against the impulse to wrap an arm around her shoulders in comfort.
    Her hands clenched in her lap, the only outward sign of the emotions waging chemical warfare within her body.
    Laser fire impacted their starboard shield.
    Damen spun back to his panel to manage the energy balance in their defense screens.
    She knows more than she’s letting on , he thought, aiming his silent observation at V’kyrri the way he’d been taught.
    His friend sent him a mental agreement. And she has no reason to trust us.
    Damen blinked. She knows us. Her best friend . . .
    Changed sides , V’kyrri finished for him. We’re not here for friendship’s sake, Damen. We’re here to use her to get at her father. Jayleia knows that.”
    Aloud, V’kyrri muttered, “That Erillian will not go away.”
    Damen glanced over his shoulder.
    Speculation ran rapid-fire across Jayleia’s face.
    The impression unfolded within him that Dr. Idylle’s soft-spoken xenobiologist masked someone sleek and deadly.
    Seeming to feel his regard, Jayleia straightened. Her features settled into the intelligent, shy woman he’d thought he’d met aboard the Sen Ekir a year ago. Her gaze was so clear when it focused on his, he almost believed he’d imagined the calculation he’d seen.
    “The exact accusation against my dad?” she demanded.
    “Collusion with the Chekydran,” he said.
    She barked a hoarse laugh, then the color drained from her face. Horror stood out in the lines around her eyes and in her quick, audible breath. “Get me a line to the Sen Ekir !”
    “Leave them out of this,” Damen countered.
    She spun to face the communications panel, rested her hands on it, but obviously couldn’t make out how to activate it.
    “Damn it!” he said, concern twisting him as fresh blood tracked a stained path down her injured arm. “It isn’t safe and you belong in medical.”
    “I belong on the Sen Ekir! ” she retorted, rounding on him. “Do you want Dr. Idylle, Pietre, and Raj dead? Get me a thrice damned line!”
    V’kyrri shifted. Looking over his shoulder, the telepath spent a moment studying her before flicking his sea-green gaze to Damen. She’s hiding something. I need more time and fewer people shooting at us to get at it. She is, however, genuinely afraid for her crewmates.
    Damen nodded.
    “Opening channel,” V’kyrri said aloud.
    “Make it fast,” Damen growled at her. “You’re bleeding.”
    “And at least one other ship is coming in hot on your aft thrusters. I get it.”
    Damen leaned past her. Her scent had subsided to her normal rich, creamy cocoa underpinned by lush traces of wine. The smell tainted by the copper of her blood ramped his pulse. He contented himself with breathing her in deep. He watched, fascinated, as goose bumps rose on her bare arms.
    Confusion clouded her frown as she pressed back in her chair.
    Despite the circumstances and the ship lobbing warning shots at them, he smiled.
    Her body reacted to his.
    He’d spend his time counting the ways he could turn that to his advantage. Interrogation began to sound like fun. His lower body tightened. Choking back a curse at the sudden discomfort, he opened the channel.
    “You’re on,” he said, straightening.
    She faced the panel and seemed to need a moment to gather her thoughts.
    “ Sen Ekir , Sen Ekir !” she said. “Get on the line!”
    “ Sen Ekir ,” Pietre answered. “Jay? You’re ship-wide. What’s going on?”
    “Lift. Get off the planet. No delay.”
    She hesitated.
    Damen noted she hadn’t