A Menage Made On Madison [The Federation 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  Parker blinked at Rafer’s outburst. She hadn’t been able to help sneaking down the corridor, just to make sure he was okay. Lizu was on her hip, and had been ever since Parker had first sounded the alarm and called out the little girl’s name over the tannoy, hoping her parents would come forth. Nothing yet. Her comm unit hadn’t even beeped, so no one had asked after her at reception. She was asleep now, content to be carried, and her weight was negligible, so Parker saw no harm in comforting the little girl.

  Especially now that she was snoozing, her hot cheek pressed against Parker’s throat—Parker was slowly boiling, sweat dotted her brow from the heat Lizu was emitting, but the proximity seemed to help the little girl feel more at ease, and she was all for that. Especially as it meant she could look at the explosion site without terrifying Lizu.

  It had been hard to reconcile the blast with reality.

  With reception looking like normal, and most of the off-shooting corridors, too, the notion of a bomb had seemed ever so strange. Only the random sob of someone in pain as a medic tended to them grounded her, reminded her of why this chaos was even happening.

  She needed to see it. Needed to look at the injuries her home had sustained.

  Even though she’d believed it necessary, looking at the scarred walls, the beautiful bar that had been blasted apart because of some psycho’s need to hurt people, it still upset her. And if Knox had seen this before he’d come upstairs and found her in their suite, she could understand why he’d been terrified for her.

  She’d been here with Rafer this morning. She’d explained their clientele’s different requirements, and discussed the pros and cons of the bar to certain races. It had all been so pristine, so normal.

  Now, that was all gone. Destruction had taken root, forever scarring their hotel, forever marring its reputation and their own.

  What the people must have gone through…what they must have thought…. The notion made even her fearful. She tucked the little girl deeper into her embrace, finding a strange kind of maternal comfort in holding the little body close. As she looked around, she prayed the reason Lizu’s parents hadn’t come forth was because they’d simply lost her and were back at their quarters or somewhere on the complex trying to find her. She prayed they weren’t here, lost forever to the blast.

  “You’re certain the DNA originates here?” Rafer asked Jyk, the lieutenant who hadn’t exactly been polite to her the last time they’d met.

  “Yes, Sir. Niju’s run the test twice. There are three sets of different DNA traces. All are Madison.”

  “So it has nothing to do with our little problem?”

  Jyk shook his head. “Nothing at all. Unless you’ve done something to piss the Madisons off?”

  Rafer snorted. “Not as far as I’m aware.”

  Parker’s eyes narrowed at their conversation. What little problem? She stored that query away for the moment and stepped over to them. She couldn’t do so quietly, not with the floor covered in glass and broken mounds of furniture. Both men swung to look at her, Jyk with a discomforted glare, and Rafer with an angry sigh. “What are you doing here? It’s dangerous, Parker.”

  She shrugged that off. “You lot wouldn’t be in here if it was.”

  Rafer grunted. “That’s no reply. We’re the Fleet. We’re supposed to deal with situations like these.”

  She pursed her lips. “Present tense, Rafer?”

  “Now isn’t the time, Parker. My contract is still ongoing with the Fleet. I have to manage this as is appropriate to my ranking.”

  She cocked a brow. “I’m sure. I just wanted to know if all the injured were out.”

  “Jyk?” Rafer asked his subordinate.

  “Scans show that there are no life forms, dead, injured, or otherwise in the bar. Most of the injured managed to scramble out themselves as far as I’ve managed to ascertain from your medical unit. No one was unduly harmed. The worst they’ve had to cure are broken bones and cuts. The odd concussion.”

  Parker sighed with relief. “Good. At least that makes this situation bearable.”

  “Can you get out of here now?” Rafer asked, glaring at her.

  “This is my hotel, Rafer. I can be wherever I want to be.”

  “Not if it’s a danger to yourself.”

  “Sir, the infrastructure hasn’t been harmed. And the hotel’s own fire protection system dealt with the blast flames as soon as they sensed it. Your mate is quite safe.”

  Rafer rolled his eyes, when Parker smiled at Jyk. “Thank you, Lieutenant. I appreciate your honesty.”

  Jyk flushed. “It’s just the truth, Maseign.”

  “Thanks for helping me out, kid,” Rafer grumbled. “Do you really need to be here? And if you do, does that little girl? Haven’t her parents come forward?”

  “No. That was one of the main reasons I wanted to come here. I wasn’t certain if….”

  “Well, now you have your answer you can do something else, in a safer part of the hotel.”

  The warning in his eyes should have stiffened her resolve to do exactly the opposite of what he said, but hell, she’d just left this man’s bed. Had only just washed his frickin’ cum out of her hair, for fuck’s sake. And only heurs before, he’d stopped sniffing her goddamn pussy to make sure he was hers…as was the goddamn Shuzon way.

  If ever the man deserved a break, it was now.

  Only this once, mind. And she didn’t have to be happy about it.

  She glared at him, tilted her chin up, and stalked off. Making sure she rolled her hips in a way that would have him drooling, and thinking of her long after she’d left. Not that she wanted to mess with his concentration, but it was instinctual. Pissed-off, she-devil behavior as her dad had termed it, when he’d done something to aggravate her mom.

  The instant she left the bomb site, she decided to go to the clinic to see if Lizu’s parents were there. If they weren’t, she didn’t have a bloody clue where else they could be. She’d used the “special” tannoy. The one they’d never even used before because it was only to be used in emergencies, and they’d never even had an emergency.

  Shit, it was hard to have an emergency in a society where everything was practically impossible to destroy. People didn’t smoke like they had back on Earth, so there was no reason for them to be lighting up in their bedroom. There was no water in the bathrooms, as all of the amenities relied on super-charged particles to do the cleansing. With no risk from fire or water damage, the hotel had managed on practically unscathed. Until now.

  Sighing, Parker crossed the golf course with Lizu still tucked on her hip and snoring steadily, her slumber that of the innocent.

  It was dark out, but only insofar as Madison could ever really be dark. With three moons that illuminated the sky, there was a perpetual twilight. They didn’t even need outdoor lighting. They had it, mind. As she crossed the green and headed toward the clinic, the landscaping was illuminated by cleverly placed energy burners, enabling any passerby to see each and every different type of plant tilled into the soil.

  The scent of gila perfumed the air as she walked past, and despite herself, and the fact a bomb had just struck her damn hotel, she took a moment to pick a flower and tuck it behind Lizu’s ear.

  She wouldn’t lie—her mind was not where it should be. She should be focusing on the hotel, on the chaotic mess this situation had created. Instead, all she could think about was Knox and Rafer. Not entirely unusual considering they could have been lost to her had they been in the blast. But they hadn’t been, and her thoughts were there because finally, they were all mated.

  It was like getting married, then, mins away from the honeymoon, being told you couldn’t go.

  Oh, the reason was justified, but her emotions were taking a while to catch up with her brain. Go figure. The one deya she really needed to be on track, and she seriously wasn’t. She was on a hormone high, and who could blasted blame her after the amount of times Rafer had just fucked her. Hell, she was lucky she could walk at al
l.

  She walked under the archway lined with tusa flowers, a herb that emitted a lovely scent that reminded her of rosemary, and which led to the clinic. Parker had designed this place. She’d always hated clinics and hospitals back on Earth, and this infirmary was anything but antiseptic. The walls were a shade of terracotta, the linens on the bed a sunny yellow. The floor was lined with a creamy stone, and not antiseptic lino. Not that lino existed here, but still, she’d gone for the anti-clinic look and had found success.

  Crossing the threshold, she winced at the sight of the infirmary, mentally calculated how many were in here, and closed her eyes in horror. She doubted this place had ever seen more than one or two people staying here at any one time. Now, it was full to capacity.

  Guilt throbbed through her, and even knowing it wasn’t her fault, that none of this situation was, made it go away.

  She walked down the line of the ward, eyeing each occupant, seeking a Shuzon family. When she saw Tisiya on one of the beds, Parker’s eyes widened. Tisiya had been the unfortunate member of staff to be kidnapped in her lieu. The poor woman had really been through the wars recently. Her presence was a reminder, though. Surely it couldn’t be a coincidence that there had been an attempted kidnapping so close to this bomb attack?

  Nerves twisted her gut, and she started to wonder if maybe she should be feeling guilty over something. Or if not her, maybe Knox or Rafer had done something to trigger this?

  She nibbled her lip and passed Tisiya’s bed, not bothering to ask after her because she was fast asleep and the last thing the injured woman needed was to be awoken. Not if the gash on her face and the bruised bump on her forehead were any indication. There was always tomorrow to visit.

  Wandering back up the aisle, she spotted a family that were taking up three beds and two armchairs, and one glance at the skin, the baby curled up on one of the seats, and all of the injuries and gashes, she knew she’d found Lizu’s family. Even the male twinling on the armchair looked as though he’d been battered. He was sleeping, fitfully, and she noticed the broken arm.

  Even as her eyes took in all the bumps and lumps, a nurse popped by and said, “Is that their daughter? They’ve been in and out of consciousness for the last heura and a half, and each time, they’ve asked after her. I’m glad you brought her here, Maseign. The one in the armchair should be lying down, but he won’t. Every time he wakes up, he tries to storm off, wanting to go search for her, but he nearly falls down.”

  More guilt landed on her shoulders, stinging like salt in a very large wound. “Thanks, Glori. I’ll deal with this.”

  Glori disappeared, a pleased smile on her face. Parker wasn’t bragging when she instinctively knew Glori’s smile stemmed from the fact Parker had remembered her name.

  No matter how large their crew grew, she always knew every member of the team’s name. It was why she was always so pissed off when they tried to steal from her. She tried to make an effort. Always tried, in fact. It was important to her that the people who worked for her had an identity. She hated corporations whose staff were faceless drones, and no matter how large their operation grew, she’d keep on keeping up with the guys on her payroll.

  There weren’t many bosses who knew each worker’s name, their birthdate, and bits of trivia about each person’s family. It was a point of pride to her.

  Parker sucked in a nervous breath, then stepped closer to the trio of beds filled with the wounded Shuzons, and cleared her throat, hoping one of them would awaken so she could at least ease their mind. Even in their unconsciousness, they must have been terrified about their little girl’s whereabouts.

  The man in the bed opened his eyes and when he saw her, and the still sleeping toddler, he sat up, grunted with pain, and almost fell back again, but steadied himself upright. “Lizu.” he cried, waking the little girl, who immediately held out her hands for her daddy.

  Parker gladly passed over her charge and watched, touched as Lizu started to cry, relieved that she was back where she belonged. Her cries woke up her other parents, who all clambered to reach for their baby.

  “Thank you,” one of the mothers cried out, her words muffled against Lizu’s hair.

  Parker just smiled. “You’re more than welcome. I’ll leave you to your healing.”

  The man in the armchair made to stand then fell back down again. His skin was more white than blue as he asked, “Do we know you?”

  Her cheeks flushed as she shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. You might know my face, though. This is my hotel. Along with Knox Baxx.”

  The entire ward seemed to still at her words, even though she’d practically whispered them, dreading the riot she’d stir by being here. These people must hate her. And the silence seemed to reiterate that. She ducked her head and mumbled, “I’m so sorry about what happened.”

  The father tilted his head to the side. “It wasn’t your fault. There’s no need to be sorry.”

  Her lips twitched. “Ever the peacemaker. My mate is like you.”

  “He is Shuzon, so of course he is.” The man settled back into the armchair and asked, “Did you start the explosion?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Well then, it is not your fault.” He nodded stoutly, his eyes seemingly traversing over the other occupants in the room, and she knew somehow that he was warning the other patients off. Why? She had no idea. But she was grateful. “Thank you for returning our daughter to us, Maseign Baxx.”

  “It was the least I could do.”

  Before he could reply, she strode off, thankful to be out of the clinic, and chiding herself for walking into what could have been a sticky situation. Hell, she was probably safer staying close to the reception desk, fielding calls.

  Her brain really wasn’t working this notte. She needed to get her mind back in gear before she tripped on a mine with no Knox or Rafer to save her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Blinking blearily as the curtains whooshed open to reveal a bright Madison afternoon, Parker yawned as she sat up. “What time is it?” she grumbled.

  “Too olan early,” Knox grunted.

  “Then why the hell are we awake?”

  “I set the curtains to open for four,” Rafer mumbled against the pillow. “I didn’t realize four would come around so quickly.”

  “You and me both, Rafer,” Parker retorted. “Can’t you just make them close? The remote must be somewhere next to you on the bedside tables.”

  She heard the sounds of hands slapping against flat surfaces, then came the sound of a crash as something fell to the floor and then, a triumphant, “Aha,” and the darkness, blessed and glorious blackness, returned to the room.

  Almost as one, the three of them sighed. “What time did we even get in last notte?” she asked.

  “Ten this morning,” Rafer whispered, then rolled onto his side, spooning into her.

  “Hey,” she murmured. “You’re in bed with us. Yay.”

  Both men chuckled at her sound of victory, and Rafer took the opportunity to move a little closer against her. She was about to tell him to back the fuck off—in the nicest possible way, of course—because if he thought she was anyway ready to have sex again after the notte before, he was in for a letdown. But he shocked her. He nuzzled his face against the side of her neck, and within seconds was snoring.

  She relaxed into the bed, and was close to drifting off herself when she felt Knox reach for her hand and thread his fingers through hers.

  “Baby? You okay?” she whispered, half-groggy with sleep.

  “As good as I can be, maja.”

  “Things will be okay, love. We’ll sort this out. Rafer and his guys will find out who’s behind all of this, and we can go ahead with our plans for the water and theme park.”

  He sighed. “That’s what concerns me.”

  “What? Our plans?”

  “No, finding out who’s behind this. There are so many variables, it concerns me. And I don’t believe in coincidences.”

/>   He let his statement hang, but she knew what he was referring to. “I think it’s dodgy this happened so close to Tisiya’s abduction as well.”

  “Exactly. This can’t be some random attack on the hotel or on its owners. Not when those kidnappers were after you. Specifically you.”

  “Did Rafer ever tell you what happened with the kidnappers?”

  She heard the fabric rustle and knew he’d shaken his head. “They’re in custody, and they’re not talking.”

  “I thought the Fleet had ways of making people talk.”

  “They do,” he grumbled. “Only in this case, it isn’t working. Rafer said it’s not uncommon for thugs to be hired, sublimmed with their orders so they know what their job is, but they have no working knowledge of who’s picking up their tab.”

  “So that’s a bust as well.”

  “Understatement, tula.”

  She smiled at the endearment. He didn’t use it often—it was a mixture of love, honey, and babe. At least, that mixture made sense to the Shuzons. “We’ll sort this out, Knox. You’re not alone now. Rafer is with us, and who could be better at the task of ironing all this crap out? Hell, he’s made for this.”

  “I know. I just don’t like the idea that I can’t protect you.”

  She wanted to snort at that, but knew she couldn’t. Shuzon males were different than human males in many, many ways. But they still had their pride, and their egos occasionally needed stroking, too.

  “Of course you can protect me. Knox, what do you think this hotel means to me? Do you think it’s just a business? A way to make money? This place was built with both of our blood, sweat, and tears. This is my protection, and you gave it to me. You took me from a goddamn slave market, you took me from the lowest rung of Federation society, and you gave me all this.”

  “That’s money,” he dismissed.

  “Money makes the galaxy go ‘round, love. You’ve given me so much security, I never have to worry about being back in one of those auctions again. You did that. You. It might not seem like a lot, but it means the world to me. I’ll never forget that deya we first met, and not only because that deya was the beginning of my life. But because you saved me, and every time you work late, every time you think of a way to fund my crazy ideas to make this place bigger and better, you’re saving me a little more. I love you for that, Knox. How can you not know that?” she whispered fervently, hoping he understood how deeply she meant every word.