Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(112)

“Agreed,” Father said.

“Very well, I agree,” Lady Rockhurst said.

“I do not agree,” Lord Yamado said. “Not until someone explains the importance of the ship.” But the pardon only needed a simple majority to proceed, so Lord Yamado could complain, but he couldn’t stop it.

It took twenty minutes of furious negotiations before the pardon and contract language were deemed acceptable, and only then because I kept pointing to the timer on my com that ticked down the minutes. If Loch or I died or were held against our will, my information would automatically go public. If either of us tried to make the information public on our own, the Consortium would hunt us both down with extreme prejudice.

I would get to see my siblings, it just wouldn’t be on Earth. And I could contact Consortium members regarding contract-related issues but otherwise could not interact with them. I’d added the contract stipulation because I knew if I didn’t, Father would attempt to steal Polaris. I still wouldn’t put it past him, but at least now I could fight him in court.

I insisted on signed and sealed hard copies in addition to the electronic copies. They would hopefully never be needed, but an additional layer of security was worth the time it took to print them out and sign them. It also caused no end of grumbling from Lady Rockhurst, which was a win in itself. Lord Yamado refused to sign anything.

Loch remained chained to the chair in the middle of the room. I wasn’t sure why he hadn’t already escaped. Perhaps he was more hurt than he was letting on. With the hard copies safely in hand, I walked over to check on him.

“Are we done here?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “I will get the key from the guard. Or I can pick the locks, your choice.”

“No need,” Loch said. He smirked at the councillors as he gripped the shackle around his left wrist with his right hand. His arms flexed and the lock snapped open. He dropped the blood-slicked shackle to the floor. I stared in shock as he snapped the other side open just as easily.

Just how strong was he?

He removed the chains and stood to his full height. He towered over everyone in the room. Blood coated the left side of his chest and arm, but he ignored the wound. “Come after me again,” he said, “and next time Ada will not be there to save you.”

I shivered at the lethal promise in his voice. Lady Rockhurst made a dismissive sound, but she didn’t take her eyes off of him. He was a threat and she knew it. I didn’t undermine that threat by asking if he was okay. I just handed him my spare blaster and stun pistol. Unlike me, he pocketed the stun pistol and pointed the blaster at the councillors.

“Betray us and die,” he said. “You know what I am capable of. All of the RCDF forces in the ’verse can’t stop me before I’ve killed the three of you if you try to fuck us over.”

“A deal is a deal,” Father said stiffly. “The guards have been briefed not to shoot first.”

“For your sake, I hope they follow those orders,” Loch said. “Open the door.”

Lady Rockhurst went back to her seat and swiped an arm across the chip reader. She pressed a series of buttons and the room returned to normal—no shields, no metal panels blocking the door.

Two seconds later, a dozen RCDF soldiers streamed into the room decked out in full combat armor.





Chapter 30




I edged slightly in front of Loch. When he tried to pull me back, I shook my head and flashed the cuff still around my left wrist. It wouldn’t do much against a dozen soldiers, but it might give Loch time to get a shot or two off.

“Lady Rockhurst, Lord von Hasenberg, Lord Yamado, are you well?” one of the soldiers asked. With the full-face helmets it was impossible to determine who spoke, but my money was on the squad leader. He stood in the middle with sergeant’s insignia on his shoulders.

“We are fine,” Lady Rockhurst said coldly, “no thanks to you.”

I winced. The problem with saving my own ass was that inevitably someone else got thrown to the wolves in the process. I just hoped the sergeant would survive Lady Rockhurst’s wrath.

“Escort these two to the nearest spaceport and ensure they leave Earth immediately,” Father said. His face twisted into a superior smirk. “No detours or stops allowed. They are to be on the first ship off-planet, I do not care where it is headed.”

Of course he would prevent me from saying goodbye to my brothers and sisters. I should’ve expected no less from the bastard who raised me. Still, pain and rage flashed through my system. How dare he. My hand tightened on the stun pistol. I wished it was a blaster.

Loch placed a warm palm on my lower back. “Easy, darling,” he murmured. “No matter how much he deserves it, now is not the time.”

“Unless you want the timer to expire, I will be stopping by my ship or my room,” I said.

“You may use the terminals here,” Lady Rockhurst said.

My laugh was not nice. “And have you trace exactly what I access? I think not.”

“She may stop by her room for five minutes,” Father told the sergeant. “Prevent anyone from speaking to her. You are authorized to use nonlethal force as necessary.”

Too angry to speak, I jerked my head toward the door. The squad leader turned as Loch and I approached. The rest of the soldiers fell in around us.