Born of Ice

Alix.

A slow smile curled his lips as he rolled over to find her knee in his back and her hand in his hair. The low lights highlighted just enough of her bare body to make him instantly hard.

It was so confusing to be attracted to a woman who looked this much like his ex in the face. There was nothing else they shared, except for the way his body reacted. He should be well satisfied after last night and yet . . .

He wanted a bite of her succulent skin.

“Devyn?”

He sighed at the mecha’s low voice. No doubt he’d been monitoring his vitals to know when he was awake. “What, Vik?”

“There’s something strange that I’m picking up. I think you might want to come up here and look at it.”

“Can’t you shoot it to my computer in here?”

“I really think you need to come up here and look at it.”

That set off the alarms inside him. What was going on? Vik wasn’t one to be coy when it was something that threatened them.

Grateful Alix was still asleep, he slid out of bed and quickly dressed, then went to the bridge.

The lights came up immediately.

Devyn went to his chair. “Where’s Sway?”

“Asleep.”

“Okay, then what’s up?”

Vik transferred data to the main computer in front of him. “I think we’re tagged.” Tagged meant that someone had a tracer on them and was able to track them.

“Who?”

“No idea and it’s real sophisticated. Something your father would come up with.”

Devyn arched a brow at that. When it came to computers and electronics, his father was unrivaled. “Dad wouldn’t have bugged me covertly.” He knew what devices his father had planted on the ship and in his chronometer. His parents were paranoid as hell, but at least they were openly obnoxious about it. “Can you jam the signal?”

“Let me get back to the part where I said it’s like something your father would come up with.”

“He also came up with you, Vik.”

“Flattery right now might get you shot. I’ve been trying to isolate it, but it’s impressive. I’ve tried jamming and everything else. Whatever it is, it’s beyond my abilities.”

That was extremely interesting. And concerning as hell. “Who would have done something like this?”

“Someone wanting to keep tabs on you. Since we don’t know who, I think it best we assume they’re hostile.”

Devyn snorted at a comment so stupid he couldn’t believe it’d come out of Vik’s mouth. “You think?”

“Oh, sarcasm will definitely get you shot. Especially at this time of the day.”

“Sorry, V. You know that’s my stress release.”

“I suggest you learn to channel that into a new direction that won’t end up with you bleeding on the floor.”

“Thanks, Vik. Love you, too, man. Just out of curiosity, why couldn’t you tell me this in my room?”

He hesitated before he answered. “Because I’m not too sure Alix isn’t the source of it.”

Devyn’s stomach hit the floor as every alarm in his body went into high alert. “What do you mean?”

“I have suspicions where she’s concerned.”

AI technically weren’t capable of being suspicious. But Devyn’s father had wired a human central nervous system into Vik, and more than that, he’d crossbred human DNA with some of his wiring. While Vik may not have been born from a mother, he was damn near human in all ways.

All ways.

Which meant that his powers of observation were above reproach. If he was suspicious, Alix was basically guilty of something.

“What’s tripped your concerns?”

“Can’t put my finger on it and that’s pissing me off. Just that I’ve caught her trying to access some of our records. Shipping manifests and cargo inventory.”

“That could be natural curiosity. If I were on a ship and could go to jail for my duties, I’d want to know what we were carrying, too.”

“Perhaps. But it feels weird to me.”

Devyn would argue if he hadn’t had such a bad experience with Clotilde. After that, he’d lost all faith in his ability to judge people. Vik had never liked that bitch and if he’d listened to Vik then, it would have saved him an eternity of grief.

He pushed himself away from his console. “Keep an eye on her and let me know if you see anything concrete.”

“I take it that you don’t want me to watch her while she’s with you.”

“Goes without saying.”

“Thought so. By the way, she’s awake and getting dressed in your room.”

Shit. But if she was an enemy, then he shouldn’t care what she did.

Something much easier said than done.

This definitely wasn’t what he’d wanted to wake up to. Licking Alix for a few hours . . . now that had been the plan. “By the way, thanks for ruining my plans for the morning, Vik. Appreciate it.”

“Ever my pleasure to irritate you, embryo.”

Sighing, Devyn headed for the door.

“Can I ask a question?”