Ice Baron (Ice Chronicles, Book One (science fiction romance)) (15 page)

“Good question. I’ll put it to Del. Then I’m going for a walk.”

“I’ll come with you,” she said at
once.

“Yes, you will.” The grim note in
his voice made her frown.

After a brief talk with a
dark-haired man, Joshua opened a recessed door in the wall. Cold air billowed
into the computer room. Anya hurried after him into an enormous black cavern. She
stopped dead in her tracks, for its sheer size and contents made her jaw drop.

“So
this
is Zebra Charlie
Alpha,” she whispered.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The cavern’s dome
arched at least a hundred meters
overhead, and harsh light strips lit the vast area. Hundreds of airbirds were
parked in bays stacked high against the far wall. Mechanics worked on others. A
few larger warships, capable of carrying thermal bombs, hovered like sleek
black beasts at either end of the long cave. Men bustled about, fueling
aircraft, cleaning them, loading supplies… The activity looked like a
well-oiled machine.

“I had no
idea,
” Ana
murmured, zipping up her coat against the arctic air. It took only a moment to
realize the airbay lacked one important feature. “Where’s the exit?”

“A tunnel. There.” Joshua pointed.

The black mouth loomed at the far
end of the airbay. Anya saw no tracks. It looked large enough for an airbird to
comfortably fly through, but the larger warships must be captained by Joshua’s
elite force. No one else could safely navigate such a narrow space. She
wondered how long the tunnel was, and where it exited.

“Anya!”

She turned at the familiar voice
and smiled when she saw flame-haired Pete O’Shea striding toward her. The lanky
young pilot had asked her out a few months ago, but they had decided to remain
just friends. Recently, he had been reprimanded for hot-dogging in his airbird.

“Pete!” She hugged him while he
kissed her cheek. With a laugh, she pulled back. “I’m glad to see you’re alive.”

Pete flashed a bright blue,
devil-may-care glance at Joshua. “Baron’s had me doing penance, flying border patrol.
Never knew it would save my life.” Tone turning more serious, he said, “I’m
glad to see you’re alive, too. Joshua’s been killing himself, searching for
you. Riding rough on a bunch of other pilots, too.”

Anya glanced at Joshua and was
surprised to see faint color wash his cheekbones.

Pete grinned, also seeing his
discomfort. “That’s right. Ray about sidelined him for short-sheeting on rest.
Looks like you finally found her, Baron.”

“O’Shea,” Joshua said curtly. “You’ve
got orders. Meet me in Command Center in ten.”

Pete saluted. “Yessir!” With a
grin, he left them.

Anya touched Joshua’s sleeve. “I
didn’t realize you were searching for me night and day.”

He didn’t look at her. “I was
worried,” he said gruffly. “I was afraid you were dead.” A muscle flickered in
his jaw.

He
had
been afraid.
Suddenly, she realized just how selfish she had been. She had been worried only
about herself—and hiding from him—while Joshua had been searching for her
around the clock, probably growing more afraid with each passing hour that she
might be dead. And Astana—her home’s destruction continued to weigh heavily
upon her, even though Joshua believed Onred had planned to destroy it all
along. How could they ever know the truth?

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I
regret what I did more than I can ever tell you.”

He finally looked at her. “Don’t
be,” he said. “If you hadn’t run, you would be dead. So would I. And Donetsk Territory would be Onred’s.”

She looked into his eyes for a
long moment, finding steadiness and reassurance there. And forgiveness. Feeling
a small sliver of peace, she smiled softly. “Thank you.”

Joshua’s lips curved up. “Come on.
I have something to show you.”

He strode across the bay, calling
a greeting to a gray-haired man in a yellow parka. Silver tape on its back
marked Donetsk’s circle and cross symbol.

Following close on Joshua’s heels,
Anya gazed about the monstrous room, trying to drink it all in. Why hadn’t she
known about this place? Why didn’t Onred? Of course, Zebra Charlie Alpha was
located underground, so satellites couldn’t spot it. As well, the room was
freezing, so maybe it didn’t show up on heat sensors—or maybe the rocky mountains
blocked the signal.

Joshua spoke to the gray-haired
man. “Darryl. How’s my ship?”

Darryl grinned, revealing crooked
teeth. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Baron. I’ve kept it all polished up and
running smooth as a kitten. Right over here.” He moved to the wall of
floor-to-ceiling bays and patted a black airbird’s nose. Yellow painted flames
licked down the sides.

Joshua grinned. “Thanks.” He
stroked the shiny bird like a master his favorite horse. As Anya watched his
tanned hand caress the inanimate beast, a ridiculous stab of jealousy hit.
Clearly, his heart belonged to this ship.

When Darryl left them, she said, “Did
you fly this bird when you were in the elite force?”

“Yes. I still do, sometimes.”

“It looks nice,” she offered. The
shiny craft’s nose was a bit blunter than others in the airbay—maybe an older
model—and the fierce, iridescent yellow flames made it distinctive looking. A
niggling of an idea occurred to her. “You were in the army before the air
corps, weren’t you?”

Joshua nodded and released the
door latch. With a faint hiss, it slid left. After a quick climb inside, he
relaxed into the pilot’s chair. His fingers gently fondled the bird’s control
panel.

Anya crawled inside, too, so she
could get a better view. Her tiny idea faltered when she examined in detail the
multiple control panels and indecipherable markings on some of the keypads. “Was
it hard, learning to be a pilot?”

“Not really. It was a crash
course. When I joined the air force, they’d just lost a pilot. They needed an
immediate replacement. I learned the basics overnight.”

“Wow.” Anya touched one of the
buttons. “What does this do?”

At her request, Joshua explained
the function of a number of the controls. He didn’t appear suspicious of her
sudden interest, for he still wore that fatuous look as he caressed each
button, explaining its purpose. Anya refrained from rolling her eyes.

Insight struck. “Will you fly this
bird to meet Onred?”

With apparent reluctance, his hand
dropped from the instrument panel. “I could. But I won’t. Onred won’t get both
me and my airbird.”

“You won’t really surrender to
him, will you?”

“He’ll need to think I will. If I’m
guessing right, he’ll blow up my airbird as soon as I get off the ship.”

“You can’t get
off,
” she
said in horror. “He’ll kill you. And that will be the end of our territory.”

“There’s still you.” Joshua gave
her a level look, and Anya frowned. Donetsk Territory needed Joshua’s strong
leadership. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry?” Anya’s brow lifted.
“Are you insane? Of
course
I’m worried. What’s your plan?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Anya softly gasped in outrage. “Tell
me. I’m not stupid. I can understand.”

A smile touched his lips. “I know
you’re not stupid.” Tawny eyes burned into hers. “That’s why I won’t tell you.”

If she had been younger, Anya might
have stamped her foot. As it was, she clenched her teeth. “I’ll find out sooner
or later.” She managed a reasonable tone. “You might as well tell me now.”

“No. Back up. I’m getting out.”

As Anya retreated from the small
craft, she changed tactics. “If you won’t tell me your plan, then tell me what
I can do to help the mission.”

Joshua shut the door. “I told you
before.” His tone was grim again, and unyielding. “Listen to me. You’ll stay
here, where you’ll be safe.”

“That song and dance is getting
old. By now, you should know one thing—if you don’t give me an assignment, I’ll
make one up.”

“Michael will give you a job in
the control room.”

“No. The control room is
well-staffed. I might as well tell you, Joshua, I plan to be in the thick of
the battle. Now, you can either keep me in the loop, or I’ll find a way to get
myself there. I
am
the Baron’s daughter, you know. I’m next in line for
power if I marry. These people know that. They won’t dare shine me on like you
are.”

Satisfied with her speech, she
crossed her arms and gave him a hard glare.

*  *  *  *  *

Anya would not back down. Joshua
could see that in her flashing blue eyes and the set line to her jaw. But he
hadn’t been her protector for ten years without learning a few things about
her. On the positive side, she was smart, courageous, and loved her family to
distraction. On the negative, she was reckless. Skyjumping from the shuttle had
shocked him. So had following him here, to Tash. Richert must have helped her
with that one.

So Joshua knew Anya would
formulate a risky plot and carry it out if she felt desperate enough. She
wanted to help. He understood that. The key was to give her an assignment vital
enough that she’d feel content to stay here, at ZCA.

He thought fast. “When Del secures the computer network, we’ll need a communications coordinator…”

“No. I am not stupid, Joshua! I
know Michael’s got a communications expert. Probably three.”

That was true. Frustrated, Joshua
expelled a breath. “I’ll talk to Michael. I’m sure he needs help somewhere.”

“I want to come with you.” Her
blue eyes pleaded with him.

“No!”

The stubborn line of her jaw
stiffened. “I know you’ll send an extraction team to Bogd. That’s where Onred
lives. My family is probably there, too. I’ll find out who’s going. If you won’t
let me ride with you, I’ll fly with another pilot.”

Just the thought of Anya with the
extraction team, vulnerable to Onred and his filthy men in Bogd, made Joshua’s
gut burn. “I’ll lock you up first.”

Hurt flashed in her eyes, and then
anger. “Why do you have to be such a stiff-necked,
arrogant
dictator?”

“I lo…” He bit off the unintended
words. “I want to protect you. Don’t you understand that?”

“I’m not a child anymore. You can’t
protect me from the world!”

Joshua wished he could order her
to her room until this whole disaster was over. But she was an adult, which
made everything so much more complicated. In a quieter tone, he replied, “I
know you don’t want me to be your protector anymore. But I am still your baron.
You will listen to me and obey me.”

“I
can’t.
” Her voice
caught. “Onred wants both of us. I have to go with you, or he’ll launch more
thermals. It’s only you and me now, Joshua. We need each other. I need to fight
with you. We need to fight together.”

“I don’t want to see you killed.”

“I don’t want you to die, either.
But I have to be with you. I have to help my family. Don’t you see that?”

He said nothing for a long moment.
“I understand.” And he did. But Anya coming on the mission was out of the question.
He said, “Let me think about it,” and then felt like a bastard when her eyes
lit up. He had just lied to her. A first, and he hated it. But for Anya’s
safety he would do anything. Of course, he’d willingly lay down his life for
her, but if a small half-truth would keep her safely here, then all the better.
“Give me some time,” he managed to finish. “I’ll let you know what you can do.”

“Thank you, Joshua!” Anya threw
her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

Weak as he was, he couldn’t stop
his own greedy desire to wrap his arms around her and pull her soft body
against his. He rested his cheek against her silky hair and swore to himself
that he would die before he allowed her to put herself in danger. His first
order of business would be to talk to his men and warn them not to give in to
her forthcoming pleads and demands. Prior to that, he would need to convince
her to leave ZCA, at least for a while, so he could formulate his plans in
peace.

*  *  *  *  *

Anya followed Joshua back inside
Command Central. It felt blessedly warm, after the artic temperatures in the airbay.
She was encouraged by Joshua’s promise to think about allowing her on the
mission. Of course, he’d likely assign her to the back of the fleet, but she
wouldn’t have to stay there.

If only she possessed useful
military skills. Skyjumping from shuttles, surviving in the wild, and a fair
knowledge of computers were all she could offer. Surely, she could make those
count.

Learning to pilot an airbird
appealed, too. Anya wasn’t foolish enough to think that she could learn to fly
before Onred announced the surrender location. And she certainly didn’t think
Joshua’s elite force would let her fly a bird, either. However, if she knew
piloting basics, wouldn’t that be helpful if an aircraft went down, or if a
pilot died? If necessary, she could salvage the craft and perhaps fly injured
people to safety. After all, Joshua had learned the basics overnight. She could
do the same.