Mated to the Cyborgs(52)

Hunt was the one to respond. “We’re fine. Untouched.”

Much to my surprise, Tyran disagreed. “You’re not fine. Your head’s a mess. You’ll probably end up in the Pod.”

Hunt grunted and I felt a glimmer of his pain through my collar. Yes, they were shielding me well. “And you? You haven’t come out of this without injury. You’ve got at least three broken fingers and a few broken ribs.”

“You’re all going,” Maxim insisted. “Ryston, Rachel, take four men and escort everyone back to medical.” He looked from his mate to his second and I recognized the calm, controlled façade that Hunt often wore. And though he was intimidating, Maxim didn’t scare me, which was never a good thing when I was thinking about running my mouth. Like now.

“Do you have a forensic team here?” I looked to Rachel, who raised her eyebrows in an I-have-no-idea look.

She turned to her mate, who looked to her with a question in his eyes. “Rachel?”

Rachel practically beamed, and then it hit me, she was the science geek. This was probably right up her alley. Her mate knew that and wanted her advice. He saw her as an equal, her skills valuable to him and the Colony. Let her join them in this mission once they were assured she would be safe. And for the first time since I’d met her, I was jealous. “I don’t think so, but I’ll have to ask Doctor Surnen.”

Ryston walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, his touch affectionate. “What is a forensic team?”

“A group of investigators, a team that uses scientific methods to solve crimes, like fingerprinting, DNA tests…”

I picked up where Rachel left off. “Blood spatter analysis, trace chemical analysis, crime scene reconstruction…”

“We have never had the need on the Colony,” Maxim stated. “We have such teams on Prillon Prime, as well as in the battlegroups, but we have never had problems with criminal activity here. Until now.”

“You’ve never had mates here before either,” Rachel insisted.

“Or Hive.” That was me, making everyone far from happy with the observation.

The governor’s gaze drifted from his mate’s face to mine, and his expression hardened. “Are you familiar with these forensic teams and what they do?”

“Yes. I’m not a scientist. Rachel will have to do the lab analysis. But I could put together a team and get what we need.” I’d seen enough crime scenes over the years to know what we should look for and where to start. I could collect samples like a pro and get them to Rachel or others for testing.

“I’ll help.” Rachel volunteered. “And so will Doctor Surnen.”

The governor nodded. “It’s settled.” He turned to the corner, to where Kiel knelt over the dead Hive, looking for something. I had no idea what he was doing. “Hunter.”

Kiel lifted his head and met the governor’s gaze. “Yes?”

“You will assist Lady Zakar. I am officially placing you two in charge of this investigation.”

Hunt’s arm tightened on my waist, but Tyran actually growled. “No.”

I gritted my teeth and turned to him. “Yes.”

“It’s too dangerous.” His expression had gone cold, distant, but I wasn’t backing down, not on this. It was too important.

“I’m a criminal investigator. It’s what I do. It’s my specialty.”

“No.”

I raised a brow and crossed my arms, stepping free of Hunt’s hold on my waist to stare down the giant man I loved. “I am who I am, Tyran. If you don’t like it, I guess you can find yourself another mate.”

I dropped that bomb, right in his lap and turned to follow Ryston and the others back to Base 3 where I could get this blood off me and find a nice warm bed. Alone. I was all out of energy for dealing with bullshit at the moment. Every ounce of fire and willpower I’d possessed had been focused on finding my mates. And we had. We’d saved them.

I’d saved them. With Kiel’s help. Kiel and Marz and that giant beast Rezz. I’d dragged them along, and they’d come looking for their friend. I felt bad for them, because we’d found Captain Perro, but he’d been lost. Transformed. Beyond saving and Tyran had given him the death he’d wanted. But at least now his friends knew what happened to him. They had closure. It was more than some people got.

I could deal with Kiel, work with him to figure this out. I actually liked their group, Kiel, Marz and Rezzer. They were my friends. Best of all, they’d respected me and my choice. Backed me in the fight. Done their jobs and let me do mine.