Tandem Unit Read online

  “It means what I said it means.” Holt wondered why he always had to be the heavy. Blakely had indicated he would support him in the decision to keep Sadie in the dark and out of danger but he wouldn't say much to back Holt up. “You can't come with us onto Iapetus and that's final.”

  “How am I supposed to get a first-hand account if you two cowboys go riding off on your own and leave me here on the ship?” Sadie demanded sarcastically, putting down her spoon.

  “Look, we took you along to keep you safe, not put you in more danger,” Holt shot back. “I thought I made that clear.”

  “Nothing about you two is clear.” She glared at the tall blond detective. “I'm still wondering what the hell happened to my hand after what we…” she broke off, a deep blush staining her delicate features.

  “We don't have time to discuss it right now,” Holt said, more firmly than he felt. “Blake and I have to get down to the surface and see what we can turn up. We have to find out who's behind the mind rapes and keep what happened on Phoebe from happening again. That's our job.”

  “I could help you,” Sadie argued, recovering from her embarrassment. “I'm good at getting information.”

  “Information on Iapetus isn't cheap, Sadie. How do you plan to pay for it? Maybe the same way you offered to pay us to take you along in the first place.” Holt knew he shouldn't have said it. He regretted the cruel words the moment they were out of his mouth but he was getting damn tired of arguing with her; Blakely wasn't the only one who'd had a sleepless night.

  Sadie blushed again but this time she held her ground and looked him in the eye. “Look when you agreed to take me with you nobody said anything about … that.” She flipped her mane of ho ney-colored hair over her shoulder with a defiant little toss of her head.

  “About takin' us both on at the same time?” Blakely spoke for the first time. The words were incendiary but his tone was mild and the look on his mobile face was neutral.

  Sadie looked like she might drop through the floor in mortification. “I … I'm not like that. Not that kind of a girl.” She lowered her gaze. Holt couldn't miss the disappointment coming from his partner loud and clear through the T-link and it made him angry.

  “But you are the kind who doesn't mind fucking us separately?” Holt's tone matched his harsh words and the sapphire eyes flashed fire. “Is that the kind of girl you are, Sadie? Is that something you usually do—trade sex for information?” He was letting this get to him more than he ought to, saying things he didn't mean but he couldn't seem to help himself.

  “No,” she flashed back. “At the time it seemed to be the only way to get you to take me along. But it's not something I usually do, damn it! Not something I've ever done before,” she added in a lower voice.

  “I don't think you've done much of anything, have you, sweetheart?” Blakely asked her quietly.

  “I'm not a virgin if that's what you mean.” Sadie toyed with the plate in front of her so she wouldn't have to look into either set of blue eyes as she talked. “Not that it's any of your Goddess-damned business. I'm just not up for anything … rough or kinky.”

  “Nobody said anything about rough, baby. Holt and I know how to be gentle.” Blakely's voice was low and he reached out and stroked her cheek lightly. Sadie flinched away from the gentle touch and Holt saw the quick flicker of sorrow in his partner's deep blue eyes but it was quickly suppressed. Blakely straightened his shoulders, sighed, and went back to the previous topic of conversation. “Iapetus is a dangerous place for a lady. We're gonna have to go to some pretty rough joints and if we had you with us we'd have to be worried about protecting you too much to do our job.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Sadie protested. Holt snorted cynically and she turned on the blond detective angrily. “I put you on the floor fast enough,” she pointed out, lifting her chin defiantly and glaring at him. “Or have you conveniently forgotten? You were packing a blaster but you let me put you down with a measly little tickler because you underestimated me. Don't make the same mistake twice, Holt.”

  “I am not having this discussion.” Holt pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and wrinkled his forehead; he could feel the beginnings of a pounding headache coming on. “I'm taking a sonic shower and then we're leaving for Iapetus. Just the two of us,” he emphasized, pointing to Blakely and himself. Feeling angry for letting himself get so upset, he left the table and shut himself in the fresher, slamming the door perhaps a little louder than necessary.

  * * * *

  When he came out, Blakely was waiting quietly on the couch, dressed in his roughest clothing for the trip topside. It didn't do to look too conspicuous on Iapetus and Holt had dressed much the same as his partner in faded pants and a ragged shirt, his usual jacket

  covering the butt of his blaster.

  “You ready, Holt?” the dark-haired man inquired.

  “Sure—you?” Blakely nodded. “Where's Sadie?” Holt asked, knowing she was pissed off at him, wanting to say goodbye before they left, maybe apologize if he could find a way to do it unobtrusively.

  “Went in the bedroom. Said she wanted some privacy,” Blakely stood up. “You better let her alone for a while, Holt. She really had her heart set on getting this story first hand. I don't think she's gonna get over bein' left behind right away.”

  Holt looked at his partner, incredulous. “You think we should let her come, don't you?”

  “I don't see how it could hurt. I'da kept an eye on her.” Blakely straightened the lapels of his leather jacket, checking to make sure his blaster was hidden.

  “Look, I thought we agreed…”

  “I don't wanna fight about this, Holt,” Blakely cut him off with a dangerous glint in his indigo eyes. “I backed you up like you wanted me to—helped you present, what did you call it? Oh yeah, a 'unified front.' But that doesn't mean I have to agree with you all the time when it's just us. Personally, I think it wouldn't hurt to have her tag along. 'S long as we kept her close and made it clear she was spoken for nobody woulda bothered her. But you were so dead set against it—so dead set against her I didn't think it was worth the fight.”

  “It's not about fighting,” Holt protested.

  “No, it's about a lot more than that,” Blakely growled, turning on him. “It's about the way you won't give her a chance.”

  Holt knew by his tone that the dark-haired man was talking about giving Sadie a chance in more ways than letting her come topside with them. “Will you just stop it?” he nearly shouted at his partner. “Stop talking about giving her a chance to choose when you know damn well what her choice would be. You heard what she said at the table—she's not that kind of girl.”

  “Yeah, and you talkin' nasty to her the way you did isn't gonna change her mind any time soon, either,” Blakely flared right back. “You had no right to say some of the things you did to her.”

  Holt could hardly believe what he was hearing. Had Blakely gone crazy over this girl or what? In all the years of their partnership they had never had a serious falling-out over a woman. Sure, they bickered from time to time but no female had ever been able to divide them like this. It frightened the blond detective deeply to see what was happening between them.

  “Blake,” he began. “Look, I'm sorry but…”

  “You could be a little nicer to her, Holt.” His tone suddenly quieter and but no less intense. “Try to let yourself be a little more open. I know Gillian hurt you but Sadie's not Gillian.”

  “Blake,” Holt started again but his partner turned away from him and headed for the Navicom where the entrance to the landing craft was located.

  “That's all I got to say, Holt. Now can we please get going?” Blakely threw over his shoulder.

  Holt frowned—they would have to sit down and talk about this, really talk, not just yell, later. He strapped himself into one of the passenger seats and watched as Blakely maneuvered the controls, sliding the little craft smoothly from the docking bay and out int