It has to be an error in the readings, doesn’t it?
Roland sat quietly at her feet, his sensors constantly scanning the terrain around them. They’d been this way before, although not in the past six months, so his readings would provide an additional point of comparison.
“Dr. Winters?”
A deep male voice interrupted the low level static on the radio and she gripped the steering wheel. The voice was unmistakable.
Z-542.
“Dr. Falkner tells me you are heading to the unmanned station on the north ridge.”
His voice crackled through the static with the authoritative note that always made her stomach tighten, and she clenched her jaw.
“Yes. There are some unexplained readings that I need to investigate.”
“Are you aware that a storm is coming?”
“Of course I am, but I’ll arrive before the storm hits.”
A long disapproving silence, before what might have been a sigh.
“I will join you.”
Her momentary flash of relief was followed by annoyance. She didn’t need rescuing.
“That isn’t necessary. Roland and I can handle it.”
“Roland? You mean your pet?”
“Roland is not my pet,” she snapped. “He is a highly capable cybernetic companion. We can handle the situation. I don’t need a babysitter.”
“He may be highly skilled at his assigned functions, but that doesn’t mean he will be of any help in a storm. I will meet you at the station.”
The connection ended abruptly, leaving her staring at the radio, both annoyed and a tiny bit relieved.
“I suppose he has a point,” she told Roland finally.
His thin mechanical tail thumped against the rover’s floor, and she gave him a reluctant smile.
“I know you’re more than capable, but another set of hands and eyes can’t hurt. Especially in a storm.”
Roland chirped softly, and she laughed and returned her attention to the rover’s controls. Time to focus on her mission—not the large, annoying cyborg who was going to be sharing the small station with her.
CHAPTER TWO
Asudden gust of wind sent fine grit spraying across Z-542’s cheek and he swore under his breath, urging Phantom, his mechanical horse, to a faster pace. His nanites immediately healed the minor damage, but delicate human skin would not recover so quickly. What had Cass—Dr. Winters—been thinking to set off with a storm on the horizon? Martian dust storms were not only powerful but unpredictable.
Stubborn female, he thought, trying to convince himself that he was more annoyed than concerned—that he hadn’t been far too concerned about Cass since the day he found her on the side of the trail in an underpowered rover. She’d looked up at him with those big green eyes and he’d felt an immediate surge of attraction, a sense of connection that made absolutely no sense. Such human reactions had been put aside the day he’d accepted Earth Government’s offer to become a cyborg.
He hadn’t responded well to his unexpected reaction—masking his confusion with a stern lecture about safety—and by the time they parted ways her initial grateful smile had been replaced by irritation.It’s for the best, he’d told himself as he watched herdrive away. He had no business responding to her. No matter how beautiful her eyes were or how enticing the slender curves beneath her practical jumpsuit. She was human, and he was not. Not anymore.
But Border Town was part of his territory so he was there several times a month, and somehow he always found himself stopping by the research complex to check on her. Those brief visits had only added to his intrigue. When she spoke, he could hear the passion in her voice, the drive. Some of the other colonists had come to Mars to build a new future; others to escape their past. She was here to learn.
But he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was a little too determined, that she was pushing herself further than she should. She was independent, maybe to a fault, and that stubbornness, that need to be seen as competent and capable, had brought her out on the surface, alone and vulnerable, with a storm coming. As soon as Dr. Falkner had told him about the trip, he’d decided to go after her—even though she would no doubt resent his presence.
He soothed his conscience with the fact that Dr. Falkner had given him a relieved smile.
“Thank you. I was worried, but I know you’ll take care of her.”
