Page 10

Jos squirmed on the bed, watching his fingers fumble with the manacle’s lock as a knot of frustration roiled in his gut. Tyelu had left him in his skinsuit, the frag armor worn under his outer armor, likely not realizing it had small, useful items tucked into easily accessible pockets. Small items like a length of stiff wire, good for picking locks, among other things.

The wire slipped, his fingers scraped across the manacles’ sharp edges, and he cursed, irritated to his core. He hadn’t decided yet what he’d do once he got the frekking things unlocked. Magda had probably already transported into the cargo bay, and she was on a tear. She wanted him to go straight to Apedemak and file kidnapping charges against Tyelu and the ship’s owners.

Which would only make things worse. He was not going to drag himself, Tyelu, their families, and their governments through that kind of diplomatic mess, even to assuage his own anger.

He didn’t want to punish her. He wanted to steal her away, lock her in a bedroom, and tease her with his mouth and hands until she begged him to slide into her.

Or, better, turn her over his lap and spank her tight little ass until she begged him to make her come.

Couldn’t do either if he deliberately dropped them in a sea of red tape.

No, that wasn’t the way to handle this situation, or her, and that’s where his normally decisive mind faltered. Part of him, the pissed off part, wanted to ‘port away and never see her again.

The other part was seriously contemplating the alternatives.

One of the manacle’s locks clicked open, freeing his left hand just as the room’s hatch opened. Magda stepped in ahead of Tyelu’s brother’s mate. Jos recognized her as Luden Moko’s daughter, had known in the back of his mind that Tyelu was somehow connected to the Tersii diplomat, but until that moment, he hadn’t fully realized precisely how.

Great, he thought sourly. Yet another complication.

Ziri shot him and Magda a stern look. “Don’t try to ‘port him out.”

Magda grunted, her gaze following the other woman as she slipped out of the room. As soon as the door slid shut again, she rounded on Jos. “Say the word and we’re outtie.”

The other cuff popped open. Jos shook his hands free of the manacles and sat up, rubbing the sting out of his wrists. “You can break through their jamming?”

“Not the point. She had no right—”

“Apparently, she does. Under Pruxn? law, anyway.”

Magda’s dark eyebrows snapped into a scowl. “Since when does the Q bow to Pruxn? dogs?”

“Since Taq Zhina wants an alliance with them. My grandmother has been dropping increasingly blatant hints about wanting to dandle the next generation on her knees.”

Magda flinched.

Jos smiled grimly. “Exactly. How efficient to’ve been kidnapped by a Pruxn? with Tyelu’s connections. Did you bring my gear?”

“Thought I’d try to get you out first.”

He held up his now-unchained hands. “Got that covered. Where’s the cargo bay?”

“To the right, over one corridor, down the nearest ladder. Why? Are you going back with me?”

“Just long enough to grab my gear and arrange leave.”

And smooth over any diplomatic entanglements, if he could. His grandmother had likely defaulted to haughty taq the moment she’d learned he’d been taken. Tyrl Sigun had probably been on the receiving end of her initial rant, but that was for show. Jos had no doubt she’d subside as soon as she got her way.

Which might include Jos being shackled with a Pruxn? mate. His grandmother would undoubtedly get a kick out of the irony.

Magda’s jaw dropped. “You’re letting that b—”

Jos’s glare cut her short. “Show some respect for me, if not my future mate.”

She stared at him for a long moment, a muscle working in her jaw. “I can’t believe it. She must’ve dug her hooks in deep.”

“You have no idea,” he muttered.

But he’d known the moment he’d spotted her how special she was. From the moment he’d transported into that cargo bay and seen her ducking behind crates, firing well-aimed shots at Sweepers, he’d wanted her so badly he could taste it. So badly, in fact, that he’d chased her halfway across the sector and taken griyet guard duty just to see her again. Put himself in her path until she’d agreed to see him, seduced her with hot glances and the unwavering determination of a Q’Mhel.

Frek. No wonder she’d kidnapped him. He’d all but begged her to.

And he wasn’t even bitter about it. Her timing could use some work. That was, he realized, where his real anger lay. She’d stolen him from his duty at the worst moment possible, just when they had a lead on a dangerous nest of Sweepers.

But deep down, maybe he’d wanted her to try to claim him, to force his hand on the mating issue. No, not force. Despite what he’d said to Magda about not having a heart, he’d known what place he wanted Tyelu to fill in his life, even if he hadn’t fully plotted the steps to get there. Why else would he be willing to grovel to two governments and Q Command if not to keep her?

She hadn’t even kissed him properly before frying his armor. That really did piss him off. The least she could’ve done before dropping him to his knees was give him a decent kiss.

He followed Magda out of Tyelu’s quarters toward the cargo bay. They hadn’t made it ten steps into the next corridor over when Magda hissed out a triumphant breath.

“Jammer’s gone,” she said. “You want, we can transport over now.”

Before he could decide, he caught the sound of soft, steady footsteps, then Tyelu appeared in the corridor.

Her eyes glittered like sunlight on a glacier. “Where are you going?”

“Where’s my armor?” he countered, his voice as hard as hers.

Her chin came up. “Safe. Again, where are you going?”

“To do my duty.”

He glanced at Magda, and she grinned, wrapped a gloved hand around his upper arm, and cued the transport. The last thing he saw before they disappeared was raw grief flashing across Tyelu’s expression.

Tyelu sat on the bridge wrapped in a quilt, sipping a capped mug of hot tea, her gaze on the viewscreen. While Jos had been cozied up with his harpy of a Bur-D’ga, she’d been defending them both from her father and Sigun. Gared had asked her if she knew what she was doing. She’d answered with a surety she didn’t feel, placating him well enough for him to turn the conversation toward other matters.

Sigun had been more direct. “This could drag us into a war we can ill afford with Sweeper attacks on the rise. Would you have us defend our home on two fronts, from them and the Q?”

The blunt statement had made her cringe inwardly. Yes, her timing had been unfortunate, but who knew when the Sweeper threat would be eliminated? Was she supposed to wait forever?

She shook her head, sipped the tea warming her hands. Strike when the opportunity presents itself. That had always been her strong suit. Waiting was not. Never had been, never would be.

When she’d told Sigun that, he’d leveled a hard stare on her. “You will explain yourself to me. In person, with the Q’Mhel in tow. Pray Wode his grandmother can be placated. Ambassador Bilal has already hinted that his absence may threaten the treaty she and I negotiated on Domor.”

Tyelu snuggled deeper into her blanket, her refuge. Her maneuverings had been for nothing. Jos had left without a single word. The look on his face when he’d transported away…

Her heart ached just remembering it. She’d hoped so much for love, had already fallen far enough for his leaving to mangle what was left of her heart into pulp.

So. She had misread the situation after all. Yet again, a man had rejected her, one in a long line of potential suitors, this one to a spaceship that had promptly disappeared from Yarinska ’s scanners. His armor still lay in storage, fully functional now as far as she knew. The device Creti had given her to disable it had done the job. Wouldn’t the Q love to get their hands on that!

Tyelu had hidden it away, safe from prying eyes. As soon as she made planet fall, she’d courier it back to her mother’s oldest friend with a note on its effectiveness.

Too bad it hadn’t thawed Jos’s heart.

A blip on the navigation scanner alerted her. She sat forward, her own heart filled with an improbable hope. Was that Jos’s ship? Had he returned to her?

Then she got a good look at the data coming in and the hope evaporated. It looked like a large transport. FTL capable apparently, as it had just jumped into the Ursine system where Ryn and Ziri had detoured to trade some of the scrap they’d scavenged from around Domor. Yarinska was still half a Standard day’s journey from Lodem and its orbital shipyard, outside the more well-traveled shipping lanes to give Ziri time to contact buyers.

The ship, whatever it was, had a dirty engine, though. It was leaking atmosphere and energy both. Surely even a pirate would staunch those leaks.

A second blip appeared near the transport, then a third and fourth, and Tyelu’s gut twisted. No, that wasn’t pirates. It was something exponentially more dangerous. She sent a pre-recorded mayday to Lodem, hit the in-ship comms, and said, “Sweepers on our tail.”

As soon as the message was sent, she threw off the blanket, set her tea in a secure spot, and retrieved the weapons Ryn stashed on the bridge. Yarinska was too far out for aid to reach them quickly. If the Sweepers spotted the lone ship, they’d veer away from Lodem and attack.

Tyelu gritted her teeth. A full nest of Sweepers. Just her kraden luck. Those stars-forsaken diplomatic talks hadn’t accomplished a single thing. Sweepers still haunted the sector’s sky lanes, stronger and nastier than ever.

By the time Ryn reached the bridge, she’d strapped a blaster to each thigh, tucked battery packs into every available pocket, and held another blaster in her hand.

“I’ve got the cargo bay,” she said. That’s where the Sweepers would hit first, by attempting to dock there. It was the easiest way to board, save molecular transport which Sweepers did not possess, a small mercy for which everyone else in the sector was deeply grateful. After the last Sweeper attack on the ship, Ryn and Ziri had added as many defenses as they could afford. Unfortunately, Sweepers were persistent. If there was a way into Yarinska , they’d find it.

If there wasn’t, they’d happily rip a hole in the hull to make one, passengers and cargo be damned.

Ryn nodded. “Ziri’s on her way here. If they attack, she’ll take the helm and weapons control, and I’ll meet you in the cargo bay.”

Tyelu nodded sharply, took a step toward the exit hatch.

Ryn caught her arm. “Be careful.”

“You, too,” she said softly. She looped an arm around his neck and hugged him hard, then slipped away before he could comment.