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“We go together,” Drak informed her.
“You mean when they send down the rope again?”
He nodded. “Gnaw was above us to act as your guard, if we met with hostility on the surface. But I stay with you at all times. We don’t know what’s up there.”
“Commander Bills is up there. He won’t hurt me.”
“We stay together, Abby.” Drak growled the words.
“Okay.” She wasn’t about to argue with him.
The drone returned with the rope. She was the one to reach up for it, since Drak had his claws dug into the tunnel to keep them from sliding back down.
“Clip it to the back of my suit.”
She pulled herself up higher to see what she was doing. The suits had rings at the back, just under where the helmet attached. She quickly got him clipped to the tether.
“Done.”
The drone hovered above them, and Drak looked up. “Tighten the slack. I’m going to bring Abby with me.”
The drone retreated, and the rope pulled until it was tight. Drak yanked his claws out of the dirt at last, hugged Abby in a tight grip, and then rolled onto his back.
Then they were being pulled to the surface. It wasn’t as quickly as Gnaw, but they still moved faster than they had while climbing. Soon, she saw daylight, and it was so bright that it almost hurt her eyes. It didn’t matter. They were saved.
The tunnel flattened about six feet from the top and she clutched Drak tighter when they were lifted completely upright. A frame with arms about ten feet tall had been placed over the hole. The apparatus lifted them out and swung them to solid ground.
Drak gently set her onto her feet when they came to a halt. She looked around, taking in a group of about fifteen fleet personnel. Their uniforms surprised her—not a single one was tactical. None of them were wearing armor, but they did have wide-brimmed hats and gloves, protecting most of their skin from the bright suns.
Then she saw Howard. The poor man looked like hell. She was pretty sure he hadn’t slept at all, judging by his haggard expression, stark pallor, and the growth on his face from lack of shaving.
Drak took a step back from her. One of the fleet medics rushed forward to detach the clip from his suit.
Abby rushed to Howard. “You came for us!”
He grabbed the sides of her helmet with both hands and stared at her, almost as if she wasn’t real. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. The Veslors kept me alive. I told you they would.”
“What in the hell happened?”
She didn’t look away as she said, “Milts pushed me in. Tellis grabbed me to stop me from falling, but Peters shoved him. This wasn’t an accident.”
Howard paled more.
“Tellis sealed his helmet air vents overnight while we were sleeping, waiting for morning. He felt certain we were dead even if we made it to the surface. He said the teams would make sure we never made it back to tell anyone what really happened.” Tears slid down her face. “He suffocated himself, Howard. I want those assholes to pay for his death!”
“Jesus.” Howard released her and looked away. “I feel sick. I never considered one of them would try to kill you. It’s…”
“Shocking. I know. I didn’t expect one of them to try to kill me, either.”
He held her gaze again. “Why would they do this? I know you’re a hellion, but why try to kill you?”
For a brief second, she couldn’t meet his stare. “I was going to get the team into trouble for the way they were treating the Veslors. Tellis said that Milts probably did it without orders. I guess he had a temper.” She looked back at him. “But Tellis was also certain Rogers would cover it up to protect his teammates.”
Howard nodded. “Let’s talk about this later. You look pale and I’m sure you’re hungry.”
She glanced at the personnel on the ground. “You only brought the medical teams?”
Howard nodded. “Most of them have combat training. I ordered all tactical teams to be contained to their cabins while this rescue mission was underway. I told myself I was being paranoid to think this was anything but an accident…but I knew Rogers was upset with you.”
She nodded. “Where are the other two Veslors that returned on the shuttle to Defcon Red?”
“Locked in their cabins, too. They raised hell, but I gave my word I was personally coming down here with only medics I trusted for this rescue. Roth let me know he’d contacted his king, and that I’d better bring his men back.” Howard smiled. “He’s a tough bastard who had no qualms about threatening me. I like him.”
“The Veslors are good people, Howard.”
He nodded. Then his expression turned grim. “I wish I could say the same right now about my own fucking men.”
Abby turned, staring at Drak. He stayed about ten feet away, beside Gnaw. The medics were talking to them, probably asking if they were injured.
Howard gripped her helmet again, making her turn his way. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I’d kill for a shower and a hot meal, though.”
“You’ll get both, and then we’re going to have a long talk. You are going to tell me everything that happened—in detail.”
“You bet I will. Tellis committed suicide, and I promised his spirit I’d make sure they paid. He was that afraid of his own teammates…and what they’d do if we survived.”
Chapter Eight
Drak had wanted to stay with Abby when the shuttle landed on Defcon Red but the commander had been adamant about having her checked out in the medical bay. The human had immediately ordered her to go with their doctors.
Abby had called out to him before being led away. “Get some sleep, Drak. I’ll find you later.”
He’d had to watch her go, unhappy to let her out of his sight.
Roth embraced Drak and then Gnaw in a tight hug once they’d exited the shuttle, happy to see them. Commander Bills had allowed them out of lockdown to meet them upon arrival. “I want you to tell me everything. Then you need a shower, food, and sleep,” he’d growled at them both.
“After I scan you for injuries.” Maith embraced them next.
“We’re not hurt. I’m ready to get clean but my stomach can wait until after I rest,” Gnaw admitted.
“Rest is more important than food,” Maith agreed. “But shower first. You both smell bad.”
Drak nodded. He’d sweat a lot in the suit. Exhaustion hit him, now that the adrenaline faded since they were back on the human ship. He and Gnaw hadn’t slept at all. The hours spent underground had been tense while the Cadia had moved around them until they’d finally gone dormant.
Roth and Maith listened to Gnaw tell them everything that had happened, from the time they’d jumped into the hole until the drone met them climbing toward the surface. Drak was glad the male felt talkative, since he didn’t.
“I’m grateful you both survived.” Roth sighed. “I worried.”
“You get clean first,” Drak offered Gnaw as they entered their cabin.
Gnaw grinned. “That was my plan. I helped you win your female. It’s only fitting I’m first.”
“What?” Roth stepped into Drak’s path to the sleeping room, gaining his attention. “Your female?”
“The female agreed to let Drak bare himself to comfort her from her trauma.” Gnaw chuckled.
“Silence,” Drak growled. “Go get clean.”
“I am.” Gnaw strode out of their living space into the bathroom.
“No.” Roth shook his head. “There will be no copulation with human females. You heard what I said before. Our king told me their doctors hounded ours out of fear we’d get them pregnant. You will not get the female pregnant with a cub and ruin the work we’re here to do for our king.”
“I have no plans to breed Abby for a cub.”
Roth relaxed. “Good.” He took a step back.
“But I will copulate with her if she agrees.”
“You will not.” Roth scowled, shaking his head.
Roth’s features softened. “We’re fighters. No female wants to mate with one of ours. We don’t have a home anymore, since we left our family grouping. I can’t return to live under Zorrgo’s rule. He will forever feel resentful that we didn’t stay. They lost four strong, healthy males when we left. We’d battle, and I’d feel deep regret.” He paused. “He’s earned his place as leader but I can no longer submit to him. I can’t. And I don’t wish to lead that grouping. They’d resent me for displacing Zorrgo.”
Sympathy welled in Drak. Zorrgo was a good leader, the brother of Roth’s father. The older Veslor was fair, wise, and he’d earned a lot of respect. It would upset their families if Roth challenged and won a fight with the male. “We knew we could never return to live with them again once we decided to leave. I would never ask you to go back.”
Roth reached up and grasped his arm. “Fighters don’t take mates.”
“You said our king would give us unclaimed land. That changes everything. We’ve saved since our first battle to one day purchase our own territory elsewhere, but it would have taken us years more to earn enough to do that.”
Roth released him and stepped back, surprise on his features. “You wish for us to settle on a planet this soon? We’re still young and strong.”
“I’m not asking any of you to give up what we love. Abby is not like our females. She mentioned working on other colonies, and she’s living on this ship. Traveling isn’t traumatic to her or something she’s against. But we will be gifted land once the humans don’t want us here anymore, and we should take it. We can then spend our saved funds to build a home sooner than we’d planned. We’ll still fight battles to earn payments, but we’ll have a home as well. We can have both, Roth.”
Roth looked away, seeming to think about it before meeting his gaze again. “You’d leave your mate and young cubs at home to go fight with us?” He shook his head. “You wouldn’t do that. Your heart wouldn’t allow you to part from them.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t if Abby ever had my cubs. I’m not certain she wishes to become my mate, or that I’d want her to be. We need to figure that out first. She can’t get pregnant by accident. We could spend years together before having cubs. She might be agreeable to traveling with us. Between jobs, we could live in our new home. It will help us adjust before we settled there for good.”
Roth inhaled deeply and blew it out.
“I like this plan,” Maith stated.
Drak turned his head, forgetting the male had been standing near him. He offered him a smile. Maith grinned back.
“You too? Do you wish to find a human mate as well?” Roth scowled.
“Perhaps. I’m not opposed. Our females won’t mate with us until we settle on a planet for good. Even then, the chances are low of finding mates. They consider us too wild. You must admit, we could mate with humans without immediately having cubs. Their females don’t shift or have aggressive sexual urges to trigger our own. Though, we’d have to be gentle with them. I wouldn’t want to terrify a fragile human by going after one in my fighting form to copulate with her. She’d be traumatized for life. I estimate it would take a few years from the time I found a human mate for her to learn to trust me enough to mount her in that form.”
Roth snorted but amusement curved his lips. He threw up his hands. “Fine. But those human mates will have to agree to traveling with us. Make certain before you claim one for life. I’m not ready to settle on a planet yet. Even getting land as a gift, our funds aren’t enough to last us forever. We have more battles to fight.”
Drak felt relief. “I will talk to Abby. I’m sure she’d agree to those terms if she’s willing to become my mate.”
“First you’d have to talk her into copulating with you.” Maith chuckled. “That won’t be easy.”
Gnaw stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, his skin wet from the shower. “Oh, that female will allow Drak to put her on all fours. They bonded. My worry is that she will allow him to shift and take her immediately. She’s a courageous female. They may end up with a cub sooner than Drak thinks.”
Pride filled Drak’s chest. “She is special.”
Roth growled. “No cubs. I’ll agree to build a home we can visit, but we’re still fighters for years to come. Cubs mean having to settle on a planet.”
“That’s not accurate.”
All of them looked at Maith.
“Brassi and his human mate, Vivian, have a cub. They live on a trade vessel. I told you, I read her announcements. They haven’t settled on one of our planets.”
That reminded Drak of what he’d recently learned. “That couple are having another cub. Abby is friends with the female. She’s learned her friend is pregnant again.”
Roth appeared utterly shocked. “No female would allow her cubs to be raised on a ship!”
“No Veslor female would.” Maith shrugged. “Humans are different. Perhaps they don’t have the same nesting instincts our females do. I’ve got much to learn about them.” His gaze slid to Drak, and he smirked. “I’ll also brush up on human anatomy, since one might be joining our grouping soon. I’ll become her medic.”
Roth walked over to the strange sitting place the humans called a couch. He dropped into it and leaned against the padded backing. “Life was much simpler before we took this job.”
“I’m going to get clean.” Drak headed toward the bathroom.
“Good. You stink.” Gnaw shot him a grin, heading into their sleeping room to go rest.
Drak chuckled, entered the bathroom, and began to remove the rest of the human armor. It was easy to take off, and he dumped it on top of Gnaw’s discarded one. Then he stepped into the water. His thoughts were entirely focused on Abby. He’d sleep and then seek her out.
He got clean, dried his body, and wrapped a towel around his waist to leave the bathroom. Maith waited outside the door. Roth wasn’t in their living space anymore.
“He took a walk to clear his thoughts. He’s worried about our future.”
Drak sighed. “He’s upset with me.”
“He’ll adjust. Humans can breed with us. That information changes our outlook if we’re attracted to their females. We don’t have to give up the future we envisioned to be with one. He’ll learn that. Now sleep. You’ll see the female later.”
Drak entered the sleeping room. It was cramped with the two sets of stacked bunks. He opened one of the wall drawers and pulled out a pair of pants.
“I envy you a little,” Gnaw rasped softly.
Drak pulled the material up his legs and climbed into his bunk after he fastened the waist. The human beds were too small for a Veslor male, but the padding was at least comfortable. “You could find your own human.”
Gnaw grunted. “I scare them. You’re pretty for a male. I’m not.”
Drak snorted a laugh, finding the semi insult amusing. “Some of them are brave, like you said. Find one of those females. Thank you for helping me save Abby.”
“Always. We’re not blood, but we’re brothers.”
He smiled. His grouping always had his back. He allowed sleep to take him.
* * * * *
Abby finished her shower and put on a robe. She was glad the tactical suit had been left behind in medical when she’d been examined. She didn’t want it stinking up her cabin. The doctors had cleared her, gave her scrubs to wear to her cabin, and the first thing she’d done was get clean.
She was halfway to a food dispenser when someone rang the hall chime. The monitor next to the door showed Howard standing in the corridor. She pushed the button to open it, and he started to step inside. Then he hesitated when he saw her.
“I’ll come back.”
“No. It’s okay. I’m decent.” She turned, walking to the food dispenser and ordering tea and a few breakfast pastries
. “I hope you don’t mind me eating while we talk.”
“Of course not. I think I lost five years of my life when that shuttle landed and I was informed you were still on the planet.”
She took a sip of tea. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t fun for me, either. I can’t tell you how happy I was when Drak and Gnaw came sliding down after me.”
“I heard that you got an all-clear from Doctor Azzelle.”
“I did. What’s going to happen to Milts and Peters?”
“Team One is restricted to their cabins. I pulled Rogers into my office. He denies the charges against his men, of course. He swears they’d never do something like that.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“He’s adamant that you’re lying about what happened to get him and his men into trouble.”
She snorted, taking a bite of pastry. It tasted delicious. She swallowed and waved him to the small table and chairs. They sat. “Let me guess. It’s because I’m so attracted to the asshole, and this is payback for him turning me down flat. He thought you’d send me away, since I embarrassed you so badly. You can’t have your lover hitting on your men.”
Anger bracketed Howard’s mouth. “That was exactly the shit he was spouting, saying his entire team wanted to file complaints against you. I’m almost embarrassed by his weak story. I thought fleet trained our people to be a lot smarter.”
“Right?” She finished her food and sipped her tea.
“The problem is that it’s your word against theirs. There’s no proof, and Tellis is unable to verify your version of the facts. The drone was able to clip a rope to his suit, and the medics hauled his body up. They verified he committed suicide, but he had to have been in a lot of pain. He had a dislocated shoulder and six fractured bones. I have no evidence to arrest Darren Milts or Morgan Peters for putting you in that hole. They’re sticking to their story, that you staggered into it. None of the suits were outfitted with cameras.”
Abby was furious but none of it came as a surprise. “I figured it wouldn’t be that easy to nail them.”