Camille's Capture (6 page)

His
deep voice reverberated through her core, commanding her attention although his intention to address his friend was clear. “The station is crawling with Baldoreans. What causes your delay?”

“Ran into a sitch.”
The canister wielder shot the new arrival an intense look.

The bigger male raised a
brow.

“Female crew stuck in forward cabin
with the door jammed and a hot handle.”

She goggled at the mesmerizing pair, thinking t
hey must know each other quite well to be able to communicate with so few words. They would make fierce fathers. Whatever in-person breeding entailed, she wouldn’t mind much if it involved these magnificent warriors.

“Cover the entrance,” the much larger warrior said, then strode up to the
jammed hatchway and kicked it open.

Before entering the cockpit, for a moment, his dark, almost black-green eyes met her gaze, pinning her in place
. Her breath caught, and her heart beat faster eager to please. Her boots might as well have been riveted to the shuttle craft’s deck.

“Stay,” he commanded
before disappearing into the forward cabin.

“Ice,” the first warrior reminded her gruf
f manner as he moved to the damaged passenger door. Unsheathing a wicked-looking blaster, he edged closer to cover the entrance. “What’s your name?”

She realized he was trying to distract her from the crew’s fate.
He surprised her. Kindness wasn’t something she’d expected from a hardened warrior. She barely hesitated before saying, “Cami.”

The short form sounded more modern and far braver than Camille. She needed some extra courage
right about then. A freighter’s worth would be just enough.

“I’m Jaxon. The big guy’s Aegis.”

“May the Goddess…” She paused midway through the standard sorority response to meeting a new disciple, at a total loss as to how she should continue. Warriors didn’t believe in the Goddess. She had no idea how to talk to them.

This gaping hole in her knowledge was so huge
and so basic that she reverted to feeling like a hopelessly stupid breeder. Who did she think she would fool with a new name? She wasn’t skilled, modern, or brave.

H
er horrid new tattoo still itched.

Another round of plops rocked the ship. She flinched and covered her ears
while Jaxon returned fire.

Conversation with any man would’ve been awkward, let alone a fierce warrior in the midst of killing Baldoreans.

She edged away from the violence, as if avoidance solved anything. The replicator provided a valid excuse. She busied herself selecting medical supplies to treat the crew’s injuries, and then procured a cold pack for her hand.

“Oh.” The cry of distress escaped when the icy compress met her blistered palm.

“Take care of your burn,” Jaxon ordered in his rough voice.

Afraid that she’d endangered him by distracting his attention, she looked up guiltily, but he
’s spoken over his shoulder, remaining intently focused on the threat outside the shuttle.

To keep from thinking about the too-silent ship’s crew, she asked, “Where is
your partner, Aegis from?”

Jaxon
’s shoulders stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing
. Just that he doesn’t look like other New Eden warriors.” She didn’t mention specifics such as his sleek green scales, knobby horns, pointy ears, or sharp teeth. Nor did she judge it prudent to mention how attractive and exciting she found his differences. Perhaps it was bad form to call attention to such details. How could she possibly know what these violence-prone males might find offensive?

Without warning, a
shocking image of the three of them twisted together in a tangle of limbs seared into her mind’s eye. Staggered by the sight, she caught the back of a seat to steady herself. A stab of pain followed the vivid picture, and she rubbed her temples. Another impossible future flash?

The gift of precognition was so rare
that she’d dismissed the first might-have-been vision of the baby back on Earth. Now, with this second eerie glimpse, she wondered if the sturdy babe had been a true foretelling. Uneasy, she shied away from naming the life-like images precognition. An odd side effect from lack of sleep and residual space sickness seemed like a lot more likely explanation.

Jaxon leaned out, fired his blaster, and then flattened back against the cabin wall. “Just how many warriors have you met?”

She shrugged and averted her gaze, all the while pretending his growly voice didn’t terrify her and regretting ever asking the man a polite question.

“I am a native of Hakan, fourth planet from the yellow dwarf star known as Perseus’s Jewel, and the last of my people,” Aegis said as he emerged from the forward cabin, looking impossibly grimmer than when he’d
entered. “The crew is dead. I am deeply sorry for your loss.”

Cami caught a glimpse of the broken and battered bodies beyond him and stuffed a fist into her mouth to keep from screaming.

Jaxon’s jaw dropped in amazement as he stared at Aegis. Both the length of his friend’s speech and the amount of personal information shocked the hell out of him. He should’ve guessed Aegis programmed the fighter to track her. He guy never did anything without reasons and plans.

“She is my mate. She has a right to
the facts,” Aegis informed him as if they’d been discussing a system glitch.

Jaxon
knew she’d looked familiar. The word
mate
sent new ripples of excitement through his balls.

“Mine too.” he reminded the big guy and took a fast peek to
check on how Cami handled the newsflash.

Earlier w
hen he’d brushed Cami, he’d picked up frantic, sad, and angry thoughts—lots of emotion crammed into her gorgeous head. The middle of a fire fight hadn’t been the ideal time to break the news they were the jerks who’d stood her up at the mating ceremony, but he wasn’t going to debate timing, besides he’d be amazed if she’d even assimilated the info.

A fresh round of b
laster bursts rocked the shuttle, spoiling any chance for further explanations and a tender reunion.

J
axon covered the entrance.

More hits assaulted the craft’s hull. Fortunately the
other side had their weapons set to cell disruption, same as Aegis and he did. Metal-piercing blasts were too dangerous within the confines of the space station. A stray burst could kill everyone in the section.

He returned fire, wiping out at least one Baldorean. He watched the enemy vaporize
—a cleaner death than he deserved.

Zapping Baldoreans into subatomic particles didn’t bother him
. He darted a look at Cami, worried about how much of the action she’d caught. She’d already been wiped out by the loss of her friends. Earth women were pacifists, lobbying the council of elders for peace talks. The shuttle crashing into the middle of a Baldorean shoot-out had to be a mega-culture shock for the breeder.

Her face seemed a bit
green around the edges, but she headed for the cockpit.

Aegis blocked her way. When she tried to
wriggle pass him, he clamped her firmly to his side and gently removed the medical supplies she clutched. “You cannot help them, little one.”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not a babe.”

Even from his post, Jaxon could tell her words had no real force.

“I am not confused about your maturity.
However, you are delicate,” the warrior spoke to her with rough tenderness.

When Jaxon glanced their way again, she’d burrowed her nose into Aegis’s side. Her slim shoulders sh
aking with silent sobs ripped holes in his heart. What sucked worse than the pain in his chest was she turned to Aegis for comfort, or it might have been the way the big guy held her as if she were infinitely precious.

Jaxon
fantasized about sharing a woman with his friend countless times. For him to stand guard while his bud bonded with Cami had never been part of the dream.

Natch
Aegis was everything she would want in a mate. He was strong, honorable, and fearless, in short as irresistible as the original sin.

Damn, Jaxon practically drooled
when he saw the warrior. Why should he be shocked the little breeder went for his best friend? The worst blow to his ego was the punch of plain old envy. Double damn, Jaxon ached to hold her. She was sweet, scared, brave, and so fine he wanted her forever.

If this were a holo-story romance, he
would quietly disappear into the space station’s maze of connecting corridors, leaving Aegis and Cami alone. That was absolutely not happening.

“
They’ve got reinforcements.” Fresh bursts hit the hull, confirming his statement. “I hate to break up the party,” he called over his shoulder.
Liar
. “Even with their weapons set to cell disruption, the shuttle’s not going to take a whole lot more punishment. This baby’s hull is ultrathin. Plus, I’m running low on duranium.”

“We need a back door,” Aegis grumbled.

Right, but did the sisterhood’s craft have a rear exit? From the edge of his vision, Jaxon saw Cami scrub away her tears and take Aegis’s hand. “Follow me.”

Jaxon returned fire for a few minutes. After a brief lull, he
jumped back from the hull as a hit bubbled the cabin wall next to his ass. Way too close. He laid down a line of shots, hosing the area. Damn, his blaster’s charge had pegged on empty, leaving him running on dust and prayer. Impatiently he wiped the sweat blurring his aim. Something cold nudged his arm. He jumped and whirled, useless weapon aimed.

“
Here.” Aegis offered a full canister of duranium, taking care not to touch him.

Even long time friendship suffered when he drew down on his
best bud.

“Where in the seven hells did you find ammo?” Jaxon reloaded while Aegis covered his ass by mowing down the enemy soldiers making a rush for the
craft.

“
The fighter.”

Right, they’d docked on the blind side of the women’s shuttle. Guess that answered his question about the shuttle’s rear exit. "Thanks
for refill. Where’s Cami?”

Aegis cocked an eyebrow.
“Our ship.”

“Good.
Safer over there.” Jaxon returned to his post. “I’ve got this covered.”

Aegis sheathed his blaster, moved to the other side of the passenger entrance, and then braced against the damaged door. The damn hull doors weighed a ton and a half, and this one was barely hanging on its track.

The big guy pushed, and the warped metal creaked a few inches closer to shut. He grunted. “Give me a hand.”

Hopeless causes
—the Space Corps’ specialty. Jaxon didn’t waste breath arguing about doing the impossible. Anything was better than one of them getting blasted in the ass when they both tried to leave.

They shoved hard enough to bend syn-steel, but even with their combined strength, the door refused to close.

“Any of those time delay fuses left?” Jaxon panted.

“Go check.”

Jaxon skipped quibbling about the assignment. He shot out the shuttle’s too-small emergency exit, wondering how Aegis had squeezed through the tight portal, and hotfooted it over to their still miraculously intact fighter.

His palm against the hull sensor parted the hatch. He sidl
ed inside before the cover finished retracting.

The business end of a blaster jammed
into his spine.

“Jaxon?”
Cami squeaked.

Surprise wasn’t the
overjoyed reaction he’d hoped for, but at least she didn’t shoot.

Why couldn’t he have gotten the match notice a week earlier? Moonlit beach strolls were so much better for getting to know your mate than trying to romance her in the middle of a firefight. He asked
politely, “Mind aiming that somewhere else?”

She lowered the weapon and sagged against the cabin wall. “Is Aegis all right?”

“Yeah,” he growled at her, irritated the first words out of her mouth were asking about his best friend. Natch, his knee-jerk reaction painted him an insanely jealous idiot. That news flash did nothing to improve an already shitty mood.

He crossed to the supply cabinet. Then his brain kicked in
. He made a U-turn for the replicator. Seconds later, he’d stashed the detonators, fuses, and explosives in a soft pack ready to haul ass back to the shuttle.

“I’m coming with you.” Her sweet voice was full of
titanium hard stubbornness.

He decided not to waste
breath arguing. “Fine. Stay glued right behind me and keep your blaster down.”

Cami followed orders well. Her soft curves pressed close enough to warm his back
side as he wriggled through the shuttle’s emergency exit.

The big guy
let go with a series of short bursts.

Jaxon waited
until Aegis spotted him and held up two fingers. His friend nodded and sent another quick volley into the enemy.

“Stay with Aegis,” he whispered to Cami before he slipped out the rear exit once more. This time he edged toward the shuttle
craft’s tail with his fingers already busy forming explosive packages for the Baldoreans. The nearly deserted bay had been built to house a dozen fighters. With their ship hidden by the larger Sorority shuttle, the dock seemed almost empty.

The trick would be crossing the few meters separating the sorority’s
vessel from the Baldorean’s craft without getting vaporized. If he made it, he still had to plant the surprise presents and repeat the invisible trick on the return trip.

No problem.

Aegis laid down another line of fire, drawing the Baldorean’s attention on time.

Cocked and loaded, Jaxon s
eized the opportunity. He ran and leaped the last couple of meters between the two ships, landing in one piece. Practically home free. Concealed by the tail section, he worked fast, using the enemy’s hull to direct the force of the explosion inward. A few seconds passed with him primed for a quick dash, tuck, and roll. Then all seven levels of hell erupted.

His ears ringing from the boom of a Baldorean’s charge, Jaxon stumbled across the gap and landed on something sharp. Damn, the shuttle’s hull had a jagged hole next to the passenger door.
Right where Aegis had been standing.

As he lurched into the craft, one of Jaxon’s legs wobbled. He looked down. A piece of metal protruded from his thigh. Blood oozed around the shrapnel. Not near as big a problem as it’d be if he pulled it out and the wound started gushing. He’d better find Cami and Aegis fast before he
was too woozy to get them to safety.

Something soft slipped under his arm
—Cami. “Lean on me. We’ve need to go.”

“Where’s Aegis?” he tried to ask, but the words came out in a tinny slur.

Somehow she understood, pointing toward the back of the shuttle.

A second blast rocked the battered
craft. Damn, he’d already forgotten about the charges he’d set a few minutes ago. He hoped like hell the Baldorean’s ship absorbed the brunt of the explosion.

As his legs wobbled, she started to crumple under his weight. He staggered, pull
ed himself off her shoulder, and leaned against the wall to keep from flattening her. He caught his breath then tried to reassure both of them by waving her back to the fighter. “Help Aegis. S’kay.”

“Move.”
She might’ve yelled. The ringing in his ears limited him to reading lips.

Stubborn woman refused to leave him. He couldn’t let her get herself killed so he
levered himself upright using the hull and stumbled after Cami. “Gotcha.”

Aegis slumped next to the
rear portal—unconscious. Not good. They needed to haul ass out of the unstable shuttlecraft and this whole section of the space station before the bay depressurized. Squeezing the big guy through the emergency exit would’ve been tricky if he’d been awake and mobile. Now it looked impossible.

“Not a problem,” he lied, checking his friend’s pulse. A little slow but strong. “I’ll go first so I can angle his shoulders. You bring his
feet, ’kay?”

Jaxon
watched to be sure she nodded.

Great
. Only slightly dizzy, he scrambled through the small hatchway. Both of his arms got scraped, and the gods alone knew how beat up Aegis was gonna be by the time he cleared the exit.

Normally after this much exertion, Jaxon would have gotten a cold one from the replicator and taken it easy until his legs quit trembling and his heart stopped trying to hammer the inside of his chest to dust
. Not this time. The creaking sound of the doors between the next bay and the station closing kept him moving—dragging Aegis closer to their fighter.

“What was that?”

He heard Cami’s question from far away, like she was standing in a valley. “Station master’s sealing off this section.”

“Which means?” Cami stumbled.

“No air any minute now.”

Her eyes widened. “Why cut off
our air?”

“Preserve the station’s atmosphere.” Jaxon slapped the hull, and for once the gods smiled. The hatch opened invitingly. He backed in and with a mighty effort heaved Aegis’s butt over the threshold.

Cami shoved the rest of him clear of the portal, scrambled inside, and crumpled next to the hatchway, panting.

Naptime sounded good to him too
. Thanks to his brilliant plan to blow up the enemy and the enemy’s evil scheme to wipe them out hatching at the same time, this whole section of docking bays was going to turn into flying scrap metal real soon. Exploding debris was damn hard to outmaneuver. He didn’t want to tumble endlessly toward the nearest black hole, so they needed to disengage and get gone.

Jaxon shook
with exhaustion, heaving like a blown engine as he sealed the craft. “Come on, gotta strap you and the big guy in for the ride.”