The Bond That Saves Us (7 page)

Sean knew from the look on the Briel’s face he didn’t fully believe his story, but for once, Taber didn’t call him on it. Turning his attention to a monitor off to the side, Taber punched in a series of unseen commands, frowning as he worked.

He tried to focus on his friend and not how Amy’s body swayed into his or how their shoulders rubbed together lightly. So he actually caught the subtle change in Taber’s posture.

“What?” he said the second he realized there was a problem.

“Ms. Bryson, what is the name of your ship?”

“The
Drake
. Why?”

Taber tapped a final button before returning his attention to them. “Sean, the corridors are clear near your location. I suggest you get Ms. Bryson to her ship as quickly as possible.”

“Taber?”

“There’s been an attack in the cargo bay. The
Drake
’s crew was involved.”

Amy’s gasp was all it took to launch Sean into action. “We’re on our way.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

35

Amy’s heart was going to explode. Sean’s hand on her forearm was the only thing preventing her from barreling through the crowds of the bazaar to get to the lift down to the shuttle bay. Praying to Gods she hadn’t thought about in years, she hoped no one was hurt.

“Amy, slow down.”

Fuck that.
“You speed up. I’m not stopping.”

“You’re attracting attention.”

She considered slowing down for all of two seconds, before discounting it. “They did this to my ship to
get
my attention. Well, they
fucking
did, so they might as well see me coming.”
And Gods help them when she got her hands on whoever did this.

Finally, she managed to bully her way past a group coming out of the elevator, yanking Sean in behind her. She tried to ignore the blank look on his face, how different he was since they’d left the sanctity of his quarters. This wasn’t the time. She wouldn’t consider what they’d done a mistake, but it was certainly a luxury she couldn’t afford to indulge in again. Not if it meant her crew suffered. She owed them too much.

The crowd was thick with curious onlookers when they emerged from the lift. It took more than gentle shoves this time to clear a path. Amy was about to scream in frustration when Sean grabbed the nearest security officer. Before she knew it, they were clearing the way for them to get through.

Taber, the largest man she’d ever seen, stood by her ship, hands laced behind his back. The scowl on his face spoke volumes regarding what he thought of the insanity which had descended on the place. He waited for them to make their way to his side, his gaze landing on her. She got the distinct impression she was being assessed. It wouldn’t be the first time—her age and rank usually raised a few eyebrows.

“Amy, this is Taber. He’s the head of security here on Eurus for the Briel.”

“Captain Bryson.” The Briel inclined his head. “Do you have a pilot in your employ by the name of Stephen Crawford?”

Oh my Gods.
“Yes, Steve’s my copilot. What happened?”

“I’m still getting details from the response team. It sounds like he was in the process of repairing your ship’s nav drive when he was attacked. No witnesses yet, but we’ll keep pressing.”

Amy’s stomach bottomed out on her, bile stinging the back of her throat. There wouldn’t be any witnesses, no one was either brave or stupid enough to step forward.

“Is he okay?”

Taber nodded in the direction of a smaller group of people. “The med team is 36

looking after him now. Broken arm and fingers. They should have him stitched up in no time.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“I need to see him.”

Taber stepped in her path, effectively blocking any chance she had at seeing Steve.

Looking up into his steady gaze, Amy silently pleaded with him. The Briel ignored her, instead continuing with his interrogation.

“It’s my understanding from Dr. Fergus you too suffered a broken arm. Is that true?”

“Drive capacitor came loose when I was doing repairs.”

She felt Sean move up behind her left shoulder, the heat from his body a sudden comfort. It was a pathetic lie, she knew. Sean obviously knew it too. But with him backing her, Taber, whether he believe it or not, chose to accept it.

“You should consider offering danger pay for your crew, Ms. Bryson.”

“I’ll take it under advisement. Can I see Steve now?”

“Of course. Sean, can I see
you
for a moment?”

The frustration came off Sean in waves. She didn’t actually have to be looking at him to notice it either. Strange how quickly her body was adjusting to him, how she had to fight the urge to turn into him and soak up both his body heat and emotional support. Gods, this was worse than before and she’d promised herself never to make that mistake again.

“Yeah,” came Sean’s strained reply.

Now free of her shadows, Amy shook off her body’s growing desire to be close to Sean and skirted around Taber’s mass to make a directly line to the medics and Steve.

When her copilot looked up at her, the relief on his face quickly morphed into something else.

“The
Drake
needs to get the hell out of here,” he whispered the second the medics were out of earshot. “Fucking Tyrell’s men came out of nowhere. Said if we didn’t play their game their way, a few scrapes and broken bones would be the least of our worries.

I think he’d actually blow the ship up. With us on it.”

Gods
dammit
, a nervous crew was the very last thing she wanted to be dealing with right then. “Hon, we’ll be fine. Now that they’ve done this to you, the security team has an excuse to increase patrols down here. We’ll make sure they keep an extra eye on us.

If we can get some of the other crews to cooperate, then maybe the bunch of us can keep safe.”

“Are you insane? Even if we get this bucket into space, they’re never going to let us enter the race, let alone win the bloody thing.” He leaned closer and dropped his voice to a harsh whisper. “They want us to move a shipment of
dust
.”

“Steve, we’ll figure it out.”

“No, no fucking way. You can figure it out all you like, but I’m done.”

Amy’s head spun and she had to grab on to the edge of her chair to keep from 37

losing her balance. “What?”

“I resign my commission. I’ve already sent out feelers with some of the cargo ships not participating in the race. I’m too old for this. I was planning on following your father into retirement in another year or two anyway. Can’t do that if I’m space particles spread halfway across the galaxy, can I?”

She opened her mouth to protest, but knew there was nothing she could say to change his mind. The problem was, if Steve left, Roach would go too, leaving her in the position of needing to replace crew rather than finding extra bodies. She knew Gaz wouldn’t leave her and he could pick up some of the slack, but she’d still be down a copilot. It was the one position she’d never be able to fill, not with the race only a month away.

“I’m sorry, Amy,” he said softly. “I know I’m basically screwing you over here.”

Shifting her chair closer, she grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze. His skin was still warm from where the medics had used the bone stitcher on him.

“It’s okay. I’ll find someone.”

“Maybe your dad—”

“Absolutely not!”

Her voice was loud enough to draw the attention of several around them. Both Sean and Taber looked on, the former frowning. Her gaze rested on him a bit longer than was proper for having just met him, but given what they’d been doing together only a short time earlier, she figured she had the right.

“Friend of yours?” Steve asked, his voice hesitant.

“Not sure yet.”

When Sean turned his attention back to the Briel, Amy saw his entire demeanor flip to something darker, dangerous. For a moment, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Gone was the relaxed, if somewhat distant, persona she’d first witnessed at the bar. Now Sean and Taber appeared to be engaged in a heated discussion. The Briel’s body remained rigid, almost too much so, his back a straight plank. Sean’s hands were squarely on his hips as he leaned forward. His face had taken on a faint flush, in which she assumed was anger.

“That doesn’t look good,” she muttered.
More than a little arousing, but not good.

“Keep on his good side, yeah?”

“Oh yes.”

“Donaldson, will you listen to me?” Taber’s voice wasn’t a shout, but it certainly carried to her over the din of the crowd.

People around them shifted their attention to Sean, some openly staring, while others snuck quick glances. Sean’s attention was fixed on her. Holding her gaze, Sean marched away from Taber’s side and walked to her. For the first time since their meeting, she took a good hard look at the man. His body was lean, strong. She’d seen him close up, but the full effect stalking toward her with a purpose was breathtaking.

38

Short cropped blond hair and startling hazel eyes made him look the perfect predator.

“I hope he’s your friend, ‘cause I’d hate to piss him off.”

She turned to look back at Steve and grinned. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

Waiting until he was at her side, Amy sat back and ran her hands over the tops of her thighs.

“Steve, this is Sean. I ran into him at the med bay.”

“Seems like a popular spot,” Steve said, holding out his uninjured arm. “Steve Crawford.”

“Sean Donaldson. Who was it?”

The terseness of his tone was in stark contrast to the velvet rumble he’d used on her earlier. It was shocking and reassuring at the same time. Sean was an interesting mix of darkness and light, one Amy had an overwhelming desire to learn more about.
No, that
wouldn’t lead her anywhere good.

“Not sure,” Steve was saying, his tone a matching one to Sean’s hostility. “I don’t plan on sticking around here long enough to find out on a second date, if you know what I mean.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Steve is my copilot. It essentially puts me out of the race, not that I blame you for a moment.” A bald-faced lie, but ranting about it wouldn’t fix anything.

Sean’s cool gaze didn’t waver from her, studying the lines of her face and where she clung to her friend. The frown now seemed to be permanently etched on his handsome face, which only served to add to her attraction. He looked dangerous, and for once, she needed a man like that in her life.

“We need to talk. Sorry, Steve, but I’m going to steal her for a minute.”

The civility of his words was betrayed by the harshness of his voice. He made no move to touch her, at least giving her the opportunity to back away from him, tell him to fuck off even, that this was none of his business.

“I’ll be right back, Steve.”

Knowing whatever conversation they were about to have was private, she led him to the
Drake
’s walkway. The ship was empty, save for the steady hum and beep of the computer system. Still, she didn’t want the chance of someone walking in on them.

“The cockpit is this way,” she indicated with her hand. “We can talk there.”

As she led him through the corridors toward their destination, Amy became hyper-aware of his physical presence. His hands hung at his side, fingers balled into loose fists. Those same hands had been on her,
in
her, only a short time ago. Her body still hummed from her powerful orgasm, the chemicals in her system churning, wanting to pull him in for more. Lick every inch of his skin, memorize the taste of his skin. She shivered as a rush of lust ripped through her.

She shoved away every last thought of seduction from her mind as quickly as they 39

flared up. This wasn’t the time for her body getting the better of her, for pheromones to run rampant, driving them both insane. She needed to hear what he had to say, get him in and out. Space and time to think, time to take her inhibitor so she could actually spend time in his presence and not lose her mind, were fast becoming important priorities.

The loud hiss of the cockpit door opening wrenched her from her thoughts.

Without looking to see if he would follow, she made her way inside and over to the computer console. When she heard the door slide shut, she tapped in her command code, locking out the internal security scanners.

“We can talk now without being monitored. I’ve activated the com jammer.”

Taking a single steadying breath, she turned to face him. “So, Mr. Donaldson, what the hell is going on?”

She watched as the tension bled from his body and he rested his back heavily against the closed door.

“There is a bigger problem here than your crew. These bastards, they’ve been after more than you. Taber’s done some quick poking around and it sounds like at least five other ships in the race have had interesting injuries over the past week.”

Of course she wouldn’t be the only one Tyrell would target with his little operation.

She had no illusions as to how important she was in the grand scheme of things.

“That should make things easier for you then,” she said, running her hand through the mess of curls her hair had become. “Lots of people willing to stand up to him.”

Sean snorted. “You and me both know it doesn’t work like that. I work in the mines, remember. Problems don’t get reported to the outside. It’s dealt with internally or not at all.”

She should have realized he’d been around long enough not to buy her story, that he’d seen more than his fair share of bullshit in the galaxy. That much was clear from the weathered expressions he wore. Still, he
wasn’t
a part of their world and she wasn’t stupid enough to go against the code. The race circuit was a world unto itself, as much, if not more so, than the cargo shuttle lines. She’d learned the unwritten rules on her father’s knee and wasn’t willing to go against them now.

“As you say. Not a whole hell of a lot you or your friends can do to help.”

Then he was moving, crossing the small space separating them like an animal, in graceful, measured motions that ate up the distance. He was in front of her, sucking all the air from the room until her head spun, making her body sway. Arousal kicked in again and she felt the familiar rush of pheromone-laden desire set her body on fire. Her nipples tightened as her pussy flooded with heat. Her body hummed as the blood and hormones flowed. She wanted to tear his clothing off, ride his cock until they were both screaming for mercy. Amy swallowed, tearing her eyes away from him.