G'baena's Pirates (11 page)

Fear for her mother and sisters pounded at the base of her skull, and she tried to pull the emotion back by reminding herself that they were closer to G’trobia with every moment.

Devlin and Kam returned to the table, laden with quite a few different types of food. Kam looked a little shell-shocked by the wide selection, and G’baena had trouble hiding the laugh that threatened to escape. G’trobian life, by human standards, was very regimented and predictable. G’trobian cuisine was rather limited, and the myriad dishes enjoyed by humans was quite overwhelming.

As they settled to eat, Devlin and G’baena started talking about the various dishes, and she glanced up to see the stunned expression on Kam’s face.

“Something wrong?” Devlin asked with maybe a hint of suspicion.

“No,” Kam said, shaking his head slowly. “No, I mean, G’trobians never speak during meals. I guess living as a pirate will take some getting used to.”

“What did you do on board your vessel? What was your function?”

Kam looked a little embarrassed as he seemed to search for an answer. “Not much, really,” he replied. “I’m not a pilot or engineer, so my skills are few. Mainly, I led the raids when we boarded a ship. Turns out I’m not such a bad shot with a stun gun, but other than that, I’m fairly useless.”

G’baena could feel Devlin’s emotions and found herself giving more of her heart to the man. Instead of being concerned that Kam may be a rival for her affections, Devlin was busy planning, most likely figuring out where Kam’s skills would be best put to use. He confirmed his unselfish thoughts by saying, “Plenty of people on board can teach you what you need to know. Do you have any particular idea of what you’d like to do?”

Kam shook his head slightly, a small smile crossing his features. “No preference. I just don’t want to feel useless.”

“Never going to happen around here,” Devlin said around a mouthful of food. “Always plenty of stuff needing to be done.”

G’baena smiled as the men relaxed. Incredibly, her affection for them both skyrocketed even higher. Somehow, Devlin had managed to let go of his anger and offer Kam an opportunity, and Kam had managed to overcome his upbringing and accept that things were different here.

She was actually starting to relax and enjoy the meal when she felt
Del
’s outrage from the doorway. He flashed her an angry look, turned sharply, and left the dining room. G’baena was on her feet in an instant, managing to startle both men at her table.

“I need to speak to
Del
,” she said quickly, her concern for the young man overriding everything else.

“I’ll come with you,” Devlin said as he dropped his utensils and went to stand up. G’baena placed her hand on his shoulder.

“No, stay. I need to speak to him alone.”

She hurried out the door, determined to repair her friendship with
Del.

* * * *

Devlin laughed at the stunned look on the other man’s face. Obviously he’d never heard a woman give an order before.

“You’ll get used to it,” he said to his companion. “This ship is full of headstrong women who like to give orders. G’baena seems to be a quick study.”

“Indeed,” Kam mumbled. “How do you keep them safe if they will not listen?”

Devlin had often asked himself the same question, and he was sure Ben, Trey, and
Jordan
asked themselves the same on an hourly basis. Tee-ani and Sarah were two of the most independent, forthright, determined women he’d ever met, and were prone to doing the exact opposite of what their husbands believed to be safe. But both Sarah and Tee-ani had proven their abilities time and time again. One day, G’baena would get the same opportunity. Devlin just hoped it was a long, long way away.

He swallowed heavily as he realized that day may be much closer than he’d hoped.

“Tell me about Ky,” he said to Kam as an awful suspicion connected in his head. “You don’t believe his death was an accident. Why?”

It was obviously hard for Kam to talk about his brother, but Devlin waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts.

“He died in an area that he had no reason to visit, in a vehicle that should’ve had active safety devices to keep it on the road. The investigator even suggested possible suicide. My brother was not suicidal. I knew he was upset by G’baena’s supposed death, we both were, but he never would’ve left me alone intentionally. We both knew what happens to displaced sons on our planet. He wouldn’t have done that to me.”

Suicide was a possibility Devlin hadn’t thought of, but considering Kam’s vehement denial, Devlin dismissed it as unlikely.

“Did he have enemies? Was there anyone who wanted him dead?”

“Enemies? None that I know of,” Kam said slowly. “But he’d been researching something. He’d mentioned a theory about G’baena not being dead. At first, I just thought it was grief talking, but considering that G’baena turned up alive, I’m certain that he knew something about her being sold into slavery.”

Devlin watched the man as he finally connected the dots between G’baena’s disappearance and his brother’s death. Kam’s eyes filmed with tears before anger replaced his grief.

“You think G’baena’s fathers killed Ky?”

“I believe it’s a solid theory,” Devlin said quietly. “We need to speak with Ben and Trey.”

* * * *

G’baena followed the angry emotions of her young friend even though she had no idea how to explain to a man with
Del
’s past experiences why she would want to kneel at the feet of anyone.

She finally found him in the cargo bay. Thankfully, he was trying to work off his anger in a healthy and constructive way. Already, his intensive physical training was beginning to show in the muscles of his legs and arms.

“
Del
,” she said quietly, not surprised when he didn’t stop his exercises.

“Why?” he grunted as he continued to lift weights that looked much too heavy for his skinny arms.

“Because at the only happy point in my life on G’trobia, Kam and his brother were the two men I knew I could rely on. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, they would keep me safe.”

“Didn’t do much good, did they? You still ended up a slave.”
Del
dropped the weights into place and stepped onto a strange vehicle that seemed designed to move forward but simply spun in place.
Del
pushed the pedals as the wheel in front of him spun just a small distance above the ground.

“
Del
, that wasn’t Kam’s fault. He had no control over what my fathers did. My fathers told everyone I was dead, even had an
abshei
ceremony for me, so Kam and Ky had no way of knowing I needed help.”

“So why would you kneel at that fucker’s feet? You don’t owe him anything.”

She smiled as she answered. “You sound very much like Devlin. I don’t know how to explain what I feel for Kam, or Devlin, for that matter, I just know that I want to please them both.”

Del
looked unconvinced, but at least he was listening.

“How about we look at it this way—I’m an independent female free to make my own choices, right?” She waited for him to nod and then said, “So, if one of my choices is to kneel at the feet of a man I respect and care for, then nobody else should get a say in the matter.”

Del
stopped moving his feet, and the wheel ground to a halt. G’baena almost couldn’t believe her own ears when he started to laugh. She smiled with him, hoping sincerely that he understood where she was coming from, and this wasn’t the hysterical laughter before the angry rampage.

“Do Kam and Devlin have any idea how much trouble you’re going to cause them?”

“Not a clue.” G’baena smiled happily, grateful to feel
Del
’s genuine acceptance.

* * * *

Several days later, Kam caught the soft sound of G’baena’s laughter as he entered the dining room. He smiled as he realized that she sat with Devlin and
Del.
She looked so happy, happier than he’d ever seen her, and a selfish part of him really wanted to be part of it. In some ways, seeing her so happy made Ky’s loss so much more painful. If things had just happened differently…

She looked up then, her face a mask of concern as she sought him out. He hurried to the table, unable to refuse her welcome. The fact that a G’trobian woman even acknowledged his presence was a precious gift, but the fact that it came from the G’trobian woman he’d loved for a long time made it a miracle. His status as a displaced son had destroyed his hopes for the future. This wonderful woman gave them back, albeit in a slightly different package.

Devlin saw his approach and moved to grab a chair from the table behind theirs. Kam still couldn’t fathom humans or their moods, so he was continually surprised to be accepted so readily. An outsider on G’trobia wouldn’t have received the same courtesy.

Del
glanced his way but didn’t go as far as inviting him to join them. At least the young man had dropped most of his hostility. Now, he seemed to be simply watching out for G’baena in the same way a younger brother might protect his sister from unsuitable company.

“How’d it go with Ben and Trey?” Devlin asked as soon as Kam sat down.

“Good, I think. They agree with your theory and will raise the issue with the authorities.”

“What issue?” G’baena asked, her curiosity obvious.

“We think Ky was murdered when he got too close to the truth about you,” Devlin said in a low voice. It didn’t take her long to make the connection.

“You think my fathers killed him?”

“Maybe,” Kam said, following Devlin’s lead to be straight and honest with G’baena. “Or maybe someone who worked with them. There have to be slavery contacts visiting the planet, maybe Ky got too close to one of them.”

Tears fell down G’baena’s face, and for a moment, Kam wanted to fall back on old habits and protect her from the worst of life. A quick look at Devlin’s expression changed his mind. G’baena had already seen the worst. She needed to see the justice now.

“Will you come with me to talk to the Kings?”

“I’m not sure,” he said, looking to Devlin for guidance. Kam already knew Devlin would be by her side. “They don’t take kindly to dead men in their court.”

“I’m not sure how they’re going to cope with a dead woman either,” she said with a determined smile, “but I’m looking forward to finding out.”

Kam felt her fear and her frustration at the ridiculous situation. He was a displaced son, she was legally dead, and they planned to march into the Kings’ court with an alien from Earth and the crown princes who’d abandoned G’trobia several cycles ago, and demand justice. There was probably as much chance of them all being arrested on sight as there was that the people responsible for Ky’s death and G’baena’s enslavement would face the consequences of their actions.

He saw Devlin’s slight nod of encouragement, almost as if the man had read Kam’s need to be there for G’baena, and Kam heard himself promise to stand by her side. He managed to refrain from saying the word
always
, but he could tell by Devlin’s emotional reaction that he didn’t need to hear it aloud to know it was true.

Damn human had better empathic-like skills than most empaths Kam had known.

“Are you going to eat something?”
Del
asked around an enormous mountain of food. The kid was always eating. Kam didn’t even want to think about how many meals
Del
had missed out on as a slave. As for himself, Kam had gotten so used to eating only a single meal a day that he was still trying to adjust to the three meals a day the majority of the ship’s crew insisted upon.

“Not now,” Kam said. “I might grab something a little later.”

Kam couldn’t figure out if
Del
’s disappointment stemmed from not having someone to eat with or not having a chance at Kam’s leftovers. Either way, Kam was ready to relax. He’d spent most of the day in weapons training with Ben, and he could barely lift his arms. A traditional G’trobian cleansing would’ve been wonderful right now.

“Are you injured?” G’baena asked.

“Not injured,” he replied, slightly embarrassed when both
Del
and Devlin turned their attention to him. “Just a little overworked is all.”