G'baena's Pirates (16 page)

Devlin’s love for G’baena grew even stronger as he realized that these horrible men were the ones who’d controlled her young life, yet her spirit, her courage, her self-assurance had survived. Clearly, her fathers’ ironfisted control had not contributed to the woman she was now.

“Dev, escort this idiot to the holding cells. I want to speak to his brother alone.”

“Yes, Sire,” he said, trying to hide his smile. He knew what “escort” meant when requested in that tone of voice. He grabbed the little man by his collar, wrenching him out of the seat and holding him at arm’s length. He was lighter than Devlin anticipated, so he had to lower the fool closer to the ground so he could try to stand. The coward’s legs wobbled so much Devlin practically dragged him out the door.

He followed Trey to the holding cells, trying hard not to inhale the smell of fear and urine coming from the prisoner. Devlin had caught a quick glance of G’baena’s mother, concern for the woman flowing through him when he noticed her limp. God help this stupid man if he was the cause of G’baena’s mother’s injuries. Devlin wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold back the rage he felt for G’baena and her female relatives.

Trey nodded to a guard, who unlocked a thick glass-like door and indicated that Devlin should deposit their prisoner within. Devlin felt a great deal of satisfaction as he dropped the man on the floor and turned to leave the room.

“Last chance,” Trey said from the doorway. “Names?”

“I don’t know any,” the man said as he began to sob uncontrollably. A small amount of sympathy filtered through Devlin’s mind, but he quickly squashed it. Chances were this man had stood by impassively while his wife or daughters lay crying and injured by his hand. He and his brother had even boasted earlier of the ironfisted control they held over their family.

“Look, I’m a reasonable man,” Trey said, his conciliatory tone of voice taking Devlin by surprise. “If you weren’t involved directly, I’ll make sure that only your brother is executed for dealing with slave traders.”

Devlin couldn’t believe the amount of information that came out of the man’s mouth after that. Clearly, he also lacked loyalty to his brother.

* * * *

Kam watched the terrified look on the woman’s face melt into a confused smile. G’baena’s mother and sisters were battered and bruised, and it was very clear to Kam that their injuries were the result of years of abuse. Unable to watch G’baena’s mother limp another step, Kam lifted her into his arms, took several long strides, and carefully lowered her to the huge day lounge at the end of the room.

G’baena was quick to follow, her youngest sister’s hand clasped tightly in her own.

“They told me you were dead,” G’baena’s mother whispered, and then cast terrified eyes toward Kam before frantically lowering her gaze. “What will they do now?”

Kam wasn’t sure who the woman meant by “they,” but he guessed by her terrified emotions and jittery movements that she referred to G’baena’s fathers.

“They will explain to the kings why I was sold to slavers,” G’baena said through clenched teeth. Kam supposed that if she’d had any doubts about her course of action, they were thoroughly squashed by the evidence of her mother’s injuries. The woman moved as if she’d been in the process of being beaten when the kings’ invitation had arrived. Considering the new-looking bruise on one of the younger girl’s faces, Kam strongly suspected that to be true.

“Slavers?” her mother asked in a horrified voice.

“Will they take our fathers away?” the youngest girl asked. Her bottom lip quivered, and Kam felt the need to offer a lie in reassurance but bit back the words. Offering false hope seemed even crueler than what these children had already witnessed.

“Yes,” G’baena said, with satisfaction ringing in her tone. “They will be punished for what they did. You will never see them again.”

Goddess, the hope on that young face was heartbreaking. The child couldn’t have been more than twelve cycles old, yet she’d seen enough misery to never want to see either of her fathers again. Kam shook his head in amazement. G’baena’s fathers had obviously never given their daughters any reason to love them. Most abused children remained devoted to the abusive parent, but clearly, that wasn’t going to be a problem in this case.

G’baena’s mother moaned softly as she tried to sit up.

Kam made eye contact with one of the servants trying to blend into the scenery. There were at least four of them in every room just waiting for an order so they could respond immediately. Again he shook his head at the excesses of royalty and wondered how he’d never noticed it before Ky’s death. “Call for a doctor,” he said, trying to sound both official and polite.

The young woman nodded and left the room without lifting her head. Damn, he’d never noticed that before either. Did she comply out of respect or fear?

“Kam,” G’baena said as she reached to grab his hand and pull him closer. “I would like to introduce you to my mother, G’flynn.”

The woman cringed at the sound of her name, and Kam had to wonder how many times her full name had preceded a beating. Kam bent at the knees, squatting so that he could see eye to eye with the frightened woman. He touched her chin gently with a single finger, hoping that she would lift her head and look into his eyes.

He felt her panic as she complied with his unspoken wish. “What would you prefer I call you?”

She looked confused, but Kam noticed that G’baena squeezed her mother’s hand reassuringly and whispered, “It’s okay.”

“Flynn,” the woman said on barely a breath of sound.

“I am pleased to finally meet you, Flynn. G’baena is someone very special to me, and I would be honored if you would accept our assistance. Can you tell me about your injuries?”

The woman’s eyes almost rolled into the back of her head, and her fear spiked so high that both of the girls cried out in terror. G’baena moved quickly to reassure her younger siblings.

“Flynn, we already know who did this to you, and I promise on my life that you will never be required to face either of your husbands again, but I need to know about your injuries. It will make the doctor’s visit go more smoothly if I can explain beforehand.”

Flynn shook her head, her face coloring in embarrassment.

“Mother,” G’baena said quietly, “Kam loves me. He would never hurt any of us. Please just trust me this once.”

“He loves you?” she asked, sounding very confused. “What about G’Beydeatrey and G’Bende-anrali? You were promised to them long before you were born.” Flynn’s stress levels seemed to ratchet even higher as she wrung her hands in agitation.

“Mother, Ben and Trey are mated to someone else. But,” she continued forcefully as Flynn tried to talk again, “Kam and Devlin love me, and between the three of us, we will find a way to provide a safe home for you and G’deece and G’darlee.” Kam glanced at the girls, wondering which was which.

“Devlin?” Flynn asked as she moved awkwardly. The little amount of color she had in her face drained away as she gasped in pain.

“It’s a long story, Mother, one I will share later. Where is that damn doctor?”

Kam could see the surprise in Flynn’s eyes when he didn’t respond to G’baena’s language or disrespectful tone. Obviously her mother had a lot to learn about how true mates behaved toward each other. Even on G’trobia, most women enjoyed far more self-expression than Flynn seemed to understand.

“Where is the patient?” The doctor’s voice was arrogant and smug, and Kam widened his stance as he prepared to take the asshole down a peg or two. One insulting word from this self-important, pompous jerk and Kam wouldn’t hesitate.

* * * *

Devlin could barely believe his ears. Both brothers had confessed, providing detailed information about the slave trade that was going on under the noses of the authorities. Of course, each claimed to be an unwilling participant and blamed the other.

“What do you think?” Ben asked one of the kings.

“I think we need a public execution as soon as possible. Neither man deserves clemency.”

Devlin was nodding even before the king finished the sentence. They all knew that Kam had called for a doctor. Considering how badly G’baena’s mother had been limping, the medical assistance was most likely for her. Devlin shook off the urge to run and check on Kam and G’baena. If there was any problem with either of them he would’ve been contacted. He ground his teeth and tuned back in to the conversation going on around him.

“A public execution will push the others further underground, maybe even halt their trade until they think it’s safe to resume.”

“Agreed,” Trey spoke up, “but Ben and I could make that work to our advantage.”

“How so?” his cousin asked, but his twin jumped in before Trey or Ben could explain. “No. No. No. You are the crown princes. You are the kings’ sons. You are supposed to lead this planet when your fathers step down, not us.”

“But you have done so well,” Ben said with quiet authority. “You two were always better at negotiations and politics than me and Trey. It makes much more sense for you two to fill the kings’ shoes.”

“What are you saying, son?” one of the kings asked.

“Trey and I have already established our cover identities in the slave trade. If you make it public knowledge that we are wanted for slave trading, then it is possible that the contacts on the planet will come to us. We will need to stage a daring escape from the planet, of course, but I am sure we can come up with a plan that will work.”

“But I really do not want to be king,” his younger cousin said with a rueful smile on his face, but he sounded resigned to his fate.

“Thank you,” Trey said, nodding his approval. “We will work to shut down the slave trade in this galaxy while you try to eradicate the activity on the planet.”

“And we will try to protect you even as we call for your execution.”

Nothing drove the danger home more than that.

* * * *

Thankfully, the doctor had taken one look at the genuine pain on Flynn’s face and immediately changed his tone. Unfortunately, Kam still wanted to ram a fist in someone’s face, but now he was imagining G’baena’s fathers rather than the man offering genuine assistance.

Kam had carried Flynn into a small bedchamber where the doctor could check all of her injuries in private. G’baena had stayed with her mother, so now Kam and G’darlee and G’deece sat on a large recliner waiting for news.

“Who did this to you?” he asked as he brushed a gentle finger over the blossoming bruise on G’darlee’s cheek. She looked almost old enough to be mated, and a horrible suspicion had crept into his mind.

“My intended mates felt that I did not show the proper respect during their visit earlier today.”

Fuck, suspicion confirmed.

But G’darlee’s attitude was the opposite of her mother’s. Despite what must have been a very suffocating and intimidating upbringing, the young woman held his gaze, almost daring him to defend the animal who’d hurt her.

“Give me a name, young one,” he said, trying not to grind his teeth to dust. “I will make certain that the coward will never do this to anyone again.”

She shook her head slowly, and his anger notched just a little higher. If she had half the empathic skills her sister possessed, she’d be sensing his rage easily now. She showed no fear, and he wondered if that was something she’d learned to cover at her fathers’ knees or if she realized Kam’s anger was not directed at her. He certainly hoped it was the latter.

“No,” she said, smiling slightly. “I do not believe they would have acted so if my fathers had not encouraged the behavior. Without that influence, I believe they would behave differently, especially if they are made aware of my fathers’ punishment.”

She said the last without emotion, a small smile the only indication that she approved of her fathers’ coming reckoning.

“Do you wish for the mating to proceed?” It almost killed him to voice the words, but if G’darlee was to be given the freedom to make her own choices, it was a question that needed to be asked.

“Goddess, no,” she said with an almost laugh. “I may be forgiving, but I’m not stupid.”

And just like that, Kam knew that they wouldn’t be leaving the planet without G’baena’s mother or sisters, even if they had to smuggle them past the border patrols to circumvent the law.

Chapter Twelve

G’baena wanted to cry. Her mother’s injuries were numerous and severe. Even the doctor was having trouble maintaining a professional persona. New bruises, old bruises, scars, and swelling all marred her pale skin.