Salvation (12 page)

“No.” That was all he said. Fuck that. One of his lovers was already in immediate danger. No way would Se put herself in harms way as well. He’d take care of it and that was that.

Se bristled under his gaze. “What do you mean, ‘no’?” She put her hand on her hips and glared.

“You will stay on the
Salvation
and wait for it to be over.” Rock’s tone brooked no argument. He mimicked her stance.

“I think I’ll head to the galley.”

Rock waved Rave away while continuing to focus on Se.

“Bullshit. Not.
Going.
To.
Happen. Zander is just as much mine as he is yours. We protect what is ours.” Se gestured between the two of them. She was so sexy all fired up like she was.

“Yes, we do.
Which is why you’re staying here.
” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“No way in hell. I was in the military and trained in combat. You will not take this away from me. I am not a ‘sit back and watch’ kind of girl. And you know that.”

“I would…” he paused. He had to get this right. “Fuck it all. I would die if anything happened to either of you. Trained? How much actual combat have you seen, Se? I’ve been through wars. I’ve seen families devastated with loss. No fucking way is that happening. I’ll bring Zander over here. You two can look after each other while
Kain
, Rave and I handle
Larrison
.”

“You are not going to deprive me of defending our man. I say again. Not.
Going.
To.
Happen. I’m a big girl and I can handle myself. Don’t you think I would be equally lost without either of you? We’re a team now. That is, if you want us to stay that way. It’s different with Zander. If he had any type of combat background I would want him with us as well. We will be stronger together.” Se slapped him around the head.

“Ouch. Damn it, Se.”

“Enough. This is not up for debate.” Se stormed off the bridge.

“Well, fuck me.” Rock ran a hand through his already mussed hair. Life sucked.

Rave must not have gone far because he sauntered back into the room.

“You’re just all kinds of fucked, aren’t you?” Rave sounded happy.

“Yeah, well I should have pulled a Rave and gone off and taken care of it.” Rock couldn’t help himself getting the dig in. It was too easy.
And made him feel a bit better.

“Oh, we saw how well that worked. If I had to do it over again—”

“Stop it right there.” Rock held up a hand. “You would do the same fucking thing. We both know it.” Rock wouldn’t let Rave get away with that shit.

“Okay, you’re right. But we both know Se better than that. Once she considers you family, that’s it. I mean, come on, she left the Alliance for me. No questions asked. When I got off that godforsaken penal colony, she was there and helped me through a lot of shit. She’s a hell of a first mate and smart to boot. Give her some credit.”

“You don’t want her confronting that asshole anymore than I do,” Rock tried to reason.

“No I don’t, but I trust her,” Rave stated.

“Trust isn’t the problem,” Rock insisted.

“Isn’t it?” Rave cocked that damn eyebrow at him.
Cocky fucking bastard.

“I trust both Se and Zander with my life. Se, I’m not surprised about. But how fast I’ve taken to Zander is amazing to me. I don’t trust easy. Never have.”

“You think I don’t know that? How long did it take for us to become friends?” Rave asked.

“That’s because I wanted in your pants.” Rock laughed.

“It was more than that and you know it. And if
Kain
hadn’t come back, you
might
have worn me down.
Eventually.”
Rave winked.

“Never would have happened. I’m too much man for you to handle.” His shoulders relaxed and the tension left his body. Rave was right, not that he’d admit it out loud—Rave’s ego was already huge. Se would be there, and he would have to be okay with it. Zander was another story. He was going to lock him in a room and not let him out for a month.
If he was lucky.

“So what’s the plan when we rendezvous with the
Elation
? Or are we going in guns-a-
blazin
’ and damn the consequences? Not that I have a problem with that.”Rave rested his ass on the main computer panel.

“We meet up with your ship and hope the Alliance is there. Whether they are or not, we lure
Larrison
out of his ship and confront him. Hoping he pulls something so I can kill his ass.”

“Nice and simple.
It could work. I’m in.”

Rock hoped so. His trigger finger was itchy, and he wanted that fucker dead.

Chapter Eight

“We don’t have much time.
Larrison
is right behind us, but I wanted to talk to you both before we confront him,” Rock announced.

They’d finally landed on Vega Delta and
hightailed
it to a small town on the edge of the jungle. Zander and
Kain
had been waiting for them at a deserted cabin. For that matter, the whole place looked empty. It would be better that way. Rock didn’t want innocent people hurt, and he wasn’t sure what would go down.

 
Rock needed to clear the air. It was important if anything happened. He’d lost too many people without saying goodbye. Not this time. He was falling, and going down hard.

“Me first,” said Zander. “I’m—sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to give myself over. I—just—that is—I care deeply for you both. Something I’ve never had before. Science has been my life and now it seems to come in second. And that is the other thing I have to tell you. Something is wrong with the pox sample I have. It isn’t a pox. Why would someone give me the wrong sample if I was to find a cure? It’s the Grey Death, and I don’t know where it came from or who the sample belongs to. It isn’t right.” It looked like Zander wanted to keep talking but he stopped.

“We don’t have time to go into your research.” Rock squeezed Zander’s shoulder and drew him closer. “We can look into it after this situation is cleared up.
Kain
said his dad isn’t far off, but I don’t think they’ll get here in time. We need to secure
Larrison
for questioning. Zander, if you would wait in that cabin over there until this is over, it would make me feel a lot better. That way I don’t have to worry about you. You’ll have a weapon if you need it. Se, you—
wait
, hear me out before you say anything. You’ll be positioned in front of the cabin. The rest of us will be in front of you. Well, not exactly in front. I want you to have a clear shot if you need it.”

Zander opened his arms and Se walked into them. The three huddled together.

“Thank you, Rock,” was all she said.

“I may have a thick skull, but I trust you to have my back. Something Rave wouldn’t let me forget.
Now both of you give me a kiss before we get into position.”

“Hurry it up, you three. He’ll be here in seconds. We’ll break radio silence once they enter the atmosphere,” Rave said.

Rock pulled Se to him first and put everything he could into the kiss. Zander peppered both his and
Se’s
face with light caresses. He turned to taste Zander and leant back so Se and Zander could have their turn. God, he wanted to go home and fuck them both senseless.

“Fuck. I love you two.” Rock didn’t rush the words. He liked the way they sounded. It was right.

“Rock—” Zander started.

Rock put his finger to Zander’s lips to stop him. He would hear the words, but he wanted to wait so he could savour them. Se didn’t say
anything,
she just snuggled closer as if she knew they would get back to this moment later. Her faith in him astounded him. Rock couldn’t ask for better partners.

“Go get in the cabin.” Rock pressed a gun into Zander’s hand then walked away to stand by Rave.

“You ready for this?” Rock asked Rave.

“Fuck yeah. Let’s get this over with,”
came
the enthusiastic response.

Kain
walked out of the ship and stopped beside them. “I hailed them and told
Larrison
if he wanted the good doctor, to come alone. I don’t trust that he will, so stay on your toes.”

“What? Does he think this is the first time we’ve done this?” Rock joked.

“He’s talking to you, old man.
Kain
knows I’ve got mad skills.”

“Who’re you calling old man?” Rock pushed Rave towards
Kain
. They shared a laugh before they turned serious.

“Game face on, gentlemen.
The man of the hour is here.”
Kain’s
facial expression turned hard.

It was time for business. Rock took one moment to look back at Se. She blew him a kiss. He’d done the right thing letting her know he trusted her.

“Where is he?” Rock turned at the shout.

It was the same man from the vid, but he looked different somehow. Something was wrong with him.

“I thought I told you to come alone?”
Kain
yelled back.

Just beyond
Larrison
stood a tall, handsome man.
He was on the thin side, with dark black hair threaded with silver. Rock wondered who he was and why he was with
Larrison
.

“Who?
Him?
He is nobody.”
Larrison
pulled a gun and aimed it at
Kain
.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing you crazy son of a bitch?” Rock distracted
Larrison
. No way was
Kain
getting shot. Not on his watch.

This was Rock’s show. Rock slid the safety off and readied his gun hand. If anyone was going to shoot, it would be him.

“None of you will be hurt if you just hand over Alexander. Now where is he?” The voice was calm, but the man twitched, his gaze flitting between them.

Something had changed between their communication on Cooper and now. Was he on drugs? It had to be something. Rock was going to tell him to go to hell, but someone beat him to it.

“I’m not going with you, Mr Walker. Reginald, it’s nice to see you again.”

What was Zander doing out of the cabin? Damn it. This could go bad in a hurry. Rock liked the odds, but lasers could go astray and Zander stepped right into
Larrison’s
line of sight and Se was right beside him.
His two stubborn lovers.
Maybe he’d tie them both up and show them who was boss. He returned his focus to the situation. He’d deal with them both later.

“I don’t know why you fight me, my sweet Alexander. We were meant to be together. I don’t understand why you left before we had a chance. And then I lure you out with that fake pox and you still disappear.
Not very sporting of you, young man.
And I do like a good hunt. Now come here. I’m done with this foolishness.”

“Disappear? You shot the ship I was on out of the sky. I’d be dead right now if it wasn’t for the
Salvation
. And fake? What do you think you gave me?”

“Zander, is this really the time for these questions?” Rock said out of the side of his mouth.

He didn’t want to take
Larrison’s
attention away because the man had lowered his gun. Rock didn’t wait for a response, but slowly moved to the side. If he could get behind
Larrison
, he might be able to get a jump on him. He had to watch out for his servant, but Rock thought he’d be in the clear.

“I gave you a sample of my own blood. I’m surprised you didn’t find out sooner that the sample was clean. I thought you were a scientist. Not that it matters—my toys don’t need jobs. You’ll be taken care of. No worries there.”

“Clean?” Zander sounded confused.

It gave Rock pause. Maybe this would explain what was wrong with the guy.

“Well, yes, of course. Now stop talking and get over here. Reginald, please go help the good doctor.”

“Sir, I hate to tell you this,” Zander paused and looked towards Rock with a sad expression.
Don’t touch him,
Zander mouthed to him. “You have the Grey Death. It looks to be pretty advanced. You should be in a hospital.” Zander edged back and pulled Se with him.