"War Hauk Fain?" Jullien scowled.
"Yeah. I used to train with him when he lived on Kirovar."
Jullien wiped his face. "I had no idea you knew him."
"Small universe, right? I figured you two probably knew each other, since he and his brother went to your school when you were kids, but given how Anatoles feel about War Hauks, and War Hauks feel about Anatoles, and the long-standing feud between your lineages, I knew to never, ever mention to him or his brother that we were related or knew each other in any capacity. Andarions are a highly territorial and volatile species."
"Good call. They'd have killed you."
"Exactly." Bastien wiped at his face and shoulders. "Sorry about this, Ushara. Please don't harm my cousin. It was all my fault."
"Hardly. I'm the one who started it."
When they began to argue over blame, Ushara stopped them. "It's fine." She gently wiped at the blood on Jullien's lip. "I'm glad that your arm's working so well. But you shouldn't be stressing it so soon."
"I wasn't using it too much. I don't have precise control over it yet, and I didn't want to kill him."
Ushara sighed in bitter amusement. "So, Bas, since it's now so late, are you staying until morning?"
"Nah, I was going to head on, especially after I got Julie into trouble. Don't want to risk wearing out any more of my welcome."
Jullien dried his hair. "Where are you headed?"
"Starken. Then I'm after Barnabas."
Ushara cringed at the thought. "Alone?"
He nodded. "I don't have anyone else I trust, really. Don't want a stranger at my back. Not about to drag Julie or Fain into this. So if I fall, it's only on my ass. And there's no one to really grieve over it."
Ushara wrinkled her nose at him. "Why don't you hit the showers before you leave?"
"What? You saying I stink?"
Trajen snorted. "Well, you did just spend two hours beating the utter hell out of my field admiral. You both smell like something rotted and died. How Ushara can stand being this close to either of you while pregnant, I have no idea."
"Fine. I can take a hint." Bastien headed for the locker room.
As soon as he was gone, Ushara dug out her link.
Jullien scowled at her. "What are you doing?"
"Hailing someone. Obviously."
Jullien met Trajen's gaze. A cold feeling went through his gut at her unexpected vague answer. He was usually the evasive ass, not her. "Who?"
She ignored his question. "Hey, this is Admiral Samari. I know you requested reassignment yesterday and that we were meeting about it tomorrow. Believe it or not, something interesting came up tonight. It's an outside mission. For Kirovar, but it's something I think you might be interested in." She paused to listen. "Yeah. You want to meet us in the North Bay in a few minutes?" A smiled curved her lips. "Great. I'll see you then."
Trajen growled low in his throat. "Do you know what you're doing?"
"Yes."
Completely confounded as his powers failed him, Jullien turned toward Trajen. "Could someone clue me in?"
Ushara tucked her link away. "Jay has grounded herself for a few months. She wants to spend more time with her kids, and let her husband do the runs. So her crew requested temporary reassignments."
"Okay..."
"I'm thinking one of them would make a perfect point for Bastien."
While Jullien appreciated the thought, he knew that wouldn't play well with his cousin. Bas was even more paranoid than he was. And with good reason. Once you'd been through the kind of betrayal they'd suffered, it tended to stay with you.
"Shara ... Bas isn't going to put someone at his back he doesn't know."
"Yeah, but she has Gyron Force training. He has to respect that."
It wouldn't matter. In fact, that could be worse. If they knew each other, it could even anger Bas.
Jullien pulled his shirt on and groaned out loud. "Trajen, tell her what a bad idea this is. For all we know, they could be enemies."
"I don't think so," Ushara insisted. "She left Kirovar and joined The Tavali because of the overthrow."
"What was her rank?"
"Major."
Trajen crossed his arms over his chest. "Let them meet. See if they get along."
He made it sound easy, but Jullien knew better. He also knew better than to argue with the two of them. They invariably won. Trajen because he wouldn't give in. Ushara because she fought dirty.
Jullien tossed the towel in a bin. "Fine. I don't want him to do this alone anyway."
By the time Bastien was finished and they were in the bay, Jullien was having doubts about saying good-bye. He had a bad feeling in his gut that something catastrophic was going to happen to Bastien. That they wouldn't see each other again.
"You sure you want to do this? You know you're welcome to stay."
Bastien clapped him on the back. "And you make it tempting. But I have to do this. I owe it to my family."
"I understand. If you need anything else..."
Bastien cast a playful grin at Ushara. "Really appreciate it, but I won't take you from your family. They need you more than I do." He held his hand out to Jullien. "You take care, drey."
"And you."
He inclined his head to Ushara, then shook Trajen's hand.
Suddenly, a shrill voice cut through the bay. "Bastien Cabarro ... you lousy, worthless piece of human shit!"
The color fled from Bastien's cheeks as he stepped away from Trajen and they turned to see the Hadean Corps officer from Jay's crew. At average height for a human woman, she barely came up to Jullien's waist and the middle of Bastien's chest.
Dressed black on black, she had that familiar military swagger that was ingrained in any Gyron Force officer. And she stalked Bastien like she fully intended to gut him.
With a rusted-out can opener.
Bastien didn't move or speak. He just stood there, gaping at the slender auburn-haired Tavali.
She stopped in front of him, hands on hips. "Have you nothing to say to me?"
"I thought you were dead?"
Sneering at his answer, she grabbed his jacket and jerked him forward. Instead of hitting him, as Jullien had expected, she gave him a kiss that really should have been reserved for the bedroom.
Wide-eyed, Ushara glanced at Trajen, then Jullien. "I think they know each other."
With a stifled smile, Jullien ran his thumb over his bottom lip. "Uh, yeah, I'm going to bet on that, too. Either that, or the greetings on Kirovar have vastly improved since the last time I visited."
Bastien finally came up for air, but the grin on his face said that he might be staying a little bit longer on the station than he'd anticipated.
Until she kneed him in the groin. Hard. "That's for marrying my sister, you feckless bastard."
Hissing in pain, Bastien limped away from her, clutching at his groin. He glared at her and cursed. "You broke up with me! Remember?"
Unrepentant, she curled her lip. "I wanted some time to think about where we were heading. That wasn't an invitation for you to go bang my sister five minutes later."
He sneered at her. "I didn't just go bang your sister. And it damn sure was more than five minutes later." Straightening, he tried to level his breathing. "She asked me out. Then I asked you and you said you didn't care what, and I directly quote, or who I did."
"I. Lied," she snapped between gritted teeth. "Holy Jake! You were my wingman. You were supposed to be able to read my expressions and know me better than that!"
Bastien held his hands up. "Not Trisani, Ember. Don't read minds. You told me you wanted us to be friends, and your sister said you only went out with me because you didn't want to turn me down and hurt my feelings, since we were partners and I was a prince. How was I to know?"
Raking him with a glare, she made a sound of supreme disgust. "Gah! You were always so dense!" She turned toward Ushara. "Is he my assignment?"
"Uh..." She glanced about nervously. "Yes? But I'm going to a
Ember narrowed her gaze on Bastien. "You going after your uncle?"
"Of course."
"Then I'm in."
Bastien snorted. "Uh, yeah, no. I don't think so. Especially not after this." He gestured toward his abused groin. "I don't need the cold-cocking. Trust me. Life's done it enough."
"Don't even, Cabarro. You won't last ten seconds without us in this fight. You want vengeance. So do we."
"Us?"
"Riot Squad. We all got left for dead."
Ushara glanced between them. "Riot Squad?"
"Special tactical unit of Gyron Force," Bastien explained. "Commanded by her mother." He returned his attention to Ember. "Did all of you make it out?"
She shook her head. "You're not the only one who lost that day."
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well, we all got wounds to lick. So am I in? Or you running suicide?"
Bastien picked up the bag she'd dropped by his feet and slung it over his back. "Don't drag your ass, Wildstar. I won't tolerate slack."
"I don't want to hear it, GG. I outrank you."
"GG?" Jullien asked Ember.
"Ghost Gadget. So named for the way he always found the right tool whenever we needed to blow something up in battle. Or could repair anything mechanical or electrical that broke down."
Ushara passed an amused smile to Jullien. "Like you."
Jullien didn't comment. "And Wildstar?"
"Based off my last name. Wyldestarrin."
"Yeah. Not even," Bastien scoffed. "So dubbed for her temperament and the fact that during training, she set fire to a fellow classmate's airbee when she caught him cheating on her."
"Something you should have kept in mind. Huh?"
"I didn't cheat on you. You broke up with me. How many times do I have to repeat that?"
"Asshole!" Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes. "I take it yours is the Sentella fighter?"
"Yes. Are we going to fight the whole way?"
"Probably."
"Oh dear gods..."
Jullien draped his arm around Ushara as they watched them leave. "I'm not sure how I feel about this. Tray?"
Trajen sighed heavily. "If they don't kill each other, they might work it out."
"The might in that sentence makes my sphincter clench."
Laughing, Trajen clapped Jullien on the back. "Good night, kids."
Ushara bit her lip as the bay quieted down with Bastien's launch. "I'm so sorry. I thought Ember would help."
"It's fine. You had no way of knowing they had history."
"Did you know?"
He shook his head. "I was at his wedding, but I only barely remember his wife, or the event as a whole. Was rather high at the time."
"Do I want to know?"
Jullien screwed his face up. "Probably not. It wasn't one of my better days."
Suddenly, Ushara's link went off. Pulling it out, she checked it to see a text from her family. A smile curved her lips as she saw them at Mary's. "Thraix finally let my sister up for air." She held it for Jullien to see a photo of them all celebrating. "Shall we join them?"
"Absolutely. But first..." He wrapped his arms around her, beneath her breasts and above her distended belly, and held her for several minutes.
She could feel his erection against her hip, but he didn't do anything more than sway with her while his warm breath caressed her neck. "You all right?"
"Fine." He placed his hand to her stomach, where their son was currently turning flips. "He's really active."
"I know. He's been using my bladder for a trampoline for the last half hour."
He let out a low laugh near her ear that sent chills over her. "I still can't believe you're willing to go through labor again. You are out of your mind."
She ran her hand down his artificial arm. He hadn't said a single word about any of the operations he'd gone through over the last few weeks, or the pain of losing it. Nothing about the grafts that had failed and succeeded or the therapies he'd had to endure while relearning the simplest tasks, such as fastening his clothes or picking up a spoon. Holding a glass. Or learning to hold the girls with one arm because he feared harming them when he wasn't sure how to adequately control the pressure and grips of the artificial limb, and didn't trust it with them.
Never a complaint. He'd merely ground his teeth and rose to the challenge with an unfailing courage that still staggered her.
Compared to childbirth ...
That was over in only a few hours. He was still having pain and undergoing physical therapy from his injuries.
"And if someone threw an IED at one of us, would you jump on top of it again?"
"Of course."
"What's the difference? At least at the end of my few hours of finite pain, I have an adorable baby to cuddle and hold."
She felt his smile against her cheek. "Never thought of it that way."
"Now, can you relax about childbirth?"
He laughed. "I don't like seeing you in pain."
"And you think I enjoy seeing you in pieces? Literally?" She leaned her head to the side so that she could look him in the eye. "Have you any idea how it felt to walk into that room and see you in the bed after the explosion?"
He visibly cringed. "I'm sorry."
"Not so sorry you wouldn't do it again."
He released a heavy sigh. "You married an inconsiderate, contentious asshole. You knew that. I came into this marriage with a disclaimer." Wrinkling his nose at her, he stepped back and held his arms out. "What did you expect?"
Growling at him, she lunged to playfully pop at his rear.
He sidestepped her with a laugh and shuffled away while she chased after him. "You're pretty spry for a shuttle craft."
"What?" she gasped, and chased him toward the edge of the bay, where Davel's ship was docked. "You did not go there!"
"Oh yeah, I did. After that crack you made this morning about my age when I groaned getting out bed?" He dodged her hand and twisted away. "I promise you, it's the mileage on my chassis more than the years."
"Uh-huh, sure it is. You keep believing those lies you tell yourself." She grabbed his shirt and tickled him.
Jullien surrendered, laughing. Cupping her face, he kissed her and breathed her in, grateful to the gods that she was part of his life.
"You two, again? I swear..."
He laughed as Sheila walked past them, grumbling. Pulling back, he nibbled at Ushara's cheek, watching Sheila head toward her office. Until his gaze went toward Davel's most recent acquisition. And an idea struck him. "Hey ... have you ever been inside a Gondarion luxury cruiser?"
Ushara gave him a suspicious stare. "I know that look in those stralen eyes. That's not what you're thinking."
He flashed a wicked grin at her. "Ever had sex in a Gondarion luxury cruiser?"
She rolled her eyes at him. "The answer to both questions is no, I haven't."
He lifted her hand to nibble playfully at her fingertips. "Would you like to?"
"My family's waiting."
"Fifteen minutes."
"You never take fifteen minutes."
He snorted. "Not true."
She laughed as she reconsidered that. "You rarely take fifteen minutes, and you haven't been on a run in months. Besides, you're all sweaty."
He kissed and licked at her palm. "I'd get all sweaty by the time I finished, anyway. You've never complained about that before. Besides, you always say you like the way I smell when I sweat." He nuzzled her neck.
Ushara sucked her breath in as chills spread through her body. She was trying so hard to be good and resist him. But he was making it exceptionally difficult. And he was right. She loved the way he smelled. There was something about the scent of his skin that was irresistible to her, especially whenever she was pregnant. She just wanted to bury her face in the crook of his neck and inhale his scent all night long. Her favorite thing was to lie in his arms and breathe him in. He was intoxicating.
And before she knew what she was doing, she followed him as he broke into the access panel and got on board faster than most who had the actual codes for it. "Should I even ask how a prince learned to do that?"
"You've seen my arrest records. I used to boost the Overseer's personal shuttles for joyrides as a kid anytime I got near them."
"Why?"
He shrugged. "Was trying to stay away from home for awhile. Kept hoping if I did it enough, the Gondarions would keep me in their lockup. Or call my father rather than my grandmother."
"Did it ever work?"
"Sadly, no. Since my father wasn't my legal guardian, his secretary refused to put the calls through regarding my arrests. They shunted the calls back to Andaria. And if by some mirable, I ever got through to my father, he refused to bail me out."
Ushara didn't miss the sadness that always darkened his eyes whenever they spoke about his past. While he'd come a long way with putting it to rest and letting it all go, there was still a part of his heart they owned. A part she couldn't quite chisel free from their cruel grasp, no matter how hard she tried. And it pained her deep inside to see the lasting damage it did to his soul.
Taking her hand, he led her inside the cruiser. Luxury was definitely the word for it.
She let out a low whistle at the incredibly opulent interior. No expense had been spared. "Is that gold on the ceiling?"
Jullien smiled. "Yeah. And on the trim and in the paint. It's why it glistens like that."
"Do I want to know the cost of this?"
"Probably not."
She stopped to run her hand over the gold veining in the titanium walls. "Did you take this for granted?"
"I'm not sure I know what you're asking."
"The wealth. What was it like to have all the credits you could possibly dream of, and not have to think twice about spending them?"
"Truth?"
She nodded.
"I was so worried about someone sliding a dagger in my back, poisoning my food, or setting an explosion for me that I never really enjoyed any of it. I'd have much rather been worried about debt than death." He opened a panel to expose a bar. A wide smile curved his lips. "Remember the first night you took me home? The alcohol I mentioned that would leave your panties on the floor?" Wagging his eyebrows, he pulled a bottle from the shelf.
She laughed at his eager playfulness. "My brother will expect payment for that, you know."
"Your brother has no idea how much this is worth ... unless you tell him. Besides, he owes me."
"For what?"
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