by Amber Kell
“Goddamn it, Kain. So help me god, if this is another trick and I end up going back to prison, I will kill you.” Rave hurried to the com. “Sela, get your ass to the bridge.” Rave turned to him. “Are you planning on standing there or helping?”
Kain appropriated the pilot’s seat to plot the course to Seid II, with a stopover at the New Moon colony. If he did nothing else, he would make sure Rave’s sister stayed safe. He’d already done enough to hurt the man he loved. He wouldn’t risk his family, too.
“Well, what do we have here? How have you been, you bastard?”
Kain looked over his shoulder at his cousin, Sela. “I’ve had better days. You have five seconds to get your ass off this ship, and your time started three seconds ago. Go.”
“What the fuck did you two do?” She went to the computer and punched some keys on the dash. “And, I’m not leaving, so get over yourself. I don’t take orders from you anymore.”
Same old Sela.
“Long story, cuz. Since you’re staying, how about we talk after we’re airborne? Buckle up. I have the coordinates locked in.”
The computer broke through. “Captain Anders, the port authority is hailing us.”
“Computer, block all calls and initiate take off procedures.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Kain, engage auto. Lock it on my mark. Mark.”
It felt like old times—the three of them, working in harmony. Kain had missed this, but he knew it wouldn’t last. Once they were out of orbit, Rave would remember he hated him. But Kain would do whatever was necessary to keep Rave in his life. He couldn’t lose him again.
Damn the Alliance and their schemes. He hadn’t signed up for this. If it wasn’t for Rave, he’d have said, “fuck you very much” and resigned. He took a moment to watch Rave in action. The man knew his way around a ship. Kain wished Rave would touch him with half the reverence he showed the metal heap hurtling them through space.
I’ll win him back. I have to.
Chapter Two
“The Retribution has left port, sir.”
“Thank you, Ensign Hart. Retract weapons and set a course for Seid II. Patch me through to Commander General Fritz. I’ll take the call in my quarters.”
Commander Seth Davidson headed to his living quarters, glad that the mission would be over soon. For two years, he’d been on call for the day Rave Anders would kidnap Kain Sims. Now, he could kill two birds with one stone, as the old saying went.
Being a double agent required finesse. The Royalists paid him for his information, and the price would double with the deaths of Anders and Sims. Now, he had to pacify Fritz. Why the man thought anyone would believe a boy scout like Anders would steal from the government was beyond him and the Royalists. Of course, it had worked in his favour. If everything went as planned, Seth would soon be on Earth III spending money he’d earned from the Royalists.
As he entered his room, his com beeped. He sat on his bunk and answered the call. “Good evening, General Fritz.”
“Why are you bothering me at home, Commander Davidson?”
“Commander Sims is aboard the Retribution, sir.”
“A little ahead of schedule, isn’t he?” General Fritz inquired.
“I’m not sure, sir.” Seth hated reporting to this moron.
“Did you set a course to follow?”
“Yes, sir. We are on our way to Seid II as I speak. As soon as Anders picks up the cargo, we’ll arrest him and confiscate the weapon.”
“Good, good. I’ll put the kidnapping on the wire. We have those Royalist bastards right where we want them. Once we bring Anders in, we can clear his name, and he’ll be indebted to us.”
The old kook was off his rocker. Did he really believe the bullshit he dished out?
“Yes, sir.”
“Keep me posted.”
“Yes, sir.” The communication ended.
“Computer, switch to classified mode and contact Jefferson Peters.”
“Please confirm clearance code.”
“S-D-two-five-two-five-eight-nine Charlie two.”
“Code confirmed.”
“Peters,” the Royalist commander answered.
“Jefferson, the mission is a go. Anders and Sims are aboard the Retribution, heading your way. Do you have the fake T-15K Laser in place?”
“Thank you, Seth. Everything is set on our end. Once I have confirmation of their deaths, you accounts will be credited. What’s your ETA?”
“We dock tomorrow at twenty hundred hours.”
“Don’t contact me again until your mission is complete.” Jefferson ended the transmission.
Seth waited a moment before contacting the computer. “Computer, erase last transmission from your data port.”
“Please confirm delete code.”
“S-D-two-five-two-five-eight-nine Delta one.”
“Communication deleted.”
He lay on his bunk, savouring the thought of killing the lovers. He wanted to do it himself, face to face. They wouldn’t see it coming. And when Earth went boom, he’d be laughing on sunny Earth III. The fools at the Alliance thought New Moon would be targeted—as if the Royalists would obliterate a nobody planet on Zep prime. He would ride out the shift of power over the universe and land on top.
He fell asleep with a smile on his face.
* * * *
“Sela, please show your cousin to a bunk. I’ll take the bridge.”
“Ra—”
“No, Kain. Go with Sela.”
Kain got up from the pilot seat. He glanced over his shoulder at Rave before he followed Sela down the corridor to the sleeping cabins. His shoulders slumped. He shouldn’t get discouraged, but the wall around Rave seemed too strong to break through. If the man would give him a small sign, it would make Kain feel better, but Rave showed no signs of cracking.
“You really fucked up this time, Kain.” Sela stated the obvious.
“You think I don’t know that, Se?”
“What happened? You could have at least contacted me. I’m family.”
“I couldn’t risk it. The Alliance had me by the balls. They would have hurt you both if I didn’t fall in line. Don’t you think I wanted to talk to you? Hell, I couldn’t even tell my parents. I was shipped off to the other side of the universe. Communications were a joke anyway.”
“What happened that day? Did you watch while the port guard carted Rave off in handcuffs? What about the trial?”
Kain wanted to yell at Sela, but the hurt look on her face made him pause. Her green eyes held unspent tears. Plus he was angrier with himself. She was the innocent party, just like Rave. Kain had ruined so many relationships for nothing. The Alliance could kiss his ass.
The rage he felt built up and seeped out.
“I was at the fucking trial, okay? But I wasn’t there to watch the prisoners board the ship. The minute the sentence passed down, a member of the Alliance dragged me to headquarters. They told me to play along or Rave would die then they sent me back to an out of reach planet.”
He flashed back to that day, remembering the anxiety of standing there, helpless to help the man he loved.
“Damn it, Kain.” Sela hit him upside the head, shaking him out of his memories.
“Shit, Sela. What was that for?”
“Being an idiot. We could have taken a stand or something. You betrayed him. He won’t forgive you.”
That’s what he was afraid of. Fear and anger warred within him. The fear taking the lead with her words.
Kain looked over at Sela. They’d stopped at a cabin door.
“I need your help.”
“No.”
“You aren’t going to hear me out?”
“You haven’t convinced me that I should hear you out. That you didn’t just abandon him. Hell, that you didn’t walk out on me, too. You were like my big brother. I would have done anything for you.”
Kain pulled Sela into a hug and kissed the top of her head.
“Tha
t mushy shit won’t win me over either.”
He squeezed her tighter. “I’ve missed you, squirt.”
Sela pulled away and hit the back of his head again.
“Enough already!”
“I owe you a lifetime of pain, mister. Now settle in. I’ll get you for dinner.”
“I want to talk to him, Sela. There’s more he has to know.”
“Not tonight, stud. He has to cool off first.”
“We don’t have much time.”
“Two years. You left us for two years.” Sela glared at him, pointing her finger for emphasis. “You were the love of that man’s life, and you put him through hell. Do you even know what happened to him while on Devil’s? Did the good old Alliance give you a report on that? He was only gone a month. One month. And he returned a different man. He waited for a year for you to come back then he shut down further. It’s going to take more than a talk to get back into his good graces.”
Sela turned and left him to his thoughts. He wanted to cry, but he deserved every bit of it. He should have broken free of the Alliance before now.
Kain opened the door to his quarters and entered the room. He knew it wouldn’t be easy. Rave took betrayal seriously. Kain hoped he’d be able to prove to Rave that he hadn’t betrayed him and they belonged together. Once the mission ended, he’d be free. His resignation already sat on his superior’s desk. Now he had to convince the man he loved to spend his retirement with him.
He would explain things to Rave, even if Rave didn’t want to hear it. They weren’t the only ones affected by the stance the Alliance had taken on the Royalists. Innocent people were dying in the war between the two powerhouses. Maybe they could shake things up a little. Was there a third option that would take the Alliance and the Royalist out of power? Did he even care?
Chapter Three
Rave looked over his shoulder, half-expecting to see Kain behind him. He should have known the man wouldn’t be there when he needed him. Hell, if the man couldn’t show up for his trial, what made Rave think he would show up now? Insecurity welled up inside him, replacing by anger at wanting Kain beside him.
“Hey, Rave. You want me to stay topside with you?”
Sela. She would always be there for him. Why couldn’t he have fallen for her?
“No, Se. You go get some rest. We should be on Seid II before long.”
“Um…I don’t think so.”
“What do you mean?” He looked over to see Sela leaning over at the control panel. She patched into the autopilot and put navigation on the screen.
“See here?” She pointed at the display. “Who keyed in the route?”
Rave jumped from his chair. “Damn it! Kain did. Where is he taking us?”Was he being taken for a fool? Could Kain betray him again? Doubt weighed heavily on his heart.
“New Moon. What’s on New Moon? Oh…hey, Mel is on that planet. Why would he take us there?”
With a thud, Rave dropped back to his seat. What game did Kain play now? Did the Alliance put him up to this? If they did, why? It made no sense.
“To get Mel off planet.”
“Why would we do that?”
“The cargo from Seid II?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“It’s a planet-killing laser. The Royalists are using us to smuggle it into New Moon so they can deploy it. We’ll get our cargo manifest showing the destination when we get there.”
“So why go to New Moon first? Why not pick up the cargo and not deliver it?”
Rave ran a hand through his hair and released a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe you should ask Kain.”
He glared at Sela. “No fucking way.” He couldn’t trust Kain. Scratch that, he didn’t want to trust Kain. Rave didn’t know if his heart could take a beating again. The first time he ached enough for a lifetime. He’d closed that part of himself off and just because Kain had appeared in his life again didn’t mean he had to open his life back up.
“You don’t have to forgive him, you know? Of course, you could redirect the ship and kick him off.”
“I can’t.”
Se arched an eyebrow at him. “Forgive him or kick him off?”
“I can’t throw him off the ship.”
“And why not? I’d like to see it.” Se grinned.
Rave snorted. “He’s family, you shouldn’t talk about him that way.”
“You’re family. He’s the pig who left us.”
“Yeah, well, I guess there is more to that than I knew. Than any of us knew,” he whispered.
“He told me he was in the courtroom that day,” Sela interjected.
“Goddamn it. Why did he have to turn up now? Things were settling down. I was forgetting him.”
“No. you weren’t.”
“Shut it, Sela.” He’d turned his feeling off, and now wasn’t the time for freeing them, no matter what Se thought she was doing. He could hear the hope in her voice, but it would be easier for her to forgive. Kain was family after all, no matter what she tried to say.
“Not going to happen, and you know it. Talk to him. If there are things you don’t know, make him explain,” she pleaded with him.
“Did he tell you I went to prison for no reason? Did he tell you it was a setup so I could go undercover, but nobody fuckin’ told me? One day in that place was a day too long.”
“Tell him that,” she insisted.
“Stop butting in. I thought you hated him, too.” He couldn’t look at her, or he’d take his frustration out on her. It wasn’t her fault he didn’t know which was up.
“I don’t hate him, and neither do you.”
“Fuck you, Se. Just…fuck you.” He knew confusion colour his words. He ran an impatient hand through his already ruffled hair.
Rave rose from his chair and stormed off the bridge.
I’m not still in love with that asshole.
When Rave arrived at the living quarters, he slowed down. Kain could be in only one of two rooms. The other living areas were assigned. He stopped in front of the one he thought was Kain’s door. He pressed his palm against it. He would like nothing more than to forgive the man inside, but his heart couldn’t take another break. They had to talk, but not tonight. Not when Rave still had the taste of Kain on his lips.
The doors slid open, and Rave looked down to see his hand now rested against Kain’s chest. He stumbled back and turned to leave.
“Rave, wait.”
“No. I can’t do this. Not now, maybe never.” A pain in his chest caused him to clutch a fist over his heart. Rave shook his head, he’d cried too many tears over Kain, he couldn’t go through this again, it would destroy him.
“Rave—”
“You don’t know what it was like. What I’ve been through,” he choked out.
“I do know.”
“The fuck you do! Were you sent to DI? Did you spend a month in that hellhole hiding out because someone wanted to rape you or kill you? I don’t think so. How about wondering if your lover was dead or alive? No, because according to Se, you were there when they hauled me off planet.
“And did they give you updates on me? Did you know I spent a week in the med hall because I couldn’t walk after five prisoners jumped me? How about the days I went without food? Did they give you vids to watch so you could laugh at my predicament?”
He paused to regain his composure. Rave couldn’t allow himself to fall apart in front of Kain.
“I didn’t know the whole of it. Still don’t. After I left the ship and the Alliance detained me, they took me to the other side of the planet. They brought me back when your trial started. They wanted to prove to me that they’d kill you if I stepped out of line. What you didn’t see was the sniper ready to shoot if I didn’t go along with it.”
“Enough!”
“No, it isn’t enough. I want you to hear my side, too. I have to tell you—”
Rave couldn’t take any more. He pulled back his fist and slugged Kain in the f
ace. Satisfaction raced through him when Kain stumbled against the wall, clutching his chin.
“This isn’t about what you want.” Rave pulled his arm back again and hit Kain in his gut. “This isn’t about what you need.” Rave panted. “You are here on my terms.
Rave opened and closed his fist to loosen his hand. Kain fell to the floor and curled into a ball. Doubt tried to ease into Rave’s consciousness. Rave turned and walked away. He felt like shit, but hitting Kain made him feel better than he had in a while.
* * * *
Kain didn’t recognise the man who’d just left. Rave had never been a violent man, but rage poured out of him now. The first hit had knocked against the wall, stunned he’d stood there and taken the next one that put him on the floor. He hadn’t seen it coming.
He crawled to his bed. He hadn’t tried to stop Rave. Hell, Kain deserved the punches and much worse. He shuddered at the anguish on Rave’s face when he’d spoken of DI. Damn the Alliance. Who did they think they were? No one should be treated the way the two of them had been.
Maybe he should let Rave go. He’d do his duty, get Mel off New Moon and stop the Royalists. He’s finish this mission and walk out of Rave’s life for good. A dull ache spread through his chest at the thought. The hope of being with Rave had kept him alive and focused when they’d been apart. Now, it looked as if all his work might have been in vain.
Explaining himself wasn’t working. He couldn’t get the man to stand still and listen to him. Kain had to get Sela on his side. Those two were inseparable. She could talk Rave into listening to him. Maybe then he could convince Rave to go with him, to give up his new life. It was a long shot, but Kain would try. Hell, maybe he could join Rave’s crew.
Kain couldn’t sleep. When he’d opened his door, he’d planned on going to find Sela. Maybe he should do that. Holding his stomach, Kain made his way to the bridge. Damn, Rave had a hell of a right hook. He’d have a black eye tomorrow for sure.
When he made it to the deck, Sela wasn’t there. He checked the equipment and noticed the autopilot still engaged. She must be in her room.
