by Amber Kell
“We both know that isn’t true. You’re setting me and Kain up. What I don’t know is why? I’ve been confused since the beginning. So, the truth?”
Davidson grinned. “I like you better now. The time on DI did you well.”
Rave clenched his jaw. He didn’t want to mess up his chance to take care of the problem. “Are you only going to play with me? If so, I can leave now.”
“That isn’t going to happen. Not this time. You won’t leave here alive.”
Why? What had he done to this bastard? Fuck him.
“Is this animosity directed at me or Kain?” Rave’s anger was barely contained.
Davidson laughed. “You should have taken me up on my offer all those years ago. Now both you and your lover will die. And it’s your fault.”
“How am I at fault here?”
“If it wasn’t for you, I never would have crashed that damn pod and been sent back to the academy. They made me a laughing stock. My family all but disowned me.”
What a nut job. Seriously, how was he to blame for the man’s accident? What right did this asshole have to be his judge and jury?
“You can’t blame me for an accident you caused. That was years ago. That’s a long time to hold a grudge.”
“I had to wait until I could come after you in a position of power. Now, I have all the power and you have none.”
“Did you send me to DI?”
“I wish I could take credit for that, but that was all Fritz. I’m done talking and you’re going to the brig while we wait for Kain to get here.”
“Kain isn’t coming. I left him unconscious on another planet.”
“He’ll be here. Get up, and let’s go.”
Rave stood and followed Davidson out of his quarters.
Well shit, how am I going to get out of this? Guess I should have worried about that before going off half-cocked.
Davidson pushed him into a cell and left without another word. Rave wondered why Davidson was so confident that Kain would show up. Maybe Rave could talk to Fritz and see what his deal was in the drama. They might have a better chance getting out of this alive if it was a military issue and not a personal one like with Davidson.
Rave settled back to wait. That’s all he could do now. At least, he was alone. The small space wasn’t so bad when empty. Maybe he could keep the flashbacks at bay. Luck didn’t hold with him as the walls closed in. Rave backed into a corner and hugged his knees to his chest.
This wasn’t a good idea at all.
* * * *
“Kain, stop pacing. It won’t get us there any quicker.” Se sounded exasperated.
He stopped his movement. “I can’t help it. Anything could have happened in the time it’s taken us to get here.”
Worry ate at his gut at the thought of Rave out there on his own.
“We’re almost there, and the Alliance is right behind us. Rave will be okay. He has to be.” She whispered the last words.
He pulled Se into a hug. “I know. He’s already been through too much. When we’re out of this, I’m going to take him somewhere and pamper him for the rest of our lives.”
“Can I come, too?” Se laughed.
“Do you think we’d leave you? We’re family. It looks like you could have company, though.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, I don’t know, a certain gun runner you can’t keep your eyes off of.”
Se pushed away from him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And anyway, he’s gay.”
“I don’t think so. He’s looking back.”
It was nice to laugh, even if it was only briefly.
“You’re bad.”
“And you love it. Would you like me to ask him about his preference? Or you could just go up and kiss him. See what comes…um…up?”
Se started for his head, but she must have remembered his injury and switched to hitting his arm.
“We’ve reached the outskirts of Seid II. We should be coming up on the Alliance ship in a couple of minutes. Are you two finished goofing off over there?” Rock’s gruff voice interrupted them.
Kain asked. “He does know we’re cousins, right?”
Se shook her head and smiled at him. “Stop!”
Kain walked over to where Rock stood. The brief reprieve with Se was nice, but the worry over Rave seeped back in. It was his time to step up to the plate and do right by his man.
“How close is the cavalry?” Kain inquired.
“They should be here within the hour.”
“Good. I don’t think we should wait.” He knew he sounded impatient, but Kain needed on that ship.
“I’m not waiting.”
“Somehow I didn’t think so. We going in with a plan?”
“Shoot first, questions later?” Rock loaded up with guns.
“While I like that plan, there could be innocent people onboard.”
Rock grunted. “You got a better one?”
“Not really. I could just go in. Officially, they have nothing on me. I’m not sure how Fritz and Davidson will react.”
“Let’s just walk in, but I’m keeping the guns.”
“Fair enough, I’ll be packing heat as well. I’m going to contact the ship and let them know I’m boarding. That way it’s on the official record. Oh, and you know Se and I are cousins, right?”
“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Rock didn’t stop reaching for weapons. Kain wasn’t sure where he planned on putting them all.
“Nothing really, but I thought you should know. I mean, if you swing that way.”
Rock paused with his hand on a gun clip and turned towards Kain, “Does she know you’re talking to me about this?”
“Probably not. I did tell her I would ask. She thinks you’re gay, but I see how you look at her. Why does she think you’re gay?”
“Not that it’s any of your concern, but I made a play for Rave.”
The man paused as if to gauge his reaction. Kain should have been shocked, hell, he should have been jealous, but he wasn’t. Rave was his now, and the past was past, but he hated himself as his curiosity got the better of him.
“How did that go?” he asked calmly.
“Shot me down.”
“So, you are gay.”
Why was Rock being evasive? Of course, it really wasn’t any of Kain’s business which way Rock swung as long as it wasn’t towards Rave.
“I didn’t say that,” Rock said with a small grin on his face.
If Kain wasn’t so concerned about getting to Rave, he might have more questions.
“Okay, then. I guess enough with the small talk, let’s go get Rave back.”
* * * *
Kain and Rock were allowed on to the ship with minimal fuss, but he didn’t expect anything less, at least not yet. These subordinates probably knew nothing of what was really going on, but Kain still rested a hand on his weapon as the two of them were escorted to a conference room onboard the Alliance ship. They’d left Mel and Se on Rock’s vessel so they could get word to the Alliance. This should be over soon. At least, Kain hoped so. He wouldn’t feel better until he saw Rave.
They didn’t have long to wait before Fritz walked into the room.
“Where’s Rave?” Kain didn’t even wait for the door to close behind the general.
“Calm down, Sims. There was a misunderstanding. Davidson will bring up Anders in a moment.”
“A misunderstanding, huh? More like a setup.”
“I’m not sure I understand.” Fritz seemed confused.
“Oh, you understand all right, and you won’t get away with it.” He wanted Fritz to tell him the truth.
“And what is it I won’t get away with?” Fritz cocked his eyebrow.
“Why don’t we wait for Rave to join us? And, my father, of course.”
That made the man pause. The General didn’t have time to comment. The doors to the room opened and Davidson walked in with Rave. Kain stared at his lover.
Something looked off. It took him a moment to see the look in his Rave’s eyes.
Rock got to him before Kain could, and Rave collapsed in the man’s arms. Kain never wanted to see Rave look this way again, and if he had anything to say about it, he wouldn’t. The man’s bruises had bruises. Half of Rave’s face had turned purple, and he had an arm cradling his ribs.
Kain used a calm he didn’t know he had. “What did you do to him?”
“We locked up a kidnapper. He’s been detained since he turned himself in,” Davidson responded.
“Let’s cut the shit. We all know that you two set us up. Rave and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the two of you.”
Davidson drew his gun and trained it on Kain. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the two of you, but I don’t have to worry about that anymore. Once I kill you both, I’m in the clear.”
“Davidson, put the gun away. There are better ways to handle this.” Fritz looked worried, and that scared Kain.
Davidson turned and fired. Fritz fell to the floor, dead before he landed, a round hole in the centre of his forehead.
“I thought he would never shut up. I hated working with that moron with his stupid plans,” Davidson said as if he hadn’t just shot someone in cold blood.
“His plan did seem odd. Why did you go along with him?” Kain wanted the focus on him. If he had to die to save Rave, he would.
“He was the easiest way to get to the two of you. I signed up to be one of his drug runners and found out about his plan. If it was up to me, I would have killed you both years ago.”
“What did we do to you?” He had to keep the man talking. Kain signalled behind his back, hoping Rock got the message to protect Rave by any means necessary.
“You fucked up my life.”
“We don’t even know you. Hell, when Fritz gave us your name we had to do a search. You were nothing to us. Get a life and move on.”
“Not an option now. It never was. You’re dead anyway. Why does it matter?”
“I don’t think so.”
Kain turned at the sound of Rave’s voice. Rock supported Rave, but he had a laser in his hands.
“You won’t use that. It’s not in you to kill someone.” As Davidson spoke, his finger twitched on the firing pin of his own weapon. That was all it took. Rave pulled the trigger but missed.
Kain watched in horror as Davidson lifted his gun towards Rave and fired. The shot went wide, and Kain tackled Davidson. The two struggled for the gun.
“Kain, move, I can’t get a good shot,” Rave shouted.
He wanted to move, but the fight called for all his attention. The gun went off between him and Davidson. He stilled and waited for the shock of the hit to reach him. It took him a minute to realise it was Davidson who’d been hit. The man gasped for air and shuddered beneath Kain then nothing.
And like that, it was over, the moment surreal. The two men behind the hell Kain and Rave had gone through were dead. He rushed to Rave and took him in his arms.
The door to the room opened. Kain protected Rave with his body until he heard his father speak.
“What happened?” That voice made him feel like a child again.
Rock was the one to answer. “Davidson shot Fritz, and in a struggle, Kain shot Davidson.”
Kain turned, with Rave still in his arms. The man clung to him, and Kain had no intention of letting him go.
“Do we have to do this now, dad? I want to get Rave to Rock’s ship. He’s been through enough.”
“I’ll get some of the soldiers in here to clean this up, but don’t go far. We need to make this official.”
Kain nodded and the three men left the Alliance craft, the future now in their own hands.
Epilogue
“Are you sure about this, Rave?” Kain sounded uncertain. “You really want to go back to transporting?
Rave motioned for Kain to come closer to the lounger where he rested. They’d spent the last two weeks on Cooper Prime with Rock and Se. Mel had gone back to New Moon. There hadn’t been trial, not when Kain’s dad had found an account of the events in Davidson’s personal journals. The man wasn’t as smart as he thought he was. The Alliance had been able to find the laser on Earth. The Royalists would always be a problem, but not for him and Kain. They were retired.
“Don’t you miss space?” Rave asked.
“Yes, I do, but I’ve only been a soldier. I’m not sure I know how to be anything else. I might not be cut out for this transport gig.” Kain shrugged.
Rave grinned. “Se and I will show you the ropes.”
When Kain reached him, Rave pulled him down to the lounger. He nuzzled his lover’s neck.
“When does the Alliance deliver your new ship?” Kain asked.
“It should be here next week. Why, you ready to leave?” Rave couldn’t keep the excitement about his ship from his voice.
“I’m ready to be wherever you are. Did you get a hold of your crew?”
“Yes, we’ll pick up most of them in a couple weeks. Then we’ll set up a few jobs.”
“Did you decide on a name? You going with Retribution II?” Kain squirmed when Rave licked and nibbled his throat.
“I don’t think so. Retribution isn’t something I need anymore. We’ll have to come up with another name.”
Rave let Kain roll them until Rave rested under his lover. Panic started to rise, but he didn’t let it. He looked into Kain’s eyes and saw the love shining there. It was time. Fear wouldn’t rule his life.
“I want you, Kain.”
“You have me.” Kain leaned closer to take his mouth in a kiss.
Rave savoured the taste but stopped Kain. “Inside me.”
“Are you sure?”
“We’ll have to take it slow, but I won’t let fear take over. Not if we’re going to make it.”
Kain rose from the lounger and held out his hand. Rave let him help him up and guide him to their room. Once there, he let go and went to the bed.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Kain said.
“You won’t.”
Rave looked at Kain and slowly peeled his shirt over his head. He threw it towards the man and continued with his shorts until he was naked. He licked his lips and winked at Kain before crawling onto the bed.
Over the past couple of weeks, he’d taken Kain in every room in the house, but he needed this connection.
“Just be sure and tell me if you need me to stop.”
“I trust you.” Rave hadn’t thought he’d ever be able to say those words again, but he meant them. Kain stopped undressing, stunned. Rave walked over and tugged on the shirt covering his man’s body.
“I-I don’t know—”
Rave smiled. “Less talking, more undressing.”
When Kain had finished stripping, Rave took him to the bed. He pushed him down and looked for the lube.
“How do you want me?” Kain’s voice still sounded hesitant.
“I think I should ride you. Gives me some control.” The thought of riding Kain made his cock rock hard. He’d felt empty for so long, in so many ways.
Rave found the lube, tossed it to the bed and lowered himself beside Kain. He wanted to taste Kain. He would never tire of the flavour that was unique to his man. He crawled over his lover and settled over him.
“I love you.” The words flowed from Rave as he took Kain’s lips then he lost himself in the kiss and rocked his body against Kain’s.
“Too fast, Rave. I’m too close. Just the idea of being inside you has me ready to spill.”
Rave leaned his forehead on Kain’s, trying to slow his breathing and control himself. He looked for where he’d thrown the lube, grasped it and flipped open the lid. After drizzling some on his fingers, he reached behind him to start opening himself up for Kain.
“No, wait. Let me.”
Kain joined his fingers with Rave’s, and Rave moaned at the fullness.
“I’m ready, Kain. Now.”
“I wanna make sure.
Just one more.” Kain added another finger, and Rave closed his eyes.
“No more. God, Kain, I want you inside me when I come.”
Kain’s fingers slipped from Rave’s ass. This time Rave moaned at how empty he felt. Kain slicked up his cock. Rave bit his lip, too excited to wait. He replaced the man’s hands with his own, hovered over him and inched down. He groaned as Kain’s cock filled him.
“You…you okay? Fuck, so tight.”
Rave’s heart swelled at Kain’s concern. He was okay. This was Kain, and the man wouldn’t hurt him. He nodded and sat fully on Kain’s dick.
He adjusted to the feeling before he moved.
“Shit, Rave, I’m not going to last.”
Not wanting it to be over too soon, Rave stopped for a kiss until the urge to move overwhelmed him.
“I need more, Kain.” He leant back and pulled Kain to follow him. “I need you to fuck me.”
Kain looked down at him. “Are you sure?”
“Fuck me.”
His lover nodded. “Look at me. I want you to know it’s me.”
Rave let Kain take over. At the man’s first thrust, his panic welled up. He started to close his eyes, but Kain stopped moving.
“I’m okay. I’m okay.” Rave wasn’t sure who he tried to convince.
“You aren’t okay. Should we stop?”
“No, give me a second.” He took a deep breath and looked into Kain’s eyes. The panic slipped away, eclipsed by the love he felt for this man. “Now, Kain.”
Kain must have seen something in his eyes because he thrust back in, harder than the last time. He set a frenzied pace that Rave followed. He pushed back every time Kain slammed into him. Rave grabbed his cock and timed his strokes to Kain’s thrusts.
“Kain, soon.”
One more stroke, and Rave spilled his seed, his ass milking Kain’s cock. He felt the Kain swell before he joined him in release.
Kain collapsed on top of him, and Rave waited for the fear to come back, but it didn’t. He knew whose arms enfolded him. Kain rolled them so Rave was back on top.
“Everything good?” he asked as he stroked Rave’s back.
“Perfect.”
And it was. For the first time in a long time, Rave was content. He wouldn’t wait for the other shoe to drop nor would he live in fear. Things were looking up. They would have ups and downs, and there might be times when the fear came back, but they would work through them.
