by Bethany Aan
“Hunter?” Arianna called his name softly. He turned to meet her eyes. She wouldn’t interrupt him unless it was important, he knew. She gazed sadly at him. “It was one of the women.”
“Who?” he demanded, stomping over to stand above her. “Amy is locked into Rian’s quarters, so it could not have been her. Why would anyone else do something like this?”
“Some girls are just… crazy,” she said wearily. “This is a classic ‘prank’ in entertainment back home. Whoever did this probably thought it would be funny to scare us. I doubt she knew that the creature was that vicious or deadly, though. I mean, I can’t think of why any of them would want to hurt any of you.”
“I can,” Crig admitted, running a hand through his hair. Hunter arched an eyebrow at him in question. Crig sank to the couch. “I will take responsibility if it is true, Commander.”
“Your loyalty to me is without question,” Hunter said quietly. “You will not be punished for the actions of another against me or mine. What do you know?”
“Well, the girl that our team ended up with,” he didn’t sound like he was happy about that now, “She was sweet and flirty at first, and seemed truly interested in the animals we have discovered and learned so much about. She was happy to join us in the labs while we worked, eager to learn everything she could. But when she saw her first slider, she became… obsessed with them. She asked all kinds of strange questions that didn’t make much sense at the time, but now I realize she was creating a plan.”
“And the girl?” Hunter growled. Crig looked at his teammates, who nodded at him.
“Tanya. But the thing is, sir, she’s been spending a lot of time with someone else.” Hunter stared at him. “Amy.”
Arianna gasped, but thankfully said nothing. Hunter thought back to the odd thoughts in the courtyard, then nodded once. It fit. The darkness lurking behind the thoughts matched what he knew of the vindictive, grasping young woman.
“Amy has been locked away,” Hunter said again, baffled. Crig shook his head.
“Tanya has been sitting on the balcony a lot recently, while we are away.”
Hunter thought about where Crig’s apartment was, relative to Rian’s, and his face grew dark with fury.
“I don’t want Tanya near me or my family again until she has learned some manners,” Hunter said harshly.
“We don’t want her near us, either,” Crig admitted, scrubbing a hand over his face. “But no one else can stand her. She and Amy are two of a kind. We’ve tried keeping her away from Amy’s influence, but she manages to escape and get to Amy’s balcony when the other girl is alone. Damn skinny kids are escape artists.”
Hunter cocked his head to the side, considering the man and his team. Finally, he sighed.
“I would ask for you to keep Tanya for awhile longer,” Hunter told the team grimly. “I know that it will be unpleasant, but I do not like to think of her running around without some form of authority keeping track of her, and we do not have a secure area to hold her until we can figure out what to do with her.”
“If it was her,” Arianna muttered. Hunter shot her a surprised look. She shrugged and got wearily to her feet. “Back on Earth, we have a judicial process. We gather evidence against the accused, then put them on trial if the evidence shows reasonable suspicion that they perpetrated the crime.”
“Are your judges Readers?” he asked pointedly. “Are the investigators?”
“No,” she admitted. “Well, they might be, but we don’t acknowledge those kinds of things back there. So… no.”
“Then all they have to go on is the evidence, while you and I and any other Reader can determine in a single moment if someone is guilty or not. Amy and Tanya must not be allowed to run free, causing trouble again. My brother nearly died today, still might, if any of the scratches from the slider become infected. Rom appeared to be seriously injured, as well. Your woman must be held accountable, and it is my understanding that in her own society, she would be, yes?” he looked at Arianna, who nodded.
“Then I will deal with it as our people would, if you give leave.” Hunter stiffened in anticipation of her response. Arianna watched him carefully for a few moments, then nodded.
“She’s all yours,” she said softly. The warriors remaining in the quarters acknowledged transfer of authority.
Knowing that she had essentially signed someone’s death warrant, Ri swallowed bile that threatened to crawl up her throat. A sob escaped her and Hunter pulled her forcefully into his arms, wrapping them around her and rocking her gently against him as she worked through the nausea. It was always hardest the first time, he knew. He held her for a minute longer, then retrieved her shawl from the floor where she’d dropped it, wrapped it lovingly around her shoulders, and guided her from the suite.
“Crig, I want you to confine Tanya to quarters until further notice. Lock her in a room, if you must, but I don’t want her out with the rest of us right now.” He toggled his com unit and called for Rian’s quarters, ordering the same thing.
“The little bitch escaped,” Rian bit out after hearing what had happened. “We can’t find her anywhere. She doesn’t particularly like Protocol, even though we’ve explained that it’s the only thing saving her life right now.”
Hunter cursed beneath his breath, then ordered Rian’s team to meet him in the med center as soon as they could all be gathered. Rian informed him that it would take a few minutes, as the men were currently engaged in duties elsewhere.
Turning to Ri, Hunter offered a smile of reassurance and held out his arm.
“Now, let us go see how my brother is doing. I am sure that he will insist on your fussing over him for a bit.”
Arianna straightened her shoulders, nodded, and on the way out, grabbed up her knitting basket, just in case. Despite his worry for his brother, Hunter grinned behind her.
“My entire body hurts,” Jace complained as soon as he saw Arianna, his lower lip sticking out petulantly, like a little boy’s instead of a grown man’s. She stifled a grin and settled on the bed beside him when Hunter lifted her up. Nothing in this damn compound was meant for someone as short as she was. First thing in the morning, she was going to march into the woodshop and make herself several sets of steps, so that she could get into and out of the men’s beds on her own, without having to jump into them or have one of the guys put her there. And she’d make one for the med center, since she seemed destined to spend a lot of time there.
“Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?” she offered, her saucy voice at odds with the concern in her touch and in her expression. She offered Jace a sweet smile and stroked the hair back from his sweaty forehead. He was pale, drawn, and as she watched, spasms leapt in various parts of his body, the muscles jumping and twitching without his control, in reaction to the venom still in his system.
But he was alive, and she was incredibly grateful for that.
She brought his hand up to her face, brushing the back of it against her cheek before planting a kiss in his palm. When she let his hand drop to her lap, there were tears in her eyes. Jace stopped complaining when he saw them, reached up weakly to wipe one away with his thumb.
“I’m going to be all right, little one,” he said huskily. “It’s okay.”
“You almost died!” she sobbed, wanting to hug him, but not sure if she could do so without hurting him. “That thing just… kept biting you! I think it hit you three times before Rom got it away from you.”
“But he did, and he’s going to be fine, too.” Jace looked helplessly at his brother. Hunter, however, had moved to Rom’s side, checking on his man. Bev, like Arianna, sat on the bed with her mate, holding his hand and watching over him. Rom’s team sat nearby, ready to help him if needed. Jace clasped Ri’s hand in his, trying to reassure her, but a particularly harsh spasm gripped his body and he cried out with the agony of it as his body bowed off the bed.
Hunter came running to help hold him down until it passed. Once it was done, he sh
ook his head at Jace.
“You need to sleep for several days,” Hunter said gruffly, “So that this can spend itself.”
“Aye,” Jace said gustily. “I do. One thing… who put that slider in our home?”
“Tanya,” Hunter bit out, “Coerced by Amy.”
Jace cursed, wincing as another small spasm gripped him. When he could, he opened his eyes and looked at Hunter.
“Do not kill her.”
“Jace,” Hunter began. The younger man shook his head.
“She might not have known that it would kill this quickly. And she’s only been under Protocol for two weeks. It takes longer than that to show results, and you know it.” Jace grimaced and clenched his fists as a tremor moved through him. “You have to promise me to give her another chance. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
“This is her third,” Ri cried softly, clutching his hand to her breast. “She’s hurt me twice, hurt Alicia, and now you and Rom. How many more ‘second chances’ does she get before we do something about it?”
“One more,” Jace whispered, his eyes imploring her. She touched his mind and realized what was happening. While she disagreed with his decision, she also understood his motivation. “She can’t die because of me, Ri. I’m a healer. It can’t be because of me.”
“Then who?” she whispered back, kissing his knuckles.
Jace sent his brother a pleading glance, then looked at Arianna once more before closing his eyes in exhaustion. Hunter got it. Signaling to the doctor on call, Hunter nodded and the man hurried over with a syringe.
“Take care of our little warrior,” Jace said, his voice thin with pain and exhaustion.
“Of course,” Hunter said, snorting. “Rest, brother. We will be here when you wake.”
As the pain meds kicked in, Jace fell into unconsciousness, which was probably the best thing that could happen until the venom made its way out of his body.
“What did you give him?” Arianna asked, alarmed at Jace’s sudden stillness. Hunter held her shoulders and gently urged her from the bed.
“It’s a sleeping aid,” Jax told her calmly. “Now that all the tests have been run, it will take time for the poison to work out of his system. Until then, he will be in a great deal of pain, unless we keep him deeply sedated. He did not want to be given anything until he had seen you and the Commander, though.”
“Can I stay with him?” she asked quietly, her eyes locked on Jace’s ashen face. The medic smiled gently at her.
“You could, of course. But it will be several days before he will want to awaken, so there will not be much to see until that time. If you like, when he begins stirring, I can send someone to get you. I would send for Hunter, either way, both as his Commander and as his brother.”
“I’m his mate,” she muttered. The man’s eyes widened, as did Hunter’s, at the admission. “Where does that put me on the notification list?”
“Um, Ri?” Hunter said softly, drawing her attention. She looked confused at his sheepish grin. “You just… well, you kind of just married us.”
She stared at him a moment, then rolled her eyes and snorted delicately.
“I was married to you the day you guys decided to keep me no matter what,” she informed him quietly.
He was still stunned by that and was about to lead her out, when Amy, of all people, sauntered into the med center, a nasty-looking scratch on her arm. The triumphant blast from her mind slammed into both Readers, and it was all they could do not to react with physical violence.
“Oh, hi there!” she said cheerily, her eyes immediately seeking out the prone forms on the beds. Her smile slipped just a bit as she realized that neither were Arianna, and that Rom had been hurt, as well. She recovered quickly, though, and turned to the medic on duty. “I had an accident. I cut my arm.”
“On what,” Arianna bit out angrily. “Let me guess… an animal scratched you?”
“Oh… um. No, of course not. Damn kimis won’t come near me.”
“Who could blame them?” Ri asked, snorting derisively. Hunter’s grip on her arm tightened just a bit. She sent him a warning in her head. She’d deal with this, here and now. “I know it was you, Amy.”
“What was me?” Amy asked, her big brown eyes going all innocent in what everyone could see was an act. Arianna sensed Bev slowly standing up behind her, moving to Ri’s side. Arianna eased from Hunter’s grip and walked over to where the taller Amy stood. Bev followed her, wanting to hear more and provide support. “What in the world happened? I heard there was a bit of a commotion in the living quarters earlier.”
“Well, since you worked so hard to set it up,” Arianna said, her voice low and hard, “You should be happy to know that your little shot at me backfired. The slider didn’t get me. It got Jace, but he’s going to be fine, so you didn’t succeed in taking him from me, either. And in trying to save his commander’s brother, Rom was viciously mauled. Both of them are in serious condition. I thought you’d like to know that, before I kick your skinny little ass out of here. You can deal with your cut elsewhere.” She smiled sweetly at Amy. “Perhaps one of your men can tend it? After all, two of your team are medics, aren’t they? Which begs the question… why are you here?”
“I… My men are elsewhere, and this looks like it might be getting infected. I wanted to check with…” Her voice trailed off as she took in Jace’s pale face and Hunter’s angry one. She took a cautious step back.
“You wanted to check with Jace, hopefully while he was tending to me for the slider attack?” Arianna stormed at step closer. “Was that your plan? Is there another slider somewhere under your cloak? Perhaps in your basket, there? Were you hoping to finish me off and then console my mate for my loss? Or was Jace your target all along? He doesn’t want you, so you won’t let anyone else have him?”
“You did this,” Bev breathed, putting it all together. Ri clasped her hand, sending a mental blast to her, barely keeping her from flying at the other woman. Amy shook her head, taking in the many warriors in the room. Trey and his team moved to stand behind Bev. Hunter and Jax were with Ri. She wasn’t worried about Arianna or Beverly. She was more concerned that the strongest and most intelligent of the warriors were in this room, and all of them knew what she had done. But Bev wasn’t finished.
“You set that… thing… on Jace, so that my Rom got himself nearly killed trying to save his cousin?”
Her voice was going up in volume and pitch. Amy was retreating again, but came up against the hard wall of another warrior’s chest. Two of them were blocking the door. She flattened herself against them, looking a little alarmed now that both women were stalking her, and their men were there to back them up, supporting them silently. Amy had badly misjudged the situation.
Bev stood there and shook in her rage, tears of anger escaping her eyes.
“You know those memes on Facebook back home?” Ri asked quietly, making Amy blink at such an innocuous question. “The ones that say, ’99% sweetheart, 1% bitch’?” Amy nodded slowly. Ri took one last step, until she was practically nose to nose with the skinny girl. “You just pushed my ‘bitch’ button. Now stay the hell away from my men, and from me, you fucking cunt. You do not want to see what happens when someone messes with the people I love.”
“You don’t have the balls to do anything,” Amy breathed, shaking a bit as Ri grinned up into her face, her eyes feral.
“I’ve already lost an awful lot, you little shit,” she ground out softly. “If I lose either of my men because of you, you will die, at my hand, and it will not be quick or easy. And if I see you near either Jace or Hunter again, or you come near me, at all, I will assume you’re ready to finish what you started today, and I will end you. You got that?”
“And if she doesn’t, I will,” Bev said softly. Her expression assured everyone listening that she would. Amy nodded, but her face lost all color when Hunter stepped forward, Rom’s team at his side.
“In case you have any ideas for further har
m,” Hunter said, “I want you to know that my first instinct was to have you executed. That is what we would have done on our world. Your Commander released your fate into my hands. I spared you only because my brother asked that he not be the cause of anyone’s death. You are still a child in our eyes, and you have not been in remediation for very long. You will remain under Protocol, with more stringent restrictions, which I will impart to your handlers shortly.
“But if you cause any more mischief, no matter the results, I will consider you a detriment to the colony, and I will end your life. Think about that, little schemer. Because there is not a man here that does not owe me their life or follow my orders. None will protect you, should you cause me to have to deal with you again. Do you understand that?”
“I didn’t mean-“
“Jace is my brother!” Hunter bellowed. He pointed behind him, to Rom’s bed. “Rom is our cousin. Trey’s mother is my aunt. Do you understand what I am telling you? We are not just fellow warriors. We are a family. When you attack one, you attack all. You would do well to remember that.”
“Commander,” Trey said, speaking up for the first time. “I would like to ask for you to carry out punishment now. I fear the consequences, should this scheming little slider decide to do more.”
“I second,” Erik quickly spoke up.
And from his bed, Rom called out a weak, “Kill the bitch.”
Hunter shrugged and nodded to the warriors behind Amy, who grabbed her arms roughly.
Truly frightened now, Amy began begging and weeping, telling them all that she hadn’t meant to hurt anyone, just scare Arianna. She hadn’t known that the sliders were so dangerous.
If not for their Reader senses, Hunter and Arianna might have believed her. But Hunter shook his head.
“Last chance,” he said, moving to Ri’s side and holding her close. Amy looked to Arianna, trying to appeal to her nurturing nature, but Ri shook her head.
“You’ve hurt my mate, whom I love dearly. You have caused me and his brother, whom I also love, too much grief already. Hunter wishes to give you another chance. I do not.” She stared at Amy, then shocked everyone when she spat on the taller girl. “If it were up to me, you’d be ashes already, spread in the dung heap.”
