“What did you find?”
“Can’t do this over the vid. We need to meet in person. I’ve setup a meeting for us tomorrow morning.” Davin nodded in Amy’s direction. “Bring her.”
Sean stiffened. “Why?”
“Tyrell’s running dust.”
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Amy’s stomach clenched. She was screwed.
92
The conference table was filled with everyone who’d become important to Sean over the past few years. Kamran and Haylie sat at the front, heads bowed close, deep in conversation. He could tell by her rigid posture Kamran was proposing something she didn’t like. Still, when Kamran reached up and took her hand in his, the tension in her shoulders melted. She smiled, nodded and squeezed back. Sean squashed the sudden rush of envy.
Davin sat side by side with Taber, while Sara kept Amy locked up in conversation across from him. The two men spoke softly, but sparingly, each keeping an eye on the women. Sean could see the fleeting glances Sara would shoot at her husband and the soft smiles he’d return. He knew Davin would get over his fear of fatherhood and make Sara happy. If Fallon had been here, he knew Taber would have a similar expression of contentment on his face, even if the Briel would deny being besotted with his wife. He’d been there when they’d first met, had watched as the other man had changed for the better.
Then there was Amy.
He should feel relief. Instead, the cold hollowness which lived in his chest seemed to have spread, consuming what was left of his calm. Amy was in greater danger than she’d led him to believe. He should have suspected there was something more, something greater. The attacks on her ship, her crew,
herself
, were brutal. Not the work of a man who is looking to make money on a quick bet. Once again, he’d let himself get blinded by what was in front of him. Amy had distracted him, hiding the problem, hiding herself from him. Fuck, he was such an idiot.
Davin shifted next to him, his shoulder bumping Sean’s. Turning to look, he saw the Raqulian frowning.
“Don’t blame her.”
“I don’t,” he managed to say.
I blame myself.
Kamran cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. Not for the first time, Sean envied his friend’s ability to command with so little effort. Even before the Ecada, he’d struggled with himself, with feeling he didn’t deserve the respect he’d been given as colony administrator and needed to continuously prove his worth. Even if it was only to himself. Something else he could thank his parents for—a warped sense of self-worth.
Kamran didn’t have those doubts. Neither did anyone else.
“Haylie tells me her team has completed their security check. Sean and Amy’s arrival wasn’t tracked and no one else was followed.” Kamran leaned forward, resting 93
his forearms on the edge of the table. His piercing blue eyes landed on Davin before shifting over to Sean. “Davin, now that we are all here, please present your report.”
The Raqulian pushed himself to his feet and tapped his fingers against the side of his thigh. “At Sean’s request, I did a little digging into a man named Tyrell. He was reportedly trying to fix the race in an attempt to win in the betting pools.”
As Davin spoke, Sean moved his attention to Amy. Her gaze was locked on the other captain, every muscle in her body ratchet taut as he spoke. Sean hated that Amy had kept the truth from him. What he wanted to know was
why
.
“But that’s not what’s going on?” Haylie said, hands laced together and resting on her lap as she leaned back in her chair.
Davin shook his head. “Tyrell’s company and gambling ring are fronts for his real business. He and his men are the largest runners of dust in the sector. Maybe even farther. Captain Bryson, would you be able to confirm this report?”
No one said anything at first. Gazes shifted from Sean to Amy and back, each one waiting for one of them to say something. All he could do was watch as Amy shifted in her seat, lowered her chin and looked directly at Davin.
“That would be consistent with what has happened to me and my crew.”
Conflicting emotions raged together inside him. Pride she hadn’t tried to deny it, hide behind lies and misdirection—not that anyone here would fault her for it. Anger she hadn’t told him sooner. He could have helped her, maybe prevented the fire and damage to the other ships.
She must have sensed his thoughts. Turning, she looked at him, unshed tears in her eyes. “Sorry.”
As much as he wanted to find blame, he couldn’t. Sean waved her off. “You did what you thought you had to.”
“Exactly.” Kamran’s voice rang clear in the room. “Now that we are aware of the threat, perhaps Captain Bryson could tell us what she knows. Seeing as I was the one who lobbied to have the Catallian race here in the first place, I’d like to see Tyrell dealt with.”
Sean watched as her face flushed and she began to pick at her thumbnail. “I don’t have a lot I can tell you. To be honest, I tried to keep my distance as much as possible. I haven’t seen Tyrell himself in over a year. It’s been mostly his…staff who’ve paid us visits.”
“Anything you tell us will be of service,” Taber said, his voice harsh in the small space.
Amy swallowed, her gaze now fully locked on her hands. She wasn’t going to say anything. Sean could tell by the way she held her body. This wasn’t going to get them anywhere. It certainly wasn’t going to get her the help she needed.
“Can I speak to her for a moment?” He looked at Amy, but he was addressing Kamran.
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He saw the administrator nod out of the corner of his eye. “You can use the prep room.”
Before Amy had a chance to protest, Sean stood, made his way over to her side of the table, ignoring the looks Sara and Haylie were giving him, and held out his hand.
“This way,” he said softly.
She didn’t look at him, but after several heartbeats she shifted, put her hand in his and allowed him to tug her to her feet. Ignoring the looks from the others, Sean didn’t stop moving until they were across the meeting room and through the small door that led to the prep area. They didn’t have a lot of space. They weren’t going to need any.
The second the door slid shut, Sean dropped her hand and walked to the far end of the room. He knew she’d need space. He needed it himself.
“I know you have no reason to trust them,” he started, stopping only when the words got stuck in his throat. He sucked in a deep breath and started again. “But I hope you trust me.”
“I—”
Pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes, Sean started talking. “They all saved me in one way or another over the past few years. My life went to shit, hard and fast. Every one of the people in that room helped me pick up the pieces. I’m still not there, not one hundred percent better. I doubt everything I do and say. I still don’t trust people the way I should. But I trust them to help you, and believe me when I say they wouldn’t put you in any intentional danger.”
“I know.”
Amy stood beside him now, the warmth from her hand now resting on his shoulder. It helped to calm his pounding heart. Dropping his hands to his sides, Sean turned his head just enough to be able to see her.
“You’ve got me so confused inside, I don’t know which way is up right now.” His confession was barely a whisper.
Amy smiled and moved her hand to cup his cheek. “I can’t say I was expecting this myself. My track record with men is pretty much shit. And I do trust you, but I don’t trust that Tyrell won’t find out about this. No matter what your friends intend, he’ll know.”
The idea of Amy being in danger more than normal made him sick. He moved, pulling her into a tight embrace. “I won’t let him hurt you, Gaz or even that damn ship.”
“I know you’ll try.”
He squeezed tighter. “No trying. It won’t happen. Tell them and we’ll look after everything else.”
She didn’t say anything. He could see the internal battle she was waging and knew if he didn’t do something she’d make the wrong choice.
Fuck it.
Leaning forward, he kept his eyes open as he pressed a kiss to her lips. He felt the rush of air across their lips 95
as she sighed. Amy swayed closer to press in, but not as much as Sean would have liked.
Her hand was still on his face, so when he darted his tongue out and swiped a path across her bottom lip, he felt her fingers curl against his skin. The sudden burst of pheromones wasn’t unexpected, but the shiver of pleasure was. He wasn’t reacting to her scent as much as the idea he had that kind of effect on her. They’d developed a bond so quickly he hadn’t realized they were even moving toward one.
This time when he deepened the kiss, he let his lids slip closed. The surrounding heat and scent screamed to his body,
this is Amy
, eclipsing everything else he was thinking and feeling. His tongue danced over hers, caressing and tasting, memorizing everything about her. Blood rushed to his cock, making him swell painfully fast.
Without thinking, he pressed his hips forward so the pressure of her hip against his shaft offered some relief. Amy’s nipples were hard, pressing against his chest through the fabric of her shirt. Sean knew they would both get lost in their mutual lust if one of them didn’t do something fast.
Far quicker than he would have liked, Sean broke the kiss and pulled back. Amy’s eyes were closed, her lips swollen and wet. He brushed his thumb across her cheek and up over her temple.
“You’re not alone in all this.” His voice sounded rough. He ignored it and continued. “I may not always listen to my own advice, but the people out there are good,
very
good at what they do. They want to help you. We’ll figure out a way to shut Tyrell and his men down, but you need to trust me.”
“I do,” she said, her eyes still closed.
“Will you let
them
help?”
She didn’t say anything at first. Sean watched and listened as her shoulders finally relaxed and her breathing slowed. When she opened her eyes, she looked into his and smiled.
“Okay.”
His nervous tension shifted from the muscles of his neck to somewhere deep inside.
They could do this, stop the drug ring and let the race go forward. But Amy, Gaz, shit, even Ryan were all counting on him to get them out of this in one piece.
Squeezing her hand, Sean tugged her in the direction of the door. “Let’s do this then.”
No one looked directly at them when they walked back into the room. Amy slipped her hand into his, and for once in a very long time he didn’t feel the urge to pull away from the intimacy. With him at her side, Amy stopped by the table, but made no move to sit down.
“If we are going to do this,” she said, her voice clear and confident, “then I need your promise you’ll do everything possible to keep my crew safe. We’ll be a major target once Tyrell figures out what’s going on.”
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Kamran stood, facing Amy. He bowed deep at the waist, his gaze locked on hers.
“We’ll do our very best to ensure he doesn’t learn anything until it is too late.
Regardless, you have my word your ship and crew will have our protection.”
Amy nodded, chewing on her lip for a moment before continuing. “I also want you to promise to give any crews found to have agreed to run dust shipments a fair trial.
Many of them would have been forced into it.”
Taber cleared his throat. “I will ensure all aspects of each case are taken into account after our investigation.”
With a quick glance to Sean, Amy took a deep breath and started. “Tyrell’s men first approached me on Chi Lan base in the
Demic
sector. I’d stopped to drop off my last shipment before coming here. They were basically asking a lot of questions about the
Drake
. What her cargo capacity is, how fast she could get up to, those sorts of questions.
They told me they were interested in having me haul a load for them.”
“Did they tell you what?” Taber asked as he added the information into a data pad.
“No, but his reputation is well known on my planet. I wasn’t going near him, no matter how much they offered me.”
Davin snorted. “Bet that went over well.”
“He’s known for his ego and temper. Surprisingly, he didn’t do anything, I left and brought the
Drake
here to get ready for the race.”
“When did they approach you next?” Kamran prodded when Amy hesitated.
Sean moved closer, could feel her tense again and knew it was more than stubbornness or pride that made her reluctant to share. It was fear.
“It’s okay,” he said softly, pressing his shoulder to hers.
Her lips twitched in a smile. “I know.” Louder, she looked at Karman and continued. “The next time was almost within the hour of me landing here. Bastards tried to attack me and Gaz as we were looking for the docking bay chief to register. We managed to run them off, but not before they got their message across. Tyrell owned the race. He was using it to move dust. We could either play his game or leave.”
“But you did neither,” Haylie stated, her voice full of admiration.
Amy shrugged. “I never did do what I was told. Ask my dad.”
“He’s here on the station?” Taber asked, a frown deep on his face.
“Yes. I checked in with him last night. He was fine. Didn’t mention anyone was bothering him.”
“Still.” Taber tapped out a command on the data pad. “I’d feel more comfortable with him under protective guard.”