The captain of the other ship pushed past Cyanna, ignoring her squawk of protest, and stalked over to Amy. His two large hands gripped her hips, squeezing her hard as he jerked her close.
“You smell fucking great.” He licked his thin lips, gaze trolling over her body.
“Maybe I’ll say fuck the race and take you as my prize instead. How would you like that, eh? Be my little fuck friend?”
The high-pitched whine of a laser rifle powering up had heads snapping up. One of the guards who’d taken her to her dad now had the muzzle of his gun fixed on the captain.
“Over my dead body, asshole.” Leaning into the weapon, the young man clenched 138
his teeth. “I saw her first.”
Fuck, this was her worst nightmare come to life. Trying to hold her body still as to not attract any more attention to herself than necessary, she frantically searched out where Sean and the others had gone. They wouldn’t abandon her like this, she knew that about each and every one of them. But somehow they’d slipped away out of sight and Amy had the sneaking suspicion this was Sean’s doing. Part of the plan he’d refused to tell her. Still, she was alone in the room with a dozen men and one bitch of a drug lord, with pheromones pouring off her. Simply fantastic.
A movement on the far side of the hangar bay caught her attention. Pressed against the side of the
Drake
’s hull was Sean, a stun grenade held in his hand. He held it up enough for her to see it, lifting an eyebrow in question.
That was when it hit her. When she realized what he’d done. She’d been the distraction, the bait to pull everyone into a tight circle. A glance around told her things would turn bloody shortly very soon, as the men began to fight each other for the chance to win her. There was no way she’d be able to avoid the blast and no way to escape before Sean threw it. She needed to be the center, the binding which kept everyone in place. She let her gaze drift back to Sean, took a deep breath and nodded.
Amy closed her eyes just as he lobbed the grenade into the middle of them. The last thought she had before collapsing to the floor was just how much she hated Sean right then.
* * * * *
Nausea and a throbbing in her head were the first things Amy was aware of as her consciousness returned. She moaned, instantly regretting it as the vibrations sent a flare of pain through her skull. Her mouth watered, filling with thick saliva and forcing her to swallow repeatedly to keep her stomach contents in place.
“Don’t move, Amy-girl. It will take a while for the effects to wear off. Just rest and give your body a chance to right itself.”
“Dad?” Her voice came out as a barely more than a whisper.
“No talking. You were very close to the blast center, took a good jolt.”
She let him fuss over her for a few minutes. When he pressed a straw to her lips, she did her best to suck in some of the cold water.
“Thanks.”
“Sweetie, can you open your eyes? I need to check you out. Make sure there’s no major nerve or brain damage.”
The dim light that shone through her closed lids hurt her head. She didn’t want to imagine what it would feel like if she opened her eyes to the full light. Still, she managed to crack them just far enough for her dad to check her out.
“Well, that’s something. Doesn’t look like a concussion or any damage to your retina.”
139
“Sean?”
He sighed. “He’s on the coms with his security friend from Eurus. They’re rounding up all the ships with
Riax
radiation signature on them. At best, they are cheaters. At worst, they’re our dust runners and we can take out Cyanna’s entire operation. I’m sure there are others who will slip through the cracks, but we’ll get most of them.”
Amy couldn’t stop the anger from welling up inside her. Oh, things had gone just perfectly for Sean and his little plan. He’d stopped the bad guys, gotten her dad out and prevented a lot of drugs from getting out there where it would do damage. If this was one of the stories her dad had told her as a little girl, Sean would also win the girl and get to fly off into the starlight.
Not this time.
He’d used her without her knowledge to lure those men into a trap. It’s no wonder he wasn’t willing to tell her what the plan had been. She would have flat out refused to take the chance her pheromones would work, that the men would give in to them. He knew her well enough to know that—or at least she thought he did. Fuck, she couldn’t believe Gaz had gone along with this. Not after Malik and all they’d gone through.
Closing her eyes, she rolled onto her side away from her dad. She didn’t want to be with anyone just then. She couldn’t handle pitiful looks flashed her way. Poor Amy, draws all the men to her, but can’t find one worth keeping.
She’d get her dad back to the colony and then she was leaving.
“Amy, you okay? Can I get you anything?”
Can you wipe out the last month of my life?
“No, Dad. I just need to sleep.”
“I’ll leave you be then. Just hit the com if you need anything. Don’t worry about getting us back into port. I’ll fly the
Drake
home.”
She didn’t say anything, despite him waiting by her side. He finally sighed, patted her shoulder and got up from the seat by her bed. Amy bit her lip, doing her best to ignore the guilt building up. When she heard the door open, she turned her head to it.
“Dad?”
He looked back and smiled. “Yeah?”
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
He pushed a hand through his thinning hair, raking his fingers through it much the same way Sean did. “I just wish things had turned out differently.”
“Me too, Dad. Me too.”
140
Sean sat in the cockpit beside Amy’s father, fiddling with the controls to ensure the extra shielding would hold long enough for them to survive the reentry to the Eurus’
surface. It would be tight given the amount of damage, but he’d make sure every last scrap inch of this ship would arrive safe and sound. He owed Amy that much.
The older man had done his part, flying the ship effortlessly. It was obvious who had taught Amy what she knew about flying. They’d spent the last hour mostly in silence, except for the occasional communication with Gaz and Ryan down in engineering. Sean had made a point, though, of not leaving the cockpit. He could practically feel Amy’s anger seeping through the ship all the way from her quarters.
Her mood had been confirmed by Gaz earlier, who got a data pad thrown at him the moment he’d tried to talk to her.
“That was some impressively fast thinking down there on the moon, son.”
Sean jumped slightly. “Thank you, Captain Bryson.”
“Oh shit, don’t call me that or Amy will pitch a fit. Seeing as we haven’t officially been introduced, I’m Andy.” He held out his hand for Sean to take and didn’t pull it away when he didn’t reciprocate.
Not wanting to be more of an asshole than he already was, Sean reluctantly took the other man’s hand and squeezed back just as firm. “Sean. I’m glad we were able to get you out in one piece.”
“Well, I was scared to be honest. Thought Amy would be blind enough with anger and hurt to attempt something on her own. She always hated other people trying to dictate what she could do. Ever since she was a kid. Only got worse when she got to be a young woman.”
Sean didn’t respond. What the hell could he say anyway? Gaz had told him it wasn’t the best idea as they’d dragged Andy onto the
Drake
, but what other choice did they have at the time? It had worked. They’d all gotten out uninjured and managed to stop the drugs. Amy couldn’t have been aware of the plan or else it wouldn’t have worked. She wasn’t into public displays of affection, not that he was, and she would have been too tense. It had just about killed him to see all those men reacting so strongly to her, lusting after the woman who he was starting to love. He pushed the thought away and concentrated on the controls.
“I don’t think she would have done anything to risk your life. God, she was ready to take the dust anywhere Tyrell wanted if it meant getting you back safe.”
“She wouldn’t have liked it.”
“She didn’t much enjoy my solution either.” Sean looked over at Andy, hoping he 141
could pick up something, anything to help him figure things out. Sure Amy was mad, but at the time he’d honestly thought it was something they would be able to work through. Instead, she’d shut him out.
Andy looked at him with a steady intensity and Sean got the distinct impression he was being evaluated. “Amy has gone through a lot in her short life. And being half Shay has only made things hard for her. I think a lot of it is my fault. Didn’t know what to do half the time after her mother died.”
He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have to rear a daughter on his own, let alone one who had a natural ability like Amy’s. “I think she turned out just fine.”
“Well, that may be so, but it doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell at the time.” Andy sighed as he adjusted their approach vector. “Did she tell you about Malik?”
Sean sat up in his seat. “No. Who is he?”
Andy leaned back in his chair, picking at his nail with his finger. “She doesn’t think I know all the details. I know she and Gaz did all they could to keep things from me.
But one thing you learn quickly out here is that pilots and crews talk.”
There was something in the other man’s voice that told him he wasn’t going to like this story. With one last glance at the controls, Sean turned to face Andy.
“She was young, eighteen and a bit. She’d met a man on one of our runs, Malik Jaz.
He was a lot older than her and came from money, which is never a good idea in my opinion. Amy fell for him hard and fast. Too fast, and I’d tried to tell her as much. That it was her Shay half creeping out to cause her problems. But what the hell did I know, I was just her dad. She told me as much right before she ran off with him.”
Sean could just see her, young and wild. Wanting to shake off her father’s hand, and take on the universe full speed ahead. That was the passion he saw when they’d been together, the spark that drove the sex up to the next level, to something far deeper than he’d experienced ever before.
“The problem was, Malik had been playing her. Well, in fairness to the bastard, he was pulled in hard by her pheromones. It happens. Anyway, when she found out he had a family, a wife, Amy tried to leave him.”
Sean couldn’t help the anger he felt. No wonder she’d been so reluctant, why she’d wanted her inhibitors as much as she did. “Shit.”
Andy shook his head. “Gets worse. The stupid fucker was so messed up, he killed himself. I’ve seen it happen in rare cases. The man gets addicted to the pheromones and goes into withdrawal. He couldn’t handle it.”
God, it explained so much. “And Amy?”
“She had a hard time accepting she wasn’t to blame. That it was his mental state, and her pheromones weren’t the only factor in his death. She didn’t go near men for a long time. I don’t think I’ve seen her even remotely interested in anyone until…well, you.”
Sean lowered his head to the dash panel. “And I fucked it up. Did to her what 142
others had done to me.”
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just…nothing.”
The com crackled to life, revealing the face of one of the Eurus security guards.
“This is Eurus control, please respond,
Drake
.”
Andy reached over and opened the channel. “This is the
Drake
.”
“We have you landing on one of our secure docking bays. There will be a crew of engineers there to inspect the damage done to your ship. Medical personnel will also be on hand to check out your prisoners and any injured.”
“We read you. On approach now.”
Sean didn’t say anything else. He blindly went through the motions of coordinating reentry. If he wasn’t so distracted, he’d find it amusing he’d come to learn the ship as well as he had in such a short period of time. It was a shame he hadn’t taken the time to learn her captain just as well.
“I’ll get down to holding,” he said, standing the moment they were safely docked.
“I’ll need to fill Taber in on the details.”
“What about Amy?”
The question of the century.
“I don’t think I’m the person she wants to see right now.”
“Not even to explain?”
“It wouldn’t matter. I’ve been where she is right now, there’s nothing I can say to make this better.”
He left without looking back.
* * * * *
When Amy woke the next time, her head ached, but her stomach didn’t feel like it was going to empty itself any longer. Chancing the light, she opened her eyes and looked around. Still in her bed on the
Drake
, but the ship itself wasn’t humming, which means they’d landed somewhere. Probably Eurus, which meant Sean would be going soon.
Pushing her body so her feet reached the floor, Amy sat long enough to catch her breath and fight off the dizziness. She was still mad. Gods, she wanted to kick his ass into the next sector. He of all people should have known what it would be like to be used like this, the feelings it would bring up. Even if he hadn’t known about Malik, he should have known better than to put her in such an impossible position.
It took her a bit longer than normal to get dressed, her boots proving to be extra difficult. The movement helped her focus, calm her desire to throttle Sean, even if it didn’t remove it completely. She knew she was almost being irrational with this, with her feeling of betrayal. There were worse things that could have happened. No one died. Her dad was safe. She ran her hands through her hair, trying to pull the knots 143
from her curls. She’d look for a mirror later, but for now, she needed to get out of here.
The ship was strangely quiet as she moved through the corridors toward the hatch.
She’d half expected Gaz to tackle her the second she’d walked out the door. Despite her anger at him, it would have been nice to see a friendly face. Hell, seeing anyone at this point would be nice. It would help her shake the feeling something had gone terribly wrong.
The hatch release button was cool under her fingers as she pressed it, allowing the door to whoosh open. The harsh light of the hangar bay made her cringe, her eyes scrunching into a squint. Amy only gave herself moment to recover before jumping down to the ground on weak legs.
It took her a moment to locate any noise. They’d been put into a different bay than the one where the
Drake
had sat before the race. No other ships were docked and there didn’t appear to be any station crew on duty. Amy ran her hands over her bare arms and longed for the comfort of Gaz and Ryan’s banter, Sean’s constant presence, the ease they’d had together before the start of this mess. They’d grown into an odd sort of family over the past month. It surprised her to come to the realization Sean and Ryan filled the holes the others had left when they’d abandoned her so easily. Gaz was actually happy, and while she didn’t know the other man as well, she suspected Ryan was as well.
What about her?
If someone had asked her a day ago what she felt for Sean, she knew her answer would sound something like,
I think I love him
. But now? Gods, she didn’t know. How could she after what he’d done?
Mentally kicking her own ass, Amy pushed her conflicting thoughts aside and focused on the tapping sound coming from the far corner of the bay. If there was a problem with some equipment, she could try to fix it. It would be a great distraction and keep her mind off of—
“Sean?”
He was sitting on a cargo container, legs spread wide, leaning forward, arms on his thighs. He didn’t look up at the sound of his name, but he did stop the rhythmic tapping of his boot against the side of the metal container.
“How are you feeling?” His voice was rough, like he hadn’t used it in a while…or like he’d been crying.
Amy knew her mouth was open. Why the hell she was surprised to see him here, like this, she wasn’t sure. If she’d learned nothing about the man in the past month, it was he had a hard time confronting things. It was the one aspect of his personality Amy wished she could help him with. Here, today, after everything they’d gone through, she wasn’t in the mindset to be of any good. She wanted to push him, make him see that not only couldn’t he treat others the way he’d treated her, he had to stop punishing himself for the past.
“I feel like shit. That’s what happens when someone lobs a stun grenade at a 144
person.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I was improvising.”
“No, I somehow don’t think you were.”
He finally looked at her, his hazel eyes blazing. When he opened his mouth to speak, Amy expected to hear an angry growl or a tone filled with annoyance. Instead, his too calm, “Sorry about that,” made her heart ache.
She stepped closer to where he sat. He made no indication of moving, his body rock still as she moved inch by inch, until she stood a foot away. It was then he started up the banging once more, boot heel against metal. The echoed thuds were in time with her heartbeat.
“I wish I could believe you…that you are sorry. But you’re not. Are you?”
There was a pause in the rhythm. “Not really.” It started up again.
“Will you stop the noise and talk to me?”
“I hate the man I’ve become.”
Amy stepped back as Sean jumped down from the container. She swallowed and bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from speaking. Sean stood straight, hands balled at his side, gaze locked on the space between them.
“I hate…” He pulled in a ragged breath, let it out and sighed. “I hate that I did to you what they did to me.”
Her head felt light and she had to fight the urge to sit down. She knew if she did anything, it would break the spell Sean had fallen under. Instead she licked her bottom lip and asked, “What did they do to you?”
Sean’s head snapped up. Where there had been anger before, now there was fear—
and tears.
“I worked so hard to get the position as administrator of this colony. I was the youngest one, you know? No one back on Earth could believe it. But I’d done it, given up everything for this place. Drove my parents fucking mental knowing I’d happily given up the chance of my family, a social life…to look after a bunch of unknown men and women who made Eurus their home. When the Briel came, I knew it was what we needed, a chance to become independent and get away from Earth’s corruption. I closed off contact with home until we could get our feet under us. Become our own people.”
Amy couldn’t hold back any longer, she stepped closer. Sean didn’t back away, but nor did he make any move toward her either. When she was close enough to touch, but didn’t, she stopped and waited for him to continue. Sean swallowed hard, and having no other option, looked up into her eyes.