The Bond That Saves Us (8 page)

“Let me help.” His words were soft, a plea.

“I can’t. You know why.” But by Gods did she wish he could.

40

“Yes you can. Hire me on as your copilot. Help me integrate into the community.

That way I’ll be able to poke around without it looking suspicious, maybe get some information on the ring so we can shut it down.”

Shock at the enormity of what he was suggesting and her unrelenting lust had her taking a half step back until she was flush with the computer panel. “Are you insane?

No one would accept you. Your reputation alone would make it impossible.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Not yet. But trust me when I say the second someone like you showed up on the circuit, I’d be all over the databanks finding out every last scrap on you I could.”

“I’m not hearing you say no though.”

And there was the irony of the situation. She knew without a shadow of a doubt having Sean as a part of her crew would work. It wouldn’t take the other ships’ crews long to accept him if she did. A few well-placed comments from Steve and Gaz in the right ears and that would be it. At least they wouldn’t outright shun him. Tyrell and his men would certainly go after him, but it didn’t seem to be much of an issue. If his actions managed to get the ring shut down so this race could happen unimpeded, then everyone would be thankful.

So why was she so dead-set against the idea?

“It’s a no. We’ll handle this on our own.”

Sean growled and ran a hand down over his face. “You know what? Fine. I tried to help. If you and your people are so fucking stubborn you can’t accept the offer, it’s really not my concern.”

Stunned at the hard edge to his voice, all she could do was stand and watch as he stalked from the cockpit. Her strength left her and she sank into the pilot’s chair with a sigh. What the hell had just happened?

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been there, lost her in head, when the door opened to reveal Gaz, his muscular arms crossed over his chest. He was still wearing the leather pants and vest he’d had on yesterday morning. That meant he’d spent the night fucking some guy’s brains out and would have the cocky attitude to go along with it. The very last thing she wanted to deal with just then. His green eyes sparkled with mischief, but didn’t do anything to soften his appearance.

“Girl, what the hell happened? I leave you alone for half a day and you’ve managed to get hurt, get Steve hurt and attract the hottest guy I’ve seen on this colony yet.”

Looking up into her friend’s eyes, she let out a soft laugh. “I saw him first. Back off before I have to kick your ass.”

“And from the look of you, not only did you see him, you fucked him. Shit, I can smell those powerful-ass pheromones coming off you in waves. You take your inhibitors?”

“Gaz, don’t start.”

“Well, did you?” He moved to straddle the copilot’s seat. “‘Cause you are potent. I 41

may have to go back out and find myself another hot ass to screw.”

Maybe this was what most of Sean’s reaction had been about—subconsciously connecting her rejection of him to join her crew as a rejection of him as a potential mate?

She’d seen it before when she’d parted company with other men…especially with Malik. While her refusal wasn’t sexually related, his brain would be confused, see her denial as something it wasn’t. Gods, even without trying, she’d managed to fuck things up.

“I took them, but not a full dose. I’m almost out and can’t get any more.”

“You check with the local doctors? They may have some tucked away.”

Dropping her chin to her chest, she sighed. “Nope, wasn’t thinking about it at the time. In too much pain with my arm.”

“Well, you’re not in pain now. Go back up and see what they can get you.”

“Gaz, I’m not going anywhere. Tyrell’s men have scared Steve off.”

“
What?
”

“He’s leaving the crew.”

“Like hell he is. I’ll kick his cowardly ass—”

Reaching out, she brushed her hand over his forearm. “Hon, please don’t.”

“Amy, we’ve worked too hard to get the ship ready for this race. The money we’ll earn for placing in the top ten alone will set us up for the next five years. And if we fucking win?” He shifted so he could lace their hands together. “Tyrell’s after the money for himself. I can’t believe you’d let him get away with using this race as a cover for a drug run.”

Shit, if there was one thing Gaz was good at, it was laying on the guilt. “Well, he’s got half the ships here so scared no one is willing to talk. And I’m not stupid enough to open my mouth without a pile of backup.”

“Never said you were.” He leaned back and ran a hair through his blue hair. “We just need to figure out how to get Tyrell off our backs long enough to pick up new crew and get our asses in the game.”

Yeah, that’s all. Simple.

Gaz let her hand drop and slapped the tops of his thick thighs with his hands.

“Well, I can hit the bars, see if there is anyone looking for work. I’m assuming we’ll need to replace Roach too if Steve’s gone. Those old-timers were cramping my style anyway.”

Amy laughed, the first genuine one all day. “Sweetheart, no one could cramp you.”

“Nope. I drink lots of water, prevents the muscles tightening up before I want them to.” He swiveled his hips in a lewd gesture. “I’ll check back in within an hour.”

“Okay. I’m going to give the ship a once-over. If we’re not willing to bow down, Tyrell might try to blow us up. I want to give her a good scan before I install some proximity alarms and a nano shield.”

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“Bastard. We’ll need to move quick and get this bucket in the sky.”

They were both moving, and Amy did her best to ignore the doubt in the back of her mind as she started her inspection. Sean had an ulterior motive for wanting to join her crew, but was up front about it. That was more than most of the people she’d hired over the years. Grabbing the scanner and her tool belt, she was completely distracted as she stepped back outside, unaware of the hidden eyes watching her.

* * * * *

The next day and a half passed by in a mind-numbing blur. The time she didn’t spend on the
Drake
, trying to get it up to above-par standards, was used to try to suss out a new copilot. Time was against her. Steve and Roach were less subtle than she’d anticipated and had made it perfectly clear to everyone why they were leaving. It didn’t exactly have people lining up for a job.

Amy’s arms ached from the strain of working above her head. Fluid from the coolant system had leaked from her hands down her arm, staining her dark skin white.

She’d have to spend at least a half-hour under the spray to get it washed off. Mind you, it would be worth every credit she’d have to pay to spend time in an honest-to-Gods water shower.

Sweat clung to her, making her itch and squirm. Her body ached in places it hadn’t in years. They didn’t normally rush these types of repairs, both she and Gaz far too much of perfectionists to allow for it. She was the only one working right then, her engineer off engaged in another round of recruiting. If they didn’t find more crew soon, none of the hell she’d put herself through would matter.

And then there was the problem of Sean.

It didn’t help that she could still smell the lingering scent of the man, could remember with precise detail the heady taste of his cum on her tongue. Another curse of the Shay female—perfect recall of their sexual partners’ bodies. It was a genetic throwback to the days when mates didn’t cohabitate, only coming together when it was time to mate. It helped her ancestors find their old partners or reject them in favor of new ones. The ability, while no longer necessary, still lived on in genetic code.

Everything about his body was permanently etched in her mind. The length and girth of his shaft as her mouth slipped over the crown to stretch around him as she sucked him in. The scent of his body and how when her nose brushed through his pubic hair her mouth watered at his potency, wanting more. More sex. More Sean.

She could practically feel his fingers as they clutched her face, guiding and directing her actions. Silently begging her to go faster, suck harder. The feel of his skin, the smoothness of his balls as she scraped her blunt nails across their surface, down to his ass.

Amy cursed as her wrench slipped and smashed against the side of her hand.

Squeezing her injured hand tight, she let the pain wash over her. Served her right. This was no different than Malik…well, it was. But the end result would be no different. It 43

would end in heartache and that was something she could do without, thank you very much.

Stomach growling, she knew she’d pushed herself as far as she could today. She’d catch a quick meal up at the bazaar before hitting the showers. Maybe she’d even head back to the bar, see if Fallon and her magic drink was around tonight. Wiping her hands as best she could on her pants, Amy packed up her tools and was about to head into the ship when a loud bang in the far side of the hangar bay caught her attention.

She knew better than to go wandering over to see what was happening. Either someone was lying in wait for her, wanting to take a shot at her other arm, or it was someone from one of the ships most likely engaged in a fuck. Either way, she wasn’t about to stick her nose somewhere it was likely to get bitten off. With one eye on the spot where she’d heard the noise, she made her way to the ship’s door.

The shadow out of the corner of her eye was what had stopped her dead in her tracks. Turning her head, she was faced with three large men each wearing Tyrell’s company logo on their navy blue pants. On the surface TyCo Shipping was a proper business, but everyone on the circuit knew the reality—Tyrell and his men were corrupt. You either played the game or paid the price.

Amy’s dad had managed to avoid them over the years, more often than not his credit account taking a hit. She even remembered him coming home roughed up on more than one occasion. It took her a long time to learn that they weren’t just bar brawls he’d gotten himself into.

The largest of the three men stepped forward, smiling in a manner she would have called sweet if it wasn’t for the fact he was holding a stun stick. “Well, hello, Captain.

How is that pretty ship of yours holding up?”

She gave him her best grin, letting her hand slip over the tool belt. “She’s just fine.

Going to take her into orbit tomorrow, burn off the cobwebs. I’d offer to take you along for the ride, but I’m completely full up.”

“Now that’s a real shame. Maybe I can persuade you to unload some of your cargo or a few passengers. My boss would be really grateful.”

Shit, shit, idiot.
“And you know how much I hate to disappoint anyone. Tell your boss I’ll give him first priority for my next run.”

The man stepped forward, letting the stun stick fall down to his side. “While we appreciate the offer, I’m afraid that’s just not going to work for his schedule.”

Before she had time to react, the men moved as one choreographed unit and surged forward. Amy managed to swing her tool belt at the one to her right, connecting with the side of his face, before the one in the middle hit her on the side with the stunner.

The scream was ripped from her lungs, sending her to her knees in agony as white-hot pain lanced through her.

“Bitch,” the one she’d hit hissed, his hand pressed to his neck in an attempt to stem the bleeding. “I’m so going to fuck your ship up.”

Because the sad matter of the situation was they could do more damage to her than 44

the ship, but the other pilots would better heed a warning directed toward the equipment than the person. Twisting, doing her best to avoid the boot of one of her attackers, Amy cried out and tried to crawl toward the bastard who was taking a heavy spanner to the exposed coolant system.

“No!” Tears streamed down her face, each bash to the ship ripping a hole in her.

“Please stop.”

The leader of the three reached down and wrapped his hand in her hair, yanking her head at an awkward angle to look him in the eye. “Should have thought of that a few days ago, back when we could have done something about it. Too late now.”

Blackness picked at the edges of her vision and her stomach flipped, churning with unstoppable dread. Her head was pushed to the floor as another jolt from the stunner ripped through her. She couldn’t move, could only watch as the three men went to work on the belly of her ship. That was why she didn’t notice at first the presence of another man.

The moment she saw him move, she realized it was Sean. Despite his size, he moved quickly, his punches easily hitting their mark. Sean knocked the closest of the men to the ground. No sound reached her ears, only a soft buzzing penetrated through the fog of her shocked brain. Like a vid playing with the volume turned way down. She quite enjoyed the beating Sean was providing the men on her behalf.

A pair of strong hands flipped her to her side and Gaz’s concerned face hovered above her. He was saying something, but her brain couldn’t process the words. It wasn’t until he left her side and rushed over to help Sean take down the last two men that she’d understood. They were here to save her. Everything would be okay.