He enjoyed the adrenalin rush as he commanded the elite group of fighters. They were the best he’d ever worked with, and that was saying something. Most of them were smaller than him, but he knew beyond a doubt, they could more than handle a man of his size—or the jits for that matter. After some initial resistance, the pirates had been subdued with relative ease.
Ty—also in full armor that easily disguised his identity—sidled up next to Mike. To preserve Ty’s cover, they’d arrested him along with the other pirates, then separated him out when they split up the pirates, with none the wiser.
“How are we doing, brother?” Ty asked on a private comm channel as he checked his weapons.
“We’ve got most of the main players, but can’t seem to find the captain.”
Ty’s helmet bobbed as he nodded. “That’s because he went back to his ship a few hours ago. Some kind of surprise inspection. He likes to pretend he’s still military.”
“Damn. Well, we’ll get the captain when we take his ship. Everyone else has been rounded up and ferried out to our ship’s holding cells. Just a few left here on the station. Comm reports no transmissions left the station.” Michael nodded in satisfaction.
“Leah came through.”
“I had no doubt she would. She’s the most capable officer I’ve ever served with.”
Ty pounded him on the shoulder. The armor took most of the friendly blow, but Michael still felt it. “Is that admiration I hear in your voice, Mike?”
He noted the teasing in his brother’s voice, but refused to rise to the bait. They still had work to do. It was clear Leah was doing her part, now it was up to them not to let any of the pirates slip away.
“Let’s load our troops into the pirate shuttle and take their ship.”
The plan had been hatched hours before. The pirates kept a troop shuttle nearby to transport them back and forth from their ship to the station. Ty had supplied the intelligence that most of the pirate crew was on the station at the moment, and it certainly looked like they’d rounded up most, if not all, of the command staff. With any luck, only a skeleton crew would be left on the pirate ship. When Mike and his crew arrived in the pirate shuttle, they’d swarm on board and take them by surprise. If all went as planned.
They left the cleanup to troops that had been selected especially for the mission of ferreting out the stragglers who hid in the bowels of the station. They were under Leah’s command and would be reporting back to her from the moment Mike left the station.
The pirate shuttle was cramped, but the design would stand his team in good stead. Used for raiding parties, the shuttle had been equipped with quick-release hatches that allowed the maximum number of fighters off at one time. It would be relatively easy to board the pirate ship with this kind of equipment, and better yet, the crew left on board the pirate ship wouldn’t realize, with any luck, that they were being boarded until the last possible minute.
Ty had secured the comm codes necessary to dock with the ship and all went off without a hitch, until they hit the hangar. Mike offloaded with the first group of troopers, only to meet heavy resistance. This was no skeleton crew.
It wasn’t the full contingent of pirates, but this crew was more battle-ready than Mike would have liked. Apparently their captain routinely ordered any and all approaching shuttles to be greeted with maximum firepower, and this was no exception. The bloodthirsty bastards opened fire the moment they saw the battle armor. Their own crew wouldn’t be armored and armed, ready for a fight.
Mike dropped to one knee, laying down suppression fire as best he could while his troopers swarmed around him, searching out covered positions. They leapfrogged their way across the hangar, suffering a few casualties, but nothing life-threatening thanks to their superior armor. Mike’s own armor took a few hits, but he was leading the charge, in the thick of the fighting.
God, how he’d missed this!
Being in command was a deep seated need, but there was something about putting your own life on the line that fired adrenaline like nobody’s business.
Mike had worked his way up the chain of command when he’d been younger, fighting and then leading as he learned and excelled. He hadn’t been in combat in far too long. Not that he relished bloodshed, but he felt a sense of purpose on the battlefield that was all too often lost in the offices of command. Here he knew clearly who the good guys and the bad guys were.
In this case, the bad guys were jits. Kidnappers and slavers, these men were scum and Mike had no qualms about blowing them away when they tried to do the same to him.
*
Leah sat in Smithson’s old command chair, working steadily, when a comm interrupted on a private channel. Leah motioned her comm tech to record and punched the receive button.
“Where’s Smithson?” The pirate captain looked angry. Very different from the over-the-top barbarian she’d met earlier. He didn’t seem to recognize her at first—until she smiled.
“You!”
“Colonel Leah Blackfoot of Sector Command.” She nodded her head politely, while the pirate sat back, clearly shocked. “You’re under arrest, Captain. You and your men are ordered to stand down immediately and surrender your ship to the forces already on board.”
The man stared at her for so long, she wasn’t sure what he might do. Then he started to laugh, shaking his head as a grudging sort of respect entered his eyes.
“You’re good, Lilla. Or should I say,
Colonel
? You had me fooled. I was scrutinizing the men when all along I should have suspected the girl. Damn, but you’ve got brass balls, woman!” Leah had to stifle a laugh. “What happened to Smithson?”
“She’s currently enjoying the hospitality of the brig. I’d be delighted if you’d join her.”
“A captain never surrenders his ship.”
Leah watched the door behind the man open over the comm. She thought she recognized the big build of the two soldiers who entered first. It had to be Ty and Michael. The pirate captain saw them as he turned—too late to get off a shot.
“Looks like you don’t need to surrender, Captain. You’ve been taken honorably in battle.”
“You’re a worthy adversary, Colonel.” He bowed his head, surrendered his weapon, and spoke a few words in his own tongue she didn’t quite follow as Michael and Ty cuffed him and passed him over to the waiting troopers.
One of the armored men stepped forward to face the screen and nodded as a transmission came through over the headset all members of the operation wore.
“We’ve secured the ship and will be heading back shortly.” Michael’s voice came through loud and clear. Leah had never felt so relieved. He was alive and sounded just as in control and strong as he always did, though his armor was blackened in places. He’d taken a few hits, but looked like he was moving all right to Leah’s eyes.
“Glad to hear it, Commandant. We’ll leave the light on for you.”
“Good work, Colonel.” Did she hear a hint of pride in his voice? She wasn’t sure, but the approval felt good. “We’ll be there shortly. I’ll meet you in Smithson’s quarters after I finish up here. Gather your best evidence team. I want to see what we can learn from her belongings. If this crime ring goes any further, I want to know it. I’ll also need a second evidence team to comb this ship for information.”
They’d discussed this earlier and Leah knew Ty would be staying on board to help gather evidence from the pirate ship. He knew the codes and language of the jits better than anyone.
“Ready and waiting for your arrival, sir.”
“You’re the best, Leah. We’ll see you in two standards.”
*
Michael met Leah in the hallway in front of Smithson’s private quarters. There was a team of uniformed women behind her, or he would have dragged her into his arms for the homecoming kiss he really wanted. Aside from that, he was still in full armor and he wouldn’t be able to enjoy her soft body against him as much as he wanted. No, the hug could wait until they were alone. For now.
She reached up to help him with the fastenings on his helmet without being asked and then they were face to face. There was so much he wanted to say, but he wasn’t free to speak his mind. Not yet.
The moment would come soon. He’d had time to think while he was out on this mission, time to realize what was important and what wasn’t.
Leah
. She was what mattered most to him. She mattered more than any person he’d ever known, any woman he’d ever bedded, anyone, anywhere.
“Good to see you safely returned, sir.” Her eyes spoke more than her words and Michael read every nuance.
“Good to be back. Are we ready, Colonel?”
“Yes, sir.” She turned to the evidence team behind her, signaling them to begin recording. “Override codes, sir?”
Michael did his part, entering the command codes unique to him that allowed access to all parts of any station or base under his command. The doors to Smithson’s private domain opened after a moment and specialized members of the evidence team entered first, lest the place be booby-trapped. When the initial guard called the all-clear, Michael and Leah entered, observing as the team tapped into Smithson’s personal files.
“Encrypted media here, sir, and lots of it,” one of the techs called. Michael walked over to investigate while Leah continued to assist with the initial search of Smithson’s personal effects.
“Box it all up for the experts, Ensign. I want everything about this search to be totally by the book.” Michael noted the rows of encrypted data crystals. There was too much here to delve into now.
“I’ve got a cryptography team on standby in case she had anything encrypted more tightly than I give her credit for.” Leah came up beside him, a comfortable, welcome presence at his side. Damn, she felt good there. Next to him, under him, astride him.
Michael squelched his wayward thoughts. Time enough for that later. For now, they had to oversee this critical gathering of evidence. There was no way he’d let Smithson slide through on a technicality. The case against her was going to be tighter than a drum.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Two standards later, Michael and Leah finally retired from the room, leaving the techs to mop up the remnants under supervision of the ranking officer. The woman was good and Leah trusted her, which was enough for Michael. He had to get Leah alone. There was so much he wanted to say…and do.
She followed him into an empty guest chamber in the command section he’d reserved for their use. The door slid shut as he pulled her into his arms, armor and all. He couldn’t wait to kiss her, to feel her under his palms.
“God, I’ve missed you.” Michael muttered against her lips as he drew her in for a long, deep kiss. His tongue claimed her mouth, his body seeking the warmth of hers, but the blasted armor got in the way. When he could draw the strength, he pushed away a little. “Help me get this armor off, Leah. I need to feel you against me.”
Her smile lit his world. “You won’t get any argument there.” She giggled like a carefree schoolgirl as their hands tangled, trying to remove the armor as quickly as possible and only prolonging the agony as they fumbled. He liked the sound of her laughter. There had been precious little laughter in both of their lives recently, and his heart felt good they could find it together. There was a lot he wanted to share with this special woman, if she’d only give him the chance.
The chance of a lifetime.
His hands stilled as his eyes searched her face. After a moment, she became aware of his scrutiny, her small hands stilling over his heart as she looked up at him. They’d managed to get the top part of the armor off at least.
“I haven’t thanked you yet.”
“For what?” Her voice was breathless.
“For the way you handled this mission.” He pecked her lips. “Your cunning intellect.” He kissed her brow. “And your beautiful submission.” He breathed against her lips. “It was the greatest gift I have ever received.”
When he let her up for air, she drew back to meet his eyes. Her expression was clouded, a small frown marring her lovely brow.
“You know I’d only do that for you, Michael, right? I never was promiscuous.”
“I knew.” He bent to kiss her cheeks. “It meant even more to me, knowing you did it for me and me alone.”
“I’d do anything for you, Michael.”
The sheer honesty in her voice made his heart contract as he stared down into her lovely eyes. She fidgeted under his scrutiny and he let her go, just a few inches. He couldn’t bear to be parted more than that from her at the moment.
“As it stands,” she looked away, “I’m glad the mission was a success. Aside from a few minor injuries, we came out of this clean and with solid evidence to hang Smithson and her cronies.”
Mike allowed the change in subject, knowing there were still a few things that needed saying before the air was clear between them. He feared and anticipated the next few minutes with equal fervor. If she responded the way he hoped, he might just be the happiest man in the universe. If not, he didn’t know what he’d do. Perhaps chain her to his bed until she agreed? The thought had some merit, but first he’d see how she took his proposal. He had to work up to it though.
“You were brilliant, Leah.” His hands stroked her back, gentling her. “Ty’s cover is intact and the pirates think you were the sole agent involved in infiltrating their ring. I couldn’t have planned it better myself.” A smacking kiss followed his words. “You’re going to get a promotion out of this, I think.”
“To be honest, I don’t want it if it means I can’t be your XO anymore.” She took a deep breath. “I was ready to resign my commission, Michael. I’m only staying because of you.”
His heart stuttered. Could he be hearing her right? Things were looking promising for his plans, but he wasn’t taking anything for granted.
“You honestly think I’d let you go?” He pulled back to meet her eyes. “If anyone tried to take you from me at this point, they’d have one hell of a fight on their hands. Leah…” He knelt before her, grasping her hands tightly. “Marry me.”
She gasped. “Are you serious?” A smile bloomed over her lovely face, then dimmed slightly. “But—”