Mercenaries (34 page)

And he needed her. He'd been lonely far too long. Even among his Wing Brothers, he'd had the sense of being isolated. Though they'd grown up with him, Kaveh, Ymir, and Tyrkir did not really understand him. They lived only for flying, sex, and honor. If any of them needed anything more, he'd never seen any evidence of it. Goddess knew when he'd tried to talk of something beyond dueling and women, he'd gotten nothing more than blank looks.

But did winning a fight—or even falling in love with Cassidy—give Rune the right to take her wings away?

C
ASSIDY dreamed of engines. For several long, sweet moments, she was back in the cockpit.

Then the familiar rumble pulled her out of sleep.

When she opened her eyes, she found Rune sitting up, his attention focused on the tent flap. The low-pitched rumble grew into a howl, as if a craft hovered right overhead. Probably a transport of some kind; the pitch was wrong for a fighter.

“Who the hell is that?” She tried to sit up, only to discover her wrists were still bound behind her back.

“My people.”

Cassidy's stomach dropped like a stone.
No!
As she silently cursed in dread, he rolled to his feet and left the tent. Despite her bound wrists, she scrambled to her feet and followed him.

She wanted to throw up.

They were here.
He was going to take her to that ship of his, and she'd be trapped on the
Conquest
for good. Never to fly again. Nothing but a toy for him and a baby machine for a culture she already knew she'd hate.

Fury steamed in to drown her despair.
How dare he do this to her!

As she shrugged her way out of the tent, Cassidy saw a transport shuttle just sitting down. Its stubby wings rocked before it settled into a patch of moonlit vegetation.

“Mushy landing,” she muttered, not at all impressed. The pilot either didn't have Rune's skills, or he was drunk. And what kind of idiot flew drunk, when his implant could sober him up in seconds?

Drunk or not, though, the pilot had come ready for damn near anything. The transport was a boxy, heavily armed affair, bristling with beamer cannons that looked as if they'd seen recent use, judging from the sear patterns around them.

Yet instead of running to meet his rescuers, Rune held back as the airlock cycled open and three men leaped out to swagger toward them, calling greetings in Dharani.

Computer, translate,
Cassidy ordered. She damned well wanted to know what they were talking about.

. . . Come to rescue our lost Wing Brother, and how do we find him?
one of them was saying, her comp translating his words in a mental whisper.
Safe, warm, and all cuddled up with a woman.

Another, a big blond, gave Cassidy a dark look as the three stopped to eye her and Rune. “An enemy female, at that, by the looks of that uniform.”

Rune stiffened, but his tone was calm and level as he answered. “I challenged her to a Claiming Duel and won.”

The third one barked out a laugh and elbowed his friends. “Rune caught himself a Breeder!”

Laughing, all three men pushed in close, jostling Rune as they tried to get a look at her.

“Hey! Back off, you lot,” Rune protested, stiff-arming the blond back. “She's mine.”

“Actually,” Cassidy said coolly, “I'm mine.” Raising her chin at them, she glared in warning.

The three hooted and elbowed each other. Judging from the fumes, they'd done some celebrating before they'd come looking for their Wing Brother.

Funny job to attempt drunk,
Cassidy thought waspishly.

“Sounds like Rune hasn't taught her her place yet,” the blond told the others, giving her a narrow-eyed sneer.

Drunk or not, she had to admit they were a handsome trio, just as tall and broad-shouldered as Rune himself. Beefy, muscular warriors in full armor, each was as strikingly handsome as her captor.

Yet there was a faint unsteadiness in each move and a trace of something ugly in their eyes.

A moment later her comp confirmed that suspicion, and she silently cursed. Just great. Worse yet, all three wore holstered beamers. Beamers that worked. And here she was, tied up and unarmed.

Surreptitiously she twisted her hands around and began plucking at the cold cable around her wrists, knowing even as she made the attempt that it was useless. There was no way to untie or break mag restraints, even with her strength. The cable was keyed to respond only to Rune's touch or the orders of his computer.

Definitely a problem, because something told her she didn't want to be bound and helpless with these three around.

When the big blond reached for her a second time, Rune stepped in his path with an easy smile. “I'm grateful for the rescue, but I'm surprised to see you so soon. Did we win?”

The blond snorted. “Not likely. The idiot Kalistans sued for peace.”

Rune frowned, obviously as surprised as Cassidy. The war had certainly been in full swing when they'd taken off yesterday. “Why?”

The tall, dark-haired warrior spread his hands in a gesture of disgust. “The Galvestonians may not have much of a navy, but thanks to those trillite mines, they've got more money than the Goddess. And they used it to hire a second mercenary fleet.”

“Six hours ago that fleet popped into Kalistan space and locked weapons on the capital city,” the redhead finished. “The dirtsucking Kalistans caved right in.”

Rune swore. “The Galvestonians used their mercenaries here as a diversionary force.”

“Exactly. And with the Kalistan navy tied up in this system running the invasion, they're not in a defensible position.” The blond shrugged. “So they declared a truce and started negotiations. I suspect the war will be over in a week, if that.”

Cassidy hid a satisfied smile. At least the bastard Kalistans had lost, even if she'd ended up on the wrong end of her battle with Rune.

“So we took the opportunity to search for you and do a little raiding,” the redhead put in. “And here you are—with the perfect way to kill time.” He gave Cassidy a genial leer.

She definitely didn't like the way this was going. Time to nip this in the bud and pray her captor would back her up. “Rune, if you seriously think I'm going to do all four of you, you're out of your mind.” Her tone did not leave him room for argument.

“Of course not. I . . .” Rune turned to look over his shoulder at her. The blond picked that moment to snake out a hand and snatch her from behind him.

Suddenly Cassidy was plastered against the big bastard, one of his hands clamped onto her butt, the other gripping her head. Before she could even spit a protest, his mouth crashed down over hers, wet and blatantly contemptuous.

She promptly caught his thrusting tongue between her teeth and bit down.

With an muffled shout of outrage, the blond shoved her back and lifted a big fist. Rune grabbed his wrist before he could hit her. “What in the Goddess's name do you think you're doing?”

“She bit me!” the blond growled.

“What do you expect?” Rune threw his hand off. His obvious fury made Cassidy feel a little better. At least he didn't plan to feed her to his drunken friends. “You touched her without her permission. You know better than—”

“Permission?” Contempt rendered the blond's handsome face tight and ugly. “I need no permission from the likes of a Breeder!”

“But you need mine, and I have not given it.”

Cassidy frowned, not liking the sound of that at all. These guys could just grab her whenever they wanted? Rune hadn't said anything about that.

The dark-haired one stepped between Rune and the blond, his tone elaborately reasonable. “As I recall, we four took a vow—the first to capture a Breeder would share her with the others. You swore to it, too, Rune.”

“That's right!” the redhead caroled. He was obviously the drunkest of the three. “And I haven't had a woman in months!” He reached for Cassidy, but she stepped nimbly out of the way.

Eyeing the three, she glared. “Rune, you are
not
going to pass me around like a party favor.”

“You heard her, she's not willing,” Rune said, shoving the redhead back a pace when he tried to lunge past again.

“So?” The blond glowered. “She's a Breeder—she allowed herself to be taken captive instead of choosing an honorable death. She doesn't have the right to refuse.”

“Besides, we get in that tent with her and let her breathe pheromones from all four of us, and she'll be plenty eager for it.” The redhead gave her a drunken leer. “In ten minutes she'll be begging. We just need to hold her down for a bit, and—”

“Are you rapists, then?” Rune's tone was so cold, even Cassidy flinched.

“You can't rape a Breeder,” the dark one protested. “That's what they're
for
.”

Suddenly the blond stepped right up against Rune, so close their weapons' belts touched. “I have fought by your side since we left the Women's Deck as boys. How many times have I saved your life?”

Rune lifted his chin. “As many times as I've saved yours.”

“We all have,” the dark man added.

The redhead lifted his voice in a drunken shout. “Wing Brothers for life!”

“Yes. Wing Brothers.” His expression chill, the blond looked directly into Rune's eyes. “Now. I want to sample your Breeder, Wing Brother.
Get out of the way.
”

Cassidy sucked in a breath and waited to find out if she was about to be raped.

One way or another, she wasn't going to go down easy.

RUNE looked into Kaveh's cold gray stare and felt his life spiraling out of control. Sweat rolled down his back under his armor, itching savagely. He ignored it.

These men were his brothers. He'd grown up with them, fought for them, bled for them, got drunk and schemed and seduced
Mahiris
with them. When they'd been traded to the
Conquest
as boys, Kaveh, Ymir, and Tyrkir had been the only friends he'd had.

Now they wanted Cassidy.

But he'd seen them with Breeders before. They'd try to use her like a piece of meat, and he was damned if he'd allow it.

Yet it was also brutally obvious Kaveh had no intention of letting him refuse.

Agonized, he looked over his shoulder at her. She was staring at Kaveh, her expression grim and set, every muscle in her lean body obviously ready for battle. It wasn't in her to let them take her. And if she fought them, they'd hurt her.

At that thought, a cold, angry determination filled him. Nothing and no one was going to abuse Cassidy Vika as long as Rune was alive to stop it. If he had to take them all on, so be it.

But maybe it was still possible to talk some sense into Kaveh. Though the group often followed Rune's lead, it was Kaveh they looked to when he opposed them. If Rune could only convince him to back off, the others would follow. If not, the situation would implode.

“You said she has no honor. That's not true. She fought with courage, intelligence, and skill. She will be the mother of my sons. I will not allow her to be hurt.”

“And I am your Wing Brother.” Kaveh curled his lip. “Does some defeated cunt mean more to you than your brothers?”

He was losing control of this, and Cassidy was still bound and helpless.
Comp, release her mag bonds.
“I vowed to protect her, Kaveh.”

“We're not going to hurt her,” Ymir said, throwing his red hair back from his face with a toss of his head. “Just fuck her a little.” He smirked and turned a predatory leer on the open front of her armor. “All right, a lot.”

Rune's anger turned to rage. “I said no. I gave her my vow!”

“You took a vow to us, too,” Tyrkir pointed out. “And we've shared women before. It's not like you to be so possessive.”

Kaveh laughed, the sound an ugly bark. He wheeled toward the others. “He's smitten! Our Wing Brother is smitten with a Breeder! He thinks himself in love!”

Tyrkir gave him a long look as he silently cursed. “Is this true?”

“Look at his face,” Kaveh spat. “You know it is.”

“Hey, now—it's one thing to become infatuated with a
Mahiri,
but a Breeder?” Ymir said, drunken concern in his blue eyes. “That's not good. People will say you've gone weak.”

Rune turned to give his friend a long narrow look. An accusation of weakness would be fatal. “Any man who says such a thing of me will soon be stuffing his guts back in his belly.”

“Then you'll find yourself fighting every warrior on the
Conquest,
because it's true.” Sick jealousy burned in Kaveh's green eyes. “I can smell it on you like a stench. You've fallen in love with her. It's been less than a day, and already she's got you wrapped up tight.”