Rave finished dressing and turned to
Kain
. “We aren’t the same men we once were.”
“No, we aren’t. We’re both stronger.”
“Are we really?” Sometimes he wondered how strong he really was. Most of the time he tried to bury the past. It was easier, but did that make him stronger? He sure didn’t think so.
“I think we are. Now, go get your sister, and let’s finish this.”
Kain’s
smile lit up his face. Rave really wanted to crawl back into that bed and taste the smile, but he had to protect his family. The possibility that
Kain
could be a part of that family again put a smile on his face. He left
Kain
in his room and headed to the bridge.
“What’s with the sappy grin?” Se inquired.
Leave it to Se to break the mood.
“Not a thing. Is it all clear to get on planet?” Rave looked out at New Moon.
“We’ve got the go ahead.
You bringing
Mel here?”
“That’s the plan, but you know how she can be,” he said with a ruthful grin.
“Yes, I do. Good luck with that,” Se managed to say as she keyed a sequence into the ships computers.
“Maybe you should go.” Rave bumped shoulders with Se.
“I never took you for a chicken.”
“Don’t start with me, Se.”
She gave him an innocent look, one that had always spelled trouble.
“I’m not the one starting anything. Maybe you should check the
coms
before you start going all hot and heavy.”
The burn on his face could only be caused by a blush, but he never blushed anymore. Yet here he was, like a schoolgirl being teased about her first crush.
“Damn it. You listened in on us?”
“No.” She laughed. “But your face gave you away.”
“This isn’t any of your business.”
“No, it isn’t. But I will say that I’m happy for you. He’d just better not fuck up this time.”
Rave gave a sharp nod and turned towards the docking bay so he could leave the ship. There would be time enough to think about
Kain
later. Right now, he had a sister to save.
Chapter Six
After Rave left,
Kain
leapt up to get ready for the day. Se still wanted to talk to him, and he preferred to get it over with before Rave and Mel arrived back on the ship. Things were turning in his favour, and he didn’t want to strain the new start with tension between him and Se.
He walked onto the ship’s deck and watched Se work. He’d missed her, too. They’d grown up together, and he thought of her as a sister. The one thing
Kain
could be grateful for was Se. She’d been there for Rave when he couldn’t be.
“You just going to stand there looking pretty, or are you coming in?”
He shook his head and entered the room. “How do you
do
that?”
“Do what?”
“Know when someone is behind you?”
She laughed.
“Magic.”
Kain
grinned. “I am here on your orders.”
“You’re a little early.”
“I thought now would be a good time to talk.”
“You aren’t talking. You’re going to sit there and listen to me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He tried to keep it light because he was afraid of what she’d say.
She turned and raised her eyebrow at him then went back to the monitors she worked on.
“I’m glad you and Rave are ‘talking’, but you have to take it slow. Rushing in now is a
bad
idea. I don’t think you really understand what he went through on that planet. When I picked him up, he was a shell of his former self. It took months for him to sleep through the night without screaming. He wouldn’t talk about what happened unless he was drunk, and that first year, he drank a lot. The alcohol didn’t always stop the dreams. Once, he finally gave up on you, things got a little better, but he still wasn’t the Rave I knew and loved. He did stop drinking, but he wasn’t happy.”
“Fuck, Se, you think I’m happy about all of this? If I could have switched places with him, I would have. I didn’t want—”
“I’m not finished.”
She finally turned away from the machines to look at him. The pain in her eyes stopped him from saying anything else. Did he really want to hear what she had to say? He feared what her next words would be, but if Rave could physically go through hell, he would at least have the balls to listen. He settled into one of the seats, his heart in his throat.
“On a particularly bad night, he’d downed a bottle of whisky, and he told what happened when he first landed on the planet. The ship dropped them off and left them to check in. The guards processed them then the prisoners were on their own. I want to stress that part—that he was on his own. The whole transport ship knew he was military. The fucking guards announced it. Word spread fast. The thing they don’t tell the general public is the inmates on the planet ‘initiate’ the new drop offs. A group of thugs waited for the guards to leave and turned on the new guys. Rave tried to run, but it was a lost cause against a group of angry, hungry guys.
“They caught him, beat him and raped him. That was the first few minutes. It took the medical crew two days to find him. He told me the only thing that kept him sane
was knowing
you were out there somewhere. He kept thinking you had to be okay, that you would save him.
“After they released him from the medical unit, he went into hiding, scavenging food when he could. Like he always says, one day was a day too much. Do you understand his hatred now? That first year, he still had
hope
that you would save him from himself. He needed you, and no one knew where you were.”
Kain
couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down his face. Yes, he understood the hate Rave must feel. The guilt of not being there ripped through his body, and his hands clutched at his stomach. He worked on wrapping his mind around how the ideals of the Alliance had changed. How could they do this to two loyal members? Two men who would have given their lives to protect what they believed in. His faith broke as did his heart.
“I didn’t…I couldn’t—oh my God. How could they do this? The Alliance had to know what would happen to him. How could they even hope Rave would help after all of this?”
“My guess is they hoped the love you two shared would be strong enough to survive the time apart.”
“Fuck.”
Kain
slammed his hand down on the console in front of him. How could Rave ever forgive him?
Kain
didn’t have time to beat himself up over the injustice done to
Rave
because something bumped into the ship.
“Shit,” Se muttered.
“What is it? What happened?”
“Someone locked onto the ship with a retractor cable.”
The computer’s voice echoed through the room, “The planet patrol has the ship locked down. They’re hailing the control room.”
“Put them through and contact Rave on planet.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
A recording came through the
coms
, “Your ship will stand down and prepare for boarding. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Rave Anders for questioning in the kidnapping of
Kain
Sims.”
What the fuck was going on? Was this the trap Rave feared? Things were still too fragile for this to be happening. Damn it! Who’d jumped the gun?
Se turned to look at him, the horror showing on her face. “What did you do?”
“Nothing!
This isn’t supposed to happen.
At least not yet.”
“What do you mean
not
yet!
” Se yelled at him.
Kain
flinched at the anger flowing from Se.
“The Alliance told me the arrest wouldn’t come through until after we had the laser on the ship. Then it would be
only
to retrieve the weapon.”
“You’ve fucked this up. No way will Rave believe this wasn’t the plan all along.”
“Damn them,” he whispered. His future without Rave flashed before his eyes. Not this time. Fuck them. No way would he fall in the eyes of Rave. He would fix this. Shoulders squared he prepared to get Rave and his sister back on the ship.
* * * *
Rave made it to Mel’s house in record time. He wanted to get this mission over with so he could tell the Alliance to go fuck itself. He knew he had a hard time ahead of him. Mel’s stubbornness outshone even his.
He rang the bell and waited for an answer.
“Please scan your retina into the system,” a computerised voice commanded.
He complied, and the door swept open.
“Confirmed relative.
You may enter.”
“Rave!
What are you doing here?” Mel walked up to him and pulled him into a hug.
She hadn’t changed much. Maybe a little grey threaded through her brown hair and laugh lines around her dark brown eyes. Her head only reached his chest. She was short, like their mother and just as pretty.
“Hey, sis.
I don’t have much time, and you have to cooperate. For once, could you just go with the flow?”
“What did you do now?” She stiffened and pulled away from him with a frown on her face.
He smiled. “What
makes
you think it was
me
?”
She gave him a look that reminded him of them growing up.
“Because I know you.
So, out with it.”
“
Kain’s
back.”
“And he’s still alive?”
A laugh slipped out. “Things happened that were beyond our control. We talked a little. I’ll fill you in once we’re on my ship.”
“And I would be on your ship because…”
“It has to do with the Alliance. I want you safe, and the best place for that is on my ship.”
His com beeped before he could finish. “Sir, the ship has been impounded, and the planet guard is requesting your surrender.”
No! He couldn’t be wrong about
Kain
. Not now, not so soon. He should have known better. Anger boiled to the surface.
“What the hell happened?”
The ship’s computer responded, “A warrant was issued to arrest you for the kidnapping of
Kain
Sims.”
Anger flowed through his body, so tangible he could feel the heat radiating from him. “He lied to me.”
“Rave?
What is this about?” his sister sounded nervous, but he couldn’t pacify her right now.
“We need to get back to my ship and off this planet.”
“I heard the computer, just like you did. You aren’t going anywhere.”
“The hell I’m not. Pack some things and let’s go.” He reached for her arm, but she pulled back.
“I’m not moving until you tell me why.” She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her chin.
Damn it, he didn’t have time for this.
“I can’t leave you here. What if something else gets fucked up? I can’t chance it. Here it is in a nutshell, someone made a weapon and they plan to use it on this planet. I’m going to do everything in my power to see it doesn’t happen, but in case it does, I want you with me. Now, will you come with me?”
“I can’t pick up and leave. The medical
staff
on this planet is almost non-existent. I’m about all they have.”
“If we don’t leave now and take care of this, there might not be
anyone
for you to take care of.
This weapon?
It’s a planet killer. Do you understand now?”
“Then this is where I should be. You go save the planet, and I’ll help here. What if there are survivors? Maybe it won’t take the whole planet? Did any of that cross your mind?”
“Damn it, Mel. Don’t make me drag you off here. You’re all I have left. Please, just come with me.”
He wasn’t above begging when it came to his sister.
“I’ll come with you if you promise me something?”
“Anything.”
“When this is over, give up your ship and settle down on some planet. Get yourself off the Alliance’s radar.”
“If I make it out of this alive and not back in prison, you have yourself a deal.”
He would even lie, if that would work. No way would he give up his ship. It wouldn’t happen. He loved space too much to give it up.
“I’m not sure if you’re lying to me or not, but for now, I’ll take it. Give me a second.”
He paced around Mel’s house while he waited. He stopped in front of a picture she had hanging on the wall. It was of the four of them,
Kain
, Se, Mel and him, standing in front of the academy. Mel had just graduated from med school.
Kain
looked so young. Hell, so did
he
. What had happened to those men?
“I’m ready.”
Rave turned away from the memories and gathered his sister’s bags.
“Let’s get out of here. Is there anyone you have to call?”
“I did that while packing. I’m good to go.”
“Let’s go.”
His anger returned as they walked to the port. How could
Kain
do this again?
I thought he loved me. Why am I so stupid?
Rave should have known
Kain
was too good to be true. He couldn’t figure out his angle. Why tell him that the Alliance wouldn’t get involved until they had the laser then have the planet patrol after him? Someone had to have issued the warrant. No way would Rave go back to DI. He’d die first and take down as many members of the Alliance as he could.
Now, how to get back to the ship without being detected? He’d left on foot, and he couldn’t walk right up it. If he’d have taken one of the shuttle pods, he could have flown in. He’d need to send his sister and have her send Se back out with the shuttle.
Shit, once he got to the ship, how the hell would he get it out of impound? Maybe he could get back before the actually pulled the ship to the impound yard.
He turned to talk to his sister when a pod pulled alongside them.
“Get in.”
Kain
sat in the pilot’s seat, and Rave wanted to turn him down, but he had his sister to think of. He gestured for her to precede him. No way could he sit beside the man and not punch him. Rave would save that for when they were alone. His anger continued to build on the ride back to the ship. Why did
Kain
come after him? Did he plan on taking him back to the Alliance? Why lie? It was a good thing the flight didn’t take long. His mind raced with all the possibilities.
None of them good.
Could he really trust
Kain
?