Page 16 of BaOBy

The sensations swamping her body made it hard to concentrate. She gasped when she realized what he meant. “You took one of his ships!” she hissed.

Cat felt him nod.

“And so much more. I have a lot to tell you. But I’ll go now. If you get in trouble, or just need to disappear, let Jay know. He’ll help you.” His arms slowly slid from around her waist and she felt the breeze from the window as he quietly opened it and slipped out.

Catalina took a deep breath. Determined not to cry. Or not to chase after him. She would go through this day as if nothing happened. Then confess to Baby that he was out of time. She was out of time. The weapon she needed to end this nightmare was in her hidden duffle bag.

Just before dark…

Cat glanced once more at the illusion of her sleeping in the bed. Shaking her head at how real it looked, she tumbled out the window into BaOBy’s arms. She couldn’t suppress a soft giggle. That move had never been graceful. Normally, she ended up in a heap on the ground. Tonight, two incredibly beautiful men witnessed her humiliation.

As things went in her world, it could have been worse.

Jay kept them hidden from view as they quickly made it down the street to the Violetta fields. She tugged on Baby’s hand to stop him when they walked into an old warehouse. She could see what had to be several of his brothers swarming over the building. Cleaning and repairing walls and the roof. The men were a rainbow of shades, all with Baby and Jay’s face. “What are they doing?”

Baby grinned at her. “It was abandoned. We rented it. For one thing, it will hide our tracks in the field if we go in the front door and out the back side that is overgrown with flowers. No one will see us. It gives us both storage space, somewhere to keep prisoners if we need to, and just seemed like a good idea.” He shrugged.

Frowning, Cat looked around and decided they were right. This building was big enough to hide almost anything. She grinned when he took her out the back, straight into the flowers. She could see a trail forming with all the back and forth through the Violeta forest. Something they needed to hide. This was a great idea.

When they reached the ship, Catalina was stunned. There were two spaceships and several hovers parked among the giant flowers. She couldn’t help the grin splitting her face. “You took the ASC 3000. I wish I could see Jacanas’ expression when he realizes it’s gone!”

Jay snorted. “Let’s hope he doesn’t realize it until we’re ready. But yes, the man is going to be furious.”

They walked up a ramp to the transportation bay of the ship. She had done all the research for the Andaran when he wanted to purchase the top-of-the-line, most up-to-date spaceship available. Cat knew exactly how much it cost and what all the options were. She studied floor plans and features for months before making her recommendation.

Cat wanted to take her hand away from Baby and wipe it on her robe. She was sweating. Nervous. She wished they’d just gone across the street to the rooftop. Another one of the brothers was watching the house, just in case something happened while she was gone, but she still didn’t like it. He took her right to an elevator, and they went up to the first floor. The navigation bridge.

When the doors opened, two Earth women were waiting for them. They were both bald, as were two of Baby’s brothers standing next to them. One man was light blue, the other was dusty green. Bao stepped in front of her, demanding, “What is going on?”

Chapter Eleven

Catalina

She wondered if the women were clones, too. They looked almost identical. Both women had bright blue eyes, thick lashes and brows, and freckles on pale skin. They had shaved their hair off so their scalps were bare. But since their eyebrows were pretty dark, she guessed they had dark brown hair. One sister was muscular, the other a little softer. The softer one had bigger boobs. They were shorter than she was. Almost a foot shorter than their mates.

The more muscular one stepped forward. “Hi, Catalina. I’m Casey. This is my twin sister Cameron, my mate Brode.” She pointed to the dusty green male. “And Cammy’s mate is Reb,” she said and indicated the light blue guy.

Baby cut in, demanding, “What happened to your hair?”

Casey rolled her eyes. “It’s an Earth thing, Captain. Give me a second and I’ll explain. You know I had cancer when I was a young girl. The chemical and radiation treatments that are used to try to kill cancer—cause your hair to fall out. It’s a very difficult thing for many people to lose their hair. Especially for women. It’s an identity issue. When it happened to me, Cammy shaved hers to support me. She did it so I wasn’t the only one with a bald head. I wanted to make the same statement for her. Because my sister needs to know she is worth more to me than my hair. When Brode and Reb saw what I did and I told them why, they wanted to shave off their hair, too.”

Brode shrugged. “I couldn’t do this for you… I will do it for your sister.”

Cammy turned to Baby. “Captain, you’ve got to stop the rest. I’ve seen it in Tabby’s eyes and some of the others. Pretty soon, all the brothers will be bald. You need to stop them,” she pleaded.

Baby looked down at Cat, then back at Cameron. “I think it is a beautiful statement. Both you and Casey lived through a horrendous ordeal. Catalina is still going through her trial. Your mates and their brothers can do so little to help—let them show you they care.”

Casey grinned. “Thank you, Captain. I cooked dinner and there is some in the conference room. But Cam and I want to steal Catalina from you for a moment. I promise we’ll be back so she can eat.”

Cat wasn’t hungry. Her stomach was upset, meeting all these people and trying to focus on something other than what the Andaran had planned for her.

Baby turned to her and gently slid his finger under her chin, to ensure she looked up and met his eyes. She smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll go with them.”

Casey took one side and Cameron the other. They led her down the hall and stopped in front of a door. Cat remembered the layout of the ship. This room was designated as the captain’s quarters.

The door snicked open. Cameron guided Cat to the long couch. “Wow,” she couldn’t help it. “I did the research when Jacanas bought this ship. I looked at the catalogue and saw the pictures, but this room is gorgeous!”

It was truly a work of art. She giggled. “The color scheme fits Baby perfectly.” And it did. The walls were a pale green, but the same tone as Bao’s skin. So were the pillows on the couch. Brown, thick carpeting covered the floors, and the furniture was black leather. She smoothed her hand over it and sighed. “Pretty sure this isn’t leather made from cowhides. I bet I don’t want to know.”

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