Page 19 of Tempting Jupiter
Out of the direct line of fire, Feeona fell back on the decking and took stock. She couldn’t feel her left arm and she was starting to shake. Not good.
A quick check assured her she wasn’t bleeding all that much. She’d taken a few pieces of shrapnel, but that seemed minor. It had to be the plasma burn on her shoulder that was flooding her body with adrenaline and endorphins.
She could probably get to her feet, but it would be safer to let her unfortunate choice of rescuers drive the crew out of the bay and out of her way. She needed time to think anyway. Closing her eyes, she sent Bug airborne.
She looked through Bug’s eyes as she sent the device speeding down the corridor. The sudden shift in perspective, combined with her fogged brain and damaged inner ears, gave her an uncomfortable dose of vertigo.
She sent Bug toward the brig on instinct, not certain yet what her next move should be. If she wanted to play the optimist, she might hope Stone and Barney would still get her out of there. She had what she’d come for. Why should Stone’s decision to claim the bounty on the Arena Dogs mean anything to her? She’d just walked away and left them. She could do it again. Getting to the cargo that waited for her on Petro-5 had to be her top priority. But before that, she had to get back to her ship and collect her earnings for this job. Stone was unlikely to cooperate if he had his eye on the bigger bounty of the Arena Dogs. No way she could pay him more than he could collect from Roma. She could play along with Stone, then help Jupiter and Seneca down the line. But if Stone didn’t come out victorious in this skirmish, she’d be even more screwed than she already was. No. Working directly with Jupiter and Seneca was the better choice. It was a risk, but all the risk was on her terms, the way she liked it. Her instincts told her to go with Jupiter. It was her best bet.
Leaning heavily on the crate for support, Feeona climbed to her feet and started moving slowly toward the hatchway leading to Stone’s ship. She wobbled her way through the spanner and found Stone’s hatch sealed tight. There was no exterior entry panel, which meant it would take a remote to open. Damn it.
She headed back through the spanner to theSalley Ho. The big bay was still too motionless. Stone and Barney had chased after what remained of the armed crew. The stench of singed flesh and fresh blood made her last meal consider abandoning her. She swayed on her feet and moved forward, hand skimming along the crates and then the wall, for balance and to avoid smacking into anything she might miss seeing while she focused on controlling Bug. Her ears had started ringing and the false signals competed with the auditory signals Bug sent directly to her implant. At least it meant her hearing would recover.
She stepped carefully over the bodies of the fallen crew members and made her way to the corridors that would take her further into the innards of the ship. She needed to keep in range of Bug and get to her final destination—the only option she had left. Trying to navigate the corridors, control Bug, and avoid the fighting would be a challenge. Her chest heaved in a silent laugh, shooting pain along her ribs. Despite the pain, her heart and her mood had lightened. Jupiter might be right about her being crazy.
Chapter Ten
TheSalleyHo
EarthAllianceBeta Sector
2210.147
The moment the crew disappeared with the woman, Jupiter gave into his thumping pulse and reached for his pack brother. When Seneca stepped back, Jupiter hesitated. His belly clenched and his muscles stilled to stone. He hadn’t seen that hesitation from his friend in years. Was that small step a natural show of respect for Jupiter’s greater size in the small space of the cell? Or a memory from his past, dragging fear or shame into the present? If anyone had harmed Seneca… brought back those feelings with their actions, Jupiter would find them. He’d rip off every body part that had touched his pack brother. No, he’d hold them down and let Seneca do it for himself.
Jupiter waited, letting Seneca speak to him with those soulful eyes of his. Eyes that told him Sen didn’t want the distance he’d made between them. That he needed Jupiter close. In truth, Jupiter needed that too. Slowly, he put a hand on Sen’s shoulder. On the training field or on the battlefield Jupiter allowed no distance between them. There, hesitation could be death. There, everything was clear. There, only survival mattered. But in this, nothing was as simple as it seemed.
Seneca closed the distance, moving in until only a few centimeters separated them. He bowed his head and Jupiter mirrored the movement. The press of their foreheads was a gesture they’d shared for years. It was familiar and comforting, but with their recent brush with death blazed freshly in their memories, it wasn’t enough. Not for either of them. Tension vibrated through Sen’s body. His scent let Jupiter know Sen would welcome a move for more closeness. Jupiter pulled his pack brother into his arms and the smaller Dog melted against him, clutching him tightly.
Memories of their last moments in the arena shuddered through Jupiter, leaving him shaken. He cradled Sen’s head in his hands and tipped it up, cupping him from smooth jaw to that silky fine hair at the curve of his skull. “I thought you died.”
Sen’s hands stroked his back, wiping away the memories. “We’re alive.”
Jupiter nodded as his chest filled with pride at the fierce set of Sen’s jaw. His pack brother was strong. In some ways, even stronger than Jupiter. He slipped his hands back down to the smaller Dog’s shoulders and squeezed before easing away. “Now, we just have tostayalive.”
“I saw Owens.” The words rushed out, as if Seneca couldn’t stand their taste any longer.
Hatred fired through Jupiter at the mention of the man who’d owned them all their lives. “Owens is here?”
Seneca shook his head. “Owens was talking to the Captain over a long range communication system. He thinks he can use the ship we were on to find the people who helped us.”
Jupiter wanted to howl. Regret that he hadn’t been able to defend their rescuers turned his anger inward. “The men from the ship are dead. No one else survived when they boarded the ship.”
“I don’t mean the crew,” said Seneca. “Owens believes they were part of something bigger. He wants to use the ship’s computers to track back to their home base. There might be others there. Other Dogs.” Seneca pressed his palm against the center of Jupiter’s chest. “We can’t let Owens find them.”
That thought churned in Jupiter’s gut. “You’re right.” He put his hand over Sen’s and pressed it more firmly against his skin. “There’s no reason to think we were the first to be freed from the arena.”
“Someone saved us from death.” Uneasiness laced through Sen’s voice.
“Hmm,” Jupiter grunted and let his hand fall away from Sen’s. “Our brothers must think we’re dead.”
“Yes.” Sen settled onto the metal bunk, freeing up more space for Jupiter to move. “Dogs die in the arena all the time. How many of them are still alive?”
He didn’t care, Jupiter realized as he stared at the top of Sen’s silver-white head. He didn’t care as long as Sen was one of them. Alive and strong. “There had to be someone working with them, someone working for Roma.”
Sen straightened and looked up. “A trainer or a guard? Maybe a medic?”
Jupiter pictured the faces of all the possibilities and couldn’t accept that any of the humans would help the Dogs. “No way to know.”
