Warriors of Phaeton: Paine and Rowe

by Leora Gonzales

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. Neither of you. Is that really what you thought?” she whispered, her voice barely loud enough for Rowe to hear from where he was standing at her back. “I’m sorry. I never intended for you to worry like that. In fact, I thought by keeping it to myself I was helping you guys not worry. You’re so busy. I mean, I heard a few of the other guys talking about how they were surprised you two were even going to have time for a wife. The last thing I wanted was to bring my problems to you when they are all in my head. You have enough to worry about without me adding to it.”

  Rowe pulled her away from Paine and into his arms. Brushing the curls away from her brow, he tipped her face up with a gentle hand. The chestnut eyes that normally sparkled with humor and wit were tired and begging for help. Closing his own eyes to keep the threatening burn away he dropped a kiss on her forehead.

  “We cannot help but worry, sweetheart. You hold our hearts in your fragile human hands.” Holding one out, he laced their fingers. “We are here to be your strength when you need it.”

  “He’s right,” Paine interrupted, standing close enough to Indigo’s back that he was pressed against her. “You dealt with this alone for long enough. Let us help you now.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “This is happening at the worst time possible,” Paine repeated, hoping that someone would listen to him for once.

  Rowe nodded in agreement, his jaw visibly tight as their commanding officer gave them their next mission.

  The men had answered the summons to the council chamber not knowing what to expect. Kaine rarely summoned them unless he had a mission. Since they were on leave from a majority of their duties until their trial period ended, it hadn’t made sense to either as to why they were here now. The triad was supposed to be using this time to solidify their bond.

  “It cannot be helped.” Kaine pushed his chair back to stand beside his desk. “The only others that could handle this mission have already left for Phaeton Two on a different assignment.”

  “Can they not be diverted?” Rowe asked, his fingers tapping against the leather of his pants.

  Paine could tell his partner was trying to think of a way out. Not only for their sake but also Indigo’s. After she’d opened up about her nightmares yesterday, they’d been busy trying to figure out the next step to take. The fact that they were the only ones able to get her to sleep solidified the bond Paine could feel already in place. It showed how much trust she placed within them.

  It also made for a logistical nightmare when it came to their jobs on One. There was no way to be with her constantly, but for the time being they had no other option.

  They’d talked to both Tamin and Rodin who assured them that they would help find an end to her mental torment. Until then, the pair would need to stay as close to their bride as possible. So far, they’d been able to get her to sleep close to fifteen hours before they’d had to leave her alone in their bed.

  “Others have already been sent and come back with nothing to show for their efforts. The council believes that won’t be the situation in your case.”

  “Why?” Paine asked. “Why do they think we are the only ones that can hunt Axis down?”

  “For one, you two are familiar with Axis and how he operates.” Kaine held up his hand when it looked like Rowe would interrupt. “Two, you were both with him during the last mission in the Pleasure Sector so they believe you may know more about where he could be lying low.”

  “What you’re really saying is that Axis hasn’t wanted to be found,” Paine said dryly, having worked out reasons behind the council’s request. “Right?”

  Kaine nodded, his mouth set in a grim line. “Considering you two were the last to be with him on Euphoria, yes, the council believes you may be able to track him down for us.”

  “What do you mean?” Rowe asked, his expression puzzled. “That path is long cold. We haven’t seen him since Maggie and Hix were rescued. That was almost two months ago.”

  “We know,” Kaine said on a sigh. “After that mission, he came to the council requesting leave. It was approved on the condition that he spend his free time on Euphoria as a favor to the council.”

  “For what reason?”

  “Council business,” Kaine answered shortly, his tone letting them know he wouldn’t give any further explanation. “Soon after he arrived on Euphoria, all communication stopped. Essentially, he has disappeared. Of course, the council’s first thought was that he may have run into some trouble. As a precaution, we’ve even been monitoring not only Euphoria, but also the other planets in the Pleasure Sector. The good news is that there doesn’t seem to be a hint of any problems within the city. All reports have been coming back that it’s unusually quiet, but we see no sign as to the cause besides a possible slowdown of trade in that region.”

  “Known enemies?” Rowe asked.

  “Our patrols haven’t seen any trace of the Verge, or more importantly Traeger and Damascus. From what we can tell, neither of them has been back to the planet after what happened with Hix and Maggie. It shouldn’t take the two of you too long to track him down. I’d say two, maybe three days and you’ll be back before you know it.”

  “We can’t do it,” Paine said, shaking his head. “We have to think about Indigo and how this will affect her. She literally is unable to sleep unless we are beside her, and you’re wanting us to go on a mission that will not only take us away from our bride but could also take days? Absolutely not.” Paine dropped protocol and began to pace, his legs eating up the distance in front of a large window framing the vastness on the other side.

  “I wouldn’t ask this if there were another option,” Kaine argued, pointing at the pair. “I’ve already heard this argument from the doctors, and I understand everyone’s concern, but we need Axis back on One.”

  “Why?” Paine asked, his eyes narrowing on their commander. He didn’t want to accuse their superior of withholding information, but he knew there had to be more the story.

  “I’m sure you are aware of the incident between Axis and Claudia?” Kaine probed, leaning a hip against the table.

  Rowe nodded, recalling the day when Axis had inadvertently been involved in Claudia’s abduction aboard Phaeton One. She’d been found before any harm had been done, but Axis still wore the shame. “That was simply a misunderstanding.”

  “Axis did not see it that way.” Kaine shook his head. “In fact, I believe he holds a lot of personal blame for what happened.”

  “Still?” Rowe asked, sharing a glance with Paine.

  While searching for Hix and Maggie on Euphoria, the pair had gained great insight into the inner workings of Axis’s mind. Not only a master interrogator, he was also an extremely talented warrior both in planning and execution. The fact that he was so detail oriented meant he wasn’t one to make many mistakes—if any. It had been easy for the pair to see how much his mistakes with Claudia had affected the confidence. The man often held the livelihood, if not the lives of others, in his hands and took that very seriously. His actions could have cost Finch his bride. That was something he hadn’t been able to forget.

  “Yes, and although I’m sure he’s not purposely avoiding the council, I want the two of you to make sure. At this point, I can’t think of anyone else that I trust to not only find Axis, but also stay out of trouble while doing it. I have no worries that you can handle anything you come across.”

  Paine pinched the bridge of his nose, the headache he’d been fighting earlier coming back full force at the news that they would have to leave their bride.

  Or did they?

  “What if we didn’t have to leave Indigo?” he asked, knowing it wasn’t ideal, but this compromise would be better than leaving their bride alone.

  “What do you mean?” Rowe and Kaine asked simultaneously.

  “I mean, what if we took her with us?” he posed the question.

  “You want to take your human bride to Euphoria?”

  “If it
’s just a mission to locate and extract Axis then I don’t see a reason why not.” Paine looked at his partner, trying to gauge what he thought of the idea.

  Rowe tapped his chin. “Are you sure the patrols haven’t seen evidence of the Verge?” he asked Kaine.

  “Absolutely,” he answered, his gaze solid. “No sign of any of them on Euphoria.”

  The partners exchanged a look before they nodded at each other. Paine knew Rowe was concerned for Indigo’s safety on Euphoria while he worried about her sanity on Phaeton One. There was no ideal choice, but he had to admit, if Indigo was with them, they’d at least know if and when she was sleeping. She wouldn’t be able to hide or shield them from the problems she was having. They wouldn’t let her.

  “If the council approves Indigo going with us then I see no problem accepting the mission.”

  “The council agrees,” Kaine answered without a pause. “I understand your reluctance but hope you see that you’re the best bet we have in tracking Axis down.”

  “Understood,” Rowe agreed. “I have one question which I hope you can answer for me.”

  Paine looked at his friend, wondering what he was curious about.

  “Why is it so important that we locate Axis now? If he’s been off the radar since Maggie and Hix were rescued, why can this not wait? What is the rush?”

  Kaine rubbed his face with his palm, the movement revealing how tired the councilman looked all of a sudden.

  “The timing of his disappearance is suspicious, considering that we recently came across some new intel regarding the brides that were kidnapped,” Kaine hedged, his expression now closed to the men in front of him.

  “What did you find out?” Rowe pushed.

  “That is something I cannot share with you yet.” Turning his attention from them, he picked up his tablet off the table and hit a few buttons.

  The men’s bands vibrated with the incoming information that was being loaded.

  “You three are going in alone. The nearest Phaeton ship will be in orbit serving as overwatch, but don’t expect them to interfere unless absolutely necessary. They have their own orders to keep to,” Kaine informed them. “A shuttle has already been prepped and is waiting for you in the bay.”

  “You knew we were going to agree to the mission, didn’t you?”

  “I plan for everything, Rowe. The two of you may be newly mated, but you know your duties.” Kaine sat down behind the table and turned his chair to face the view he had into space. “Complete this mission as quickly as possible. We need to know what happened to Axis on Euphoria. Time is of the essence.”

  “Yes, sir,” they answered in unison with a short bow.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Indigo stared out into space through the window framing the cockpit. She hadn’t been given much time to wrap her head around the fact that she was going on a mission with Paine and Rowe before being ushered aboard a small ship. The ship she was now strapped into.

  Fighting a yawn, she blinked quickly when tired tears stung her eyes. Counting her last two naps, she was starting to catch up on rest, but there was still quite a way to go. She no longer felt bone-deep exhaustion that felt like she was fighting the flu. She was far from rested, but at least she could function again.

  “We will be landing in a few moments. Do you remember what we said?” Rowe asked, his fingers flicking a series of switches on the shuttle dashboard in front of him.

  Indigo nodded and tried to distract herself by watching the blinking lights on the console. Despite her exhaustion, she really tried to pay attention to the rules they’d gone over with her. Running through the list in her head, she began ticking off instructions on her fingers. “Stay close. Don’t call attention to myself. Don’t touch anything. Don’t talk to anyone. Right?”

  “Perfect.” Paine nodded, his face illuminated by the lights in front of him. “Hopefully, we won’t be here too long. Kaine asked us to meet with one of the merchants that works for him on Euphoria later this evening. Hopefully, he’ll have some information on where to look for our friend.”

  “Why do they need you to find him again?” she asked, her brain struggling to remember some of the details after the men had come back to their rooms with news. The only thing she’d actually processed was that they were about to head out on a mission with her included. Most details were a bit blurry.

  “Axis was with us when we were here not long ago searching for Hix and Maggie,” Rowe said as he unbuckled the harness holding him in one of the pilot’s seats. It wasn’t long before he was followed by Paine. “The council thinks we might know where he’s hiding.”

  “Do you?” Indigo took her cue from the guys to unbuckle her belt and stand.

  “No,” Paine answered with a shake of his head, moving towards the back of the shuttle where the doors were. “Which is why I’m hoping the contact that Kaine set up will be helpful. I don’t want to stay here any longer than necessary. Regardless of the mission, I consider you our number-one priority, and that means your safety is of utmost importance.”

  With Paine walking down the ramp in front of her and Rowe immediately behind, Indigo felt safe in the middle of her Phaeton sandwich.

  Looking around, Indigo frowned as she took in her surroundings. “This is the Pleasure Sector?” she asked, having expected more than the large, dirty looking junkyard she found herself in. “It looks like a dump.”

  “Technically, this is Euphoria,” Rowe said with a chuckle, reaching for her hand, “and this is only the landing field. Most of the debris you see now are discarded parts or old shuttle remnants.”

  “Uh-huh,” she murmured doubtfully as she stepped over a mangled piece of tubing on the ground. “Like I said…a dump.”

  “Wait until you see the market square.” Paine pointed off in the distance where she could see the vague shape of buildings. “It’s filled with vendors selling anything you could ever want. Perfumes, spices, and oils from all over the galaxy. Fruit from planets it would take centuries for humans to get to. Keep your eyes open and let us know if you find anything appealing at the merchant stalls, while we ask around about Axis. We have enough credits to purchase whatever you desire.”

  “We would love to spoil you a bit. In fact, the last time we were here there was a silk merchant that had some items I would love to see on you,” Rowe said huskily, his thumb stroking the back of her hand as they walked in the direction Paine had indicated. “I can already envision you adorned in the transparent fabrics.”

  “We’ll purchase her one in every color they have for sale,” Paine growled, his steps becoming faster as he led them on their way.

  Indigo shivered at the zip of arousal that zinged up her spine at the attention. Her guys had a way of making her melt into a puddle just by looking at her. Add in the deep voices and a touch or two—which they always did—and she was a goner.

  “I remember the stall you’re talking about, Rowe. It’s not too far from where I wanted to start our search. We can head there first.”

  “Sounds good to me,” he answered with a shrug. “Unless Indy is hungry…”

  “I’m good,” Indigo said with a shake of her head and a smile, her insides warming at hearing her nickname come from his lips. Although she preferred sweetheart or love, the nickname everyone else used still managed to soften her edges.

  “Good,” Paine said with a grin that quickly turned to a frown as he raised his arm to check the band blinking around his wrist.

  Indigo glanced down at the pair of bands on her own wrist. Although they couldn’t send or receive messages, the lights on the sides of the beat-up bangles would flutter every now and then. The new one that she was supposed to be wearing was delayed due to her avoiding the med center. Apparently, she was supposed to have gotten her updated one from the doctors she’d become really good at dodging.

  “Kaine has sent us a message,” Paine announced with a sigh.

  “We haven’t even cleared the landing field yet and he’s alread
y pestering us.” Rowe let go of her hand to pull a thin tablet from the bag he had slung over his shoulder. Tapping his fingers against the screen, he frowned as well as he read what was on the screen.

  “What’s going on?” Indigo asked, not liking the looks on their faces. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong,” Rowe said with a sigh. “We’ve just had another task added to the mission. We won’t be able to visit the silk merchant as soon as we thought.”

  “Why not?” Paine reached for the electronic device Rowe was handing over. Scanning the words on the screen he let out a disappointed sigh. “Well…fuckballz.”

  Indigo snorted at his reaction. She couldn’t help herself. It was amusing the way they switched back and forth sounding like a couple of stodgy old English teachers before dropping the f-bomb sporadically into conversation. At first, it had been so odd to hear that she’d had to ask them about it. The stodgy English teacher vibe was thanks to the speech program the Phaetons used to learn language while the f-bomb—and its many variations—came directly from their interaction with the other brides.

  “All right then, first stop is the marshal’s domicile,” Paine announced with false enthusiasm and a clap of his hands.

  “Two questions,” she started as they began to walk again. “Who is ‘the marshal’ and why are we seeing him?” Indigo asked, wondering why they both seemed unhappy with this new part of their mission.

  “He runs Euphoria—”

  “Under the guidance of the Phaetons,” Rowe interrupted, holding up a hand. “The marshal holds no power himself without the Phaetons behind him. His people police this area ensuring everyone keeps the peace. We can only do so much to govern this planet without having a permanent installation here, and that is something the council wishes to avoid if possible.”

  “Why?” she asked, her curiosity coming out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

  “Partially for the same reason we felt the need to contact Earth and barter for brides,” Rowe said with a shrug. “Our people are stretched thin. Our numbers are barely enough to watch over our own territory without trying to monitor the planets on the rim.”