by Ava Argent
It makes sense. He wouldn't let his brother's 'girl' get hurt on his watch.
The interloper gives M'anu a nervous look, which means he's not a complete idiot, but he doesn't piss himself. Props for that. M'anu clearly wants to break off his ribs one by one.
Which means he's fine. For now. That's a relief. I didn't realize how many worst-case scenarios I had rattling around in my brain until now.
Guy says, “Put the blaster down.”
Not even going to put thought into that one. “Hell no.”
He primes the gun and presses it into Betty's crown. “Not even to save your sister?”
Her expression is mutinous. “Take the shot, babycakes.”
“Ah, ah, ah!” the piece of shit pirate cautions. “I wouldn't do that, babycakes. I've got another card to play. I'm guessing from the way you're standing you've got a particular attachment to that Ferissian in there.” He jerks his head at the other guy standing with his hand on the controller. “My esteemed associate will be more than happy to shoot the fucker where he stands, should you decide not to cooperate.”
M'anu's lips peel back in a terrifying snarl. I'm ready to snarl right along with him. “You're smarter than you look,” I remark derisively. “You must not be the dumbass whose toe I shot off.”
“Fortunately no. You've managed to promote me to captain, by the way.”
“Congratulations. Now use your brain. You shoot Betty, you lose out on a lot of money. She's wanted for practically everything under the sun. Kill her and your pocketbook takes a hit.” If it's one thing I know, it's how much pirates love their own comfort.
“Amazing what a little research does. I happen to know you're worth much, much more than she is.”
Dammit. “Only on paper. The guy who wants me wants her more. If she's dead, you'll have Feruz of the House of Tipprov on your tail.”
That gives him pause. “You're lying.”
Bingo. “Are you kidding me? I thought you did your research. Surely you know who set up the bounty? Even better, that's his brother in there. So why don't you ask yourself how much you value your own life. Now compare that to thirty million. I'll wait.”
The two pirates are glancing at each other in a way that tells me they know just what Feruz is capable of. I only got to skim his file. To be honest, I'm taking a shot in the dark here. Only a hardcore bastard would think Betty is a catch. I'm banking on the fact that his rap sheet must be as long as my arm. “Walk away,” I urge. “And try not to end up like the last guy who threatened me and mine.”
The new captain shifts, eyes narrowed. “Why should I believe that you'll let us walk away?”
“I'm more than a little sick of greedy jerkoffs such as yourselves trying to kidnap me. You leave now, you carry the tale. The ball gets rolling from there.” I glare. “Last chance. Walk...away.”
“Or what?” the 'esteemed associate' snorts.
I smile. “Or I test out the voice command I encoded into the system about forty-five minutes ago. The one that lets me lower shields any time I want.” I indicate M'anu. “If you think one blaster is going to take him down, you're an idiot.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see M'anu bear his teeth, dark as night, his gaze promising horrors these two have never imagined. He breathes in. His shoulders expand and seem to grow well beyond the spectrum of human comprehension. “Release me, Agmoiria,” he hisses. His hunter's stare is firmly fixed on the two intruders.
There's no visible movement from those two—I admire their balls—but there's a tangible shrinking in their bravado. They're facing something bigger, badder, and more ferocious than they could ever be and they know it. When they look at M'anu, they're staring death in the face.
A deep pride swells up in me. “That's my man in there, boys. I tend to want to make him happy. If that means letting him tear you apart for threatening me and my sister, well, I'll have to just plug my ears, won't I? The screams of the dying are not fun to listen to.”
M'anu stiffens even further. If agitation was a tangible thing, it would be coating his body right now. “Release me!” The hiss has grown into a bark. He's ready. He's willing. All I have to do is say the word.
I stare them down, letting them see just how serious I am. “You have to the count of five to get the hell out of here.” I raise the blaster higher. “One. Two.”
“Jensen, we can take 'em.”
“Are you nuts?” The captain—Jensen—cries out. “You ever heard of the Tipprovs? They're bad news.”
“Forget the Tipprovs,” Betty snaps from her kneeling position. “You just think about what the Jenners will do to you. It was bat shit dumb luck that got you this far.”
Amen. “Three.” I step closer, upping the tension by a few zillion degrees, and M'anu's Silverback persona is coming through the field loud and clear.
He snaps his teeth and bellows, “Release me!” It shakes the floor with its force. Even Betty jumps.
“Four—"
“Alright!” Jensen cuts in desperately. “We'll take the deal. We'll take it. Now will everybody just shut up?”
I smile. “You really are the smart one. Now lower the blaster.”
I can see him struggle with the decision. It goes against the grain, I know, but in the end he actually does it. He lets out a curse that raises my eyebrows. That was impressive.
The associate is a little bit slower on the draw, but he knows when he's outnumbered. The blaster is flipped back on his finger, useless for the time being.
Once Betty knows she's out of immediate danger, she lurches to her feet and socks Jensen right in the jaw. He stumbles back into his buddy's arms. “The hell?” he yells.
But she doesn't attack again. She just cracks her knuckles. “That's for embarrassing me in front of my baby sister, asshole. And nobody gets to call her babycakes but me. Got it?”
I roll my eyes. Seriously? But back to business. “Scamper back to your ship, boys. I've got one furious Ferissian on my hands, and he's about 20 seconds from ripping a hole through that tin wall with his bare claws.” He doesn't really have claws, but he's got teeth, and that's almost the same thing. “If our ship isn't operational exactly one minute after you exit, I want you to think about how many people will be ready to make your lives worse than the deepest circle of hell.”
“And if I find a scratch on my ship, I'm coming after your asses myself,” Betty adds.
“She would,” I confirm.
Jensen nods, eyes on Betty. “It's a piece of shit. How would you be able tell there's a new dent?”
Uh oh. “Now you better run. She loves that hunk of junk.”
They take one look at each other and then, as if they planned it, take off literally running. I mean, full out pedal to the metal running. They blow past me without pausing, dashing out of sight. Betty and I turn to follow, me tossing her a blaster as we go. We get to the hangar to see them disappear through their rabbit hole/hatch thing. Man, they are really trucking it.
I holster my blaster in the back of my jeans. “I'm checking the system.” I go to the designated area. Thirty long seconds later there's a thump and the lights flicker. My heart jumps into my throat. Shit, don't let them have fired on us.
But now, the screen comes to life. A few swipes reveal that we're clean, and everything is back to normal. I stare at the viewer, totally flabbergasted. “I can't believe that worked.” All the air swooshes out of me in a gust, leaving me shaking and weak at the knees. I have to brace my hands to keep myself from falling.
Betty flops against the wall next to me, looking like an amazed rag doll. “You lied your ass off.”
I peek out from under my arm. “You knew?”
“I almost didn't. I mean, you've gotten a lot better at your poker face. But I couldn't for the life of me figure out why a voice command would be necessary when you had control from the main deck.”
See? Betty isn't just another dumb blonde. I smile sheepishly. “They bought it. That's what matters.”
“They bought it because M'anu bought it.” There's a screeching sound in the back. “Speaking of which, you'd better go deal with him before he really does tear a hole in the wall.” She straightens and pulls out a small device from her pocket. A handheld scanner. Sort of like a security system for space. She's checking her ship.
Now that it's all over the last thing I want to do is talk to M'anu. “What are you doing?”
“I've got a call to Feruz to put in. I'm going to tear him a new asshole, get this bounty off of your head, and then get back to my regular life of stealing and cheating. I'll be back in a few hours to help with clean up.”
And then she abandons me without a backward glance. Friggin' sisters.
Chapter Eleven
In the movies, a moment of trauma or a high stakes situation brings the main characters together. All of their problems magically disappear in the face of adversity and their blinders are lifted. They see what's important to them.
My blinders are off. I don't like M'anu, I freakin' fell in love with him at some inconceivable point. Faced with the possibility of his dying, I just...knew. And I couldn't think about it because it would get in the way, which strangely only strengthened my conviction that this was the real deal and not some adrenaline-induced euphoria.
I know before telling him that the intruders are gone that he isn't going to be happy. He wants a piece of the action, bad. I just assume that his anger will fade when compared to the relief of seeing me uninjured. I'm wrong.
He brushes right past me as soon as the field is down, leaving me with my arms open like an idiot.
“What the hell is your problem?” I can't believe this. I totally held my own against two big-ass pirates intent on making me a pay day and I'm getting the cold shoulder. Even if he's mad, I expected a high five or a 'good job' or even a pat on the head from a male like M'anu. Instead my nipples are getting frosted by his bad attitude.
He ignores me while his long legs eat up the corridor. I have to run to keep up with him. “Hey! What is going on with you?” This is hurting my feelings, and that makes me angry. I get why he's pissed, but I'm okay. Shouldn't that count for something?
Why am I chasing him down, trying to get the humongous lug to talk to me? I mean, I love him, but this passive aggressive shit is not cool. If he's mad, he should fight it out with me. No yelling, but airing his issues at least.
I clamp my mouth shut tight. I'm done with chasing guys and girls. If he wants to retreat into a sulk instead of talking, fine. I have better things to do than cajole him out of a funk. He can just keep being a huge, pretty Ferissian who doesn't know how to communicate.
I sniff, refusing to cry. I just survived a shootout and talked people out of killing my loved ones. I'm not going to fall apart now. Not over a guy. Even if he is M'anu.
I still have to half run to keep up with him, but there's nothing but the sound of our footsteps echoing off the ship's interior for a few minutes. We reach the portal of the docking hall easily. M'anu stops at the control pad and spends a couple of seconds tapping away, his face closed up tighter than a pickle jar. His shoulders are tense, and I get the feeling he would love nothing more than to rip that pad out of the wall and be damned with it.
I wait behind him silently, not bothering to ask what he's doing. He's probably checking to make sure there's no one else on board. Which I already did. Great, now he thinks I'm incompetent. Another stab in my aching heart. Jerk.
His voice is hard enough to cut glass. “Where is Bethina?”
I glare at his profile. “Away. She'll be back in a few hours.” My hands flex at my sides. “We should get started on ejecting the bodies.”
Wait. No. Fuck that. I'm going to say what's on my mind. “What part are you mad about, M'anu? The fight from before, the fact that I hit you—which I'm sorry for, by the way—or that I didn't get you out of the cell?”
He stills. Absolutely.
He doesn't want to talk? He'll listen. “I didn't mean to actually knock you out. I thought you were going to shoot Betty.”
“My instincts are better than that,” he grinds out, still looking at the wall. Finally. Words.
“Now you know how I felt when you pushed me out of the way.”
“That is not the same.” He turns. Did he grow fifteen feet in the last two seconds, or have I never really seen how tall he is? His scowl is ferocious.
My chin goes up. “Isn't it? We both underestimated each other and ended up getting beat up for it.”
His chest rises and falls. He looks almost savage. “You were protecting your sister. I was protecting you.”
Oh. Damn. Now I'm in trouble.
He steps forward. I won't lie—my heart skips a beat, and I'm not sure it's from lust. He's an intimidating sight. And his voice. It's feral and enraged and edged with something that has no name. “I should have been protecting you now, Agmoiria. It was my right to care for my female, and the female of my brother. You took that from me.”
By now I was backed up against the wall, one of his hands flat on the surface beside my head. My whole world is now M'anu. I look up, transfixed by what I see in his beautiful eyes.
Fear.
Or the shadow of it. The worst of it is gone, but it was riding him so hard that it's still making him a little crazy. He wants to lash out. I'll bet he's fighting every instinct he has to go after that other ship and stomp them into the ground one by one. He's bristling with aggression.
He bares his teeth.
Well, that's enough of that. “Back off.”
He pauses, cocking his head.
“You heard me. Back off.” I poke him in the chest and nearly break a finger for my trouble. “Do you think you're the only one that gets to do the protecting around here? Let me tell you something, M'anu, that doesn't fly with me.”
I step forward. He steps back, and I know it's the only concession he's going to make for me. That, and not growling. He's watching me like predator with prey. It's not that unlike when we first met. I'm no more likely to back down now than I was then, and this time I have even more reason to stand my ground. “First of all, I'm a big girl. I've got skills, just like you. If you think I'm going to step aside so you have the chance to flex your muscles when I can just neutralize the threat myself, you're nuts. Second of all, I didn't take anything from you. There was no way I could have known we'd be boarded again. I mean, what are the freakin' odds? Third of all, I was lying when I said I had voice access. I don't. That was a—”
“You lied?”
Holy cow, am I going to regain hearing after that?
He sticks his face in mine. “You deliberately placed yourself in danger and the only advantage you had was a lie?”
“To save your ass? Hell, yes, I did!” I howl in frustration. “For god's sake, M'anu, what was all that crap about fierce females? Either you want a girl who is strong enough to handle herself or you don't. Pick one and stick with it!”
The next thing I know I've been snatched up by the waist and hoisted until we are eye to eye. “You could have died.” He gives me the smallest of shakes. “Do you understand, female? You could be dead.”
Can a person sound that ragged and tortured and still live? Hard to believe. My anger at being manhandled melts—but don't think we aren't going to add it to the 'no-no' list, by god—leaving me drained and strangely deflated. “Oh, M'anu.”
He glares at me as if this was all my fault, and then he crushes me to him. He wraps his arms around me and just about squeezes the life out of my body, he's holding me that hard. He buries his face in my hair like he can't stand himself right now.
That's when I feel him shaking.
I'll be damned. M'anu wasn't afraid. He was terrified. I tentatively loop my arms around his neck, feet still dangling, and nuzzle his throat. “It's okay. I'm okay.” I stroke the short hairs on the back of his head.
This very big, very lethal Ferissian is a shaking pile of putty in my hands. I don't think anyone has ever seen him li
ke this before. He isn't the kind of guy who lets it go in front of just anyone. He still has a long way to go before we're up to snuff in the communication arena, but right now he's making me understand how important I am to him. I knew he valued me—he'd listed all my good qualities and decided they were alright by him, after all. And when we had sex, that was sparks and fireworks and a connection between two people you just can't fake.
This is different. This is as real as it gets.
It's enough to make my eyes wet. Not going to cry, though. It's not that kind of moment. I press a kiss to his ear, then his temple, then back. “Look at me.”
He doesn't. He just keeps his head on my shoulder, breathing in. I feel the edges of his teeth against my skin, close enough that the sharp prick makes me inhale quickly.
“Why would I bite you, female?”
“That's what they're there for, right? Biting?”
Is there more to it than I originally thought? “M'anu?”
He draws back, kissing the spot tenderly. “You are very vexing, Agmoiria.”
My lips quirk. “Well, at least you have your sense of understatement back.”
He hums.
“M'anu,” I say seriously, “about the mate thing...” I press my forehead to his temple. “We can work this out, right?” I desperately want him to say yes. I don't know how or what we'll have to do to keep us together, but I'm willing to try. I just need him to be too.
I don't want promises and poetry. I want real, solid effort, because he wants to be with me as much as I want to be with him, even if it's not specifically on his terms. It doesn't matter that I've realized I love him; my initial caution still stands. I want to do this right, whatever right may be. He has to be willing to meet me in the middle.
He finally lifts his head, all traces of fear gone. “You are my female,” he says in his deep, firm voice. “I will make you happy.” He pulls a face. “However I must.”
I narrow my eyes at him, trying to gauge his sincerity. It's a wasted effort, of course. M'anu's always sincere.