by Rachel Clark
Sequel to G’baena’s Pirates
Del’s Pirates
Del used to be a slave. Now he fights to protect others from the same fate.
A deadly attack on the pirate ship he’s called home for the past three cycles brings Avery into his arms, and his bed. He’s been in love with both of his best friends for a long time, but his worries that he and Avery being together might hurt Cooper are soon allayed when the human happily follows their lead and chooses to love them both.
Yet building a relationship in the midst of a crisis isn’t easy.
An unexpected opportunity to disrupt the slave trade for good sees Del volunteering for a deadly mission. He wants Avery and Cooper to live a safe, happy life together, but what happens when his lovers prove they know him better than he knows himself?
Genre: Futuristic, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Science Fiction
Length: 31,831 words
DEL’S PIRATES
Sequel to G’baena’s Pirates
Rachel Clark
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
DEL’S PIRATES
Copyright © 2012 by Rachel Clark
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-306-5
First E-book Publication: September 2012
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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DEL’S PIRATES
Sequel to G’baena’s Pirates
RACHEL CLARK
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Del smiled as Devlin stormed into the medical bay carrying his very pregnant wife in his arms. He looked like a man on a mission and Del made sure to get out the big guy’s way before he got trampled.
When Devlin reached the bed, he very gently lowered G’baena onto the mattress. The woman smiled indulgently but soon grimaced from the pain.
“She’s having contractions again,” Devlin said. Well, growled would be a more accurate description.
Their baby wasn’t due for another month, yet G’baena seemed to be one of those women who would have several practice labors before the actual birth. It wasn’t uncommon for G’trobian women, especially for a first pregnancy, but it was certainly playing havoc with Devlin’s moods.
Kam entered the medical bay a few moments later, his smile wide as he moved to his husband’s side. “Again?” he asked G’baena happily as he wrapped his arms around Devlin and kissed the side of the big man’s neck.
“I tried to tell him,” she said, smiling at both of them, “but it’s nice to be certain.” Devlin looked a little calmer now that both of his mates were reassuring him, but Del still wasn’t silly enough to get in the man’s way.
“Tee-ani is on her way back to the ship,” he quickly explained, “so even if this isn’t another practice run, she should be here in plenty of time.” Devlin looked ready to throttle him, and if he’d been anyone else Del might’ve been worried. But he’d known Devlin for more than three cycles now, and knew how deeply the human cared for his mates. Genetically, the baby was G’trobian, but no one in their right mind would ever suggest that Devlin wasn’t the child’s father. It was obvious to any who knew them that this child would be loved deeply by all three of her parents.
“And besides,” Del added, risking Devlin’s glare, “she wouldn’t be the first baby I’ve delivered.”
Kam smiled, looking like he was holding back a laugh. Del had delivered Sarah’s baby when her little boy had, just over two cycles ago, decided to make a really fast entrance into the world. It’d been the reason Del had finally decided to take Tee-ani up on her offer to train him. Seeing a new baby come into the world had changed his attitude to medicine. It wasn’t always about misery and death. It was also about helping others and offering hope where there was none and, of course, new life.
G’baena groaned as the pain worsened. Even Kam looked a little less certain now.
“Do you want to wait for Tee-ani or should I do your exam now?”
“Now,” Devlin growled. Del glanced at his patient for confirmation. If Tee-ani had one obsession, it was to remind him of the importance of the doctor-patient relationship, so Del always made certain to get his patient’s permission, if possible, no matter how big or growly her husband seemed. G’baena smiled and nodded, so he grabbed a gown for her and activated the mirrored curtain. The one-way, mirrorlike force field would give G’baena privacy while still letting him see if anyone entered the medical bay needing his assistance.
G’baena groaned again, this time louder, her pain seeming to last much longer. Maybe this baby was coming today after all.
Del turned to his patient just as a loud clanging noise sounded through the ship.
The lights flickered.
A woman screamed.
And then all hell broke loose.
“Battle stations!” Jordan’s calm voice boomed throughout the ship. “Full armor. Intruders already aboard.”
Both Devlin and Kam hesitated, obviously unwilling to leave the woman they loved unguarded and in labor. But both of them were essential to any defense of the ship.
“Go,” she shouted at both of them over the noise. “You can’t protec
t me if there is no ship! Go!”
Both men turned and ran for the hallway. “Del, go into lockdown,” Devlin yelled over his shoulder. “Stay put!”
Del nodded and turned to unlock the cabinet that held his stun guns. Since beginning his medical training he hadn’t practiced with the weapons quite as often as he should have, but he still knew how to use them. “Bae,” he said, turning to his patient, “the privacy screen is soundproof as well, so no one will see or hear us.” She rolled her eyes in annoyance and Del grimaced at his badly timed stating of the obvious. Devlin had designed the technology, so his wife would likely know how the damn thing worked.
“Del,” she said, panting in between contractions, “I’ve never done this before, but I’m pretty sure the baby is coming this time. This time everything feels different. Everything.” She moaned long and low and Del had the frantic wish to moan with her. He had the skills to deliver her baby if everything went according to plan—not really likely considering the red alert and the fact that neither of her husbands could be by her side—but he really, really wished Tee-ani would walk in the damn door.
The intercom screeched and then a panicked voice came through. “Tee-ani? Sarah? Somebody? I have a medical emergency. Fuck! Somebody help!”
“Avery?” Del asked through the intercom, trying to sound calm.
“Del? Fuck. Ruth’s been shot with some kind of energy weapon. She needs help.”
“Avery.” She continued to talk over him. “Avery! Listen to me!” Finally, she quieted and for a heart-pounding moment Del thought of all the horrible things that could be happening to her right now. He swallowed hard, trying to focus, trying to stay calm. He wasn’t a doctor—not yet—but he knew emergency medicine, knew first aid. He just had to keep his patients alive until a real doctor arrived.
“Avery, is Ruth breathing?”
“Y–Yes,” Avery said. “But she hit her head as she fell. She’s bleeding really badly.”
“Can you see where the cut is? Where she’s bleeding from?”
“No. Fuck, I can’t see a damn thing. There’s so much blood.”
“Avery, grab a towel or a cloth, something that can wipe away the blood. I need you to find the wound and put pressure on it until it stops.”
“Del, there’s so much fucking blood. I can’t find it.”
“Avery, listen to me,” he said urgently. “You can do this. Ruth needs you to do this. Find the cut and put pressure on it.” Several moments of silence passed, punctuated only by G’baena’s sharp, panting breaths behind him.
“Got it!” finally came the triumphant reply.
“Good. Now I need you to put pressure against it until someone can get down there to help.”
“What the fuck do you mean?” She sounded hysterical, almost ready to leap through the intercom and pummel her frustrations out on him.
“Avery, are you and Ruth in a safe place?”
“Of course we are! I locked us in the fucking kitchen as soon as the shooting started. I’m not a complete fucking moron, Del. Now just get someone the fuck down here to help Ruth.”
“Avery, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“What the fuck does that mean? Not soon. Now, you asshole!” Del knew fear rode Avery’s words, but he had no idea how to calm her down.
“Avery, we’re on lockdown. Stay where you are. Someone will help you as soon as possible. Just stay where you are.”
Del paced the small area for a moment before he realized he should be at least comforting G’baena.
“Sorry, Bae,” he said as he rushed to her side. G’baena simply smiled, but it looked—and most likely was—forced.
“I’m okay,” she said, trying to move to a more comfortable spot. “I’ll be okay for a while longer. Go help Avery.”
Del glanced at the doorway—terror, fear, anger, worry all combining to mess with his thought processes. He knew, absolutely knew, that he should not leave the medical bay. He was the only one on duty. Tee-ani wasn’t even on the ship, and Sarah was probably either caught in the fighting or attending to injuries wherever she was.
“Del, go.” He hesitated again and then quickly made a decision. “Here,” he said, handing one of the stun pistols to G’baena. “Anyone comes through that curtain, don’t hesitate.”
“I won’t,” she said confidently. “Go.”
“Five mi—” He cut off when Sarah ran into the medical bay, her son in her arms, two women also carrying small children close behind her. Del stepped through the electronic curtain, beckoning the women to come behind the mirrored wall.
“Sit-rep,” Sarah said as she entered the area.
“Bae’s in labor. Ruth is injured. She’s trapped in the kitchen. Avery’s with her. Are we still on lockdown?”
“Yes, but the corridor is clear. I’ll head down to the kitchen.”
“No,” Del said quickly. “Stay with Bae. I’ll go.”
She nodded quickly and turned to G’baena. Del left the medical bay without a backward glance.
* * * *
Cooper’s heart raced as adrenaline flooded his system. They’d successfully destroyed the larger ship that had attacked them, but it was the cloaked vessel that had managed to attach to the hull and drill its way in that was their biggest worry. Their attackers had somehow sidestepped every early warning system they’d had in place, and—even as he grabbed several weapons, a portable shield generator, and explosives and ran toward the intruders—Cooper realized that somehow someone must have gotten hold of the ship’s specs.
Up until now, attacking ships had always underestimated their defensive capabilities. These attackers had not only anticipated them all, but also bypassed them easily. The larger ship had been the distraction. This was the real attack.
Unfortunately, it all pointed to a traitor among them.
If it hadn’t been for Calvin literally bumping into the invaders and his instinct to get a verbal warning out to the crew before engaging, the enemy might have overrun them before they even realized they’d been boarded.
As it was, several sections were now urgently reporting intruders.
“Go into lockdown,” he called to the engineers working in his section. “Grab a weapon, defend yourselves, but stay in this section. If they get control of the bridge, you’re our only chance to stop them.”
Helborn grinned—he’d always liked killing just a little too much for Cooper to feel comfortable around the guy—and Yavef merely nodded in that calm, Zen-like manner he always seemed to possess in times of crisis. Even after years of knowing the guy, Cooper still marveled at the man’s ability to stay cool in the middle of chaos. The more frenzied things got, the calmer Yavef seemed.
Cooper hit the emergency override, sealing off the different sections of the ship. The crew knew how to bypass the lockdown, but it would hopefully contain the intruders. He ran into Devlin as they both ran toward the hull breach.
“Talk to me,” Devlin ordered. “How many?”
“At least sixteen onboard. Still many more on the transport as far as we could tell.”
“Fuck,” Devlin swore as two very large, very ugly humanoids from the same species as Keytark stepped around the corner. Cooper and Devlin immediately fired energy and projectile weapons at the creatures, and Cooper was very glad to see both intruders hit the ground. He didn’t like killing, but when it came to life or death, he chose his life.
Fear for his closest friends, Avery and Del, wormed through his brain, constricting his throat, weakening his focus. Angrily he shoved the anxiety aside. They were experienced pirates. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t imagine a life without either of them. He had to trust them to protect themselves. If he got himself killed because he was worrying about them he’d be no good to Avery or Del anyway.
Cooper and Devlin reached the hallway just as several more of Keytark’s men dropped through the small hole they’d cut in the inner hull. The outer hull was over twelve inches thick. The inner hull about that width als
o. Hopefully they’d only had enough time to drill one hole. If they had multiple entry points the crew could be in very serious trouble.
Devlin and Cooper fired at the creatures as they hit the deck plate, fortunately catching them by surprise. It seemed that they hadn’t expected heavily armed reinforcements to arrive. At least that was one thing Keytark hadn’t gotten right.
They moved quickly toward the hole, Cooper urgently setting up the portable shield generator to block the entry of more intruders. He grinned when he saw the explosives Devlin pulled from his pockets. “Great minds,” he said as he tossed the package of explosives he’d grabbed to his boss. Devlin expertly combined the explosive material, and then inserted the detonators.
“Ready?” he asked, standing under the hole as Cooper grabbed the shield generator.
“On three,” he said confidently. He and Devlin had been working together for years, but it had never ceased to amaze Cooper how they seemed to think so much alike. It was very handy in a crisis.
On the count of three, he disengaged the shield generator, watched Devlin throw the explosive device up into the invaders’ ship, and then quickly reengaged the shield. The explosion was almost immediate, the shield flaring as it protected the inside of the ship from the percussion.
“I don’t even want to know how much that dinged the hull,” Devlin said with a laugh. “Yavef,” he said through his communicator, “did it work?”
Yavef’s calm and simple “yes, sir” was the best sound he’d heard all day.
“Good,” Devlin said. “Rebuild the shield over the outer hull. The portable generator is working inside, but we could lose the whole section if it doesn’t hold.”