Hagen, Lynn and Glenn, Stormy - End of the Line [Lady Blue Crew 1] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) (6 page)

“No, angel.” Remy chuckled. “You are most definitely not my pet.”

“Then what am I?”

“My mate. What else do you need to know besides that? Just make sure none of the crew members touch you. If they leave a scent on you, I may kill them.” Remy tossed the cloth toward a small door as he turned back around. “Are you ready to meet my crew?”

Hell no, but Gigi wasn’t going to voice his fears out loud. If he was going to be a part of this crew, then he better get to know them. Besides, who knew how much protection he would need if Drake ever found him?

* * * *

Tank rolled his eyes when Remy came onto the bridge. He was still pissed as hell about the kitchen incident. His head still ached. Tank focused his stare in front of him and ignored his commander. Well, as much as anyone could ignore the guy. He winced when a hand landed on his shoulder.
So much for ignoring him.

“Sorry about earlier. I wasn’t willing to share my steak,” Remy said as he stood next to Tank.

Tank grunted. He knew he couldn’t stay mad long. He wasn’t one to hold a grudge. “Yeah, yeah. Now go away before your ugly ass tries to kiss me.”

“What happened, Commander?” Colt asked from behind them.

Tank was curious as well but wasn’t going to pry. He’d leave that to someone else in case Remy got pissed at the question.

“Not sure. But I’m much better now.” He chuckled as he waved the stowaway over to his side. The little human scuttled across the bridge and practically crawled up Remy’s side. That was how close he was.

“Everyone, this is Gigi. He’s our new cook,” Remy said proudly.

Tank wondered if there was more to it than that but didn’t ask. One ass-handing a day was enough for him.

“Welcome aboard, Gigi.” Tank smiled at the small stowaway.

“Thank you,” Gigi answered meekly.

“I’m Colt.” The hawk shifter extended his hand. “Glad to have you aboard.”

Gigi reached out and shook Colt’s hand. “Thanks.”

Colt pointed behind him. “And that coyote over there is Blade. The best hand-to-hand combat man around.”

Gigi gave a shy wave to Blade.

“I’m Crank.” The demo expert waved a hand with a missing pinky. “But you can call me Crank.”

Tank snickered as Gigi tilted his head in confusion. The little stowaway was in for the surprise of his life if he was joining their crew. They all had a wicked sense of humor, as the human was going to find out.

“Fuck with him and I’ll blow your balls off,” Remy warned Crank as his arm draped over Gigi’s shoulder. Tank chuckled. The poor human looked like he was going to crumble under the weight of Remy’s massive arm.

“All right, ladies, get back to your duties,” Remy commanded as he took a seat, pulling Gigi onto his lap.

Tank watched his commander as Remy petted Gigi’s back, a deep rumble sounding in Remy’s chest. He wasn’t even sure his commander was aware of what he was doing. Remy sat there explaining what they did on the bridge as his hand slowly moved up and down the stowaway’s back.

Tank looked over his shoulder at the rest of the crew, noticing that they, too, were watching Remy. Tank shrugged when Blade glanced at him. He made a circular motion with his finger around his temple.

When Remy looked his way, Tank’s hand dropped quickly as he smiled at his commander. Remy rolled his eyes as his attention went back to the small man on his lap. He could hear the others snickering behind him, and Tank had to fight to keep a straight face.

* * * *

Remy was trying his best to make his mate feel at home. And this was his home now. There was no way Gigi was ever leaving his side. He could see the crew staring at them in confusion, but Remy ignored their dumb asses.

He wasn’t going to give into them like he normally did. His crew loved to play pranks to pass the time and throw barbs at one another. But Remy’s protective instincts were riding high now, and he wasn’t going to allow one single barb to come his mate’s way.

“Are we close to Nebular Nine yet?” Remy asked as Gigi squirmed a little on his lap. He hadn’t meant to take his angel twice in one day. Remy knew his cock was too large for his human mate, but there was no way Remy could have controlled himself when he was in mating heat.

He wanted to take him again on the bridge, but then he’d have to kill his crew for seeing his mate’s naked ass. As good as he was, Remy couldn’t fly this ship solo.

“We should be approaching its outer atmosphere in a few hours,” Tank said with a hint of humor in his voice.

Remy shot him a dry look, and Tank whipped his head around to stare straight ahead. He could see now that he was fighting a losing battle. His men were going to be who they were no matter what Remy said.

“Have you made contact with Borjan yet?” Remy couldn’t seem to stop touching his mate. He forced himself to stay rooted to his seat. If he left the bridge, Gigi was going to get fucked again…and again…and again.

“I tried to raise him on the com, but he hasn’t answered yet. After what just happened on End of the Line, I’m playing it cautious.”

Remy nodded his approval. “We don’t dock until you reach him. If I run into one more trap today, someone is going to die.” He immediately regretted his words when his mate stiffened in his lap. Remy ran his hands over Gigi’s back, trying his best to calm his angel down.

“I’ll keep trying, Commander,” Tank said as he hit the communication button on the control panel in front of him.

“Are we going back to End of the Line?” Blade asked as he checked the control panels above his head. “That’s the only place that sells those explosive charges that Crank needs for that blast job on Beta Five.”

Remy hated that they were kicked out of the Federation’s Elite Force. It made getting reliable equipment and supplies almost impossible. They often had to deal on the black market to get what they needed.

It wasn’t their fault they caught a general selling weapons to their enemy. Shit hit the fan quickly, and all five of them were dishonorably discharged. Someone had to be the scapegoat, and it wasn’t the general. There had been no hope after that of joining any respectable military force.

They were outlaws by the Federation of United Planets standards, but Remy and his crew tried their best to stay on the straight and narrow. Sometimes they had no choice but to engage in illegal activities to put food on the table and fuel cells in their ship. But being independent of any military regime gave them the freedom to pick and choose who they conducted business with.

Remy liked the freedom to do business with who he wanted to, but if they ever got caught operating as an Elite Force, they would spend the rest of their natural born lives behind bars—if they even made it in front of a court.

There were a lot of people out there just dying to see them put out of business. That’s why they had to be careful who they let hire them. A credit was a credit, but careful background checks were always done. Although they didn’t always get the right information, as the last botched job proved.

Remy stroked Gigi’s back and wondered if their luck was finally changing. After all, his mate did just fall into his lap. And Remy had every intention of keeping him there.

“I have Borjan on my com link, and he says everything is good to go,” Tank informed Remy after he spoke with their client.

“Good. I still want to scout around a bit before we land. I’m not taking any chances.” Especially with his mate sitting in his lap. Remy knew his careless days were over. He had a mate to look after now. He’d kill anyone who he thought was a threat to his little angel.

“Gotcha.” Tank nodded as he steered a course that would take them to the opposite side of the planet.

Coming in from behind was a good way to see who was waiting. Remy didn’t trust anyone except the men on the ship with him, not even someone he had done business with before.

“Slow her down to one thruster. I want to have a peek,” Remy advised his pilot. “No need to rush in.”

“You got it, Commander.”

The rest of the crew strapped up, shoving phasers into holsters and knives into sheaths. Remy stood, setting his mate on his feet.

“I need you to take a seat over there and strap in, angel. Whatever you do, don’t unbuckle yourself. This may turn into a bumpy ride.”

His fingers traced the side of his mate’s face, then he stepped back so that Gigi could do as he commanded. His mate looked terrified but didn’t give him any trouble. Remy was proud of how Gigi was trying his best to be brave. Once Gigi was strapped in, Remy took his seat again and put his game face on.

“Let’s rock ‘n’ roll, boys.”

“Hoorah,” his crew whooped as Tank took their ship lower.

Remy usually felt the same rush his crew was experiencing. But now that his mate was aboard, all he felt was anxiousness and fear. If anything happened to Gigi, Remy wasn’t sure what he would do. It was true that he had just found the little man, but already Gigi had stolen his way into Remy’s ship and his heart.

He glanced back at his mate. Gigi gave him a brave but wavering smile. Remy winked at him before looking straight ahead. He could see the mountains of the southern tip of the planet come into view on the vid-screen. The barren wastelands should be right ahead. Unfortunately, that was exactly where they were headed—the heart of the wastelands.

“And here we go.” Tank growled.

“Colt,” Remy called out, “keep an eye out for any tracers. If someone is on our tail, I want to know about it before they do.”

“Got it, Commander.”

Remy just had a gut instinct, and he usually trusted his instincts. They had saved his hide more than once. His were screaming that the setup back at End of the Line was just the beginning. There was more trouble waiting for them ahead.

“Colt, when we land, I want you to slip out and scout the area. Hopefully, no one knows how many people we have onboard. If you can keep yourself hidden then we might have an advantage if we need one.”

“Will do, Commander.”

Remy nodded. “Tank, you stay onboard with Gigi. Keep him safe while we find out if we’ve been double-crossed or not.”

“You have been.”

Remy spun around and stared at Gigi. “What?”

“That guy you’re going to meet,” Gigi said quietly. “He has a bunch of armed men hiding in the warehouse where you’re supposed to meet him.”

Remy blinked. “Uh, how do you know this, angel?”

He’d really like to know as they hadn’t even reached the warehouse yet. Remy’s eyes narrowed. Was Gigi a spy sent to bring them down? Even as he thought it, Remy dismissed that idea. Gigi was his mate. He had to trust in his mate.

Gigi frowned. “Can’t you scan for them? I know they are there.”

“Level out, Tank, and hold us in this pattern,” Remy said as he got out of his seat and walked over to Gigi. “Crank, I want you to scan for anything out of place—bio signatures, EM devices, energy weapons, fuel cells, anything.”

“On it, Commander.”

Remy could feel Gigi trembling as he knelt down in front of him and grabbed his hands. He tried to look unthreatening as he smiled at the little man. “Angel, we haven’t scanned yet. How do you know someone is waiting for us?”

“I don’t know.” Gigi shrugged and looked away. “I just do.”

Remy really wished he could leave it at that. He could see that Gigi was nervous. He wanted more than anything to be able to comfort his mate right now, but he really needed to know how Gigi knew someone might be waiting for them.