Son of No One (31 page)

Don't go there.

Chayden clapped him on the back. “You all right, Hauk? You look like you're about to hurl.”

Fain cut a glare toward his friend. Hurl? No …

Kill. Definitely.

“I'm fine.”

Fain's little brother came out of the holding area to stand next to him. “I'm with Chay. You look a little green,
drey
.”

Fain dodged Dancer's hand as his brother reached to touch his forehead, and barely resisted the urge to slap him. “I know you were just a kid when I ran off with Omira. But do you remember the fact that I was pledged to an Andarion female before I married her?”

Dancer's jaw dropped. “No. I have no memory of that at all. Who were you pledged to?”

Fain faced the ramp that was lowering in front of them. “Prime Commander Galene Batur.”

Dancer's curses rang in his ears as Fain headed down the ramp toward the one female he was sure would gut him on the spot. As he scanned the gathered Andarion soldiers, he kept the helmet carefully positioned.

Just in case.

His gaze went straight to her, as if it was drawn there by magic.
Damn,
was the first thought that went through his head. As with all Andarion females, Galene had been a gorgeous teen. But the adult warrior waiting on them had to be one of the sexiest, most beautiful of her kind.

Tall, lithe, and exquisite, she was dressed in a standard red-and-black Andarion battlesuit. One that hugged a body made to be privately worshiped by naked activities.

And often.

He sucked his breath in sharply as an involuntary image of her wrapping those long legs around him went through his mind. He hadn't been this attracted to a female in a long time. Not since the last time he'd seen her.

Every part of him was alert and panting.

And he was twice as glad now for the helmet at his crotch.
I should have worn looser pants.
Gods help him if he had to sit down with a hard-on this fierce. That pain alone might kill him.

Focus
. Something much easier said than done.

What the hell had I been thinking when I walked away from that
?

Young and stupid didn't quite cover it. But then, there'd been extenuating circumstances that had forced his hand. Things that had made staying with her completely out of the question.
Maybe I should have fought harder
.

Yeah, right. It hadn't been that simple.

A fight, he could have won. What they held over his head had been totally out of his control.

She looked up and met his gaze. His throat went dry as his body hardened even more and he remembered the way she used to look at him.

Like he was her cherished hero.

And I screwed her over
. Badly.

Yeah, he'd earned the hell that had been his life. How he wished things could have been different. Especially between the two of them. While he'd been enamored of Omira, it was nothing compared to what he'd felt for Galene when they were kids.

The worst decisions in life are always the ones we make out of fear.
He hated to admit how right his father had been whenever the old bastard had quoted that. But life had shown him just how wise his father was.

At first, her gaze swept past Fain, to the other Tavali trailing in his wake. She had no idea who he was.

Not until he pulled his Tavali mask down and exposed his face.

*   *   *

Galene was impressed
by the military formation and discipline of The Tavali crew—something she'd never expected from outlaw pirates who were as famed for their blatant disregard of rules and social conventions as they were for their savagery. While they each wore different uniforms and styles of battlesuits, they conducted themselves like any disciplined army.

She'd been told that they had their own set of laws they adhered to, but she hadn't believed it.

Until now.

This was impressive. And the one leading them was a huge warrior. Tall and broad-shouldered, he was as muscular as an Andarion male.

And that swagger …

It was masculine and mouth-watering. Confident. She had no idea of his species, but whatever it was, he no doubt gave credit to it.

That was her thought until he stopped and stood with all of his weight on his left leg. She almost smiled at a stance that was identical to one Talyn preferred, especially whenever he was uncomfortable with his surroundings.

The Tavali's gaze held hers hostage as he slowly reached up with one hand to lower the black-and-red mask that concealed his face.

Andarion. That explained his white eyes.

Just as she was sucking in her breath in appreciation of his rugged handsomeness, recognition slammed into her. Yes, he was older and now sported three days' growth of his beard, but she knew that proud jawline. Knew those perfect, gorgeous features that had once set her on fire.

Actually, they still did. Only instead of lust, they filled her with raw, unmitigated rage.

Reacting on pure instinct, she pulled her blaster out and fired. It landed straight in his chest where his missing heart should have been.

Total chaos erupted as he fell to the ground and the other Tavali pulled their blasters out and took aim. As did the Andarion soldiers with her.

Throwing himself in front of her, Talyn pulled the weapon from her hand. He and the six Andarions he'd chosen as her guard formed a wall between her and the others.

“Medic!” a human Tavali called out in Andarion.

“Arrest them!” a Sentella soldier demanded.

Galene looked past Talyn's shoulder to see Dancer Hauk, Fain's younger brother, calling for the soldiers to secure her and her team.

Talyn moved in closer, to protect her.

“No!” She grabbed her son's arm to keep him from doing something even more rash than
her
stupidity. “Stand down!”

Talyn did, until a soldier went to cuff her wrists. “Get your hands off her!”

Before she could catch him again, Talyn had eight Tavali and two of their own bleeding on the ground at his feet. With a blaster in each hand, Talyn held the others at bay as he kept himself in front of her. “Anyone else want a free trip to the hospital and paid leave?”

“Talyn!” she snapped, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Enough! Everyone calm down.”

Dancer held his blaster angled at Talyn's head. “I believe
you
started this, Commander, when you shot my brother.”

“And now I'm ending it. Everyone, arms down!”

They all hesitated.

“Dancer!” Fain growled as he rose to his feet. “Drop your weapon.” Biting his lip, he grimaced and glared a hole through her. “I deserved it.”

Only then did Dancer lower his blaster.

“Talyn,” she said gently as she ran her hand down his arm and pushed his aim toward the floor. “It's all right.”

She felt his muscles flexing in debate before he glanced to her and let his weapons fall to the ground. The Tavali surged forward to handcuff him. Something he didn't protest until they went to cuff her again.

Faster than anyone could blink, Talyn knocked the two guards closest to him away and used his foot to kick his blaster back into his hand. He put himself between her and the others. “One hand to the commander, and so help me, I'll fucking kill every one of you bitches!”

Fain's gaze darkened as Talyn's weapon went back to Dancer, who was inching toward them. With unbelievable speed, Fain attacked Talyn.

Galene's head spun as cold terror consumed her. Both Fain and Talyn were former titled Andarion Ring fighters. And right now, they fought with death in their eyes. If she didn't do something fast, they'd tear each other apart.

Dodging their blows, she forced herself between them, and pushed them to opposite sides.

“Enough!” she roared.

Dancer moved forward to take Fain by his arm.

Holding his chest where she'd shot him, Fain spat the blood on his lips to the ground. He glared his hatred at Talyn. “Aim at my brother again, and I'll rip your fucking spine out, punk!”

Talyn didn't flinch at the threat. “One hand to the commander again, and I'll rip apart every ass here, including yours
and
his,
old man
.”

She sucked her breath in sharply at the double-edged insult. Not just that Fain was older, but to insinuate he wasn't Andarion … it was the worst sort of slap in the face for their kind.

Fain licked at his busted lip as he watched Galene place her hand over the heart of the soldier in front of him.

“It's all right,
courani
,” she said in a gentle tone, using an endearment that called the male soldier her precious heart. “Stand down.”

The soldier's eyes softened as he glanced at her and covered her hand with his. Lowering his head, he brought her hand to his lips, and kissed it before he stepped back.

But not so far that he couldn't shield her with his body again if he needed to.

Disgusted, Fain met Dancer's gaze and shook his head. Galene had chosen quite the boytoy for herself. The kid was large, even for an Andarion. And as much as Fain hated to admit it, the bastard could fight. It was actually impressive what he'd done.

And the ease with which he'd accomplished it.

“Isn't he a little young for you?” Fain asked her snidely.

Galene pinned him with a sneer. “I don't think it's any of your business who I live with.”

Fain's jaw went slack that she'd openly admit such a scandalous relationship in front of everyone. While it wasn't unheard of for commanders to sleep with their staff, they were usually highly discreet about it. Rarely did they flaunt it.

He scowled at her. “Well, aren't you full of surprises?”

She raked him with a scathing grimace. “I learned early … from the best.”

He took a step forward.

So did Talyn.

Galene pushed them apart again. “Boys! Enough!”

Fain curled his lip before he dropped a potent verbal bomb on them. “You do realize that you both just attacked a member of the Andarion royal family?”

Galene gaped. “Excuse me?”

Dancer quirked a smug grin. “The queen adopted my brother a week ago.”

Fain expected that to take some of the fire out of her boytoy's eyes. It didn't. Defiant and reckless, he snorted disdainfully at the news.

“Talyn!” Galene snapped before the child could speak. “Not a word.”

He inclined his head respectfully. “Yes, Commander.” But his gaze said that he was struggling to hold back his opinion.

And it wasn't a happy one.

Fain returned his sneer with one of his own. “I should have you both arrested.”

“Try it,” the male said with an arrogant, taunting grin. “You'll be dead before they cuff me … If I'm going to jail again, old man, I'm going to make it count.”

“Talyn!”

A tic started in his jaw as Galene reached up, buried her hand in his hair, and forced the boy to meet her gaze. Only then did the fire go out in his eyes.

She pressed her cheek to his and whispered in his ear before she kissed his forehead. Her hand lingered on his chin as her gaze held his a moment longer.

Finally quelled, the soldier took a step back.

Fain swept his gaze around the other Andarions here. The fact that none of their soldiers found this display odd said it all about Galene's open affair with her second-in-command.

Normally, Andarions never touched each other in public. Not even married couples. Unless they were fighting, it was their custom to keep a respectful distance from each other at all times.

A fierce, unwarranted hatred for the boy consumed him. He had no idea why he'd care or feel the jealousy inside his heart, but he did. And it wanted that kid's head on a pike.

While Fain's entire life had gone straight to hell after their last encounter, it was obvious Galene had been living quite the dream with her child-lover.

Galene stepped back as the medics arrived to tend Fain's injuries.

She met Dancer's glare. “We shall withdraw to my office, where I will contact the queen immediately and inform her what has happened. If she still wants my arrest, I'll surrender myself to her authority. Until then…” She turned her curled lip toward Fain. “I hope you die painfully of your wounds.”

And with that, she walked away.

Talyn passed one more hate-filled glare at him before he followed after her. Like a dutiful puppy.

Little fucking bastard.

Yeah, okay, huge fucking bastard, but still …

The medic let out a low, evil laugh as she saw Fain's wounds. And especially the one at his eye that was already swelling, and burning like a mother. “I see you met the commander's bodyguard. What'd you do? Speak to her in the wrong tone of voice?”

Fain gave the Andarion female an arched brow. “Does he do this kind of thing a lot?”

She snorted as she examined his eye. “Actually, he must like you.”

“How so?”

“You're still breathing. He normally kills anyone who so much as grimaces in the commander's general direction.”

Dancer sighed as Fain sat down on the stretcher and allowed them to remove his chest plate to inspect the blast wound. “I'm sorry, Fain. When you said she was a nasty piece of work, I should have listened to you. I had no idea she'd hate you
this
much.”

Fain looked down at the bleeding wound in the center of his chest. Had he been wearing anything other than his Tavali armor, that shot would have killed him instantly. As it was, it hurt like hell and he'd be bruised for a few days, but he'd live. “I figured she wouldn't be happy to see me again. However, I did underestimate her exact degree of hatred for me.”

“What did you do to her?” Chayden picked up the helmet Fain had been holding against his groin.