Tee-ani's Pirates (6 page)

She cried most of the time she spoke, but Ben had realized early on that she wept for the women who’d been hurt, the ones she hadn’t been able to save, not for herself or all that she had lost.

“Ben?”

“Yes, baby.”

“Can you tell me what
g’bani
means?”

Ben grinned at that and noticed Trey open his eyes as he tried to explain.

“It’s a term of endearment, kind of like darling or sweetheart, but more than those. Very literally it means ‘love of my heart.’”

“I once knew a G’trobian female. Her name was G’baena. Would that mean something similar?”

Both men sat up quickly. Ben grabbed her hand, watching her intently.

“Where did you meet G’baena?”

Her eyes darted from one shocked face to the other, her confusion obvious.

Tee-ani’s Pirates

45

“On the slave ship.”

“Baby, do you know where she was taken? How she got there?”

She nodded. Her throat clogged with emotion as the awful memories stirred again.

“She was sold to a trader in the Gendor system, name of Keytark.”

She swallowed again, her eyes filling with more tears as she said the next words. “She said her family sold her.”

Trey lifted off the bed and began pacing agitatedly across the small cabin.

“Goddess, this is our fault. We have to fix it. How could her family have done that to her?”

“Maybe it’s a different woman. Don’t get me wrong—I’m all for saving her—but what makes you think this is the G’baena you knew?”

“Very literally, G’baena translates as ‘love of the king.’ She was born specifically to be our mate. To stand behind us as we took on the responsibilities of our station.”

“What the hell does that mean? Your station? What are you, some kind of royalty?” She laughed and Ben could feel the nervous energy as she tried to deny the conclusion she’d made.

She looked like she wanted to start pacing too. Both she and Trey pacing in such cramped quarters was simply asking for trouble. Ben leaned over and snagged her hand before she could wriggle off the bed.

“Yes. We are royalty. Well, at least we were before we left the planet three cycles ago.”

“Why the hell would you come here? Live like this? Claim me?”

Her voice got softer with each word, the last question almost soundless, and if he hadn’t been sitting so close, he might’ve missed it.

“
G’bani
, we are here because we wanted to do more. Being pampered royalty is not what either of us wanted.” Ben grasped her chin, gently raising her face to his, making sure that he had her full attention. “And we claimed you because we love you.”

46

Rachel Clark

“I don’t understand. You rejected G’baena and the life that you had and so her parents sold her into slavery.” Her gaze flew from one to the other, her agitation obvious as she struggled out of his grasp.

“Why would you do something like that?” Her voice grew harder with every word, but it was the way she averted her gaze, like she couldn’t stand to look at either of them, that broke Ben’s heart.

Trey stopped his incessant pacing and dropped onto the bed beside them. He grabbed both her hands in his own.

“Tee, I swear to you that we did not know what would happen to G’baena. Slavery is illegal on our planet. I promise, as soon as we get her back, her family will be punished for their actions.” He glanced at Ben and then back at Tee-ani. “We need to speak to the captain.”

Trey helped her to her feet and then started opening and closing the drawers under her bed until he found what he sought.

“Get dressed,
g’bani
.” He threw clothes in her direction. “Let’s go make this right.”

Tee-ani’s Pirates

47

Jordan had listened quietly as Ben and Trey explained who they were and why they needed to leave now. Tee-ani watched his face the entire time, wishing for some empathic or telepathic skills, just so she’d know what the captain was thinking. He hadn’t moved, hadn’t reacted, hell, hadn’t even scowled as Ben and Trey told him the entire story of their lives back on G’trobia.

He’d simply nodded, and now they were on their way to rescue G’baena. Not just the three of them, but the whole damn ship. Jordan had walked onto the bridge, ordered a course change, and left. Simple as that.

Tee-ani couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have been rescued by people such as the ones on this ship. Jordan could very easily have lived up to the ruthless reputation these pirates held and enjoyed an extremely decadent life, but instead, he and his crew simply used everything they “acquired” to help those who needed help the most.

“What do you mean, I can’t come with you?”

She hadn’t really been listening as closely to the conversation as she should’ve been, but she caught the part about her staying behind.

“I am the only person that G’baena would know and trust to get her out of there safely. I have to go.”

“It’s too dangerous, Tee, and I won’t let you put yourself in that type of danger.”

“You won’t let me? You?” Okay, so direct confrontation probably wasn’t the way to handle this, but seriously, just because the man had slept with her didn’t give him the right to decide how she could live the rest of her life.

48

Rachel Clark

“Tee.” Trey’s voice stayed quiet, commanding in that authoritative way that he seemed to exude so easily. “You will be recognized. Of all the crew on this ship, you are the one the slavers would want back the most.” Oh hell, there he went again. She was ready to get good and mad, and here he was being perfectly logical.

And well, he had a point. The slavers had treated her just a little better than the rest of the slaves simply because she was a doctor and able to treat the injuries they’d inflicted on the other women.

Tee-ani shuddered when she thought about what could be happening to the women she’d treated on the slave ship. She shook all the way to her boots at the thought of being recaptured by the slavers, but there was a part of her that simply couldn’t step aside and let others do this in her place. She had a chance to help one of the women she’d known and she was sure as hell going to take it.

“Trey, I can go in disguise. To have any chance of getting out of there alive, you need me.”

“No,” Ben interrupted. “No, we don’t need you. We will negotiate a price and purchase G’baena, and then we’ll take her home.”

Okay, she realized that it sounded like a straightforward plan and she hoped it really was that simple, but unfortunately, she knew this particular slave owner and his reputation. There was no way he would easily give up the slave he prized most highly, no matter how much money Ben and Trey offered him.

“Dammit, Ben, you’re not listening. Keytark owns G’baena because she’s one of a kind. She is the only—
the only
—G’trobian female sold into slavery. Hell, she’s probably his personal slave.” And didn’t that terrify the shit out of her? Keytark ruled over one of the most brutal species she’d ever met. He commanded with an iron fist and she’d often wondered if she’d done the right thing by saving G’baena that day back on the slave ship. Maybe the young woman would’ve been better off dying than what she had probably lived through since.

Tee-ani’s Pirates

49

The alarming thought, so foreign to a doctor who valued life highly, stiffened her spine—and her resolve. Turning her back on Ben and Trey, Tee-ani turned her appeal to the ship’s captain.

“Jordan, I know it’s dangerous, but I have to try. Nobody will believe that Ben and Trey are slavers if they don’t have at least one slave with them. I know what these creatures expect from their slaves.

I know how the women are treated. I know how to act.”

Hell, even without empathic skills, she could feel the anger brewing behind her. Well, they’d have to find a way to deal with it.

She would help G’baena and any other slaves she could while she was there and nothing was going to stop her. Nothing—especially a couple of G’trobian princes who thought they had some say in what she did just because they’d given her the best orgasms of her life.

Jordan frowned, the first actual expression she’d seen on his face since this all began, and for a moment, she thought he may deny her logic. She held her breath as he nodded slowly.

“Tee-ani has a point. You need to have a slave if you are going to convince anybody that you are interested in buying more.” Tee-ani had the most ridiculous urge to turn and poke her tongue at the two irate males she could feel behind her, but she controlled herself…barely. “But”—and oh, damn, all that triumph burst from her like a popped balloon—“you are the only doctor we have on board and your skills are in great demand.”

And there it was, a simple, indisputable fact. They needed her on the ship.

“Tee-ani, can you teach Sarah what she needs to know to pull this off?”

Tee-ani closed her eyes, embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

“I probably could.” She glanced at Sarah, smiling at the enthusiasm written on the woman’s face. “But slavers would expect a personal slave to perform…er…personal services for her masters quite often and in public.”

50

Rachel Clark

Sarah’s smile faltered just a little. Tee-ani knew that Sarah loved her husband, and she could see the ideas bouncing through her head even before she opened her mouth to speak.

“Well, that makes it simple, then. Jordan and I will go to the planet, rescue G’baena, and be back in time for breakfast.” Nobody missed the quiet chuckle from her husband as he pulled her into his embrace.

“I thought you’d retired from undercover work,” he said

“Yeah, well I can
un
-retire for this mission. It’s important.”

“Okay, it’s settled then. Sarah and I will head to the planet in her courier ship as soon as we get close enough, we’ll—”

“Sarah,” Tee-ani began quietly, trying to convey her thoughts without actually blurting out personal medical information. “Do you think now might be a good time?”

Tee-ani was hard-pressed to keep from laughing when Sarah rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. “You just
had
to bring that up.”

“Bring what up?” Jordan’s voice was gruff, concerned, and for a heart-stopping moment, Tee-ani thought he might demand information from her. They may be millions of miles away from Earth, but she still held dear to the principles of doctor-patient confidentiality. Fortunately, he turned to his wife and smiled.

“Yes?”

Sarah nodded, an uncharacteristically shy smile spreading across her face before her husband lifted her up and spun around several times. Ben and Trey turned to Tee-ani, a mixture of bewilderment, anger, and confused happiness written on both their faces. Tee-ani just shrugged and turned back to the happy couple.

Jordan kissed his wife very thoroughly before turning his grin back to Tee-ani, Ben, and Trey. His smile faded and his arms tightened around his wife.

“We need a new plan.”

Tee-ani’s Pirates

51

Everyone nodded except for Sarah, who struggled out of his arms and glared at her husband. “No, we don’t. I’m not sick, I’m pregnant, and if you are going to start wrapping me in Pendarian safety foam we are going to have a really,
really
big problem.”

“Pregnant?” Two male voices echoed in surprise.

“Congratulations,” Ben said as he and Trey moved forward to hug Sarah and shake Jordan’s hand. “However, we definitely need a new plan.” Before Sarah could turn on him, Jordan pulled her back into his embrace.

Tee-ani spoke up. “Sarah, you don’t know these people like I do.

If anything goes wrong, you could find yourself trapped and sold into slavery. Do you really want to risk your child’s future? I love you like a sister, and there is no way I want you doing this. Please, please give it more thought.”

Sarah’s anger drained out of her as they watched. She nodded.

Resignation, frustration, and confusion all written very clearly on her face. “Okay, so what now?”

“Simple,” Tee-ani said. “We go back to our original plan. Ben and Trey pose as slave traders. I go as their personal slave, we get G’baena to safety, and we come back here.”

Every eye in the room turned on her and they all shared the same irritated expression, but Tee-ani knew she couldn’t back down. None of the other women on board would be emotionally capable of pretending to be a sex slave and, quite frankly, she wouldn’t want any of them even trying it.

She raised a hand to stop the barrage of words about to escape the men’s mouths.

“Simple fact. I am the only female on board who will be treated with respect by the slavers if things go wrong. All right, maybe not respect,” she added when she saw Trey’s eyes tighten with anger, “but as a doctor, I will be treated better than the other women. I am the only one who has any chance of escaping if we fail.”

52

Rachel Clark

She thought she saw Sarah and Jordan exchange a quick look before he stepped forward and gave Trey and Ben an aggressive order.

“Keep her safe. Bring them both back.”

Far from feeling triumph, Tee-ani watched as the blood drained from both of her lovers’ faces. They both managed to mumble, “Yes, captain,” but she felt fairly sure it was from habit, rather than an actual agreement with his plan.

Trey was closest and grabbed her roughly, looking like he was about to explode, but he pulled her against his chest and held her to him. Ben pressed into her from behind, and for a moment, she stood, feeling them both tremble against her. She wiggled so that she could wrap an arm around each of them and then just let them hold her.

“I’m sorry,” Ben said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “This is our fault. I’m so sorry you got dragged into our mess.”

Their mess? How the hell had they decided that this was their fault?

“Ben,” she said as she pulled away so that she could see both their faces, “this is not yours or Trey’s doing. You had no idea that G’baena’s family would treat her the way they have. It’s their mess, not yours.”