Chapter 17
GARK
It was on the third day, when they reached the place where Gark had decided to ambush the slaver’s ship. Finding the already limping slave transport had been shockingly easy. Too easy, in fact.
Gark ran a hand over his face, attempting to blink away the fatigue that had plagued him for the last few days.
But Gark didn’t have the luxury of time to rest.
He drummed his fingers against the armrest of his chair on the bridge, watching as they gained on the transport.
Arik’s voice came over the comm. “Boss?”
“Go ahead, Arik.”
“I think they’ve disabled the engines on purpose,” he said over the comm from engineering.
Gark scowled. It made no sense. If you were transporting illegal cargo, you’d want to do it quickly. He watched as The Lady pulled closer to the transport.
A second, smaller vessel—the one Oren had tracked on its way to intercept the slave ship—detached from the transport and sped away from them.
Vox cursed. “Do we chase them?”
Gark frowned. There was something here he was missing.
“Not yet. Scan both vessels,” he ordered.
A few moments later, Klath spoke. “There are six lifesigns on the smaller vessel. There are 18 on the transport, all human.
Gark barked out a laugh, looking up at the ceiling.
He thanked the Lady that Aletta wasn’t on the bridge to hear that.
He needed everyone to be level-headed, and with every passing day, he found it harder and harder to maintain the control he’d cultivated his entire life.
He’d heard rumors of Gnaggarian mates that had gone mad from an unreciprocated bond.
He was starting to think it was true.
“Klath, you’re coming with us on this one. We may need you sooner than we thought.” He stood from the captain’s chair. “Arik?”
“Yes, captain?”
“You’re in as well. We’ll struggle to fit that many passengers on The Lady. See if you can get that transport’s engines going.”
“I’ll do what I can.” The big mechanic disconnected the comm.
He felt Aletta’s presence before he heard her voice.
“What can I do?”
He closed his eyes, steeling himself with a deep breath, then opened them and turned to see her standing in the open doorway. “How much did you hear?”
The grim expression on her face told him all he needed to know, but she answered anyway. “All of it.”
He didn’t want her to come on the mission.
The thought of all the things that could go wrong, that could get her hurt, made him break out in a sweat.
But Lady knew he’d be hard-pressed to keep her out of it.
Not with her sister involved. He stepped toward her, hands rising as if to touch her.
He forced them down to his sides. She’d made it clear she didn’t want him as a mate.
He wasn’t going to torture himself, any more than he could help, anyway.
“If I ask you to stay here, will you listen?”
“No.”
“If I order you to stay here—“
She snorted and shook her head. “No.”
“If I—“
She put her hands on her hips. “Gark, I’m going. You can’t stop me.”
He knew that wasn’t correct. He could physically restrain her, but if he did that, she’d hate him.
Didn’t she already?
No. He refused to believe that she hated him. There was more to her rejection of his claim, but it wasn’t hate. But if he restrained her? He knew she would never forgive him for keeping her from her sister.
“I was going to ask if I gave you a job, would you do it?”
Her shoulders lowered. “Oh.” She thought for a moment. “It depends on what the job is.”
He expected no less. His chest warmed with pride.
Jarden cleared his throat. “Boss?”
“Yes?” He turned his head slightly, not wanting to break the connection to Aletta.
“They’re not responding to my comms.”
Gark cut him off. “Just do whatever it takes.”
“Yes, boss. I’ll keep trying to contact them.”
The other ship hadn’t answered despite being continually hailed since The Lady came into range. It all felt just too easy, which made Gark’s senses jump to high alert. In his experience, when it felt easy, there was always something they were overlooking. But he didn’t have time to dwell.
Gark’s eyes felt like they were full of sand. He hoped he was making the right decision. “We board as soon as we’re docked to the transport.”
“Yes, captain.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Thank you.”
The last was from Aletta. He lifted his eyebrows in surprise.
He wasn’t sure she’d thanked him for anything.
Just made demands. Something to think about later, once this was all over.
If they survived, no, he’d make sure she, at least, survived.
Even if he had to sacrifice himself, he’d make sure Aletta survived.