Despite all her attempts to look calm, his words made her flinch. She would rather die than allow herself to be controlled by another man—or male.
“What? No! I’m not with anyone. I mean, I wasn’t on this cruise looking for a mate. I own theHarvest. That’s all.” She tried to make it clear she wasn’t interested without insulting him. The last thing she needed was to make Havoc angry.
“I meant for the journey back to our home.” Havoc stared at her for a long moment. Instead of snarling or growling, the big male closed the distance between them and crouched down in front of her. Slowly, he turned his hands palm up and lifted them slightly in a gesture that seemed intended to calm her. “You aren’t safe here. None of us is. We need to leave before the scrawnies send someone to investigate.”
She managed to scrape a few words out of her scrambled brain. “But what if it’s a rescue party?”
As soon as she said the words, she wanted to takethem back. Of course, it wouldn’t be a rescue. Havoc and the others had explained the situation already. Embarrassed, she dropped her gaze to the ground and waited for him to laugh at her.
Instead, Loris was the one to speak. “No one is coming to rescue us, Maddison. We’re deep in verexi territory. I don’t know how we got here or what went wrong, but we need to make the best of it.”
Before she could reply, Loris said something to Vengeance. He replied with a cocky statement about him being right. Maddison didn’t pay attention. She was more focused on Loris’s tone. Neither she nor Joy seemed upset about the way Vengeance and Risk were treating them. Why was that?
Her thoughts derailed as Risk spoke. “Joy is injured and cannot walk, so she will stay with me.”
Maddison looked up, confused. “But what about the verexi? You said it wasn’t safe to stay here.”
“The ship is too valuable to leave behind. I will keep it and Joy safe,” Risk said.
Havoc met her eyes. She saw no malice or any sign of danger there. That helped her regain some semblance of calm. “Maddison and Loris. You have five minutes to pack food, water, and clothing. Then we must go.”
Loris made a disgruntled sound at being given an order, but she didn’t argue. When Maddison turned to look at her friend, Loris flashed her a series of quick hand signals. One was meant to reassure her. Another warned her to be cautious. The next few were remindersto keep at least one weapon hidden on her person at all times and to take care of herself.
Maddison understood the message and gave a small nod in acknowledgment, even though the thought of carrying a weapon made her stomach churn. She knew which one she’d take, though. The ship’s armory was tiny, but it included a stun wand. Loris had already shown her how to use it. She’d bring that.
Joy waved to them before pointing in the direction of the tent they’d set up on the far side of the shuttle. It was where they were storing most of the supplies they’d unpacked from the emergency kits on board.
“Go. Find the other survivors. Stay safe,” Joy said.
“But what about you?” Maddison asked. The idea of splitting up didn’t sit well with her, even though Loris seemed to be in agreement.
“I’ll be fine,” Joy reassured them.
Maddison couldn’t understand how the other woman could be sure of that, but she clearly believed it. It made no sense, but neither did the fact that she felt like she could and should trust Havoc.
Something strange was happening, but if Loris believed this was their best chance to survive, she’d follow her friend’s lead… even if it meant going in different directions.
She looked at Havoc and swallowed. Well, if she had to go into the wilds of an unknown planet, at least she wouldn’t be alone out there.
CHAPTER 6
Havoc knewwhat was happening to his clan-brothers, but he didn’t like it. He’d observed the moment when Risk had first touched Joy and the way both of them had responded. Bysshe had mentioned that the bonding seemed to be triggered by physical contact. The android had been right.
At least none of the females appeared to have done anything intentionally. That was one of his concerns. Given the way Loris was reacting to Vengeance, it was obvious she neither expected nor wanted his brother’s attention, though she seemed to be warming to him now.
Loris and Maddison had gone to pack what they needed, leaving him a moment to consider. If touch was the trigger, he could avoid becoming entangled by keeping his distance. That shouldn’t be too difficult. The hard part would be keeping her alive.
The female he’d somehow become responsible forwas small and delicate, at least to his eyes. Even her long brown hair looked soft. He was intrigued by the way she’d woven it into some kind of rope to keep it out of her face. He’d have to ask her how she did that. Or maybe Bysshe would know. Speaking with the android would be easier than talking to Maddison, who seemed to prefer to keep to herself.
At first, he thought she was aloof and standoffish, as if she thought she was better than the others. It wasn’t until she flinched that he saw past her closed-off body language. The haunted look in her eyes was familiar. He’d seen it in the eyes of his brothers too many times. Haunted. Hunted. Afraid.
Someone had hurt her. Badly. The thought stirred feelings of protectiveness he never expected to feel for someone outside the clan. Her smooth, hairless skin was unmarked, but he’d seen her scars, if only for a moment.
He’d also noted her statement that she owned theBountiful Harvest.He could not fathom how someone with that kind of personal wealth could ever allow themselves to be subjected to the kind of treatment that put those shadows on her soul. It didn’t fit with his understanding of the way things worked in this galaxy. Wealth meant power, and power came with its own kind of protection.
His mind turned over the information as he moved to join his brothers.
Vengeance reached into his pack, pulled out ablaster, and offered it to Risk. “You will need this more than I will.”
