Startled at Dax’s voice, Lena turned to see which man had spoken.
“He’s a clone,” the Dax standing nearest her said.
“Just get out of the way, Lena!” the other Dax said sharply.
Uncertain now of whom to trust, she stood perfectly still, glancing from one man to the other. Striving for calm, she examined each of the Dax’s, but she couldn’t tell any difference even in their clothing, for both were wearing similar uniforms and she couldn’t recall enough detail about the one she’d last seen Dax in to know which was which.
She knew Nigel though. Did that mean the one who’d warned her against him was the clone? Or was it Dax, trying to protect her in case he was a clone?
Her chin wobbled. “I don’t know what to do,” she murmured, unwilling to move in any direction until she was certain she wouldn’t get Dax killed. She closed her eyes. “Dax! I love you!”
“I love you, too, Lena.”
Lena’s eyes popped open. She stared at the man who’d just spoken as he took a step toward her.
“Move your ass, baby girl!” Dax snarled.
Whirling abruptly, Lena fled toward the man standing atop the wall. The moment she moved, all three men began to fire.
“Get down!” Dax bellowed as he leapt from the top of the wall and landed just in front of her.
Lena dove for the floor, closing her eyes as she saw the broken, uneven bits of stone rushing up to greet her. Something hot sliced across her arm even as she fell, seemingly in slow motion, toward the rubble strewn floor. Her arm gave way as she tried to catch herself with her palms. Pain seemed to pelt her from every direction at once, her shoulder, her knees and palms. The worst of it, however, was pain that exploded in her head as she skidded across the floor and slammed into something sharp and hard. Blackness crowded in around her.
Someone grabbed her shoulder and rolled her over. She heard her name in stereo and opened her eyes with an effort. Two faces were leaning over her. “I bumped my head,” she murmured, lifting a hand to examine the throbbing area and finding a knot on her forehead.
“I feel like beating your ass,” Dax growled. “Didn’t I tell you to stay in the ship?”
“Try it and I’ll knock your head off,” Nigel snarled at him.
“Shut up, Nigel!” Lena murmured, pushing herself upright. “He’s trying to tell me he loves me.”
Both men gaped at her, but Dax recovered first, pulling her to her feet and examining her head and then her arm. “It doesn’t look too bad,” he said finally.
“Exactly what is ‘bad’ in your opinion?” Nigel demanded.
Still wobbly legged, Lena managed to wedge herself between her brother and Dax. “Actually, I really don’t feel at all well.”
She’d barely uttered the last word when Dax scooped her into his arms and turned to survey the climb. “You can’t carry me and climb up that!” Lena protested.
Apparently Dax agreed. Placing two fingers against his lower lip, he let out an earsplitting whistle that, within a very few minutes, had drawn a pack of soldiers to ring the top of the pit, staring down at them. “Get me a sling to bring her up!”
She didn’t especially like the sound of that, but she knew Dax could carry her up and she still felt a little dizzy and disoriented. “Did you kill the clone?” she asked, dropping her head against his shoulder.
“Nigel did.”
Lena looked at her brother in surprise. “How did you know which one was the clone?”
“It wasn’t that difficult, actually,” Nigel said dryly. “I knew the moment Dax started bellowing which was the real asshole.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lena’s head hurt, but it wasn’t entirely from the knot she’d given herself when she dove to try to avoid the laser fire. Dax and Nigel bristled like two cur dogs every time they looked at each other.
She had a pretty good feeling she knew why.
Nigel sensed that Dax had done a lot more than just rescue her, and Dax didn’t appreciate Nigel’s possessiveness toward his sister.
“Did you find anyone?” she asked, joining the two men at the table they’d taken in the rec room of Dax’s ship.
