She sighed heavily, but said nothing about his paranoia.
“Absolutely. Be safe.” Thia kissed her cheek then moved to stand beside Dancer.
Sumi inclined her head to them and clapped Darice on the arm. “Ready, champ?”
“I’m your belay slave,mu tara. Acrena tu.”
“He saidafter you,” Thia translated.
“Thanks.” She led the way to the approach.
Dancer watched as Sumi and Darice began the climb.
Thia put her arm around his waist while he watched them. “It’ll be fine, Uncle Hauk. You’ll see.”
He smiled down at her.
Bastien distracted himself with checking and rebandaging his injuries. Damn, he missed his family. What he wouldn’t give to scandalize them one more time. To hear his sister’s strident voice as she called for his parents to “sanction” him for abusing her dignity. Or Quin to ride his ass for being an embarrassment to their gene pool.
“One day, Bas, you’re going to have kids. Are these really the stories you want floating around whenever you try to discipline them?”
“Well, Sa, I would behave, but at my age I hear you were neck-deep in a whorehouse, inciting riots.”
Grinding his teeth against the agony in his heart, Bastien turned his back on the others.
Once they were out of sight, Dancer finally returned to sit and watch them through the scope in Sumi’s rifle.
Bastien shook his head at the Andarion’s actions. But then, he’d be even worse with his woman and nephew.
While Dancer watched, Thia went to gather rocks for her little brothers who’d been left at home. Apparently, that was the memento they wanted from the trip.
“So who was the first mother hen? You or Fain?”
He dropped the scope to glare at Bastien. “Meaning?”
“You two are so much alike. It’s actually scary.”
Dancer didn’t comment. And as Sumi and Darice vanished completely from his sight, he cocked his head. “What was that?”
Bastien scratched at his chin, wishing he had a decent razor. “What?”
“That sound?”
“I don’t hear anything.”
Thia stood. “I do.… Someone’s coming.”
Dancer moved to draw his blaster, but before he could, three darts went into his chest.
Bastien went for his. Like Dancer, he was hit before he could reach his weapons. The paralytic was fast and vicious. Within a few heartbeats, everything went black.
CHAPTER8
Bastien came awake with a foul curse to find himself inside a steel cage with Dancer and two other human men he’d never seen before.
And of course, Dancer appeared to be in the middle of a fight with a human female who stood outside the cage holding a long electrified pole. Two similarly dressed women were behind her.
“See.” She balanced the pole on her shoulder and swept her gaze over the other two women. “And we have a problem. Andarions eat humans. Raw. Leave him in that cage and he’ll devour the others.”
