Hadrian used his powers and his blaster to make sure she made it.
She climbed up his ship.
Just as he started running, a blast of color flashed past him, toward the assassins.
It was Hauk. “Got your six.”
Yes, he did. Hadrian dodged the next ship and ran for everything he wasn’t worth toward his own.
Jayne laid down cover fire as he quickly ran through the bay. He rushed up the ladder and was almost inside when a blast shot hit his leg.
Sucking his breath in sharply, he slipped and almost fell from the ladder.
To his amazement, Jayne caught him and helped him regain his footing.
He looked up and froze as he saw the last thing he’d ever expected. Real concern.
She actually cared that he’d been hurt.
“C’mon, Hadrian. You gotta help me, son. You weigh a lot. I can’t pick you up and put you in your seat.”
Laughing in spite of the pain, he slid into the cockpit and lowered the canopy.
“Hauk?”
“Yeah. We’re in, but Hadrian was hit.”
“How bad?” Hauk asked.
She peered around the seat. “Looks pretty foul.”
“I’m okay.”
“He really doesn’t look okay.”
Hauk fired his engines. “Can you tend it?”
Hadrian scowled as he ran through his settings. “I’m good enough to get us out of here. I’ll be fine. Trust me.”
Jayne was thrown back into her seat as he launched them. “You going to pass out again?”
“Hope not.”
She peered over the seat as they broke through the atmosphere. “Shouldn’t I be the one driving?”
By the tic in his jaw, she knew he was in too much pain to banter.
His breathing was starting to become labored.
“You okay?”
Hadrian nodded as he set the autopilot. With a vicious hiss, he began to unbuckle his pants.
“Um, hey . . . what are you doing?”
“Exposing my wound.”
Yeah, that wasn’t all that was getting exposed. Jayne sat back in her seat as she tried not to think about how endowed her companion was.
