"You have no right to come onto my ship and even look at my woman," Tony screamed at him. "And you dared to touch her?"

Fallon was panting, yanking hard against the restraints. When she realized Tony wasn't about to turn around, she looked Taber in the eye and mouthed, I love you.

142.

Taber's entire world came to a grinding halt. For a moment, he forgot about Tony, the pain tearing through his body and the stinging of his eyes. All he could do was blink and pray he hadn't imagined what he saw. Fallon let out a sob and nodded, mouthing the words again.

I love you.

That was the last thing he was able to see for the next several minutes. Tony began to pound his fists into Taber's face, blood spraying over his hands and arms as he worked him over. Taber had sustained worse beatings in his life, but he hated the fact Fallon was forced to watch, knowing what a wretched mess he'd look like.

The thudding noise of the beating began to fade and an eerie silence replaced it.

Taber thought he was about to slip into unconsciousness when he heard something very soft buzzing in his mind. At first he dismissed it as a byproduct of the damage his head was taking, but it began to grow more persistent until he was no longer able to ignore it.

Taber.

It wasn't a complete thought, not really. The barest whisper of a word brushing past the corner of his mind, like a shadow out of the corner of his eye.

Fallon?

Instead of an answer, like one he would have shared with a bonded mate, he could feel her emotions. That contact was just out of reach, but it was enough that he could make sure everything was okay.

Fallon, don't cry.

Taber heard her sob, and how she tried to fight against it. The noise of whatever else she was doing was chased away when Tony landed another punch on Taber's ear.

"Tony, you can stop now," Fallon managed to get out in between sobs. "I know you're more of a man than anyone."

"No you don't!"

When the blows finally stopped and Tony whirled around and marched over to Fallon, Taber's heart nearly stopped. He had to sit and watch helplessly as Tony got in her face, screaming at her.

"You never once looked at me! You'd flirt with anything that had a c.o.c.k, but not me!"

Slowly, something shifted to the surface of his mind, something Tony had said that could help. Taber closed his eyes and concentrated on the thread, the fragile connection between him and Fallon.

Rules. Against the rules.

Fallon's sobs stopped and he heard her suck in a shaky breath.

"But I couldn't, Tony. It would have been against the rules."

Safe.

143.

"I wanted to make sure you were safe. That no one could hurt you, damage your reputation," she said in a soft voice.

Taber opened his eyes to see Tony squatting in front of Fallon, leaning over at an awkward angle so he could look her in the face. There was a chance that if she were to get him off balance, he'd be able to take Tony out of the picture.

Taber looked directly at Fallon and tried to project his thoughts to her. Pull your legs up.

"Yes," Tony said nodding. "I knew you understood. You have to play by the rules or else you get punished."

Pull your legs up.

"I'd never want you to get hurt or to be punished." Fallon smiled and c.o.c.ked her head to the side. "You're a very strong man."

Fallon! Pull your legs up.

When she shifted her body and slowly pulled her legs closer to her body, Taber felt a wave of relief. As quietly as he could, he moved into position and prayed she was strong enough to do this.

Kick him hard. Kick his stomach.

He didn't think she heard him at first-that their connection had weakened and stopped. A wave of frustration hit him and Taber jerked against the restraints hard.

Tony turned his head to look back at Taber and grinned.

"You see, you alien f.u.c.k. She's mine. She understands that you have to play within the rules if you want to live."

With Tony distracted, Fallon was finally able to react. She rocked back so her body rested on her a.s.s and her feet both came off the floor. Taber watched as she kicked both her legs out, catching Tony in the chest. Fallon yelled as she kicked, throwing Tony off balance and sending him flying backward to land on his back.

Taber reacted instantly. The second Tony's head banged on the floor, Taber swept his legs out and braced his knees on either side of Tony's head. Taber began to squeeze, praying he had the strength left to do what he needed to do. Tony clawed at Taber, bucking and fighting against his loss of oxygen. Taber had his eyes closed, focusing every ounce of his concentration on keeping the other man still.

"Taber! He's reaching for the thing on his arm!"

Tony began to blindly hit at his arm, smashing the sensors on the implant without seeing what he was doing. Suddenly, Taber felt the other man's weight increase and his body begin to slip away. He looked down to see the floor had half absorbed Tony's body. Unwilling to let his enemy get away, he jerked his legs back enough to keep Tony from slipping all the way into the opened portal. A loud humming pop filled the room and Tony stopped struggling.

Taber looked down to see that only the top half of Tony's body remained. A look of pain and horror was frozen on his now lifeless face.

144.

"Oh my G.o.d," Fallon whispered.

"Don't look," he managed to croak out. "Don't look at him. Only me."

Using what little strength he had left, Taber managed to push what remained of Tony's body to the side, as much as his legs would allow. Now free of the added weight, he was able to pull himself up enough to get a better look at Fallon.

Her face was pale, and the strands of her hair were tangled where Tony had grabbed her. Her eyes were wide and she was panting hard as she continued to stare at what remained of her tormentor.

"He can't hurt you anymore, Fallon. Look at me, shallen."

Her eyes flicked to his face and she swallowed hard. Taber nodded and gave her as much of a smile as his beaten face would allow.

"That's better. You're going to be okay. Sean will find us and we'll get you out of here."

"He was going to kill you," she whispered. "He was going to take me away."

"But he didn't. You stopped him. You were very brave, shallen."

Fallon swallowed hard, her gaze slipping to the floor for a moment before she looked back, her eyes locked on him. "What does shallen mean?"

His heart was already pounding hard from the beating and his fight with Tony. But somehow that one simple question sent it racing even faster. He couldn't hide behind his language anymore. He shouldn't hide-not if she meant as much to him as he knew she did.

"Taber?" Her soft question hurt him more than the beating he'd sustained. "What does it mean?"

My beloved, my love.

"I-"

"Fallon!"

They both turned their heads at the sound of Sean's voice.

"We're over here!" she called out. "Taber's hurt!"

The noise of a security detail making their way toward them let him know they were going to be okay. Fallon would be safe and he could finally relax. Relief sapped what remained of his strength and unconsciousness won him over.

Fallon watched helpless as Taber's eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body slumped forward. Panic raced through her and she struggled against the restraints that held her fast.

"Sean, hurry!"

145.

The first person she saw run around the corner and race down the hall was Davin.

Sean was only a few steps behind, a chorus of flashlights chasing them.

"Here! We're here!"

Davin immediately went to Taber's side while Sean came to hers. She struggled against the restraints, trying to get to Taber.

"Sit still, Fallon. Let me free you," Sean said, trying to find the right code to release the bindings.

It took a minute, but he finally succeeded and Fallon barreled past him to reach Taber. She got there to see Davin checking Taber over, a deep frown on his face. He moved a hand to Taber's chest and closed his eyes.

"Friken, there is a lot of internal bleeding," he muttered.

"Can you help him?" she asked in a shaky voice. "Please."

Davin frowned, looking at Taber's face for a long moment before nodding once.

"He'll probably be p.i.s.sy at me when I'm done. Just to warn you."

Fallon shifted her body to rest against Taber's side. She clung to his arm, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Don't you die on me, you stubborn jerk."

"There's no dying on my watch," Davin said and smiled at her. "He'll be back being a pain in my a.s.s in no time."

Davin adjusted his hand on Taber's chest and closed his eyes, forcing Fallon to wait.

Please be okay.

An eternity pa.s.sed in a few minutes as the entire security detail, including Sean, gathered around them in a loose semicircle. Fallon couldn't look at them and closed her eyes, concentrating on the odd sensations she'd felt when Tony had been at her side.

It had been the oddest sensation. Like her thoughts were being pushed to her from someone else. She knew it had been coming from Taber-his confidence and pride in her projecting out.

She'd also felt his love and his fear.

Now, she tried to find that connection again. Soft, like a dream she couldn't quite remember, it was just out of reach.

I love you. Come back to me.

She thought the words over and over, praying it would work, that there would be some sign of life.

Love you.

The sensations, warmth, love and l.u.s.t hit her as Taber jerked against her body, sucking in an audible gasp.

"Easy, big fella," Davin muttered. "You're okay."

"Taber?" She got to her knees and pressed a kiss against his temple. "Taber, are you okay?"

146.

"I-"

She looked down to see him fight to get his eyes open. It took a minute, but he somehow managed and looked up into her eyes.

"I will be once Davin gets his hands off me."

Davin looked at her and grinned. "See, p.i.s.sy. He's going to be fine. We still need to get him to med bay."

"Sara's enroute," Sean said from behind Davin. "Welcome back."

Taber reached up and squeezed Fallon's arm. She couldn't speak, tears running down her face, emotion choking her. He was going to be fine.

"I love you," she whispered to him.

But when he didn't respond, Fallon felt her world bottom out.

147.