"What is it?"

"Morra picked up another transmission. She, Saf, and Maris are trying to break it. But I wanted to let you know and I didn't want to transmit it. We have Brach and Qory watching Licia and the kids. I have a bad feeling there are more fun surprises planted for us."

Galene's stomach knotted even more. "You think it's another attack?"

"That's my guess." Talyn jerked his chin at Dancer. "Where's your family?"

"On lockdown with Jayne until Nero can get here. Sumi's an extremely capable a.s.sa.s.sin, but she's a pregnant one at the moment. I don't want to take any chances with her or the baby."

"Believe me, I understand."

Galene slowed as she saw the cramped barracks area Ryn had led them to. While it was clean, it reminded her of a prison holding area. The walls were completely clear so that guards could see into the large room where rows of bunk beds were lined end to end.

Probably a hundred males occupied the s.p.a.ce and lounged around, either on the beds or the floor. They looked positively bored. And why shouldn't they? It didn't appear as if they were allowed any form of entertainment or privacy. Or even personal items in that holding cell. All they had were the clothes on their backs, and the same silver collars around their necks that Venik had placed on Fain.

And here she thought her original accomodations had been wretched.

"What is this place?" she asked Ryn.

"Part prison," he sighed, "all kinds of h.e.l.l. It's designed to be uncomfortable to punish the Tavali whose ranks were busted, and they've been put here until they can earn their citizenship back. Or to motivate the others to earn rank to get out. No one who holds rank or Canting is ever supposed to be housed here."

Ryn stopped at the desk to speak to a guard. "Where's Commander Hauk?"

The guard didn't bother looking up from his monitor. "No one sees him without orders from Admiral Venik."

Ryn jerked the cable out of the wall.

Hissing, the guard rose to his feet to attack, then paled as he realized who was there. "Amba.s.sador Dane... my apologies, sir. I-I-I didn't realize that was you."

"Obviously. Now where's Hauk?"

Before he could answer, a body slammed so hard against the wall, it cracked it. Chaos erupted inside the holding cell as humans and others shouted, screamed, and ran for cover. A blood-chilling Andarion war cry rang out.

It was the shout of a War Hauk in full-on battle-mode rage. The kind that had made them feared by all otherworlders. And given rise to the terrifying legends of her race.

Three more bodies followed the first.

Dancer and Talyn headed for the fray with Galene pulling flank. But as they entered the room and saw Fain, they all three drew up short.

Holy G.o.ds...

While she'd seen Fain pull some stellar moves as a boy in his Ring matches, it was nothing compared to the power and grace of the full-blown War Hauk doing life-and-death battle before her now. He wrapped his legs around the waist of the Tavali in front of him, twisted, and went down on the ground, pounding and slamming him so hard, Fain had his opponent neutralized before the Tavali had a chance to react. Flipping without using his hands, Fain came up to take on his next opponent.

A guard moved in and Fain turned to catch his hand and disarm him.

More guards were rushing into the room.

Remembering Venik's orders for them to shoot him if he resisted them, Galene panicked. Before she could stop herself or rethink it, she ran forward.

"Fain?"

He swung around with a punch for her throat. She moved to block it. But less than a millimeter from contact, he froze as he realized she wasn't his enemy.

His breathing ragged, he stared down at her. Time froze as the absolute power and beauty of him hit her as hard as that blow would have had he not stopped it.

And it was almost as debilitating.

He blinked twice before he drew her in for the hottest kiss she'd ever tasted. His arms trembling, he lifted her from her feet and held her against his chest.

Then he carried her to Talyn and set her down. "Watch your mother. Keep her by your side."

She scowled as he lowered his head like a fierce predator and stalked the first Tavali he'd slammed into the wall. He grabbed the male by his shirt and hauled him to his feet.

"Where is it?" Fain demanded in a fierce, deadly growl.

The male wheezed and coughed.

"Answer me or so help me G.o.ds, I'm pulling your entrails out through your nostrils and choking you with them."

With a calmness that was astounding, Ryn walked up to Fain. "Um, Commander? I hate to intrude on this private beat-down you're having with your friend here, but before the Hadean Corps shoots you dead for it, might I inquire as to the source of this violent rage session you're having?"

"Sure," Fain said in the same mocking therapist tone as he held the man against the wall with one b.l.o.o.d.y fist. "I found the b.a.s.t.a.r.d rat who set the charge. And there are two more rigged to go off that he planted."

The color drained from Ryn's face. "Where? When?"

"What I'm trying to find out. Wanna help me beat the s.h.i.t out of him now?"

Ryn drew his blaster and held it under the Tavali's throat. "f.u.c.k yeah, I do. Where is it?"

"Up your a.s.s." Laughing, he bit down hard.

Ryn cursed and dropped his blaster, then pried his jaw apart and tried to swipe something out of his mouth. "Suicide cap!"

The Tavali began convulsing.

Galene stepped forward with Talyn. "I need water. Fast. Step aside."

Ryn frowned at her.

"She's a doctor," Fain explained.

Ryn slung the Tavali at her and called out orders for them to a.s.sist her.

Fain stood back and watched as Galene calmly pulled out the medpack from the cell's wall unit, and went to work on the human with Talyn's a.s.sistance. Since Andarions and humans had a long-standing history of war between them, part of Andarion medical training was human anatomy. How to heal them.

How to kill them.

Neither he nor Ryn spoke while they watched Galene and Talyn do their best to purge enough poison from the human to keep him alive.

A Tavali med unit showed up a few minutes later.

Fain stopped them from replacing Galene and Talyn.

Ryn scowled at him. "What are you doing?"

"We don't know who's working with him. I'm not about to put him in the hands of a Tavali coconspirator who could kill him off before we get what we need out of him. Are you?"

Ryn turned toward the med team. "Get them out of here. Leave the gurney and gear."

"Are you serious?" The medtech gaped at them.

"Go! They need you in the infirmary to help with the wounded there. We're good here."

Grumbling under their breaths, they obeyed.

Fain took their gear over to Galene.

After a few minutes, Galene sat back on her heels and sighed. "I've got him stabilized, but I doubt he'll last long. It was keratol he ingested."

Fain cursed again at the fast-acting poison that shut down organs and quickly brought on death. "Will we be able to interrogate him?"

"No. But if we can keep him on life support until Nero gets here, he might be able to use his powers to get what we need. It's the best we can hope for."

Ryn pulled his blaster out and aimed it for the Tavali's head.

"Whoa!" Fain caught his hand before he pulled the trigger. "What are you doing?"

"Making myself feel better. Not productive, I know. But a little b.l.o.o.d.y violence goes a long way in consoling my soul."

"You know, I don't think it's your mother keeping you single, buddy. But this," Fain took the blaster from his hand and held it up to his gaze, "might be the actual reason."

The color faded from his face. "My mother..."

"What?"

"That's where one of the bombs is. I know it!"

"What?" Fain repeated.

Ryn looked down at Talyn, who was still on the ground next to the Tavali. "We killed Parisa... me and Talyn. Nyran wants revenge on us. He wants to kill my brother and mother."

"He's right. That would make total sense. She's the Lady Tavali. The symbol of your Nations and the head of them all. It would be like taking down the entire War Hauk family on Andaria. It would divide the Tavali clans into war against each other, and personally devastate Ryn."

Pulling out his link, Ryn called his mother.

She didn't answer.

Ryn bit his lip. "She never rolls my calls... Something's happened to her. Something bad." His breathing ragged, he took off at a dead run.

Chapter 15.

F.

ain was barely one step behind Ryn as he traced his mother's location through her link to where she was in the station. According to their intel, she should be in her apartment.

By the time they reached her quarters, they were both sweating. Ryn opened the door and froze so fast that Fain almost slammed into him.

Galene actually did collide with Fain's back. Then gasped as she saw what had brought them to such an abrupt stop.

Hermione Dane stood on the opposite side of the room, stock-still. Brax Venik sat in a nearby chair and was just as uncomfortably posed as she was.

"Don't move" Hermione breathed slowly and without moving her jaw. "There's a bomb." She cut her eyes toward the device that was wired beneath the table between them. "We tripped it and we're not sure what detonates it. But it hasn't gone off yet."

Fain nudged Galene back. "Call Syn and get him here stat. Tell Talyn to stay with our traitor. I don't want him near this."

"Agreed." She moved slowly and carefully back into the hallway to make the calls.

Fain placed his hands on Ryn's shoulders to keep him from doing something stupid to save his mother. "Can you call Kere?" Fain used Darling's Sentella code name in case someone was listening in, hoping that if they were, they wouldn't know Kere and Darling Cruel were the same person. Since Ryn's little brother Darling was the most skilled explosives engineer in the Nine Worlds, he was their best bet on saving Hermione's life.

"Already coded. Waiting for him... Hey, Kere. I have a situation here." Ryn slowly pressed his ear to conference the call to Fain's link, too. "Fain and I are standing in front of an IED that is about to blow my mom to the G.o.ds. We need your help."

Darling cursed in their ears. "I need eyes on it."

"Yeah, we're not sure... hang on. Mom, what the h.e.l.l are you doing!"

Hermione had sunk to her knees and was slowly and very carefully making her way toward the device with her own link. "He'll need visuals. I'm getting them for you. Conference my link in with his call."

"Oh my G.o.d, Mom! Stop moving! We don't know what we're dealing with yet. If you get killed, I'm going to strangle you!"

"And if you don't get behind a blast shield and into a hardsuit, I'm going to bust your Canting down to slag."

"All right, everyone! Let's calm down and regroup." Fain took a deep breath as he struggled with his own panic over the escalating situation. "How about we all discuss anything else we want to do before we do it? Huh? This is the time to work together, not have a free-for-all that could get everyone killed."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Fine. My link's on. Conference and I'll pull back to wait. I won't do anything else. Promise."