The shuttle loomed.He threw up his arms to shield his face and hit…nothing.
Drafe and Vaen caught him on either side and skidded alongside to slow his speed.He stopped an inch from the shuttle’s side.
“Thank you,” he said, sucking in deep gulps of air.
“Now, that was brilliant.”Vaen laughed.“I have never seen anything more foolish.”
“Indeed,” Nenn muttered when he entered the compartment on shaky knees.“I did not anticipate—”
“We know,” Caah said, tossing a grin at him.
Ulvus folded his arms across his chest and glowered.Nenn was just grateful the male hadn’t said something, as well.
“Juunn will be upset he missed this,” Vaen was saying.
“I filmed it,” Caah said, closed the shuttle door, and powered up.
“You could have warned me,” Nenn whispered to Aehort when he sank into his previous seat.
“A lesson you needed to learn.”
Nenn swallowed a snort.Well, he’d learned many: how to climb ice, how to fly with one boot, and how not to try any of this with his males watching.And more than that was the importance of paying attention when Aehort spoke.
Chapter Nine
Year: 2219
Lunar Base
‘Gibsswiveledhisseatto face his…new partner.He folded his arms across his chest and activated his enhanced vision to monitor her temperature and pulse.“Who the frack are you, and who did you blow to land me as your partner?”’
Tiny gasped.“He did not say that,” she muttered to herself with a pawn gripped in one hand.She ran her fingers over the squares and placed the pawn.“Pawn C7 to C6.”
The marked board and pieces were a gift from Grunt.In all this time, she had yet to beat Computer.
“Knight G1 to F3,” Computer intoned, sounding bored.
She patted the board, found the white piece, and moved it.
‘Chapter Five,’the audiobook continued.‘Gibs’s jaw still stung, and his reflection in the metallic coffee table hinted at the bruise forming.Thrusting his gray-laced black hair off his temple, he blinked at his hazel eyes and his unshaven jaw.Laugh lines implied he’d once been happy in life.He twisted his lips in derision, drawing his gaze to the bruise again.’
Tiny applauded at Gibs getting punched for his rudeness.“Good for you, Naomi.”
“Tiny, you got incoming.You won’t believe this,” Dieter said, his voice loud in the quiet confines of the med bay.
“Computer, pause audiobook.”She set the knight down.The pieces were heavy, made of stone, and on one side, Grunt had carved ‘B’ or ‘W’ so she’d know what their colors were.
“I’ll kill her, I swear,” Leah cried out, stomping along the passage.
“Now, now, Leah, it’s not her fault.It did look like we were picking on a weakling.”Trent’s heavy boots preceded Leah.“Tiny, busted fingers.The rest of us, a couple of bruises.”
“Computer, x-ray, and give me the info,” Tiny said, gesturing to Leah to place her hand on the sterile table.
“Distal, middle, and proximal phalanxes broken on three fingers.Hairline fractures in the metacarpus.”Computer’s monotone didn’t calm the tension in the room.
Tiny nodded, prepped a pain injection gun, and let it rest on the table.The warmth pouring off Leah’s hand told her where she’d rested it on the table.The heavy breathing from her right said from which direction.Tiny thrust her hand out to catch Leah’s wrist, then with swift movements, she jabbed the gun into her forearm.
Leah hissed.
