In Enemy Territory - Shannon West Page 0,26
dark and wild with the vestiges of grief. Mikos swept Ryan into his arms and buried his face against his neck, managing to pick up both him and Mikol at the same time and hold them both tightly clutched to his chest.
He was breathing hard when he finally set an embarrassed Ryan back on his feet, though he kept an arm around him, holding him close to his side. Ryan allowed it because he could see how shaken Mikos was. He was at a loss for words, still in shock over what had happened, and Ryan just wanted to go home as quickly as they could. Before he could even express those words to Mikos, however, he and Mikol were being ushered onboard the ship, with Raggar following closely behind them, his weapon pointed downward but still held ready in the crook of his arm.
As soon as he could speak again, Ryan pulled back from Mikos as much as Mikos would let him and patted his chest. “We’re okay, you know. We’re both all right.”
“I know you are, but I still can’t quite make myself believe it.” He looked bleakly into Ryan’s eyes. “When the message came in, I…I don’t ever want to go through anything like that again, nobyo. I thought I’d lost you both, and I didn’t want to live anymore either.”
“Oh, honey,” Ryan said, trying to soothe him. “It-it almost was me and Mikol. If the gallery hadn’t called me to come back and pick up my purchase, we’d have been on that craft.”
Mikos shook his head. “No!” he said, his voice savage. “Don’t say that. I can’t bear to think of it.”
“Do you know what happened? I think Davos said the ship left Tygerian airspace. Why would it do that?”
“We don’t know yet, but we suspect it was hijacked. An assassination attempt in light of what’s been going on lately. But Ryan, who was on that hovercraft besides your pilot? The scans showed particle remains consistent with one or more bodies.”
Ryan covered his face with his hands. “I told another parent named Leonid Spenkoss, whose son goes to Mikols’s school, that he could get on board and my driver would give him a lift. His husband is an ambassador, I think. Oh God, Mikos, I killed that poor man and his child!”
Mikos pulled him back in his arms and held him in a fiercely tight grip. “No, you didn’t kill anyone, nobyo. The monsters that hijacked your hovercraft killed them. I won’t have you blaming yourself. It was a terrible tragedy, and I promise you we’ll get to the bottom of it. In the meantime…” he motioned for one of his aides. “Notify Ambassador Spenkoss of Gatifrey. Offer any assistance you can to him. Anything he needs—and keep me informed.”
“Gatifrey? Isn’t that where that assassin you just arrested said he was from? The one who killed the Minister and the Justice? Oh God, was he trying to kill me? Me and Mikol?” He shut his eyes tightly and moaned. “I can’t get that little child’s face out of my head as he waved goodbye to us!”
Ryan buried his face in his hands again and felt Mikol slide closer to him. He’d been terribly, unusually quiet since this began, and Ryan was worried about him. “Are you all right, darling? I’m sorry I got so upset. We’re safe now and nothing can hurt you.”
“I’m not frightened, omak. I’m mad because the ‘sassins made you cry.” He turned his glittering gold-green eyes on Ryan, and he looked very much like his father in that moment. “My father will go after them, omak. He’ll get them, won’t you, Father?” He looked up for Mikos’s nod before he patted Ryan’s cheek. “Don’t you worry, omak. Father and I will take care of everything.”
Mikos took Ryan’s hand in his and kissed the top of Mikol’s head. “These fools came after the wrong ones, and when they did, they made a huge mistake. I’ll find the ones who did this, who tried to take you and my son from me. I’ll get them, no matter what. They’ll never have the chance to hurt any of my family, ever again, and I make you this promise... If I have to chase them to the ends of the galaxies, I’ll find out who’s doing this, and I will destroy them.”
Chapter Six
Rasc had revised his opinion of Prince Larz, especially after seeing how he conducted himself with such assurance in their interview. The prince looked