back of Savage’s neck, and he used every ounce of his strength to jerk Savage forward while lifting and slamming his knee into his face.
Blood splattered the floor and both men’s uniforms. Savage roared in anger and drove his elbow into Terror’s stomach. With a grunt, he stumbled backward and forcefully shook off Torment’s hands as his friend tried to intervene. He rushed Savage, lowering his shoulder and hitting him right in the chest. Wrapping his arms around Savage’s waist, he drove the other man into the edge of the table, eliciting a pained yowl from Savage as his hip cracked the corner.
Savage retaliated by gripping Terror’s belt and the waist of his pants. He roared like a beast as he hefted Terror off the floor and slammed him onto the table. The impact of the metal against his back knocked the air out of his lungs, and he wheezed while fighting to escape Savage’s hold. Savage took advantage and tried to get his hands around Terror’s neck. He kicked out and swung his legs, knocking Savage off balance.
Savage’s giant hand grazed Terror’s mouth, and he bit down on the first finger he could reach. Savage snarled in pain, and Terror spit blood onto the other man’s uniform. Savage punched Terror right in the gut, and Terror gasped for air for the second time in less than a minute. He slapped at Savage’s face, trying to get hold of an ear for leverage, but Savage evaded him.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Orion’s booming voice echoed in the interrogation room, but Terror didn’t let up on Savage. He shoved hard and watched with a triumphant and malicious grin as Savage hit the floor, ass first, and bounced roughly.
Savage wasn’t ready to give up either. He snatched Terror’s boot and yanked him off the table. He tumbled onto the floor, and Savage leapt on top of him. They wrestled furiously, grappling and slapping and clawing. Neither man was willing to concede or surrender.
“Terror!” Orion shouted. “Stop! Now!”
Even with all the bad blood between the admiral and himself, Terror did as commanded. He rolled away from Savage and tried to catch his breath.
“Stand at attention. Both of you!” Orion commanded.
Terror got to his feet more gracefully than Savage. He wiped his bloody knuckles on his shirt, smearing Savage’s blood across the fabric, and turned to face the admiral. Looming in the doorway, Orion scowled at every single man in the room. He didn’t suffer fools, and Terror waited for the lecture that was about to come.
“Of all the fucking problems I need today, this childish behavior,” he gestured around the room, “isn’t one of them.” With a shake of his head, he said, “I swear every time there’s trouble on this ship you Shadow Force assholes are right in the center of it.”
“Sir,” Keen stepped forward, “I can explain—”
Orion held up his hand. “I don’t want to hear it. You take Savage to the med bay and get that nose handled.” Grimacing at the fountain of blood erupting from Savage’s face, he added, “And put something over that! I won’t have a trail of blood across my ship.”
Keen nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Orion stepped aside to clear the doorway so the two men could leave. Terror caught Savage’s murderous gaze and smirked. He was done playing nice with the man who had usurped his position and who seemed to be doing everything he could to keep Terror from returning to the field. Orion must have noticed the smirk because he narrowed his eyes at Terror in warning.
As soon as Keen and Savage were gone, Orion crossed the room, careful to sidestep the blood splatter, and stopped when he reached Maisie. Terror tensed and curled his fists at his sides. Like a predator about to pounce, he watched the interaction very carefully. There was no denying the flare of possessive jealousy that burned right through him at the sight of Orion showing Maisie kindness. He wanted to knock Orion on his ass and steal Maisie away from him.
The admiral crouched down in front of her and used his chip to override the locks on her cuffs. Carefully, Orion removed them from her wrists. Holding her hands, he studied them and seemed to grow more irritated with every single bruise, scrape and broken nail he uncovered. He gently placed her hands on her lap and then unlocked the ankle cuffs.
When he felt the wet laces on her boots, Orion growled and started to quickly