take off.”
Pure fury crashed through Grif. “No one is touching her.”
“You may be in charge of the extraction,” snapped Malin, “but what happens to the hostile is not your call anymore, pretty boy. Commander already gave the order.”
What in the hells? Grif’s turned to Ryker.
His second opened his mouth.
“Ah, hi. Is this a private gathering?” A pretty, pale face framed by brown hair peeked out from behind Malin. Another thin, taller form with a thin scar down her cheek hovered right behind. “We’re here, too.”
“Hey, Lana, Cam.” Grif clamped down on his aggression. Lana and Cam were part of the group of slaves he’d help rescue from 223’s gang. Lana, the brunette, had been in a separate prison camp, while Cam had been with him, Tyson, the girls, and their mother.
His workspace was the last place they needed to be.
“These fools shouldn’t have dragged you in here.”
“Oh, they didn’t. We just wanted to say hi.” Lana’s accompanying blush told him she wasn’t over her hero worship yet. He’d been one of the first to rescue her and she’d locked on him, sort of like a security blanket. He didn’t take it personally. It happened. He’d been doing his best to be supportive, while subtly encouraging her to look elsewhere for a long-term protector. He wasn’t what she needed. Even less so, now.
Cam, on the other hand, usually avoided him like the plague. Even now, her dark eyes barely locked on his before slipping away. He understood. She’d been close with the girls’ mother, standing by her side the rotation Luna was dragged away behind Sharluff. Unlike the brunette with worship in her gaze, Cam knew exactly how little of a hero he truly was.
“They shouldn’t be here at all. They should be back at the settlement, safe.” Malin wrapped his arms tighter around his chest, biceps bulging.
“Good thing you’re not in charge.” Lana, showing more spunk than Grif had witnessed to date, glared at the other male. Cam, as usual, remained quiet.
According to Ryker, who’d known Lana before she was condemned to Dragath25, the brunette with unusual gray eyes had once been a mischievous, bold party girl. She was more somber now. Almost brittle. But she’d thrown herself into learning defense and healing techniques and was a mother hen to many of the other rescued slaves. Each rotation she appeared to come more and more out of her shell.
Cam stayed a bit more to herself, but was well liked. Her quiet presence was soothing to the other survivors who found it easy to talk with her about their trauma and their fears.
But none of that explained why the two of them were here now in this cave.
“I’m just so honored to be part of the group that’s going to bring the missing females home.” Fervent awe tinged Lana’s voice as she answered Grif’s unspoken question. She and Cam were two of the civilians along to help the missing females once they were rescued. “All thanks to you.”
Grif forced a smile. “We’ll do our best, but don’t get your hopes up too soon.” There was still a hells of a lot that could go wrong and he didn’t want Nayla paying the price because of raised expectations.
“You were able to get the information though, right?” There was no missing the hard edge that had crept into her tone. “Malin told us about how the creature took the missing females and how it refused to tell you where they were.”
“She’s not a creature, she’s humanoid. Just like you and me with a few superficial differences.”
“Oh, I…I hadn’t realized.” Some of the bloodthirstiness leached from her tone. Cam looked equally contrite.
“And Malin is incorrect,” he continued, “she has given us the location. Part of the reason she took the females in the first place was because she believed she was saving them from additional rapes and beatings by 223 and his men.”
“Right,” his teammate scoffed. “She tell you that before or after she tried to sell you a luxury dwelling with great sand views on Dragath25.”
“Shut up, Malin.” Ryker got there before he did. “Lana and Cam, I need you to do me a favor. Gather everyone outside so we can give them the latest news.”
His request went unacknowledged.
“Why do you have those? If she’s a human and all?” Lana stared at the manacles hammered into the wall. Her hand reached for Cam’s and held tight, both of their faces leaching to white. “D-did you use them on her?”
Grif wondered how they thought