Second, his ability to fake charming had taken a hit. Then he’d lost the skill to sleep. Then conversing and just generally passing for a human being had eluded him. Even Melody and Hope had stopped seeking him out whenever he returned to the settlement for more supplies.
Good news was he didn’t feel on edge now. The opposite, in fact. He was hyper focused. And disinterested in wasting any time that didn’t include his captive.
He was also looking forward to shoving his teammates’ worry up their asses.
“You can tell the commander I’m fine. The situation is almost in the bag.” He looked at Malin and winked, “and I’m suddenly feeling pretty damn good about my chances of a promotion.”
Malin’s lips flattened into a line. The others laughed. Hey, even his charm was coming back. How about that?
He flashed a smile. “Yes. It’s true. I captured the target. As expected, she does have knowledge of the missing females’ whereabouts.” He didn’t even pause to let that sink in. “I’m in the middle of extracting the location now. Best of all, I am coming to strongly suspect the majority are still alive.”
“What?” Ryker’s shout was the loudest, but all of them stared at him with new intensity.
Bomb dropped. Felt good. He’d been getting sick of the pitying looks.
“You heard me.” He twirled the ax handle in his hand.
Another long stretch of silence. Which wasn’t such a big thing for Quil or Zale. The two of them were always quiet, but for Ryker, Bain, and Malin it was downright weird.
Quil and Zale both had sort of a gentle giant vibe going, expect for the fact that Zale had dark, spiky hair he braided to match his beard and scars running the length of his cheek and Quil’s berserker genes came out the instant he lost his temper, which wasn’t often, thank the goddess.
On the other side of the spectrum, Ryker always had some smart-ass comment to make, Bain was a talker, and Malin was a brash know-it-all who just couldn’t shut up or get enough of his own muscles. If he wasn’t talking, he was weapon training.
It should have been great for Grif to rub his success in their faces. Instead, he felt like an asshole.
He shook off the feeling and forced a grin. “I told you motherfuckers not to doubt me.”
“No shit.” Malin finally looked something other than disdainful.
“Well done,” Zale offered a salute. Quil nodded, but it had more vigor than usual.
This was what it would be like all the time when he was second-in-command. More respect. More control. More chances to prove he had what it took to get the job done and save those who needed saving.
The weight on his chest lightened.
“You do seem different.” Bain studied him like he was a tarish insect on a pin. A little off-putting, but nothing new for their resident inventor and scientist. Frankly, Grif wasn’t sure how someone so cerebral had ended up in the trenches with a bunch of brutes who preferred to use their hands to solve their issues, but everybody had their reason.
“What I seem is busy,” he told his inquisitive teammates. “So, let me get back to it.”
“I’d like to help.” Knuckles cracking, Ryker came toward him. “Together, we can extract the rest of what the hostile knows even faster.”
“I’m in, too.” Malin fell in line right behind.
“No.” Grif’s arms were up and blocking the cave entrance before he’d even realized what he’d done. “No one is questioning her but me.”
Surprise flickered across Ryker’s face. Malin’s, too.
Hells, even Grif was astounded by the menace in his voice, and the swell of protectiveness behind it.
“What gives?” snapped Malin. “We often tag team. Breaks them even faster.”
“Not this time.”
Those same damn looks from before resurfaced on his teammates’ faces.
Grif thought fast. “I’m on a roll. I don’t need interference. She’s beginning to respond to me.”
“Respond?” Malin’s gaze narrowed. “Subject is a hostile with information about the missing females. That’s all that matters. We break her, we bury her, we bring them home.”
Grif saw red. Wasn’t too long ago he’d been thinking along the exact same lines. Except now, hearing the fucker say the words aloud, hearing him threaten to put down the same female whose ears twitched when she was upset, who cared what happened to a feathered fluffy monster, and who melted at his touch, there was no chance in hells of it going down like that.
“The situation is more complicated. In my opinion, what’s required at this juncture is more of a scalpel approach, not a hammer.” He shot Malin a pointed stare before turning back to the others and dropping the second bomb.
“The target acquired is a female and humanoid, but not exactly like us. She is part of a group of primitives I suspect predate the arrival of New Earthers dumped here by the Council. They call themselves a pack. We likely have the same ancestors, but evolved differently and now exhibit slight variations in physical characteristics. Our belief systems are different as well. They consider us interlopers and invaders, and they want us gone.”
“What in the hells?” This time Bain was the first to find his voice. “How could we not know about them?”
Grif shrugged. “We’ve been under ground most of the time. Plus, they’re a small group and it’s a big planet, but they are definitely aware of us.”
“Crazy.” Zale exchanged another look with Quil. Bain paced, a favorite past time when he was thinking, his bottles and concoctions jingling against each other as he moved.
“A different human species?” Ryker was still trying to process. “This damn planet just gets weirder and weirder.”
“Even better,” cut in Malin. “She’s not even a real female. Grill her, gut her, and get it done.”
Grif snarled at the fool. They didn’t get more real, or more female, than his captive.
He directed his report at Ryker. “I don’t think there are many of these pre-arrivals left, which means, numbers-wise, we’re not at a disadvantage. If she’s any indication, they’ve got golden skin, are smaller in stature, with sharper teeth, and most significantly, glowing spears that carry an electrical charge. I don’t think it’s enough of a jolt to kill our kind, but it does mess with the nervous system. It could even the playing field and make it harder to take them down. Still, there’s something about her…them,” he corrected. “There’s more to learn before we take them out.”
“You sound way too fascinated.” Malin’s hand hovered over his dagger handle. “I think it would be better if I handled it from here. I’m not trying to be disrespectful. I just know some guys have a hard time with female targets. That’s not a problem for me—and I understand what’s at stake. There are innocents waiting on us to bring them home.”
“I can get the job done.” Grif’s hold on his ax went tight.
“Malin, Grif, stand down.” Ryker’s command cracked through the air. “Grif acquired the target. He has already gotten valuable information. He’s more than earned the right to continue. If he proves unable to deliver, we know you’re willing and able.”