“I’m calm. I’m cool. I’ve never been more clearheaded in my life.” Grif’s voice was a low, dangerous rasp. “I understand and respect the commander’s impulse to protect his mate and young, but he doesn’t have all the facts.”
“So, she wasn’t the one who took our females prisoner?” challenged the angry one, his tone thick with mockery. “Her kind isn’t currently planning to wipe us from the planet? The commander wants all threats put down yesterday. That includes your target.”
Grif remained unruffled. “Nayla is not a hostile. She’s a young female caught in a difficult situation. She’s as much a victim as the women she took.”
Nayla pressed her hands to her belly, silencing the protest in her throat. Victim. A word she recognized. Hearing it from Grif’s mouth made her stomach hurt, as if she’d eaten the wrong kind of lanta berries. Of course he thought her weak. She’d proven him right.
“You believe that bullshit?” The smack of hands suggested the angry male had thrown his together in exasperation. “You and I are interrogators. We’re supposed to rip aside their lies, not fall for them. And you’re the one they want to run the extraction mission? Makes no sense to me.”
Nayla’s finger pressed so hard into the rock, the pads of her fingers bled.
“What are you actually proposing, Grif?” The third speaker was far calmer. “Let’s say I go back to the commander with your intel and the news that you’ve taken responsibility for her. What then? You can’t keep her prisoner forever.”
“She won’t be.”
She bolted upright. What did he mean?
“Not a chance.” The younger male seemed to understand more than she did about Grif’s intent. “She’s not one of us.”
“Malin, I’m not going to tell you again. Quiet.” The third male sounded a little less calm than before. “The commander won’t want her at the settlement. Not now.”
“I prefer her with me, anyway.” Grif hadn’t even hesitated.
Her breathing hitched.
Another long pause. “Clearly, her time here has not been a pleasure cruise.” The third man spoke once more, the rattle of chains made her think he’d nudged her restraints with his boot. “Why would she agree to come with you?”
“Agree or not, she’s coming.” The steel in Grif’s voice was familiar, thick with the same hard command he’d used with her when he’d strapped her down. “I’ll take full responsibility for her and her actions.”
Her body responded immediately, the area between her thighs heating as the urge to please washed over her. She hated it, and wanted more.
“No one is going to like having a hostile in our midst during the mission, and what if you have to keep her confined?” barked the angry male. “That will cause even more tension. You saw how Lana reacted to even the sight of the manacles. The people we’ve rescued have been through enough.”
Unwanted again. Ostracized. She’d had enough of that to last a lifetime.
“How can you be assured she won’t be plotting revenge and escape at every turn?” questioned the third male.
“I will handle it,” growled Grif. “I will handle every fucking thing when it comes to Nayla.”
“The fate of prisoners is something we all decide.” The angry male’s voice had dropped to an even more menacing rumble.
“I’m not bringing her along as a prisoner. I’m bringing her as mine.”
Shocked silence.
It mirrored Nayla’s own.
“That’s, ah…” the calmer male recovered first. “Do you…love her?”
“Love?” Grif’s shout echoed through the cave. “Hells. You see everything through romance-covered glasses now that you’re with Jade. That’s nice for you, but this isn’t about love. It’s about responsibility. It’s about doing what is right. I did what I could to save Melody and Hope. The same goes for Lana and the other females we rescued. I will do the same here, too. Nayla is in a shit situation that is in part my making, and she needs help.”
“Ah, so you pity her,” said the younger one. “Except you also want to fuck her.”
“Malin, you are dangerously close to pissing me off,” growled Grif. “I’m going to ensure she’ll continue to cooperate with us, and, in exchange, I’ll help her integrate into settlement life. I’ll get her through. Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes. She’ll adapt eventually. I’m sure of it.”
“Really? What if Mr. Boy Scout can’t control everything?” Malin continued to taunt Grif. “What if she doesn’t prove as susceptible to your will or pretty-boy smile as the rest and you end up having to put her down anyway? It’s kinder to just do it now and not piss off the commander.”
“She will do as I say,” snarled Grif. “She needs approval. Praise. She’s been told she was worthless her whole life and is desperate to hear otherwise. I know exactly how to deal with her. Believe me, she will not be a problem.”
The roar in Nayla’s brain was so loud she almost didn’t catch Grif’s final words.
“I may have been her punisher. But I’m going to be her fucking savior, too.”
Nayla pushed back from the rocks, spun, and ran.
22
“Give me fifteen.” Grif did his best to sound agreeable, but the itch beneath his skin was growing. He wanted to get back to Nayla.
Malin had really pissed him off, and he’d mouthed off more than he’d meant to, revealing things about Nayla he hadn’t meant to say aloud.
It had worked though, convincing Ryker to agree to take his request to the commander. It left a bad taste in his mouth nevertheless.
Still, he’d done what he had to do. He’d make it up to her. From here on out, she’d be safe.
Once he got the missing females back and proved he was fit to be second-in-command, her position in the settlement would be even more secure.
It was all going to work out. He’d make sure of it.
“I need to explain the plan and find out what she knows about this ghost of ours. I also want to make sure she eats and drinks before we set out. Everyone else should do the same. We’ll want to move fast.”
Ryker and Malin exchanged a look.
Grif didn’t give a shit. They could think what they wanted, as long as they continued to agree to his plan.
“Okay, mother hen.” Malin clomped toward the exit. “I hope you at least let her chew the food herself. And, please, at least don’t hand her the ax she’s going to stick in your back.”
“Ignore him.” Ryker gave him a meaningful stare as the other male left. “But not me. As soon as you let me know about the ghost, I’ll head back to the settlement and report to the commander. The more help she offers, the less pissed he’ll be about his order being countermanded.”
“I’m on it.” Grif offered up his signature confident nod, but a bead of sweat slid down his spine. Nayla’s cooperation and a smooth extraction were more imperative than ever.
His second-in-command headed toward the exit, then paused. “You know, messy isn’t always the worst thing in the world. Sometimes buried in all the mess is exactly where people really find what they’ve been looking for.”