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“WE NEED TO FIND A WAY onto the Trad ship,” Mike announced.
We were standing together with the Athions, trying to figure out a way to get Camille back. Though our defeat by the Trads was important, everyone was more focused on her right now. This wasn’t like when the other women had been taken by the Trad ships and we had no way of getting them back. We knew exactly which ship had taken her and its location.
“But how?” Casey asked. “They’ll see us approaching and bring us down like last time.”
Mike pressed his lips together, thinking. “There must be a way we can disguise the ship. We can use shielding, like they’ve done previously.”
I studied the faces of my two colleagues, automatically drawn to blond, studious Casey. I’d never even looked at another guy that way before. Fuck. If you’d have told me a year ago that I’d have willingly sucked another guy’s dick, I’d have probably punched someone in the face for even suggesting it. Casey had always just been a co-worker before. It was Camille’s presence that seemed to spark something between us. I couldn’t even explain it properly. It just felt right when she was there, like she was a catalyst for the sudden surge of lust that had exploded between us. And it turned Camille on to see us together, too. We never did anything when she wasn’t around, and while I felt more protective over Casey than I did Mike, I didn’t think I treated him any differently on a friendship front.
Casey wasn’t the only one I felt protective of. I hated to think how close we were to losing Camille forever. What would happen to us all if she didn’t make it back? She was the glue that held us all together, and while I knew my relationship with Casey and Mike was solid, it wouldn’t be the same without her.
Irus nodded. “Yes, we can use shielding to hide us from the Trads, but we won’t be able to board the Trad ship while it’s up.”
I frowned at Irus. “How will we board the ship?”
“We have a device that can be worn that can transport a person from one ship to another,” Leif said. “If we can get close enough, we can get people on board. The shielding needs to be removed for that to happen, however, and when we remove the shielding, we’ll leave ourselves open for attack.”
“Then that’s what we do,” I said.
He regarded me seriously. “If our ship is taken down, whoever we beam on board won’t have anywhere to beam back to, and that will mean that neither will Camille.”
I straightened my shoulders. “I’m willing to take that risk.”
“Me, too,” Casey said.
“There’s no way I’m not going,” Mike added.
But Irus shook his head. “That’s not possible. Only one, or at the most two people can be transported onto the Trad ship.”
I frowned. “Surely the more of us who go on board, the better.”
“It takes a lot of power to move a being from one craft to another,” he said. “If we need the device to transport two people or more, and for us to carry one for Camille as well, we’re going to have to limit the numbers who can travel.”
“I want to help.”
We all turned at the female voice. It wasn’t one we heard often—especially not in these circumstances.
I frowned at the sight of Camille’s sister standing in the doorway behind us. “Molly? You can’t be involved in this.”
Her eyebrows lifted, her expression so similar to Camille’s it made my heart ache. “I can’t be involved in rescuing my own sister?”
“You’re a civilian. We can’t expect you to put yourself at risk.”
“She’d do it for me,” she said, placing her hands on her hips. “You know she would. She wouldn’t even hesitate.”
“Maybe not, but she wouldn’t want you to put yourself at risk either. What would happen to Elodie if you got hurt?”
“Elodie would still have all of you here to take care of her. Don’t make out like because you’re male that you’re incapable of taking care of a child.”
“No, that wasn’t what I was saying.”
“Really? ’Cause it sure sounded that way to me.”
“Jesus, you really sound like your sister at times.”
A smile spread across her face at that. “Good.”
Mike interrupted. “If we can only have two people transported onto the Trad ship, we need to be sensible about who goes. I think one of them needs to be an Athion, since they understand the technology to get us on and off the ship better than any of us humans, and I want to volunteer myself as the second person. It was partly my own pig-headedness that got her into this position, and I want to be the one to get her back home safely again.”
“I want to help, too,” Irus said. “I know the technology.”
“It’ll be dangerous,” Mike warned. “You’ll be risking your own life. The moment the Trads see us, there’s a good chance they’ll just kill us.”
The Athion’s jaw locked. “But if they don’t, and they’re not expecting us, we can take them by surprise. Even if it means we only manage to find Camille and let her know that we haven’t given up on her, it would be something.”
Mike studied Irus’s face. “You really care about her, don’t you?”
Irus met Mike’s eyes. “I’m in love with her. I’ll die for her, if that’s what it takes. I’d do so in a heartbeat.”
Something changed in Mike’s expression—a softening around his eyes—and his tone grew wistful. “I guess the more people Camille has who love her, the better, right?”
Irus nodded. “Right,” he said, looking between us. “So, when do we leave?”