Blue solace complete ser.., p.115
Blue Solace: Complete Series Boxset, page 115
“His smuggling headquarters?” Diana looked shocked. “Of course I haven’t.”
“Good, then we can look it over together and point out all the decorating mistakes he probably made.” Finn eyed his mate. “Did you even decorate it or is it a stereotypical bachelor pad?”
Crow snorted. “You’re criticizing me? You have aerial silks hanging in your quarters.”
Dermot and Jenise’s eyes grew wide.
“Do you now?” Jenise asked.
Finn flushed. “I do, but now I’m thinking I should take them down and throw them away.”
Crow shook his head. “No, no, no.”
Diana chuckled. “Get out of my room and let me shower and dress. I’ll pack my own bag. Finn, don’t forget to take that hissy monster with you.”
Finn scooped Roxy up and cooed to her. “Pretty girl, they’re just mean.”
A few hours later, Finn and Diana walked around the spacious villa. “Damn, handsome. This place is nice.”
Diana nodded. “It’s a bit bare, but you live here alone, so it’s to be expected.” She looked a lot better after showering. Finn had the feeling she hadn’t left the house since her husband died. She looked overwhelmed as she gazed out the window.
“The soil isn’t too good.” Crow looked unsure, and Finn thought it was adorable. “A few years from now, it might be. There are several acres, and there’s a lake on the southwest portion.”
“Boss?” Parker came through the door. His eyes widened, and he grinned when he saw Diana. “Mrs. Crow, it’s nice to see you out and about.” His gaze found Finn and Roxy, and he blanched. “You brought it back? Joelle swore vengeance on the hiss beast.”
Roxy purred and rubbed her head under Finn’s chin. “My baby girl isn’t a hiss beast. How many rooms does this place have, babe?”
The villa really was nice, if a little bare. The archways were rounded and windows were everywhere, letting in the bright sunshine. Finn opened a door near the back of the first floor and poked his head in, looking around.
Crow shrugged. “Ten bedrooms. I think. Everything’s spread out.”
“You think?” Diana arched a brow. “Well, you have plenty of space for kids.”
Finn backed out, returning to the front room. “Kids? Shit, Aiden, I didn’t think about –”
“I’m on birth control,” Crow muttered, covering his face with his hands. “Fuck, this is embarrassing.”
Diana snickered. “Birth control isn’t a sure thing, especially with hybrids.”
“Mother!”
Finn started giggling and couldn’t make himself stop. Crow sounded so scandalized.
Crow glared at him, then tugged him into his arms. “Laugh now, but what will you do if I end up pregnant?”
“If it’s a boy, we should name him Perick.” The words were out of Finn’s mouth before he could stop them.
Diana made a pained sound, eyes tearing up.
Finn rushed to her side. “I’m so sorry, Diana.”
She covered her mouth and shook her head. “No. I would like that. Perick would have liked that.” She wiped her eyes and grabbed his hand. “Let’s explore this place, okay?”
Finn nodded, then tugged Diana over to the room he’d peeked in. “This is my office now.”
“That’s the library.” Crow wrapped an arm around his waist.
Finn tucked himself in against Crow’s side. “My office now.”
They took their time exploring the house, and Finn knew when he found the right room. It was on the first floor and near the kitchen. The windows looked out over an empty backyard.
He exchanged looks with Diana, and she nodded. “This is my room now.”
“Mom?” Crow looked dumbstruck. “Really?”
“I can’t live alone in the house in town. Perick is everywhere there, and I can’t empty my head of him.” She walked into the large room. “Dermot and Jenise will make a home there, and I’ll make mine here.” She looked at Crow. “If you don’t mind having me here, Aiden.”
Crow shook his head. “No. I’m happy to have you here, Mom.”
Parker whistled. “Anytime you cook, can you set another place at the table?”
Diana rolled her eyes. “You’re always welcome, Parker. Tell everyone they’re all welcome at my table.” She looked over the empty room. “I need some things. Parker, can you take me to town?”
Parker crooked his arm and held it toward her. “Yes, ma’am.”
Finn and Crow watched them leave. Finn leaned against his mate and soaked in the quiet of the house. “My house at Charybdis Station isn’t this big, but it has three bedrooms. It’s right next to my best friend’s home.”
Crow tugged him into his arms and cupped his face. “We’ll figure something out, Finn. Now that I have you, I don’t want to let you go.”
Chapter 10
Crow cupped Finn’s ass and held him still as he pushed deep inside his mate. Finn was braced on his elbows with his ass in the air while Crow took him from behind.
Crow spit hair out of his mouth when Finn’s tail whacked him in the face again. He wanted to laugh, but Finn’s ass felt so damn good around his dick. The groans and curses coming from Finn made him move faster.
“So close.” Finn panted and pushed his hips back with each thrust. “Aiden!”
Crow let go and came hard, filling Finn’s ass. Finn spasmed beneath him and gave a long, drawn-out moan as he came against the sheets.
Crow fell to the bed and rolled Finn away from the wet spot. He held Finn tightly as their breathing evened out.
“I think it gets better each time.” Crow gently pulled out of Finn’s ass and rolled his mate around to face him. “Can you stay tonight? I like having you in my bed.”
Finn kissed his shoulder and snuggled closer. “Yeah. Ignali knows where to reach me. Right now, we’re just waiting on information anyway.”
Over the past week, Crow noticed Finn spent more and more time at the villa. A few of his things made their way into Crow’s bedroom, including one of the long, aerial silks. Unfortunately, he hadn’t managed to see Finn use it yet.
Despite the small changes, Finn’s base was still the Blue Albatross, and Crow knew that couldn’t be helped. His mate had a lot of Vextonians still to find.
Halli had made quite a bit of progress of her own and more were being turned over every day. Finn had also sent Wyther and his crew to Dramacus to meet with Crow’s friend Duncan. They hadn’t reached the planet yet, but they were close.
“Mom will probably make breakfast.” Crow slowly stroked his hands up and down Finn’s bare back.
“Will she have time?” Finn asked, laughing against Crow’s shoulder.
Crow’s mom had spent the last week immersing herself in Crow’s smuggling business. It was a little embarrassing how quickly she was picking everything up. Most of his contacts officially liked her better than him.
“Maybe not. She’s arranging to move some of the items we bought last week.” Crow yawned.
Finn smoothed a hand over Crow’s short hair. “Get some sleep, babe. I’m right here with you.”
Crow gave him a drowsy smile and let himself fall asleep, content to have Finn near him.
When he woke up the next morning, Finn’s side of the bed was empty. Crow scowled and rubbed sleep from his eyes before rolling out of bed.
He quickly worked through his morning routine, then dressed and headed to Finn’s office. The library now had a large desk and several vid-screens that took up about half the room. The other half had books, a sofa, and several chairs.
Finn lay on the sofa, eyes concentrated on his tablet. Roxy stretched out atop him, and the glimmer glared at Crow as he approached. This is not how I envisioned this going, hiss beast.
Finn looked up, eyes brightening when he saw Crow. “Jada just left. The last city has been taken, and Rueal is officially on clean-up duty. They’re going to arrange a presidential election in a few months when more of the previously deported arrive back home. The aristocratic families are throwing a fit because they’ve opened the elections up to any citizen of Rueal.”
Crow grunted and fell into one of the chairs. “Why didn’t you wake me? How did she get the senate to agree to that?”
Finn blew him a kiss. “I wore you out last night, and you needed the rest. She was just here for a moment. She said she’d come back this evening. As for the senate, what is left of it anyway, they’re all kissing her ass in the hope she’ll support one of them for president. Jada is kind of a folk hero now.”
Finn’s tablet buzzed, and he frowned, looking back to it. He was silent as he read whatever was on the screen, but his body grew tense.
Crow leaned forward, bracing his arms on his knees. “What’s happening?”
“Moyra found the Vextonians that were sold to the factories. They’re all concentrated in one factory. Guess who owns it?”
Crow shrugged. “It could be any one of the aristocratic families. Several have business interests there.”
“What family has been a pain in the ass for Pagent’s Distillery?” Finn asked, eyes narrowed in anger.
Crow sat up quickly. “Jevio.”
“Moyra has eyes on Philip Jevio as we speak.” Finn slowly sat up. “His three factories and his personal estate are putting over five hundred thousand of the missing Vextonians to work. Moyra says the security is pretty lax, probably because you and Jada have taken out their resources here on Rueal. He’s sitting pretty in a lavish estate while the Vextonians continue production for his businesses.”
Crow’s attention focused on one name. “Philip Jevio.”
Finn nodded. “I’ll gather my fleet and see if Leslie wants to join in. Moyra and her crew will do as much damage from within as possible.”
“I want in.” Crow forced himself to relax his shoulders and neck. “I’ll leave my crew here and tell them to keep Mom busy, but I want in.”
Finn moved to sit in his lap. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ll go in together.”
Crow watched as they approached Prism, their ship drawing closer. The moon was completely surrounded with an artificial atmosphere maintained by the aristocratic families that owned it. Within the atmosphere, hundreds of large factories and several pockets of overcrowded housing covered the surface. Here and there an estate would take up several acres, but from space, the moon looked like a dirty, industrial park.
They couldn’t attack from the air because of the atmospheric shield and for the fear of harming the Vextonians below. Luckily, one of Moyra’s crew, a man named Noe, had already taken one of the defensive posts and was able to let them through the shield.
“Where are we landing?” Crow asked. There were too many ships to go unnoticed for long, even if they were shielded from view.
Finn patted his knee. “We’re splitting into four groups. Althea, Weber, and Ronnie will lead the attacks against the three factories. You and I are focusing on the estate. Moyra’s people are spread out and ready to offer aid as they can. Each of our targets are full of innocent people, so we have to be careful.”
The woman sitting in front of them turned around, and Crow grinned. “Leslie. Funny meeting you here.”
The Green Lieutenant smiled widely. “Like I would let Finn have all the fun. I’m looking forward to finishing off the Jevio family. I’ve seen the damage they’ve done to Rueal.”
Finn squeezed his hand and gave him a long look before turning back to Leslie. “We have too.”
Finn tapped the strip of metal on his face, and Rufus appeared above them. “Moyra said the estate has the heaviest security. She’s already sabotaged the shuttles and ships, so Jevio can’t escape. She also made contact with some of the slaves. They’re going to try to keep people out of the way once the attack begins.”
Crow tried to relax in his seat as Finn addressed the soldiers and went through the expected security and their plans. Crow knew he should pay attention, but his focus was on one thing only – finding Philip Jevio and putting a hole in his head.
Leslie kept her eyes on Finn at the front of the shuttle but leaned back and tapped his knee. “What crawled up your ass, Crow? That scowl could scare away Princess Buttercup.”
Crow’s brow furrowed. “Princess Buttercup?”
“Not important.” She waved his comment away. “What’s wrong?”
Parker leaned over the seat from the back. “Boss? Is something wrong?”
“Nothing.” His voice was clipped and guilt flared. “It’s not important.”
Brisco patted his shoulder from behind him. “I’m not convinced.”
Finn finished talking, then made his way back to his seat. “I hate when they send my image to multiple ships when I’m talking. I’m always afraid one of my captains has my projection pulled up on a soldier’s ass or something.”
Leslie snickered. “That only happened once.”
“I hate Moyra.” Finn shook his head. “Leslie, I need to ask you a favor.”
“Sure, whatcha need?”
“I have to lead this attack.” Finn sighed. “It’s my job, and I have to be there.”
Leslie looked confused. “Okay?”
Finn gripped Crow’s hand. “I need you to get Aiden to Jevio and watch his back. My mate deserves to be the one to put that bastard out of our misery.”
Crow shook his head. “No. You’re my mate, and I’ll stay with you.”
Finn cupped his cheek. “The man killed your dad, Aiden. You have no idea how much I want to be there for you when you face him. This is the next best thing.”
He started to protest again, but Leslie leaned back and smacked his shoulder. “I’ll get your man to the dickhead, Finn. Don’t worry.”
“We’re with him too.” Parker patted Finn’s shoulder. “We’ll keep an eye on the boss.”
Finn pulled Crow’s hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on his gloved knuckles. “Be careful and keep me updated. Aiden, I love you. I know it’s fast, but I can’t help it.”
Leslie’s eyes grew wide, and a grin spread across her face. Parker and Brisco grinned and sat back in their seats.
Crow ignored them and swallowed the lump of nerves stuck in his throat. “Damn it, Finn. Don’t die, okay? I can’t lose you now, and I still haven’t gotten to see you do your aerial silk dance.”
“Say what now?” Leslie was leaning into their space again.
“Aerial silk dance?” Brisco’s head was back over the seat.
“What do you wear during this dance?” Parker asked.
Crow growled, and Brisco and Parker sat back again. Leslie ignored him.
Finn rolled his eyes and shoved the woman away. “Aiden, if you make it out of this without getting injured, I’ll dance for you.”
Crow gave him a smug look. “Now that’s motivation to be careful.”
Soon, the ship landed in a large clearing on the well-maintained estate grounds. Soldiers activated their shields, filed out of the ship, and headed toward the estate. Everyone knew their mission by this point.
Finn leaned up and kissed him. “If you die, I’ll have Death bring me your soul to torture, okay?”
Crow gave him a puzzled look. “What?”
Leslie snickered and grabbed his hand. “Come on, lover boy. Activate your shield and, let’s go kill Jevio.”
Finn disappeared from sight and worry filled him. Maybe this isn’t a good idea.
“Crow.” Leslie smacked his side. “Come on.”
He followed orders and kept a hold of her as they left the ship, making a beeline for the large estate. He felt Parker and Brisco’s hands on his back.
The patrols went fast, unable to see the invading forces before it was too late. One moment, they were walking the perimeter, and the next, they were dead on the ground.
Crow knew groups were going to the guard towers to take out the pulse cannons and other defensives, but Crow and the others went straight through the front doors.
By the time they had searched the first floor, guards and slaves were rushing around, very aware of the attack.
“What the hell am I paying you for? They’re already on the grounds!” The angry voice was very familiar to Crow. He’d scoured the media for every picture and videoclip he could find of Philip Jevio. “Get me to the fucking shuttle.”
Crow darted up the stairs, following the loud voice. He felt Leslie’s hand on his back as she ran with him.
Philip Jevio was still buttoning his pants as he left one of the rooms on the second floor. He was surrounded by security guards. “Bring the boy too. I’m not finished with his ass yet.”
Two of the guards went back into the room, and Crow could hear sobbing.
He didn’t think too hard, just stood at the top of the stairs and raised his phaser. One shot to the head and Philip Jevio was dead. The idiot hadn’t even thought to shield himself during an attack.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Crow stared at Philip’s dead eyes, and the security guards did the same.
Then, someone moved forward, vibroblade cutting through the guards’ shields. They killed three before Crow was able to shake off his paralysis. He fired again, focusing on one guard close to him, shooting him until his shield failed and Crow could fire the killing shot.
More came running, and Crow started to worry.
“Aww, someone already killed the bastard.” Crow grinned when he heard Moyra’s voice.
He put his phasers up and drew a short blade. He was better with a phaser but didn’t want to take the chance of hitting one of the Charybdis Station soldiers. The large group of guards blocking the hallway made the fighting close, so Crow and the others deactivated their shields for visibility.
After that, the fight went fast. He jumped in, cutting into one of the guards and spinning the man around.
Moyra grabbed the wounded soldier. “Thanks, Crow.” She shoved a frag grenade down the man’s pants and pushed him toward the other guards.
Crow hid his face, trying not to vomit when body parts went everywhere.
“Damn it, Moyra.” Leslie cut down another guard. “I think I have someone’s guts in my hair.”
