Page 86 of Tempting Jupiter
“I can help,” the hacker chipped in.
Feeona blinked her eyes several times. “Great. With two of us we should be able to use the ship’s sensors and intercoms to help our strikers as we go.” She managed a smile with those words. Jupiter swelled with pride at his mate’s spirit. “Sen,” she said. “You’ll have to go after Andre’s men and the explosives. You know where—”
“Mercury is faster.”
Mercury nodded. “I’ll go. What else must be done?” He showed no hesitation in relying on Seneca and a human. He led from a place of caring for his pack not from a need to control or reign supreme over them.
“I’m interfering with the bridge crew’s actions,” said Fee. “As well as I can, but we need someone up there to stop the pilots from engaging the skipdrive.”
Sen met Mercury’s gaze. “I’m familiar with piloting controls.”
“Excellent,” said Mercury. “You and Carn go to the pilot station then.”
Jupiter could see that Mercury was about to assign him a task. “I’ll stay with my mate and the human to make sure they are safe while they work. You can see this work leaves her vulnerable.”
Mercury nodded and turned his attention to Creek. “Freeing the slaves is no longer a priority. We can do so after the ship is secure.”
The Dreat chattered wildly.
Creek calmly met Mercury’s waiting eyes. “The slaves could still be a help in securing the ship.”
Their pack leader addressed the aliens. “You seem to understand us well enough.”
They chattered with nodding heads.
“Good. And Creek seems to understand you,” said Mercury. “Free the slaves and restrain the crew. We don’t want them dead unless they resist. Some may be useful in running the ship after we take it. Can you handle that?”
Again, the aliens nodded in unison.
“Understood,” said Creek.
Jupiter scooped Feeona up in his arms.
Mercury clamped a hand on Seneca’s shoulder. “Can you lead the way to the security station?”
“Yes,” Sen answered.
Creek yipped and the Dreat focused all their eye stalks in his direction. “Slave hold is in the opposite direction.”
“Wait here then until she clears a path for you. Make sure someone stays here to keep an eye on our new prisoners and the fallen guards. Not all are dead.”
“Got it,” said Creek.
“Okay,” said Mercury. “Let’s move.”
Feeona snuggled her face into Jupiter’s neck as he began to walk. “Feels like old times.” Her words whispered against his skin. She felt right in his arms.
“Humph.” Jupiter’s chest shook softly with a suppressed chuckle. “It is a good thing I never got around to killing you.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
TheAbundance
EarthAllianceBetaSector
2210.190
Jupiter’s words were a small thing, but they melted Feeona’s heart. Maybe when they went their own ways, he would remember her with affection. She would remember him with a love so deep it would never let her go. His watchful presence was a comfort as she worked with his pack to secure the ship. Even if she suspected he wasn’t just there to keep her safe but to make sure she didn’t try to steal the ship out from under them. She couldn’t blame him. If she thought she could control the enormous ship singlehandedly, she would have considered it.
