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Chapter 7

Hunter stayed hiddenas the Siblet ran around like headless horned pigs, trying to figure out how the explosion had happened. He grinned as they stumbled about, yelling at each other. It was all thanks to a little fire, a little explosive powder, and making sure everything went ka-boom.

And he’d never felt happier than when he’d seen the Siblet ship take off. He’d watched Cleo’s every step as she’d raced toward it, and his heart almost exploded when one of the Siblet fired at her. But the asshole was too slow to hit his woman. Cleo had gotten away without being injured. And she’d handled that ship like the professional she was.

Hunter felt like a jerk for doubting her, but every time Cleo put herself at risk, something painful twisted deep inside him. It was an overwhelming desire to protect that only happened when you found the right female. The female that was to be your forever.

The others talked about the same feeling, how this instinct kicked in double-hard when they realized how important their mate was to them.

And although Cleo denied it, she was his mate. Apexians protected their females. They were everything to them. And Cleo was his life. It would kill him if anything bad happened to her.

After waiting a few minutes to make sure the Siblet were well and truly bewildered as to what the hell was going on and where their ship was, he jogged back to his own ship.

Hunter powered up the engines, ensured the cloak was in place, and shot away, hot on Cleo’s heels.

He immediately picked up the Siblet ship signal and opened a channel. “Hey, fly girl. Nice work back there. Is everything good your end?”

Hunter waited a minute, but didn’t get a response.

“Cleo, it’s Hunter. I’m off the planet. Is there a problem with the animals?” Worry coiled tight in his stomach when she still didn’t reply.

He checked the comm link, but it was stable. She should be able to hear him. Maybe the Siblet ship had signal jamming tech on board. They’d come here under a cloak of secrecy, so wouldn’t have wanted their signals picked up.

Hunter opened a channel to the Apocalypse. “Eden, it’s Hunter. Have you heard from Cleo?”

“Cleo? She’s with you. Is there a problem?” Eden said.

“No problem, but we had a last-minute change of plan. Are you sure Cleo hasn’t made contact with you? She’s flying back on a Siblet ship.”

“She’s doing what?” Eden sounded shocked, then she laughed. “What have you two been up to?”

“You’ll have to blame the boss. It was her idea, but it was a great idea. We retrieved some gabblefoot the Siblet had on their ship. Cleo’s bringing them back to you. I figured she’d have been in touch. She wouldn’t want you blasting her out of the sky because she’s flying an enemy vessel.”

“I’ve not heard anything from her,” Eden said. “Let me check with the others. How far out are you?”

“Half an hour. Maybe the Siblet system is offline. I’m following her home, so I know she’s headed for you.”

“I’ll let you know if I hear from her,” Eden said. “It’s not like the boss to misbehave and go off mission. Are you being a bad influence, Hunter?”

“I try to be, but Cleo rarely breaks the rules.” Hunter ended the call, then linked back in with the Siblet vessel. “Cleo, get your butt in the cockpit and talk to me. Stop messing around with those animals.” Though he forced himself to sound jokey, he couldn’t ignore the growing curl of worry creeping up his spine.

Hunter shot forward in his seat as the Siblet vessel veered off course. “Cleo! Respond. What’s going on over there?”

The Siblet ship continued to veer back and forth. Cleo knew how to fly. He’d seen her flight experience, so she should have no problems handling the ship.

Fear punched him in the gut. What if she wasn’t alone? They’d waited to see if all the Siblet had gotten off, but didn’t know for sure how many were on that ship. What if they’d gotten it wrong?

Hunter gritted his teeth. They should never have deviated from the original plan. He should have disobeyed her order. But damn it, he’d wanted to make her happy. And Cleo wanted to save those gabblefoot, so he’d agreed to go along with the mission.

He hammered the engine to get closer to the Siblet ship. It continued to jerk back and forth, so it was hard to keep on a level course.

Hunter put the ship on autopilot, directing it back to the Apocalypse, then raced to the equipment room. He pulled on a spacesuit with a jet propelled backpack, opened the airlock, and lined himself up with the hatch on the Siblet ship.

He leaped into space and fired up the backpack, shooting toward the side of the Siblet ship.

The ship still jerked about. If it hit him, he’d die, but he had to get to Cleo.

He propelled himself forward, getting closer to the hatch. When he was almost within touching distance, he threw out magnetic clamps and attached them to the side of the ship.