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“Could be. The bastard’s a good trainer, in any case.”
Halmiko’s wasted muscles and a fresh crop of bruises attested to that. Dramok Tumsa had put them through the wringer on his first day, much to the head coach’s vocal approval.
He wondered how hard it was to be the younger sibling of a superstar hurler. And how much harder to be the brother of that fallen star. Maybe that was why Tumsa was such a cutthroat on the training field. He’d been relentless until Halmiko wanted to pull his handsome head off. Such brutality was a quality he held in high esteem when he wasn’t in so much pain.
“Does he have a Nobek?” He cut off Edran in mid-snore.
“Huh?”
“Dramok Tumsa.”
“Oh. I don’t think he’s old enough to clan. Zakla’s what, twenty-six? A few years older, I think—”
“I’m twenty. Yes, I’m young, but I promise I know my shit. Besides you’re only a couple years older.” Dramok Tumsa walked into the recovery area off the locker room, his expression amused. “I heard my name, so I came to find out if it was being used or abused.”
“I called you an asshole twenty times over. One for every year you’ve disgraced this existence. I may never walk again,” Halmiko shot, trying not to be obvious as he scoped out the trim body in its tank top andverysnug shorts. The jury was out on which side of the asshole-great trainer divide Tumsa fell on, but at least he was fun to look at.
Edran chuffed a laugh and went back to sleep.
Tumsa’s grin was easy and confident. “Aw, come on, Nobek Halmiko. The star defender for the Conquerors, son of hurlerNobek Jiryk, can’t be crying over a pussy-ass workout. I’m devastated to learn the truth.”
“Crying? You’re brave when I’m locked in a massage chair, brat.” Something abruptly occurred to Halmiko, halting his flirting. “You’ve heard of Jiryk?”
“Are you kidding? He should have been pulled into the majors instead of left on that farm team his whole career. He was amazing.” Tumsa grimaced a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry he passed. It must have been a tough loss for you.”
“It was.” Halmiko still played to make his father proud, more so after his sudden accidental death five years prior. He eyed this Dramok who was becoming more interesting by the second. “You’re either a huge kurble fan to have known about him, or you’re trying to impress me for nefarious reasons.”
Tumsa laughed, the expression enhancing sharp but handsome features. “I’m actually that big an enthusiast. My family never misses a game in our home territory, and we’ve always traveled to attend the playoffs and championship games.”
“They must be thrilled to have a pro in the group.”
“Oh, you can’t imagine. After Zakla signed with the Zibgers, every anniversary of that was treated like an imperial holiday.” Some of his cheer dimmed as he spoke. Either he stung from being the lesser celebrated child, or he was thinking about his brother’s recent troubles.
“It’s exciting to have him on board with us. As for you…” Halmiko narrowed his eyes. “…we’ll see.”
“Oh, you’ll hate me. You’ll live in that massage chair when I’m not making your life a living hell. You’ll probably murder me before it’s over with.” His eyes twinkled.
“What about dinner first? Maybe I can convince you to go easy on me.”
“Bad idea. I’m worse to those I’m close to. Ask Zakla.” Tumsa’s grin was damned near stretching from one ear to the other.
“Is that a yes?”
“That’s a not-yet.” He left Halmiko with a cheery, “Get some rest before tomorrow’s session. You’ll need it.”
Halmiko chuckled. The parts of him not aching looked forward to it.
* * * *
Present day
Bernadette inwardly groaned. As if Hal’s frozen stare wasn’t bad enough, Tumsa had caught sight of his Nobek. If Hal looked overcome, the Dramok appeared downright shaken to the core. She wondered if Tumsa was on the verge of bolting.
“Stay here,” she told Hal. Bringing him had been a bad idea after all.
She hurried to speak to Tumsa before he could run off. If he noticed her approach, he gave no sign. His gaze remained locked with the Nobek’s.
“Dramok Tumsa. I’m Captain Bernadette Miller of the cargo transportRogue. Your Nobek is part of my crew, and I asked him to assist my search for you. You don’t have to speak to him if you don’t wish.”
