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he could. He imagined most of his men felt the same way.
Remy made his way back up to bridge just as the ship dipped. He
quickly grabbed onto the doorframe of the bridge. Tank, what the
hell are you doing?
Maneuvering through the asteroid belt.
What asteroid belt? As far as he knew, there wasn t an asteroid
belt between Tronos and Ryjhak.
That one! Tank s hands left the controls long enough to point to
the asteroid belt showing on the vid-screen.
Remy let go of the doorframe and shot across the bridge to look
down at the navigation system console over Crank s shoulder.
Where in the hell are we? he shouted as he scanned the system.
Nothing looked recognizable.
Somewhere beyond Trillian, Tank replied from behind him.
What? Remy spun around to stare at Tank. How in the hell did
we get past Trillian? We were headed for Ryjhak when I left the
bridge.
I told you it was going to be bumpy.
Remy looked back down at the screen then at Crank as the man hit
a series of buttons. Can you plot us a course back toward Ryjhak?
Not with our friendly neighborhood welcoming committee on
our tail.
Shit!
What s wrong?
Remy grimaced when he turned and saw the rest of the crew
standing right inside the doorway. He waved his hand toward the
different seats on the bridge. Man your stations, and you might want
to buckle up. I don t think we re through this yet.
Everyone gave him a strange look but quickly took their seats
around the room, mate with mate. Remy walked over to his seat and
sat down then gestured for Gigi to join him. He wrapped his arms
tightly around his mate s waist when Gigi climbed up onto his lap.
Adwaka s Blade 127
They are hot on our tail and gaining fast, Commander, Crank
called out.
Use the pulse cannons, Blade. Try and disable their ships if you
can. But try not to shoot them out of the sky. I d prefer not to rack up
any more charges than we already have if it can be avoided.
Remy heard the pulse cannons go off several times. He cringed
when the Lady Blue suddenly shuddered and Livewire swore. He
knew they had been hit. How bad is the damage, Livewire?
Shields are down to fifty percent, but she s holding together.
Livewire looked grim when he glanced over his shoulder. I m not
sure how much more of this she can take, Commander. Her skirts are
all in a ruffle.
Just do what you can to hold her together, Livewire. Remy
glanced around the room at the Lady Blue crew. Anyone got any
bright ideas?
Keep running! Tank shouted.
Screw disabling their ships, Blade shouted. They re out for
blood.
Commander, Crank said. The bridge became deathly silent at
the ominous tone in Crank s voice. All eyes turned to look at him,
even Tank and Blade. I think we have bigger problems than the ship
following us.
Remy didn t like the paleness of Crank s face. What is it,
Crank?
We re headed for a wormhole.
Wha Remy felt Gigi shudder even though the man didn t say
a word. The rest of the crew drew their mates closer. A wormhole?
Here? Is it on the charts?
No. Crank shook his head. I ve never heard of this one before,
and it s not on any of my navigational charts. I don t know where it
came from or where it goes.
Can we steer around it?
128 Lynn Hagen and Stormy Glenn
The Lady Blue suddenly shuddered, the metal hull groaning as if
under a great amount of stress.
I think it s too late for that, Commander. Crank swallowed hard
and met the eyes of everyone on the bridge. We re being pulled into
the net flux, and I can t shake us loose.
Try harder! Remy shouted as Tank and Zackary worked
frantically at the helm. Remy held tighter to Gigi as his heart sank
into his stomach. He had never seen a wormhole before but had heard
of them. They could end up anywhere in the universe, or the damn
thing could collapse on them as they were pulled through. Either
possibility was grim in Remy s opinion.
We re going in, Commander! Tank shouted as black matter
surrounded the Lady Blue.
Then gods help us all, Remy cursed.
* * * *
Tank fought to shake the tight grip the wormhole had on the ship.
His mate was sitting right next to him, and there wasn t a fucking
thing he could do to protect him. If the wormhole collapsed, they
were all dead.
Just stay close to me, Z.
His mate looked up at him, hopelessness shadowing his beautiful
diamond-blue eyes. Tank reached a hand out and cupped Zackary s
face. If we don t make it out of this alive, I m very proud to call you
my mate.
Ah, geez. Don t sound so gloomy. We ll make it out, Zackary
said with fear marring his musical voice. We have to. You haven t
met mom yet.
Tank smiled at his mate. Although his partner in crime hadn t
allowed Tank to claim him yet, Tank would never regret the time they
had together. I love you, Zackary.
Yeah, me too. Tears shown in Zackary s eyes.
Adwaka s Blade 129
Tank pulled his mate close as his hands left the controls. There
wasn t much they could do now but wait and see what was going to
happen. If they made it through alive, then they would take it from
there.
Tank held Zackary close as the Lady Blue was pulled into the
wormhole and tossed out the other end.
We made it. Tank exhaled as he hugged his mate tightly before
letting him go.
Yeah, Remy said from behind him, but where the fuck are
we?
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but
lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to
find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart.
You can find her on any given day curled up with her laptop and a
cup of hot java, letting the next set of characters tell their story.
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