Read Online G'baena's Pirates by Rachel Clark - Free Book Online Page A

senses. A part of him wanted to shut it all out, the pain and reminder of his loss unbearable, but he’d been too long without her, too long without anyone he had a true emotional connection to, and he wouldn’t willingly deny his need.
    Kam barely registered someone entering his small cell until a deep voice said his name. He still had no idea what kind of ship they were on. Even though G’Bende-anrali and G’Beydeatrey, firstborn and only sons of the kings of G’trobia, were both here, they didn’t seem to be in charge. Kam could never remember seeing either of them take orders from anyone but their fathers, so couldn’t quite reconcile what he knew with what he’d seen.
    The cargo bay had been a surreal situation to say the least. He carefully licked at the split in his lip, hoping that the man who’d attacked him wouldn’t get another opportunity. The young man had been so angry, so righteous in his ire, that when he’d yelled to G’baena that she was no longer a slave, Kam had literally and figuratively taken a step back.
    He’d never considered G’trobian women to be less than equal, but he could see how an outsider, and perhaps ex-slave, would interpret it that way. G’trobian custom demanded that a woman kneel and lower her eyes, and Kam had never given a moment’s thought to how it would seem to an outsider.
    He knew that G’baena knelt before him as a sign of respect. Men were there to protect women, to cherish and provide for them, so respect was warranted. Except… He dropped his head lower as niggling doubts entered his mind. Despite what he and Ky had felt for G’baena, they hadn’t managed to protect her from her fathers’ wrath or from the slave market. Did she actually owe him any respect?
    “Oh, fuck,” he whispered quietly.
    “Kam,” the voice said again, startling him with how close the man had gotten while he’d been deep in thought. He looked up to see two G’trobian princes, dressed in everyday average clothes, looking at him expectantly.
    “My Lords,” he said formally and tried to bow even though he was seated. Shit, the kid had landed more than one good punch in his midsection, and he was hard-pressed to breathe.
    “Don’t. Here, on this ship, we are Ben and Trey, pirate crew. Nothing more,” Ben said quietly.
    “Pirate crew?” Was this situation going to get even more fucked up? Was that even possible? Goddess, maybe he’d hit his head harder than he’d thought. He reached up to touch the tender spot of the back of his head as he tried to focus long enough to understand what was happening.
    “Yes,” Trey said with a small laugh. “You and your ragtag crew attacked one of the most dangerous pirate ships in this galaxy. Fortunately for you, things have changed recently, and we no longer shove prisoners out the air lock.”
    “Pity,” Kam whispered before he could call it back. Ben gave him a sympathetic look and asked the question Kam had been dreading.
    “What happened to Ky?”
    “He died in a vehicle collision.” He couldn’t force more past his lips, the pain intensifying as he remembered the bewilderment as more and more questions arose in his mind over his brother’s death. Ky shouldn’t have been in that vehicle or on that particular road at all. No one knew why he was there or how he came to die in what seemed to be a suicide. One thing Kam knew for absolute certain was that Ky would never have left him behind intentionally. The official report may have said “suspected suicide”, but Kam knew it was wrong.
    Ben and Trey glanced at each other, obviously sensing his deep distress, and changed the subject.
    “Why did you attack the ship?”
    “Honestly, I think we were desperate. The leader was on the other vessel. Did you destroy it?”
    “No,” Ben said, sounding a little surprised that Kam would ask. Goddess, nothing made sense. What sort of pirate ship was this? Kam shook his head, trying to concentrate on what he actually knew, not all the