Larsson glanced over at Kyle. “Get ready. When that hatch opens, I’m betting Tarr and Taz will be coming through and things will start to happen fast. ”
Kyle nodded, his heart racing. The hatch door flew open then and Taz was the first one through, his eyes never leaving Kyle. He looked like a pirate himself, big and dangerous as he rushed toward him and swept him up in his arms. “Don’t fight me, boy. You’re coming with me!”
Tarr had been right behind him, followed by at least three other Tygerians, their huge bulk filling up the deck area. Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle saw Tarr and Larsson grappling together. He’d already disarmed Larsson and was picking him up to throw him over his shoulder when the door to the command deck opened and the other four Balanescus, along with five of their men, came surging into the room. Taz pulled Kyle behind his back and turned to face the men coming toward him. He was swarmed by three of them and went down hard, kicking and biting.
Tarr didn’t fare much better. He’d almost made it back out the hatch door with Larsson when Lucas pulled him around and swung at him. He dodged mostly out of the way, only catching part of the blow and then, as they backed him up toward the door, he threw Larsson at them and ducked behind the door, slamming and locking it behind him. By the time the Lycans picked themselves up off the floor, Tarr had made it back to his ship, along with two of his men. They managed to quickly disengage and take off before the Lycans could stop them. But Taz and the other Tygerian were putting up a vicious fight.
Afraid he’d be injured, Kyle reached for the tranquilizer gun in his console and shot a single dart into Taz’s hip. It still took almost five minutes before he collapsed under the weight of his attackers. Kyle quickly knelt down beside him and checked his pulse. He found it steady, if a little fast. He nodded at Lucas, who was standing by staring down at them, still trying to catch his breath.
“He’s good. Help me take him down to my quarters. ” He got an arm around his waist and Lucas helped him pick Taz up from the other side, but it took three of them to get him down to Kyle’s room. They left them alone and Kyle quickly stripped his clothes off and secured his wrists and ankles to the chains already in place. He stood back up and stared down at his mate. He could only imagine how furious he’d be when he woke up.
He’d only given him a very light dose of the tranquilizer and he was already waking up, moaning and trying to pull his arms down from above his head. Kyle sat down on the side of the bed next to him and waited for him to wake up. He didn’t have long to wait.
Taz’s eyes flew open all at once. One second he was out and the next second he was staring up at Kyle, his eyes wild and fierce.
He pulled frenziedly at the cuffs and chains holding him in place and snarled up at Kyle. “What is this shit? Let me out of it!”
“No, I don’t think I will. ”
“Kyle! Don’t do this!” Taz had made his voice firm and deep, but his eyes were a little panicked, and his voice cracked a little. Kyle wanted to soothe him, so he sat closer to his side and ran his hands over his chest.
“Shhh…calm down, baby. You’re all right. No one’s going to hurt you. ”
Despite his attempts to calm him, Taz’s eyes op
ened wider and he began to struggle so hard, Kyle was afraid he’d do himself an injury. He climbed up on top of him and stretched out, holding him down until he exhausted himself.
“Stop it, Taz,” Kyle said when Taz finally stopped struggling for a moment to catch his breath. “I said no one will hurt you. ”
Taz snorted. “I’m not afraid of you hurting me,” he yelled, “I’m not afraid of any damn Lycan!”
Breathing hard, his gaze wide and golden, he glared directly into Kyle’s eyes. “I’ll kill myself before I let you do this to me,” Taz growled dramatically.
Kyle raised his eyebrows. “Really? And just how do you think you’ll do that when you’re cuffed and chained?”
He pulled wildly at the cuffs. “You can’t keep me chained forever. ”
“Yes, I think I could,” Kyle said, rubbing his hand soothingly over his sides. “But I won’t. I only have you tied down so I can get some answers. ”
“Answers? What are you talking about?”
“You knew why I left, but then you didn’t want me to come back. I want to know why. ”
“I told you not to go!”
“Because you didn’t think it would work. But it did. You got Tarr back safely, and you would have gotten me back if you hadn’t been such an ass. ”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s over between us. ”
“Then why are you here?”
Taz got a surprised look on his face, and he turned his face to the wall. “I…uh…”
“You’re here to get me, right?”
“No. ”
“I believe when you came in the door to the comm deck you said, ‘Don’t fight me, boy. You’re coming with me. ’ Isn’t that right?”