Iskander shrugged. “So long as he goes with me to the grave, I can die with that.”
Florian gasped at his words. “No. No, you can’t! Neither of you can die.” He turned to Ember. “Mom! Stop them!”
How she wished. Sadly, she’d never been able to stop either of them from being stupid.
Bastien opened his mouth to reassure him, but before he could, an alarm sounded. He grimaced at Ember.
Suddenly, there was a voice over an intercom. “League ships are sighted and heading in. Battle stations!” Then it switched over to an air raid siren.
Confused, Bastien watched as members of the Dread Reckoning came out of the hallways at a dead run to prep their ships for a scramble. “I’m not tagged anymore. How are they…” His voice trailed off as a sick feeling went through him. “Anyone have a scanner?”
“For what?” Tasi asked.
“The ship. I think it could be tagged.”
Ember arched her brow. “What are you thinking?”
“Nykyrian mentioned that he thought they might have a spy in The Sentella who’s working with The League. I’m wondering if they tagged the ship.”
“Yeah, it is.” Iskander showed him the readings on his link. “It’s hotter than a dwarf star.”
“Oh, it gets worse.” Tasi pulled her link out of her ear and turned it to speaker.
They heard The League commander addressing Tasi’s mother, who was the leader of the DR.
“While we don’t condone the Dread Reckoning, we are willing to overlook your unsanctioned, criminal base of operations. But only if you hand over the felon we’re after.”
“And who is that?”
“Bastien Cabarro. Return him to us and we’ll leave peacefully. Protect him or allow him to get away and we’ll level your base and leave no survivors.”
CHAPTER 12
Bastien cursed at the confirmation of a spy. “There you go. As far as The League knows, I’m dead and buried. My file showed termination two years ago. Only people who knew I was still around were in The Sentella.”
Minus the guard he’d told when they rescued Kalea Hauk. But that had been weeks ago. Had the guard filed a report outing him, The Sentella would have picked it up and warned him to run. No one got past Syn Wade’s alerts or bypassed them.
No one. He was the best tech in the Nine Worlds.
Not to mention, The Sentella had their own crew of spies who would have instantly relayed that intel.
This definitely came from the suspected spy Nykyrian had warned him about.
And with the thought of his hidden enemy, his old familiar battle calm came over him. There was one way to stop this and protect what he loved.
“Where’s a comm link?” he asked them.
Ember went cold at that tone of voice she knew a little too well. Bastien had a battle plan. And while his plans were always innovative, they were usually highly risky, and often explosive.
If not downright stupid.
“What are you thinking, Cabarro?”
That old charming grin that had melted her heart more than once split his face. “Not sure I want to disclose it at this time, Major.”
Yeah, stupid for the win.
Her stomach knotted to a sickening level at the thought of what he might do. “Don’t even.”
But Tasi, who had no idea what level of carelessness Bastien was capable of, handed her link over to him.
Ember cursed her silently.
Bastien turned to Badger. “Load my fighter with enough explosives to detonate whatever they have. Tonde!”
Her jaw dropping, Ember arched a brow at that last order, which was the Kirovarian military term for tel-ass.
“Bastien…”
And still the irritating beast ignored her as he activated the link. “Put me on with The League MCO.”
She gaped even wider as he demanded to speak to the mission’s commanding officer. Was he out of his Kirovarian mind? This cannot be good. Bastien and commanding officers didn’t mix. And she said that as one of his former commanding officers.
A bad feeling went through her. And Rian must have felt it too, because he came to stand beside her so that he could whisper, “What’s he doing, Ma?”
“No idea. Now you see why I tell you not to act like your father?”
Rian ignored her.
Just like Bastien.
When the MCO picked up, Bastien didn’t flinch or show any emotion whatsoever. “Hello, Dumbass … back your troops off this station. I’m coming out and turning myself in. But only if you withdraw.”
“No!” she gasped before she could stop herself. Surely he wasn’t planning to commit suicide.
But to protect them, he might. Bastien had a fanatical need to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. And with a son to protect, his suicidal level would be ratcheted up even more.