Caught by Menace (33 page)

through her hair and kissed her tenderly. She tilted her

head and studied him. “What is it?”

Her softly spoken words bolstered his courage. He

suspected that she expected him to go first in declaring

his love for her. After the way she’d been let down in her

past, he understood why. “Naya, I—”

The doorbel chime ruined the moment. Just as

insistent as earlier, someone tapped the keypad over and

over. Infuriated by the interruption, Menace exhaled

roughly. He gently roled Naya onto her back and kissed

her. “Hold that thought.”

She smiled and smacked his bare ass. “Holding.”

Laughing, he grabbed the pants he’d discarded so

quickly last night and hopped into them. With one final

look at Naya’s gorgeous, naked curves, Menace left

their bedroom. He strode to the door, tapped the Unlock

button on the keypad and yanked it open the second the

locks released. “What?”

Terror’s face greeted him. Menace instantly noticed

Terror’s face greeted him. Menace instantly noticed

the tightness to his friend’s expression. He’d known

Terror long enough to read him easier than most.

Something bad had happened.

Terror’s one-eyed gaze moved over Menace’s

sweaty, half-dressed form. “I hope you enjoyed that. It’s

probably going to be the last fuck you ever have with

her.”

Shock tore through Menace. Anger folowed quickly.

“How dare you—”

“Spare me.” Terror threw his arm out, hitting Menace

right in the throat and knocking him off balance. He

shoved his way inside and pushed Menace into the wal.

“Where the hel is she?”

Enraged by his friend’s treatment, Menace slammed

both hands into Terror’s chest and forced him against the

opposite wal. “What is wrong with you? You can’t

barge into my home and demand to see my wife.”

“Actualy I can.” Terror snapped his fingers and more

soldiers, al of them decked out in ful gear and carrying

weapons at the ready, poured into his halway. Menace

gaped at the sight of Raze and Venom. Both men looked

unhappy to be there.

unhappy to be there.

Raze stepped between them. He put up a hand to stop

Terror from advancing and glanced at Menace. “Let’s

give them five minutes to get dressed.”

“I’l supervise,” Venom offered. “We want them to

cooperate.”

Cooperate? Menace’s gut twisted with fear. What the

fuck was happening?

Terror exhaled roughly. “Fine. Five minutes, but if I

hear either of them talking, they’re both getting hoods.”

Cold with dread, Menace stared at Terror. This was

the version of his friend he’d hoped never to meet. This

version of Terror could make a person disappear. This

version of Terror was more dangerous than anything else

in the entire arsenal of the Harcos forces.

“Come on.” Venom grasped his upper arm and jerked

him forward. “Move, Menace.”

They entered the bedroom. Naya stood next to the

bed, eyes wide in panic, and gripped the top sheet to her

shield her body. He started to speak, but Venom’s grip

tightened.

Venom shook his head and addressed Naya.

“Ma’am, you have five minutes to shower and dress. If

“Ma’am, you have five minutes to shower and dress. If

you say one word, I’l be forced to separate the two of

you.”

Menace watched her expression morph from one of

pure fear to one of resignation. She hurried to the closet,

grabbed her clothing and rushed into the bathroom.

Menace folowed her lead. He shot Venom a glance as

the other man trailed him into the bathroom. He’d spent

enough time living in close quarters on the front lines to

have no issue going about his morning bathroom ritual

with another man watching. Naya was a different story.

She didn’t meet his eye as she jumped in and out of

the shower or when she toweled off and slipped into her

clothing. Her usual modesty and embarrassment fled.

Fear had activated those survival instincts that had kept

her alive and safe so long in Connor’s Run. He hoped

she could stay calm and cool while they dealt with

whatever the hel this was.

Rinsing off in the shower, Menace let his brain spit out

various scenarios. Each seemed more unlikely than the

first. Obviously something screwy was going on here. He

didn’t believe for one moment that Terror actualy

believed he was guilty of anything. They’d known each

other since they were children. Their bond and trust was

other since they were children. Their bond and trust was

much too deep for that.

But Naya…

Menace spotted her waiting near the door. Even with

that brave expression and her squared shoulders, she

was stil afraid. Lingering in the bathroom and near him

made her feel secure. His chest ached at the realization

she wouldn’t have him to lean on when they were taken

from their quarters.

As he dressed, he remembered her fear of Terror.

He’d written it off as the usual feminine fright. Had he

been wrong? Was Terror realy after Naya? Why? What

in the world could she possibly know that would make

him this upset?

Those answers would come soon enough. Venom

stepped between them, preventing Menace from even

touching Naya, and walked the two of them out of the

bathroom. Menace’s jaw dropped as he saw how

quickly Terror’s team of Shadow Force operatives had

tossed their quarters. The mess would take hours to

clean and they were stil dumping drawers. Terror

stabbed the mattress with the gnarly knife he carried and

ripped the protective covering. What he thought he

would find hidden in there, Menace could only guess.

would find hidden in there, Menace could only guess.

“Found it, sir!” A young operative Menace had never

met held up Naya’s red notebook. Triumphant, he

brought it to Terror who thumbed through the encoded

pages.

He glanced at Naya, narrowing his one eye, and then

slapped the book against the young man’s chest. “Get

this to Cipher.”

“Yes, sir.” The operative scurried from the room.

Standing near the doorway, Raze kept his weapon

lowered. He met Menace’s questioning gaze and gave

the tiniest, almost imperceptible shake of his head.

Whatever was going on here, neither Raze nor Venom

wanted any part of it. Menace suspected both men had

demanded they take part in Terror’s witch hunt to

safeguard him and Naya. At least with Raze and Venom

present there would be witnesses if this thing went even

further south.

Terror approached Naya. Menace stepped between

them, refusing to alow his friend to intimidate his wife.

Terror gave him a hard look. “I’m trying to protect you,

Menace, but if you make things difficult for me, al bets

are off.”

“Protect me? You just searched my home without a

warrant.”

“I don’t need one. When I want something done, I just

snap my fingers,” he snapped, “and al sorts of men rush

to get it done.”

For the first time in his life, Menace was afraid of

Terror. Not because Terror would hurt him. He wasn’t

afraid to face whatever pain the man had in store. No, he

was terrified for Naya and the possibility of her having to

deal with an unrestrained Terror.

“I want her cuffed.” Terror spoke to Venom. “Take

her down to central holding. Put her in an interrogation

room.” He eyed Menace. “If you make one fucking peep

about her being in cuffs or going into interrogation

without you, I wil have her sent to the
Arctis
for

questioning. Understood?”

“Loud and clear.” Menace set his jaw. On board the

Valiant
, Naya had Vicious’ protection. No matter what

Terror accused her of, Vicious would never alow Terror

to harm her or unleash Torment, his master interrogator.

As long as she stayed on the
Valiant
, Menace could be

reasonably assured of her safety. He hoped they would

give him enough time to find a lawyer and fight whatever

give him enough time to find a lawyer and fight whatever

charges they were bringing before Terror did anything

rash.

Venom removed his cuffs from his vest. As if getting

arrested were the most natural thing in the world, Naya

relaxed her shoulders and dropped her hands behind her

back. Venom affixed the metal cuffs and took hold of her

upper arm. “Move.”

Menace watched Venom lead her out of their

bedroom. At the doorway, she cast a lingering glance

over her shoulder. The tears glistening in her dark eyes

made him sick. He felt useless and impotent.

With a heavy sigh, Menace put his hands behind his

back. “Cuff me. Let’s get this over with.”

For the first time that morning, Terror showed genuine

regret. He looked pained and put a friendly hand on

Menace’s arm. “I’m sorry this is happening. You

deserved so much better.”

Puzzled by Terror’s remarks, Menace alowed Raze

to cuff and perp-walk him out of his destroyed home. In

a sign of friendship and respect, Terror made use of the

hidden access points and elevators to take him down to

the on-ship jail. Menace breathed easier at the

knowledge that none of his coleagues or neighbors had

knowledge that none of his coleagues or neighbors had

seen him in cuffs. It made the humiliation a little easier to

bear.

They took him to a room between interrogation cels.

Inside the dim room, Vicious waited with Torment and

Pierce, Terror’s Shadow Force cohorts. Stone-faced

and always cool, Torment showed only the barest hint of

recognition as Menace entered the room. Pierce, on the

other hand, had a bruised and battered face and a hand

and an arm wrapped in gauze. He’d been through the

wringer and very recently.

Vicious cursed loudly. “Terror, get him out of those

cuffs now.”

Terror stood his ground. “It’s procedure, Vee.

Menace is under arrest for aiding and abetting the

enemy.”

Menace’s stomach dropped as though it were a

runaway elevator. “
What?
”

Pierce gestured to his face. “The gun shipment that I

was on last night was attacked. We took heavy fire.

Eleven men were kiled and seventeen were wounded.

We barely made it to the escape pods. The Splinter ships

grabbed the cargo boxes from the debris field and fled.”

grabbed the cargo boxes from the debris field and fled.”

Terror stepped forward and tapped the frame of the

one-way mirror to activate it. Menace’s gut clenched at

the sight of Naya sitting alone in a cold interrogation cel.

Last night, he’d helped her live out a fantasy in a cel like

this one. Now she was living a nightmare. She kept her

gaze fixed forward and her features schooled. If she was

afraid, she wasn’t going to let anyone else know it.

But he recognized the subtle signs. As her husband,

he’d learned to read her like a book. Menace glanced at

Torment. With his infamous interrogation skils, that man

would have no problem recognizing her signs either. With

that knowledge, Torment could do terrible things.

“I know that Naya was in your office yesterday,”

Terror said. “I know that you talked to her about the

new weapons we’re acquiring. Later she was captured

on video entering an access closet. I believe she used the

access to the ship’s systems to upload and broadcast a

signal to her Splinter counterparts.”

Agog, Menace asked, “Do you have my office

bugged?” He slashed his hand through the air. “And

that’s not what happened. I took her into that closet. The

camera in my office doesn’t have a ful view of that side

of the room.”

of the room.”

Terror’s gaze grew suspicious. “Why?”

“Why do you think, Ter? It’s a dark closet without

security cameras.”

Pierce snorted with amusement. “I think you just

bought yourself a disciplinary action from your

commanding officer.”

Terror wasn’t going to let the honest explanation slide.

“If you were distracted by having pussy on the brain, it’s

no surprise that she managed to work you for intel.”

Menace took a step toward Terror. “You better

watch it. I may be cuffed but I can stil kick your ass.”

“She’s a mole, Menace!” Terror shouted in anger.

“Don’t be so fucking blind. She used you.”

Menace gawked at Terror. “That’s crazy. She’s no