“Maybe cyborgs have bars.”

Danica laughed. “Right. Sure. Chips on or off, I can’t see them hanging out, getting drunk and stumbling out onto a dance floor in hopes of grinding against a girl well enough to get them laid.”

Eve grew thoughtful. “Probably not. You have a point.”

* * * * *

Blackie glared at Fleet, their bodies inches apart. “You knew about canine units,” he accused.

Gene’s hand gripped his upper arm but he refused to back away from the current commander of the shuttle. “Calm,” his friend urged.

“I won’t.” Blackie jerked out of his hold and came into physical contact with Fleet due to the swift motion. He regretted it was only an accidental bump. His hands clenched into fists as he barely refrained from using them to batter the other male and purposely cause harm. “That’s why you cut communications when I stated what they were and refused to respond until we boarded the shuttle.”

“I ordered you to take both women to cargo hold two. I was just informed that you took one of them to crew quarters.”

“My quarters,” Blackie clarified.

Fleet took a step back and lifted his chin, his mouth firming into a tense line. “State your reason for disobeying a direct command.”

Blackie battled the urge to punch Fleet in the mouth. He had a lot to say but tried to get a handle on his anger first. He decided he wanted answers before bloodshed. It also didn’t pass his notice that the male had ignored his accusation and had brought up his disobedience instead.

Fleet shot a suspicious look at Gene before assessing Blackie the same way. “You’re both not contracted into a family unit. Is this an attempt to create one with an unclaimed woman? Any request for a contract will be denied. You and Gene will immediately escort that woman to cargo hold two when you return to your shared quarters.”

“They aren’t mine anymore,” Gene muttered. “I highly recommend that you reevaluate the situation and proceed with caution. Your current rank holds no authority at the moment.”

“What does that mean?” Fleet demanded.

“Answer my question,” Blackie snapped. “You knew about canine units on Earth, didn’t you?”

Fleet fisted his hands. “Insubordination will not be tolerated. What is wrong with you? Do you need a medic to check you out? You’re acting irrational and out of character. Were you injured on the freighter? Exposed to high levels of radiation? Did your suit fail to shield you properly? Were your implants damaged?”

Blackie fisted the male’s uniform and shoved, refusing to let go until he pinned him against the wall. “Nothing is wrong with my implants. Answer me!”

“Release me.”

“Stand down,” Gene ordered.

Blackie glanced back and saw Gene pull his weapon and point it at two other males whose intent was to come to their commander’s aid. They froze, their expressions stunned.

“Proceed, Blackie,” Gene urged. “I’ve got you covered.”

Blackie whipped his head around and lifted the commander until his feet left the floor. “Did you know about the canine units?”

Fleet’s gaze slid from his to dart around the room. He lowered his voice when he spoke. “I won’t discuss it here.”

In front of witnesses, Blackie surmised. “Answer me.”

“Your assault will not prompt me to share classified information.”

It infuriated Blackie when he noted the signs that the cyborg had implemented a shutdown of his emotions by engaging the chips implanted inside his brain. Fleet’s pupils shrank to pinhole-size dots and his muscles relaxed despite the tense situation. Even his voice changed slightly into a more robotic pattern. He guessed he had also activated the one that muted pain receptors. No verbal or physical stimulus would provide Blackie’s desired response.

“The woman stays in my quarters. She is under my protection. Am I clear?” He dropped the male and stepped back. “Gene will guard the second woman. Any attempt to take or harm them will be met with deadly force.”

“You are being illogical. Report to the medic.”

Blackie wanted to hit him so much it took every ounce of control to resist. It would only damage his hand. He debated whether it was worth it, deemed it wasn’t. He wanted the other male to feel it when they fought.

“I refuse to take orders from you. Have you contacted Garden?”

“Yes. We are in transit there now.”

“Good.” Blackie spun and stormed out of the room. Gene followed.

“Have you lost your mind?”

He kept walking. “I’m going to get the women. I expect trouble.”

“You think they’ll attempt to do something to stop the women from reaching Garden?”

“It’s possible.”

“I don’t like this.”

Blackie came to an abrupt halt and glanced back. Gene stopped too as they studied each other. “Can I count on you to protect the second woman or are you conflicted? I need your absolute candor.”

“My job is to follow orders from the council and higher-ranking officials. I am offended by what we’ve learned though. There was no honor in leaving allies to die, especially women. I won’t allow anything to happen to Danica. I’m as conflicted as it gets but not on that subject. I’ll safeguard her.”

Blackie trusted him. “Are you prepared to face off against other cyborgs if they are ordered to remove her from the Bridden before it reaches Garden?”

The male flexed his fingers. “You think Fleet will attempt to transfer them to another ship?”

“Or worse. The council members involved won’t want the proof of their deception testifying against them to our population.”

Gene paled. “Agreed. I’m running possible scenarios now.”

“As am I. Fleet wants them secured inside cargo hold two. It will be difficult to defend without modifications.”

“I’ll take care of it now. One of us should be with them at all times.”

“I’ve had the medic guarding them since we went into that meeting.”

“You trust Varion?”

“He hates me but he’s protective of women to what I once considered a flawed extent. It wouldn’t be the first time he refuses to take orders from the council when the safety of one is in peril.”

“I’ll perform every security measure to secure the cargo hold and protect the women.”

“I know you will. Be careful.”

“You too.”

They parted. Blackie increased his pace. He didn’t like Eve being anywhere without him. He didn’t want to alarm her so he masked his features and tried to suppress his anger. He turned a corner and confronted Varion at the end of the corridor.

The male pointed to the door. “They are inside. No one attempted to enter.”

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t guard them for you.”

“I still appreciate it.”

“I’ll still kill you if hurt one of those women.”

“I would allow you to.”

The medic frowned.

“I’m going inside. Could you make sure Danica returns to the cargo hold without interference from anyone?”

“Of course,” the male agreed. “Contact me if you need more assistance. I can’t tolerate the harming of women.”

The door opened and Blackie stepped inside. The sight of him wearing the tight black uniform took Eve’s breath away. He looked so good that she wanted to strip him out of it and make love. His gaze sought hers.

“The meeting ended.”

“How did it go? Do they want to toss us out an airlock?”

“Danica!” Eve shot her a warning glare. “My mate isn’t our enemy. Cyborgs aren’t either.”

“You even made the distinction.” Danica pushed away from the table as her attention centered on Blackie. “I guess you want to take her back to your quarters while I return to the cargo hold. I’ll trust you because you’re her mate but I’ll keep my guard up around the others. Should I sleep with a weapon? Am I in danger?”

“No.” Blackie’s voice deepened. “You’re safe with us.”

Danica didn’t look convinced. “Just protect her if shit hits the fan, cyborg. I don’t really expect you to watch out for my ass but she’s your mate. I just hope that means you’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

“You aren’t in any danger on the Bridden.” He paused. “Gene is trustworthy and won’t allow anything to happen to you.”

“What about this planet of cyborgs? We were left behind to die once. Is Freedom still alive?”

Eve stood too, watching her mate. She wanted to know the answer as well.

“Yes. He’s one of the council members.”

“Council members,” Danica repeated. “What kind of governing system do cyborgs have?”

“A dozen of them run our society.”

“And Freedom is one of them?” Danica snorted, shooting a meaningful look at Eve. “We’re screwed. I say we go with my plan.” She fled the room before Eve could recover, stepping out to meet Varion in the corridor.

Blackie approached. “I won’t allow any harm to come to you or your sister.” His hands gently clasped her hips. “Do you trust me?”

“I do.” He was her mate and having ultimate faith in him was part of the package. It was how she was created to be. At that moment it was a frightening concept since they were very different. He might not understand how deeply ingrained that mate bond was. “What will happen when we reach your home world if Freedom did purposely lie and betray the canine units? If that knowledge comes out, will it pose a threat to him, and in turn, will he want us dead?”

“I won’t deceive you. Cyborgs highly regard honor. There was none if he left your littermates to die after securing a pact in exchange for your help. It will cause conflict amongst our population. He will make a lot of enemies and it’s probable he’ll be removed from his position.”

“Why would anyone even care about what happened to us?”

“You saved a lot of lives, mine included. You helped us escape Earth. It will matter. You will be considered kindred to cyborgs and sympathy for your plight will be felt. There is also the matter of your entire line being female. The men will come to the same conclusion I have when I learned of your existence.”

“What was that?”

“Men vastly outnumber our women.” His fingers stroked her pants. “It would have changed the development of our society if we’d integrated your line with ours.”

“Want to drop the cyborg speak and just tell it to me straight?”

“Problems arose after humans tried to sexually assault our women when cyborgs were first introduced. They fought back, resulting in high casualty rates amongst those humans. The women were destroyed when altercations occurred.” He paused, anger deepening his voice. “The humans murdered them for defending themselves against sexual abuse. Earth Government stopped the production of females and only produced males thereafter. That’s why there were so few of them left alive. We made it a priority to protect them and make certain they escaped with us.” He paused. “That’s how it became law that female cyborgs enter into a contract with multiple males to form a family unit.”

Eve was horrified, despite having been told that fact before. She hadn’t been able to stand men touching her, knowing she longed to be with Blackie, despite his absence in her life. To be ordered to marry more than one man would not only damage her heart but tear her soul apart now that they were bonded.

“Integrating your women with our men would have changed the way things are now.”