Hauk glared at the women who joined the first one as his anger mounted. He fought against the drug with everything he had, but in the end, he blacked out.

Hauk came to, cursing life and everyone in it. Most of all, he cursed the irritated smirk on Bastien’s face as he eyed him from where he lay on the ground beside him.

“Told you not to kick that door, didn’t I?”

Hauk ignored his taunt. Pain pounded through his body with such ferocity that he knew they must have beaten him while he’d been unconscious. More than that, the drugs played havoc with his system.

His stomach lurched. He tried to move, only to discover he was in the middle of their camp, on his belly and hogtied. Like Bastien. Someone had chained his hands to his feet behind his back.

Yeah, that didn’t help his temper in the least. Growling, he tried to break free.

Bastien rolled his eyes. “Calm down, Hauk. All you’re going to do is hurt yourself.”

He glared at Bastien. “If you want to see exactly how angry someone can get, tell them to calm down when they’re already pissed off!” Bellowing, he tried his best to break free.

“Is that helping? I just gotta know.”

“When I get loose, Cabarro, your ass is the first one I’m kicking.”

“Oh good. Hope you get out soon. Been awhile since I had a good ass-kicking.” Bastien made a kissy face at him.

“Says the man who’s so bruised, he looks like a two-year-old banana.”

“Now that’s just mean and hurtful.”

“Telise! He’s awake again.”

She moved forward and kicked Hauk in the face.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Bastien warned. “Don’t motivate the Andarion for murder. It ain’t going to work out well for any of us. ’Specially me, since mine’s the first ass he’s planning to come after.”

Hauk licked at the blood on his lips as he grimaced at the harita through his braids.

“Learned anything yet?” she asked him.

He spat the blood out of his mouth. “Other than those pants make your ass look fat?”

She kicked him hard in the ribs.

A blast of color shot within an inch of Telise’s face. “Touch him again and the next one goes right between your eyes.”

In spite of the pain, a slow smile spread across Hauk’s face at the sound of the most beautiful voice in the universe.

Sumi.

Telise reached for her blaster.

Sumi let fly a shot straight into her shoulder. “Hands up or lose your head.”

Telise glared at her. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

“Neither do you.” Sumi held her hand up to show the brand on her wrist. “Unless you’ve got another League assassin in your camp, I suggest you free them or I will bathe in the blood of every whore here.”