Hauk saw one of the others coming up behind Sumi. He opened his mouth to warn her, but before a single sound could come out, she spun and shot the woman, then caught another one he hadn’t seen at all.

And her blaster wasn’t set to stun.

Sumi now had both weapons drawn as she surveyed the women. “Anyone else want to die today?” she called out to them. “Please! I’m so in the mood for it.” She turned back to Telise. “What about you, bitch?”

Glaring at her, Telise reached into her pocket. Instead of keys, she drew a dagger and moved for Hauk.

She was dead before she took more than a step.

When one of them started running for cover, an explosion rocked the camp and drove the woman to the ground.

Sumi tsked. “I have charges set all over this place. Enough to blow us all to the outer atmosphere. Don’t push me, people. Now who wants to be my friend and free my male for me?”

Pheara came forward with the keys. She kept her hands out so that Sumi wouldn’t mistake her intentions. “We weren’t going to hurt him.”

Sumi stalked forward. “Then why’s he bleeding?”

She swallowed hard. “Telise did that. We… we had nothing to do with it. Just take him and go.” She freed Dancer, then Bastien, and stepped back.

Hauk pushed himself to his feet and retrieved Telise’s blaster from her body.

Sumi’s gaze skimmed him from head to toe. “You okay, baby?”

He shot two of the women with a stun blast. “Better now.”

“Bastien?”

He wiped at the blood on his wrists. “All good. At least until Hauk keeps his promise to beat my ass.”

Sumi turned back to Pheara. “Where are our weapons?”

Pheara gestured toward Telise’s tent. “In there.”

“I’ll get them,” Bastien offered.

Moving so that her back was against Dancer’s, Sumi kept her gaze on the women until Bastien came back and belted his holster around his hips.

He tossed Hauk’s weapons to him.

“Before we leave, I want to do something.” Hauk went to Pheara and jerked the keys from her hand. “Is this the biofeed bypass?”

“Yeah.”

He met Sumi’s curious gaze. “Round the women up and follow me.”

“You heard him. Haritas on parade. Let’s go.” Sumi and Bastien followed him to a cage where two men were being held.

Dancer opened the door and released them before he made the six remaining women file inside it. He locked the door and tossed the keys to one of the men. “Happy birthday.”

And with that, he draped his arm over Sumi’s shoulders so that she could lead him while Bastien pulled up their rear.

“Where are the kids?” Hauk asked.

“Armed to their teeth and hiding with Illyse.”