Free Reagan Hawk by Space Pirates' Bounty [Strength in Numbers 2]

Chapter One
    In orbit off Planet Emperius Romanius (Emprom)
    Captain Raider of Terana snu stared at the viewing screen of his ship, the Gallant . Planet Emprom was in sight. A swirl of browns, tans, reds and blues, it was quite a vision to behold if one didn’t realize the atrocities that took place upon its surface. He’d been planet-side on Emprom more than once, and each time it had turned his stomach. There was a vast class separation. You were either rich or you were poor. You were either free born or a slave.
    Ever since his first visit to Emprom, he ’d been working on a plan to add to his wealth. He was an opportunist, and that didn’t always go hand in hand with his morals—despite how loose they tended to be.
    The only way he could get back at the universal system —a system under which he’d been born noble, yet suffered greatly at the hands of those wanting more power, more wealth—was to do what he did best. Steal. He didn’t keep all the bounty for himself—though more than enough to be comfortable. But he was generous with those in need. Those who were born with notes of ownership and debt over their heads before they’d barely drawn in breath. The universe was hardly fair, and while one man could not change the minds of everyone, he could change the minds of a few—enough to help make a difference in at least some people’s lives.
    They ’d land on Emprom within the hour and then their plan would begin.
    “ Captain, you sure you’re up for this?” Galwin asked. The man was a master of anything mechanical. He could fix the Gallant in deep space with two pieces of adhesive material and a prayer.
    Raider had seen it done before and still wasn’t sure how it was they’d made it to a safe port for repairs. By rights they should have been space dust. Whatever Galwin did had held, and that was merely one of the many fixes he’d done to the ship over the years he’d been part of its crew.
    Galwin ’s size often intimidated others. At just shy of seven feet, he was imposing. He and his twin brother Ewan, who were matched in every way except personality, often made Raider feel short. Since Raider stood six and a half feet tall, that was a feat indeed.
    Every bit capable and able to kill a man, Galwin didn ’t walk around with a chip on his shoulder. If anything, he seemed to go out of his way to mediate peace whenever possible. And though he didn’t like violence, he was capable of it when the need arose. Raider knew the man’s past and knew why he disliked having to resort to violence.
    He couldn ’t blame him. He offered a sideways smile at his friend. “Ever known me to miss out on a challenge?”
    Galwin laughed. “ No, sir.”
    Ewan entered the flight deck. His long, dark brown hair that he normally wore tied at the nape of his neck hung free today. His gaze, so dark it often appeared obsidian, flickered over Raider, lowered to his groin, and then back up again.
    Heat washed over Raider. He knew the thoughts running through his second–in-command’s head. Knew Ewan was thinking upon last night. The sexual tension that had ridden the air between them. It had been two weeks since they’d last shared a bed. Two weeks since they’d taken solace in one another’s bodies. Two weeks since they’d arrived at an understanding. The time had come for them to move forward with their lives, start families, take the next steps, yet Raider suspected neither was fully ready to do so. Ewan had a crazy notion they could do this together—that they’d find one woman who would want them both and who would want to be mother to both their children, living as one family unit—a union of three.
    Raider seriously doubted that would come to be.
    “Get in, get the gold, get out,” said Ewan as he neared Raider. “Emprom is backward, and staying too long will leave you nailed to a cross.”
    It was well known throughout the galaxies that Emprom had unique ways of dealing with their unwanted and unsavory