Chapter 1

Mal was able to ignore the commotion and keep his head on the job up until he heard Genny scream. He’d been facing off with a buyer, Kent Walker, on vid and was no closer to a profitable solution than he’d been twenty minutes prior. Sky had stood just out of view, making faces at him, while Jayne snickered against the back of his hand. Simon and River had been rapidly surfing the cortext for intel related to the plague the buyer was going on about, when suddenly River went rigid and pitched forward. Although concerned, River tipping over was not unusual enough to be distracting. It was when Simon opened the cockpit door to carry River to the Infirmary that they heard Genny scream, and time stood still.

A quick look dismissed Jayne to help deal with things outside, and Genny’s screaming elevated to panicked shrieks.

“Daddy! Daddy help!” she cried and was soon joined by her brother, calling for Simon, Kaylee, or any grown-up within earshot. Mal heard Genny and Jamie … why weren’t his boys hollering too? Walker couldn’t be boarding them. He wasn’t that brazen. He was all money and no muscle.

Mal was having a hard time keeping his head in the job, but he knew his crew could handle the situation. As soon as Simon made it downstairs, the screaming died down. He heard the door to his quarters slide open and Inara’s footsteps as she dashed toward the scene. When he heard her involuntary, panicked yelp, his chest tightened.

Inhaling sharply, he stepped back from the vid screen and motioned Sky to take over.

“Don’t hand me off to a second,” Walker warned.

“Ain’t my second,” Mal said matter-of-factly, forcing calm into his voice. “Sky’s third.”

“Thanks for that,” Sky said sardonically.

“Finish this deal.”

*~*

As soon as he’d closed the bridge door behind him, Mal ran. He ran, heart-pounding, mind spinning, and when he got to the top of the catwalk overlooking the cargo bay, he nearly fell over the railing.

His boys, his precious little ones, lay on the ground, one on top of the