“I do not understand, Traeger.” Hix winced when he heard the voice of Granger this time. Did these warriors not see how unbalanced the man in front of them had become? Did they not understand that arguing with a madman was a bad idea?
“There is nothing that you need to understand.” Traeger’s voice was ripe with malice as he spoke. “Kell discovered that one of his possessions has been stolen from the ship. Hix was the last one seen with it and I am going to get it back.”
“What did he steal?” Granger asked. “Skrammon Hix does not seem the type to be a thief.”
“None of your concern,” Traeger snapped. “He has made a grave mistake and once Kell has the item back, Hix will be punished for his misdeeds.”
Hix watched Traeger pace back and forth from behind a small shuttle. He waited for an opportunity when Traeger’s back was turned to run. The other warrior was too frantic to have a predictable pace and turned around at every instance that Hix was prepared to make the dash.
“Did you hear me, Hix?” Traeger yelled. The veins on his forehead and neck bulged with fury. “You will be punished!”
“Sir?” Chander called from within the shuttle cockpit. “I just received a message from Prime Kell instructing us to return immediately.”
“What? Why?”
“The relay indicated a Phaeton security shuttle has been reported approaching one of the neighboring planets in the Pleasure Sector. Prime Kell wants us to avoid a confrontation at all costs. He has instructed that we are to return with retrieved shuttle part even if we do not have Hix on board.”
Hix held his breath and wondered if Traeger would listen to a direct command or allow his anger to rule him. Part of him knew that if his old friend wanted to start a fight, and he would be more than ready to finish it. The other half of him knew that staying to fight left Maggie vulnerable as her hiding place would eventually be discovered before long.
“Fine!” Traeger kicked the red dirt under the soles of his boots, and the cloud of dust resulting from the childish behavior wafted into his face. Coughing and waving his hands in the air, he yelled, “I will be back for you, Hix. I will be back for you and I will destroy what you have taken!”
Hix stayed completely still as the shuttle ramp retracted and the doors closed behind them. It wasn’t until Chander had piloted the shuttle up and away that Hix unfolded himself from his hiding place. With the heavy beat of his heart, he jogged toward the market and constantly scanned the crowd around him.
It wasn’t long before he found himself back in the alley where he had tucked Maggie away. Hix pulled out his own blaster, keeping it close to his side as he knocked on the heavy wooden door.
“Hix?” came a whisper from the other side.
“Yes. Open the door,” he answered and scanned the alley behind him as he waited for the door to open.
Hix could hear the lock slide over just before the knob turned and the door creaked open.
“Maggie?” Hix whispered. His eyes adjusted to the darkness inside within a matter of moments.
“Oh my god! What happened to you?” Maggie cried out as her eyes narrowed on the blackened side of his shirt. “You’ve been burned!”
“No, not a burn,” Hix replied, pulling her close in a hug.
“Well then what is this?” Maggie asked as her fingers worked over the area where he had been wounded. When she probed the area gently, Hix was happy to only feel a mild discomfort.
“Traeger surprised me and got off a lucky shot.”
“You’ve been shot?!”
Hix couldn’t hide his smile at her concern. “It was absorbed by the armor. There is no need to worry.”
Maggie hugged him with surprising strength. “What happened?” she asked without letting go, her words muffled against the leather over his chest as she clung to him.
Their difference in size was never more apparent as he looked down at the top of her head where she had wrapped herself around his torso. Wanting to look upon her face for this discussion, Hix reached low and grabbed her by the hips. “Up you go.”
Maggie let out a small squeal as he lifted her. Her legs automatically wrapped around his waist as he placed them at eye level. “What the hell?”
“I wanted to look into your eyes without kneeling on the floor.” Hix shrugged as if that was the only reason when, in reality, there were dozens more.
“Oh, well okay then.” Hix watched as Maggie bit her lip, which made him want to take a bite as well. “What happened out there to get you shot?”
Hix cradled her bottom in his large palms and could barely resist the urge to squeeze the globes he had not yet had a chance to admire enough. “Everything was fine until Granger and I made it back to the ship.”
“Go on.” Maggie relaxed in his grasp while looping her arms around his neck to settle more securely against him.
“Granger had just handed Chander the root he had purchased when the shuttle received a wave from Verge Prime.”
“Oh no,” Maggie whispered.
“Yes,” Hix nodded grimly. “Kell realized you were missing and put the pieces together.”
“And Traeger?”
“Traeger had his blaster pointed and fired before the entire message was even received. He must have had his own suspicions from the very beginning.” Hix dropped his eyes to the area where he had been struck. “Granger and Chander were confused. They both know that Traeger and I had been paired since our days in the training houses. Their confusion worked to my advantage, though, freezing them in place as they tried to figure out what was happening. After Traeger shot, I managed to kick the empty cart into his legs hard enough to throw him off balance. I was out of breath, but I managed to run between some other shuttles in the landing field and hide.”
“Dear lord,” Maggie whispered, burying her face in his neck and hugging him tight. “We need to get going then, right? Are they sending more to hunt us down?”
Hix shook his head, “No, they reported back to Verge Prime.”
Maggie’s mouth fell open. “They just gave up?”
Hix didn’t want to squash the hope in her voice, but he knew honesty between mates was necessary.
“No, they will be back.” Hix lowered her to the floor carefully, and instantly regretted letting her go. “They received word that a Phaeton shuttle had been spotted approaching one of the smaller planets in this sector. Chander was ordered to lift off immediately to avoid confrontation. They will be back…I am just unsure when.”
“Wait, did he leave the shuttle while you were gone?” Maggie asked.
“Yes, but I do not know where he went,” Hix answered. “The information managed to successfully download just before Traeger fired at me but I had no choice…”
“What do you mean?”
“The Verge would have been able to track us through the com-tab. I could not take that chance so I destroyed it before leaving the landing field.”
“Does that mean you weren’t able to find out where the crates holding the women were at?”
It was a question Hix had hoped Maggie wouldn’t ask immediately, not wanting to give her the answer he had. He turned away to face the door and balled his hands into fists at the frustration coursing through his system.
“Hix?”
“That is correct. Since I did not have time to transfer the information I do not know where they are being stored…or even if they are still here, for that matter. There is a chance he went to the storage fields but I have no way of being sure.”
“Fuck that guy!” Maggie ground out. Her face went red as she began to pace back and forth in the small room.
“Here, take this and put it on.” Hix pulled out a long cloak, shaking it loose where it had been wadded up in the pack he was carrying. “We need find a way to get off this planet and to the Phaetons.”
“I’m not leaving this planet without those women,” Maggie argued as she pointed a finger in his direction.
“Maggie, I know that you want to sav
e them b—”
“You can stop right there. I just don’t want to save them. I will save them,” she vowed, her voice ringing with truth. “I looked through those files, Hix.”
“And?” he asked anxiously, hoping she could figure out the puzzle. “Did you find out how so many are ending up in biocrates on Verge Prime?”
“Fuck yeah I did.” Maggie snorted angrily.
“And?”
“First, you have to promise me that we’re going to try to look for them.” Maggie tapped her foot against the dirt floor.
Hix pressed his lips together to hide the smile that threatened to escape at the adorable picture she presented. He had a feeling that Maggie was full of fire and seeing it burn bright in front of him was a sight to behold. It didn’t matter how beautiful she was in her anger though. There was no way he planned on placing her in any more danger than necessary.
“Maggie, I want to help them too, but my first priority is you. There is no situation where I will willingly put the life of my mate in jeopardy.” Hix ignored the confused look on her face at the mention of her as his mate. There was no time for the lengthy explanation that would entail. “The longer we stay here, on this planet, the more danger will come our way.”
“Well, you can just forget about taking me with you then because I’m telling you right now there is absolutely no fucking chance I’m leaving those women to be sold to traffickers.” Maggie crossed her arms, her expression mutinous.
“Maggie,” Hix began only to snap his lips closed at the glare she shot at him.
“I’m not leaving them, Hix.” Maggie repeated. “No way. No how.”
Chapter Fourteen
Maggie was a peaceful person…or rather, she had been a peaceful person. Before the mess she found herself in today, Maggie had been a pacifist. A peacekeeper. Someone who would rather have a thoughtful discussion versus a screaming match to resolve problems.
The Verge had managed to change all that.
Unable to sleep while he was gone earlier, Maggie had started combing through the files he had given her. At first, she had been confused, not understanding what she was seeing, until the truth had smacked her in the face. By the time she had finished, Maggie knew there was no way in hell she would willingly leave those women to suffer whatever was in store for them.
She couldn’t. It went against everything she believed in…now she just had to convince Hix how serious she was.
“Hix,” Maggie took a deep breath to stay calm, “we can’t leave those women.”
She stepped back when Hix grunted out a frustrated sound and thrust his hands into his hair. “I do not want to leave them either, but we do not have a choice.”
“As long as there is a chance that they are still here I am not giving up.” Maggie crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to realize she wasn’t about to bend on this.
Hix propped his hands on his hips and stared hard at her.
“Hix…I cannot leave them behind.” Maggie felt her eyes fill with moisture and cursed the wetness. She hated crying and had done more than enough of it since this whole mess started.
“Shhh…do not cry, Maggie-mine.” Hix immediately wrapped her in his arms.
Maggie closed her eyes and leaned into his chest. “They’re brides, Hix.”
Hix froze, his hand mid stroke down her back. “What did you say?”
Maggie raised her eyes to meet his as tears rolled down her cheeks. “They’re brides.”
Hix opened and closed his mouth a few times before shaking his head. “How?”
Maggie moved away to pick up the stack of files she had set down when he had walked in. “I’m not sure how exactly…but these are all bridal questionnaires. Look.” Maggie flipped through one after the other. “All of these women thought they were signing up for the Bridal Pact, but instead ended up in boxes sold to traffickers.”
“I still do not understand how this could have happened.” Hix scanned the paperwork with a confused look on his face.
“I’m not a hundred percent sure but I think it all comes back to this woman here,” Maggie pointed to a line on the page. “Eva Holmes. She’s listed as the bridal liaison on all of these forms.”
“That is odd, correct?”
Maggie nodded. “I think so… I mean, doesn’t it seem strange that all of these women have the same liaison assigned to them and they all end up missing?”
“So, you think—”
Maggie reached out and grabbed Hix’s tunic in excitement. “OH MY GOD. That’s what he was talking about!”
“Wait, what?”
“Do you remember when you guys first showed up at my place?” Maggie practically vibrated with energy as she recalled what Kell had said. “Kell said something about searching my place because he wanted to make sure I didn’t know what Eva was doing!”
“So, the Verge have somehow convinced a bridal liaison to send them the brides?”
Maggie nodded, coming to that conclusion as Hix voiced it. “It makes sense though, right? The questionnaires, the fact that they all had the same person handling their cases…it fits. None of these women have been reported missing on Earth. Believe me, if this many women up and disappeared, there would have been at least one news story on it. I’ve never heard of these women before. Nobody knows they’re missing because they were supposed to have been leaving for the matches they signed up for.”
Maggie’s heart broke for the kidnapped women. She couldn’t imagine the fear they had felt when they realized that they weren’t being matched with the happy ending they signed up for.
“No one would look for them either,” Maggie’s throat felt tight. “Every file there has one thing in common. They all list no next of kin.”
“I do not understand,” Hix shook his head in confusion.
“They have no one that would question them disappearing. No family. No emergency contacts. Nobody that would care if they vanished. They’re all alone in this world.”
“Except for us,” Hix said solemnly.
Maggie felt hope spark in her chest at his words. “Except for us,” she agreed.
“We cannot leave them.”
Maggie smacked her hands together in a hard clap, the sound echoing in the room like a gunshot. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
“We must save them and get this information back to the Phaetons.”
“Yes!” Maggie hissed, bouncing on her toes. “How do we do that?”
Hix’s face fell. “I do not know yet.”
“Damn.” Maggie deflated.
“What I do know is that we must move, and we must move quickly.” Hix jerked his chin to the long robe she had set down. “Put that on.”
Maggie picked up the heavy cloak and wrinkled her nose at the smell that wafted up. “Gross.”
“It is all I could find that would fit,” Hix explained. “There are not a lot of creatures on this planet that are your size.”
Maggie drew back, wondering if he had somehow insulted her without her realizing it. “Ummm…ok.”
“It will drag upon the ground as we walk but that is unavoidable.” Hix knelt down by her feet, studying the hem that was about four inches too long. “I lost my blade earlier when Traeger was shooting at me. I have nothing to cut it down with.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Maggie wasn’t about to worry about it being just a few inches too long. With her height and the popularity of maxi dresses sweeping the trends for summer, the problem was something that she had long ago come to terms with. “So, what’s the plan?”
“I have arranged for a safe haven for the night. I am thinking it would be best for us to look for the women while also trying to contact the Phaeton Council.” Hix closed the robe about her and frowned when she made a face at the smell. “I apologize for the odor. There was not much time for me to find a suitable disguise.”
Maggie patted his hand where it was gripping the fabric at the front. “It’s okay. I’ve smelled worse. And why are
you still pushing for us to get to the Phaetons?”
“Think, Maggie. If the Phaetons were to find out that the Verge are using the pact to kidnap women—”
“Say no more.” Maggie held up her hand, halting his words. “At this point we could use all the help we can get.”
Hix stopped fussing with the robe and focused on her. “May we touch mouths again?”
She bit her lip to stop the laugh that threatened to erupt at his question. “Kiss? You want to kiss again?” He was nodding before she stopped speaking.
“I always want to kiss you.” Holding her face in his hands, Hix ran a thumb over her bottom lip. “There is never a time when I do not think about kissing you. Never mind, now is not the time to start something I cannot finish.”
Maggie warmed at his confession. Since meeting him, she had felt the same way. Her brain had argued that the attraction was nothing more than a crazy case of Stockholm Syndrome. Then it became…more.
It was hard to describe what she felt because she simply had never felt this way before. She’d had relationships, sure. Everyone has that first crush as a teenager followed by the dating shenanigans of their twenties. But, for Maggie, there had never been a deep connection…at least until now.
Half of her wanted to sit and talk for hours to learn everything she could about him while her dirtier half wanted to climb him like tree and practice making babies. They didn’t have that luxury, though, at least not right now. They were literally running for their lives.
“Come,” Hix ordered, jarring Maggie out of her thoughts and back to the task at hand.
“Where are we going?” Maggie whispered as he cracked the door open to look outside.
“A friend offered us a place to stay this evening,” Hix answered. “It will not be comfortable, but it should be safe.”
“Comfort is literally the last thing on my mind right now.” Maggie pulled the hood up on her cape, surrounding herself with a smell that reminded her of a farm.
“It is crowded and busy this time of day as the market closes. It will be dark soon so stay close,” Hix ordered as he ushered her out into the cobblestone alley. “I do not want you getting separated from me by the market stalls.”
Warriors of Phaeton: Hix Page 9