“Hmph. Bet you started at the bottom, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” he admitted.
“Gotta start at the top. And try not to move the rocks with the blue veins. They help to stabilize everything.”
Varga swore as he realized he had been doing almost the exact opposite of the male’s instructions. He climbed halfway up the pile and started pulling out some of the small rocks next to the opening.
Rummel cackled. “That’s the way. Get those ones next.”
At first, the male did not assist him, only directing him as to what to remove next but when Joan came to help, he scowled at her.
“You go sit back down, girlie. We got this.”
She paid no more attention to Rummel than she had paid to him, but the older male sighed and began to help. The clearing went even more quickly after that. Despite his size, Rummel was surprisingly strong as well as skilled in choosing the right stones to move. As soon as the opening was large enough, Varga urged her to climb through, but she refused to leave until the hole was large enough for both of them.
When he finally managed to convince her that the opening was sufficient, he helped her through, and Rummel helped her climb down the other side. As soon as she was clear, she threw her arms around the small male. Varga growled as he followed her down.
“Hush,” she scolded him. “If it weren’t for Rummel, we’d both still be on the other side.”
“There were some advantages to that location,” he muttered and she flashed him a quick smile.
After kissing the top of Rummel’s head while the male squirmed uncomfortably, she came back to his side.
“One step closer. Now what?”
“Now we get out of here.”
George had followed them back over the debris wall, and he chirped in seeming agreement.
“How?” Rummel demanded.
“We’re going through the mines, up the ore transport lift, and across the surface to Varga’s ship,” Joan said cheerfully.
“Bugger me senseless. You can’t mean that.”
“Why not?”
“The mines are full of guards and even if you could get through them, the surface is deadly.”
Varga shook his head. “Not if you’re only on it for a short time.”
“How short?” Rummel asked suspiciously.
“Only long enough to get to my ship. I saw the landing field on the way in. It’s just a short distance.”
Rummel grunted. “Might work,” he admitted. “But what about the guards in the mines?”
“You told me you knew your way around.” Joan gave the other male a hopeful look. “Couldn’t we do it without being seen?”
“Maybe I could. But he’s too big. And you’d cause a riot if any of them slaves got a look at you.”
The male had a point. And while Varga had every confidence in his ability to defend her under most circumstances, if they were severely outnumbered, she might be injured.
“I need a disguise,” Joan said thoughtfully. “What do the miners wear?”
“Coveralls. A head covering if they’re lucky.” Rummel rubbed his chin. “Might be able to get my hands on those. All right. I’m in.”
Wait a minute, had he agreed to bring the other male with them? Still, they would still have been trapped without his assistance, and his female was obviously fond of the older male.
He sighed. “Where are these supplies?”
“Down here. Follow me.”
As they turned to follow Rummel down the corridor, another rumble sounded in the distance, and the ground shook slightly. He braced himself, preparing to shield Joan despite his pounding heart, but it quickly died away. George too had paused, but then scampered ahead.
“Is this common?” he asked.
Rummel shook his head. “No. So far most of the damage is over at the new dig. Several of the tunnels collapsed. I reckon that’s why no one has come looking for you yet—they’re all focused on trying to get the walls shored up.” He shrugged. “Might make it easier to get away. If we don’t get caught in another collapse.”
As they resumed their journey, Varga noticed gratefully that there was little damage to the walls. Apparently, the tremors hadn’t caused any real damage to this section of the mines. They turned a corner, and another cell came in sight. Joan came to an abrupt halt, her eyes filling with tears.
“Oh my God. There’s another human here. Rummel, why didn’t you tell me?”
The male shrugged uncomfortably, avoiding her eyes. “Wouldn’t have made any difference.”
“Another woman,” Joan whispered.
He followed her gaze to the creature huddled against the wall and almost doubted her statement. The cell was filthy, the female equally so. Frightened, hostile eyes glared at them from beneath a wild tangle of hair.
“Hello there. I’m Joan. What’s your name?” Joan’s voice was low and soothing, but the female started to sob, and Joan turned back to him despairingly. “We have to get her out of there.”
He understood her desire to rescue the female, but the wretched creature wailing in the cell looked to be on the edge of madness. “Sweetheart, I’m not sure she’s capable of understanding what’s happening. She could endanger your escape.”
“I don’t care! I can’t leave her here. That… that could have been me.”
He found himself giving Rummel a helpless glance, but the other male only shrugged. “Can’t leave her here.”
Giving in to the inevitable, he used Ukhaan’s keys to open the cell door. When he started to step inside, the female began to keen in a low, penetrating wail. Joan hastily stepped in front of him.
“Don’t be scared. Varga isn’t going to hurt you. He’s my… boyfriend.”
Boy? Did she consider him a child? Before he could demand an explanation, the female started to laugh. The noise sent a chill down his spine—but at least it was better than that eerie wail.
“Boyfriend?” The voice sounded rusty, strained, but the words were clear enough. “This isn’t a fucking prom. He’s just another one of these animals.”
“No, he’s not. He came here to rescue me.”
The female snorted. “Lucky you.”
“I’m sure he would have come for you as well if he’d known. Isn’t that right, Varga?”
“I promised to assist the human females taken by the Derians,” he admitted. But how fortunate that he’d met Joan.
“You’re really going to get me out of here?” the female asked, a wild light in her eyes.
“Yes. Varga has a ship.”
A ship that was getting increasingly crowded.
“Which we need to get to as soon as possible,” he said firmly.
“Just a minute. What’s your name?”
“I was… am… I’m Polly.”
“Won’t you come with us, Polly?”
The female reared back against the wall, and he thought she was about to refuse, but then she nodded and climbed slowly to her feet. Fuck. She was naked, without even the thin gown that Joan was wearing, and the bruises and scrapes that marred every inch of her skin were clearly visible. How could anyone treat a female this way?
“Let me have your shirt please, Varga,” Joan said softly, and he silently obeyed.
She offered it to Polly, but the female backed away. “I don’t want anything from a male.”
“I understand.” Before he could protest, Joan slipped off her own gown and offered it to the other female. Polly studied it warily, then snatched it away and pulled it over her head. When Joan started to hand his shirt back to him, he shook his head and told her to put it on.
“We need to leave,” Rummel grumbled, darting a nervous glance up the tunnel. “It’s too quiet.”
“I know you,” Polly said, staring at the small male. “You brought me food.”
Rummel frowned at her. “Which you didn’t eat.”
“I didn’t trust you.”
Food? From the distressed look on Joan’s face, she had
been the one sending it. He shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if Ukhaan had discovered her actions. But he wasn’t surprised that his female’s kind heart would have driven her to try and help others.
Wiping the sadness from her expression, Joan held out a hand to Polly. The other female shuddered and ignored it, but she made a few shaky steps in their direction. She got as far as the cell door before she froze, starting to moan again.
“It’s all right, Polly,” Joan said soothingly. “We’re going to get away from here. You’re going to be safe.”
Polly’s shoulders shook, but she finally stepped over the threshold, tears streaming silently down her face. “Safe,” she whispered.
Joan was crying too, and he put a comforting arm around her shoulders as they followed the other female down the corridor. Polly didn’t proceed in a normal manner. She would skitter ahead a few steps, then freeze and look around. Several times she huddled against the stone wall and Joan would have to talk her into moving again. Finally, Rummel grunted and fell into step next to her. Polly eyed him suspiciously, but he only grunted again and started spinning a long, convoluted tale about a traveling dice game and his misadventures with the Imperial fleet. She didn’t respond, but she listened, and her pace finally evened out as she kept step with the small male.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Varga said softly to Joan. “She’s going to need a lot of care.”
“We couldn’t leave her there!”
“No, I know. But she has to stay quiet and calm. If I have any reason to think that she will endanger you by her actions, I will do whatever is necessary to keep her quiet.”
She bit her lip, then nodded. “I understand, but I hope it won’t be necessary.” Looking up at him, she added, “There are two other females here.”
“Are they also human?”
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter.”
“I suppose you want to bring them along as well?”
“Yes. It’s only fair.”
His fantasy of having her alone on his ship was fading away by the minute. But she looked so determined, he knew she wouldn’t back down—and he didn’t like the idea of leaving any female at the hands of the Zameetans.
“They’re probably going to end up sleeping on the floor,” he warned.
“But we can bring them with us? Oh, thank you, Varga.” She threw her arms around him and kissed him—quickly, but with enough passion to make him long for the time when they could be alone.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said grimly. “We have a long way to go before we’re safe.”
“I know you’ll get us out of here.” She gave him a trusting smile that made him pray he didn’t disappoint her.
Chapter Eleven
As Varga moved into the lead, he suddenly realized what Rummel had meant when he said it was too quiet. He could still hear the distant drone of the mining equipment and an occasional rumble from within the rock, but the tunnel itself was eerily quiet. In his visits to the mines with Ukhaan, there had been a constant hum of noise from the clatter of tools, muttered conversations amongst the miners, and jeering from the guards. While he was grateful that they had not encountered anyone, the silence filled him with unease.
A feline female with sleek dark fur occupied the next cell they encountered. Unlike the other cells, hers was not only clean but equipped with everything from sheets to pillows. She looked up when they approached, then came sauntering over to the bars with a lazy seductive walk, her tail twitching provocatively. Ignoring Joan completely, she ran an appreciative glance over him, lingering on his naked chest.
“You’re certainly an improvement over my usual visitors,” she purred. “I’m Saka. Did you come to play?”
Joan gave an adorable little growl as she stepped in front of him. “No, he didn’t.”
“Who are you? His pet?” The female’s tone was so dismissive that he had to fight back his own urge to growl.
“We’re escaping. Do you want to come with us? Or would you rather stay and… play?” Joan asked, her voice cool.
“Escaping?” Saka raised an eyebrow as she surveyed the small group. “With two pathetic females and a half-sized male?”
Joan shrugged and started to move away. “If you’re happier here…”
“No!” For the first time, the female’s cool assurance cracked, and he could read the desperation in her eyes. “What’s it going to cost me?”
“Nothing,” Joan assured her. “We’re all in this together.”
“If we’re caught, it’s going to be very bad.”
“I know.” Joan’s face softened. “But isn’t it worth taking the chance to be free?”
Slitted yellow eyes stared off into the distance. “Maybe this time it will work,” Saka muttered, in a voice almost too soft to hear, then gave a firm nod and squared her shoulders. “Yes. I want to come.”
He unlocked the cell, and she moved past him, cool and self-possessed once more. It wasn’t until he heard Joan’s quiet gasp that he looked after the other female. Scars covered Saka’s back, dozens of pale lines streaked through the dark fur. Joan’s mouth opened, but he shook his head. He was sure that Saka was no more eager to discuss her scars with strangers than he was to discuss his.
Joan reluctantly decided that Varga was right: there was nothing she could say that would change whatever Saka had been through. She was uneasily aware that she had rushed to judgment of the other female because of her apparently complacent attitude, but no doubt Saka had done whatever she needed to do to survive. Just as Joan had done.
Guilt washed over her again at the knowledge of how much easier her life had been than it was for these females, despite Ukhaan’s casual brutality. Would she have been able to survive if she had been thrown into one of these cells the day she had arrived? Even Polly, as troubled as she obviously was, must have a core of inner strength to have lasted so long.
“It’s not your fault, little bird,” Varga said softly. She looked up to find him watching her, a warm glow in his dark golden eyes.
“Am I so obvious?”
“Only to me.” He dropped a quick kiss on her head, then moved ahead to assume the lead position.
Her eyes followed him, admiring his broad shoulders and the strong muscles of his back rippling beneath the dark turquoise skin. Even the thin golden scars only added to his masculine beauty. Everything had happened so quickly since she’d woken up that she hadn’t had much of a chance to think about their encounter, let alone discuss it with him.
She could still feel the slight, pleasant ache deep inside and shivered with pleasure at the memory. Despite the circumstances it had been the most deliciously erotic experience of her life. Or was it because of the circumstances? Was it the danger they were in that made it so exciting? No, she decided as her gaze drifted down over a tight, round ass and heavily muscled thighs. She would want him no matter where they were.
“Are you with child?” Saka asked abruptly.
“No.” Another thing that Kevin had taken from her. As much as she had wanted to be a mother, once she realized his true nature, she had refused to take the chance on subjecting a child to his demeaning cruelty. He had castigated her for her failure to produce an heir for him but had been too self-absorbed to realize that she was on birth control. She shook off the memory of the past and frowned at Saka. “Why do you ask?”
“Your breasts are enlarged and your nipples are hard.”
Joan blushed as she looked down and realized that the memory of her time with Varga had caused her body to respond, her nipples thrusting against his shirt. “It’s normal for human females.”
“Hmm.” Saka ran a complacent hand down her own smooth front. “It seems inefficient.”
“Oh, it has its advantages,” she said lightly, refusing to respond to the other female’s bait.
“I will admit that your warrior doesn’t seem to object. At least, based on your little display earlier, I assume he’s your warrior
?”
Was he? He had said he was here to rescue her—at his friend’s request, a little voice whispered—but he hadn’t mentioned what would happen once they left this planet. He treated her so tenderly, but then again, his eyes had been full of sympathy when he noticed Saka’s scars. And the female was very attractive. She forced herself to shrug.
“He’s a free male.”
“Hmm,” Saka said again, her eyes all too knowing as she inspected Joan’s face. “I’m not quite sure I believe that.” Before Joan could respond, she continued, “You’re the one who sent the food, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I am—I was—Ukhaan’s cook.”
Saka shuddered. “He’s a cold bastard. Not remotely swayed by my, uh, feminine charms.”
“He’s a dead bastard now. Killed in the cave-in.” She smiled at the other female. “And I was always happy that he was more interested in food than sex.”
“Ah, but I can’t cook,” Saka said bitterly, then shook her head. “Still, thank you for the treats. It was nice to get something I didn’t have to… pay for.”
“I’m glad you liked them.”
Rummel came up beside them, Polly lagging a few steps to his right. She seemed almost as suspicious of Saka as she did of Varga and kept shooting her nervous glances. George, too, stayed on the far side of the corridor.
Saka sighed. “I’m not sure bringing the moaner was the best idea. Can she keep her mouth shut for a change?”
Joan expected Polly to shrink away, but instead she glared at Saka, who laughed. “Maybe there’s some spirit there after all.”
“We’re almost to the mines,” Rummel interrupted, with a reproving look at Saka. Joan wasn’t surprised that he had taken Polly under his wing. Despite his constant grumbling, he had a kind heart. “Two more cells, then the supply rooms. I suppose I’m going to have to find clothes for all of you.”
“Two more cells?” she asked eagerly. “Does that mean two more women we can help get away from here?”
“One female, one male.”
Her stomach clenched as she remembered Ukhaan’s harsh instructions to choose one of the weaker males as a substitute for her. “Oh no.”
Joan and the Juggernaut: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Abduction Book 10) Page 7