by Alison Aimes
“Steady.” The heat of Valdus’s skin anchored her, his hold locking her to his side.
At the sound of his name, Pratt’s chin snapped up, his dazed gaze locking on her. He couldn’t recognize her without her facial camouflage, but he still whispered, “Save me. Please.”
Her stomach heaved. “Valdus, we have to help him.”
“No trade.” Her ex-captor’s refusal rang out loud and clear.
“Have it your way.” The gang leader snapped his fingers and Pratt and the other man were dragged backward out of view, both screaming, their heels kicking at the ground.
“Please,” she pleaded. “You can’t leave Pratt with that monster. You—”
“Have no other choice. Escape is the only chance any of us have of surviving this place, even your colleague. And that isn’t possible without you or the serum.”
“But we can’t do nothing.”
“Sounds like your female is anxious for the trade.” Across the room, the monster’s black eyes glittered with sick pleasure. “Maybe you should listen to her?”
“No trade,” growled Valdus.
“So be it.” Draeke flicked his hand. “Make it quick,” he told his men. “Before the drones take notice.”
A loud thwack sounded, then grunts, followed by a horrific, sickening silence.
She stifled a sob.
“Just so you know, they’re not dead. Not yet at least.” The monster’s taunting gaze bored into her. “What would be the fun in that? They’ll wake so we can do it all again. Until you save them.”
“No.” The weight of guilt and helplessness made breathing difficult.
“The choice is not hers to make.” The man at her side squeezed her tighter, his voice dropping to a whisper as he spoke to her alone. “I will never trade him for you. But understand, the decision is mine. All mine. I will bear the responsibility…and the shame. None of this is on you.”
She shivered, his words piercing her guilt and pain.
With the stars, he’d offered her hope. This time, he offered her absolution.
He didn’t want to ignore Pratt’s situation any more than she, but he was making a choice. An awful, hideous one. The kind with no good outcomes. The consequences of which he’d have to carry for the rest of his life.
But it was a choice he’d made because it took into account the fate of many over one.
Here was a man who would always shoulder the hard choices and their consequences, facing unflinchingly what had to be done.
She had never met anyone as strong.
Her arms dropped to her sides. “I... I hate it,” she swallowed hard, forcing the words out, “but I…I understand.” He had to play the long game. To remember that without that serum they were all doomed.
“I hate it, too.” The whispered words were just for her. An admission she suspected cost him, but he’d trusted her with it nonetheless.
And in doing so, allowed her a brief glimpse of the man behind the leader.
Her heart, cocooned so long by the thick, ragged scars that covered it like weeds, unfurled.
It was strange to have to come to the depths of hell to find the first true hero she’d ever met.
“I’ll get him back if possible,” he said. “When the time is right. I’m sorry I can’t do more.”
“You’re doing what you can. It’s all any of us can do down here.” Shifting her grip, she laced her fingers with his, the warmth of his palm a shock of comforting heat against her own.
His hold tightened, surprise flaring in his gaze before it was replaced by a swell of longing and heat that stole her breath. “Thank you.” More whispered words only for her.
Then, shoulders back, expression hard once more, he faced Draeke again. “We don’t trade in human beings. I’ve told you that before.”
A smirk played across the monster’s face. “So, the female is with you of her own free will?”
“You think she’d rather be with you?”
“I think choice is a fiction. Especially down here.” The gang leader was smarter than he looked. “I also know who she is and what Hollisworth is offering.” He sidled closer, rolls of flesh bouncing as he moved, his beady gaze shifting from her to land on her ex-captor. “Which means her value extends beyond what’s between those thighs. I want her badly—and I will have her. Whether you’re alive for that outcome is up to you.”
Scowl deepening, Valdus’s chin gestured skyward. “Hollisworth won’t tolerate the kind of frenzied chaos any large-scale attack would bring during shift time. Too much danger to the woman he’s tasked you with getting.” He hefted his ax higher. “Which is why you’re going to crawl back under whatever dark red rock you emerged from and end this posturing here and now.”
In typical, twisted Dragath25 fashion, she was suddenly insanely grateful for the drones and the fact that Hollisworth was intent on torturing and killing her himself.
“I guess I should just give up then.” Draeke’s shoulders drooped.
The hair on the back of her neck prickled. The guy didn’t exactly look like the kind to retreat so easily. She opened her mouth to whisper a warning—and instead let out a startled scream.
A blur of movement from above. A flash of silver aimed directly at Valdus’s head.
It took her horrified mind a few nanosegments to process.
By then, she was already moving, shoved backward by her ex-captor.
Together, they stumbled right into the outer ring of teammates surrounding them. Luckily, the circle remained intact, bulging outward only momentarily before reforming as strong as ever.
The attacker hit the ground with a sickening thump—right where they’d been standing, his body twisted at an odd angle.
Valdus’s ax rose to defend, but it wasn’t necessary. The man was dead.
“You sick fuck.” Valdus stared straight at Draeke. “You had to know he wouldn’t make it. You had to know you were sending him on a suicide mission.”
The monster only shrugged. “We all take risks down here. Sometimes you have to be willing to try different things to see what works.” He barely spared his own man a glance. “If you think that’s the end of it, think again.” He swept his hand back toward the mob of followers behind him. “I’ve many willing to do whatever I ask.”
She doubted they had a choice.
She peered through the crowd hoping for another glimpse of Pratt. No luck. The monster’s men had hidden him well.
Her stomach rolled.
What else did he have in store?
“Return to work at once!” Her husband’s voice blared through several droids simultaneously, startling her and the rest of the crowd below. “Return to work or the tracker self-destruct sequence will commence. Five…Four…”
Hollisworth was angry.
The burn beneath her skin flamed outward, stealing her breath.
But there was an upside.
Terrified, the other inmates scattered, shoving and pushing as they cleared the immediate area. Draeke’s followers included.
Leaving the gang leader standing alone.
“Looks as if you’re puppeteer might not be so happy with you right now,” taunted Valdus.
Draeke’s nostrils flared. “Go ahead and hide behind the female,” he shot back, “but I promise, it won’t be for long.” His narrowed gaze locked with hers. “See you soon, breeder.”
Despite the burn, icy dread slid down her spine.
It didn’t sound like a threat. It sounded like a promise.
24
The shrill whistle signaled the end of shift sooner than expected.
“I don’t have enough.” Ava’s gaze was on the small pile at her feet.
“You’re right.” Valdus tried for teasing, hoping to ease her nerves. He couldn’t stop replaying how she’d linked her palm with his when he’d been taking on Draeke, her eyes full of understanding. As if she got what he was about, the weight of his burden, and respected him anyway.
It was a gift. One
he never expected. One he hadn’t even realized he craved.
Now, all he wanted was to earn that look again.
Which was why the sudden tightening of her shoulders had his gut clenching. Didn’t she know he was teasing?
Sliding his hand beneath her chin, he lifted her gaze to his. “It’s fine. You did great. I’ll give you the rest of what you need when we get closer to the weigh station,” he explained. “No point in piling more on now for you to drag.”
A wealth of emotions played across her face. The clear relief pricked at him.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t make sure you had enough?” Dropping his hand from her soft skin, he lashed his makeshift rope of tattered old fabric through the sled, his voice gruffer than intended. “I told you I’d do whatever it takes. I meant it.”
“Thank you. I…I know it on some level, but…” Her gaze flickered across the corridor where Draeke stood, “nothing down here feels certain and…I’ve been on my own a long time.”
“Not anymore.”
The slight loosening of her shoulders pleased him.
“What about for the serum?” Accepting the makeshift rope from him, she did her best to lash it to the sled just as he had. “Do we have enough for that, too?”
“We’ll be fine.”
She laid her hand on top of his. “Thank you. Really.”
Raw lust and something far softer slammed through him without warning. He wondered if she even recognized that she no longer flinched from his touch or avoided his gaze.
And he wished with every fiber of his black heart that he could simply wade across the quarry to Draeke, bury his ax in the bastard’s chest, and take the soldier for her. Give her everything she wanted. Whisk her away from all this and forget everything but the pleasure that swirled between them when she was in his arms.
But reality was a different beast altogether.
So, instead, he covered her hand with his and savored the softness of her skin in the here and now. “You’re welcome.”
“You guys coming? Or just planning to stare into each other’s eyes until the others kill us?” Griffin’s green eyes flashed with amusement.
“Shut it, soldier.” He turned back to her. “Stay close. You’ve done good and we’re close now to seeing the plan through. We’ve got this.”
She drew a shaky breath. Forced a smile. “There’s no way you’re getting rid of me now.”
The way the stupid organ in his chest slammed against his ribs was almost embarrassing.
The trip to the measuring stations lasted forever, his certainty that neither Hollisworth nor his lackey Draeke had given up, growing with every step.
He ended up dragging her sled along with his own. Not that she didn’t try to stop him, but the tug-of-war didn’t last long. She was too slow to let her have even that small victory.
It was safest to move across the main space and away from Draeke as quickly as possible.
Just a few more rotations, intervals, metrals of luck… That was all he needed.
When things came unhinged, it happened fast.
One metral, he was standing there, ticking off the bodies in front of him and Ava at the weigh station, keeping any eye out for any potential ambushes, calculating just how much ore would have to be redistributed to ensure everyone met quota when another argument erupted a few rows down the line.
“Ryker. Griffin. Bain. Stay on the alert.” The timing couldn’t be worse. She was almost up. “Ava?”
Her head snapped up. “Yes?”
The return of fear in her eyes gutted him. “We’re next. Remember, you have to stand by the scale by yourself for the drone to read your tracker.”
“But if I can’t shield you, Hollisworth will activate your trackers.”
“There isn’t enough time. You’ll be done with the weigh-in and able to spring to our rescue before his trackers can do their worst.”
“Are you sure?”
No. He urged her forward. “There’s no other choice. Anyone standing in the vicinity of the ore when transferred will be lasered.”
“Wait.” She dug in her heels. Tilted her head upward toward the drones circling nearby. “Don’t think I won’t do it, husband,” she shouted. “Try to take them out while we’re apart and I’ll launch myself to wherever they are. Even if it means death. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
The blinking lights of the droid were her only answer.
But Valdus knew she’d been heard.
Her courage awed him all over again.
He could only pray Hollisworth wanted her alive to punish more than he wanted her dead. Otherwise, she was heading to her execution—and he, the man who’d vowed to be her protector, wouldn’t be able to do more than watch.
“Let’s get this over with.” He gestured toward the worn, packed clay where countless miners had stood before—many for the last time. “Stand here.”
Sliding the sleds forward, he lifted hers and dumped all the ore down the chute. Then, he took his load and added more. After two years, he knew exactly how much ore was needed to safely reach quota.
When he’d reached that point, he dumped a little more. Just to be sure.
He didn’t ask himself why. Or look back at Ryker. He knew he wouldn’t like the look on his second’s face.
“Is that it?” Her breathing sped up as the green light from the drone passed over the scale and then her body. “Because the burn is still there.”
Rage bubbled within. Not at her. But at this place. At his helplessness in the face of her fear and danger.
“It’s not over yet.” He shuffled back a few quick steps, motioning her back in place when she tried to follow. “Stay there.” He hadn’t gone far. Just two arm lengths. But it felt like too much. “The drone is recording your quota. You’ll know when it’s over, trust me.”
He knew he’d given her enough ore and still…when the beep sounded and the robotic voice confirmed she’d met quota, faster than he’d ever seen it work before, he almost sank to his knees.
She was safe.
The chute snapped shut, the roar of incineration turning the ore to liquid for transport.
“You’re good now.” He beckoned her forward, shouting to be heard.
The shrieks behind had become almost deafening, signaling another fight, but he hadn’t taken his eyes off her for an instant. He knew his teammates would take care of whatever was brewing. His sole focus needed to be on her.
And the way she hurried to his side without hesitation, her hand outstretched, made him feel twenty feet tall.
“Your turn.” Her gaze dropped to the pile of ore left on his sled. The majority of his men had already turned theirs in. “You have enough, right?” A worried V formed between her delicate eyebrows.
“I’ll be fine.” He pointed to the sled piled with the extra ore. “That’s what we need to worry about now. Keeping it safe.”
Only an arm’s length away, Ryker, Griffin, and Bain all stood at the ready around it, weapons out and up.
“I’ll be back in a heartbeat,” he continued. “Once I’ve satisfied quota and the tracker disengages, we’ll create a diversion and slip out with the extra ore before Hollisworth or the droids know what we’ve done. We’ve done it plenty before.”
“You don’t think he’ll try anything while you’re trapped by the light?”
“After the speech you gave?” He squelched any of his own lingering doubt. “No way. You’ve already proven you’re not afraid to call his bluff.”
Fiery emerald eyes met his. “I meant every word.”
Her determination bolstered his own. “Go to them.” He gestured to his men. “But if something happens, take the ore and get out. Don’t wait for me. Just run. Make the serum and give it to Ryker.”
Her lips flat-lined. “No, that’s—”
“The way it has to be. You can’t afford pity down here, remember?” He forced his feet forward.
Every nanosegment, every heartbeat, every breath under
the green scan aging him twenty lunar rotations.
He kept his gaze locked with hers the whole time, his ax raised, and, fool or not, took some kind of crazy sick comfort from the way she watched him back. As if she cared.
Which was stupid. Because, of course, she cared. Without him, she was likely worried about what Ryker would do.
But that wasn’t the kind of caring he wanted from her.
And the more he realized exactly what he wanted from her, the more he understood how badly he’d screwed himself.
Mouth dry, nerves on edge, Ava shifted from foot to foot.
It was strange and terrible watching Valdus, the green light sweeping over his body, knowing she could do nothing—absolutely nothing—if it decided he hadn’t met quota.
He was so powerful, so strong and vibrant and vital, and yet in this moment, he was as helpless as the rest of them.
The only comforting thought was that Hollisworth was equally powerless, her threat to join her ex-captor should her husband try anything keeping him leashed.
“If you take my ore, they’ll kill me.” Shouting a few paces down the line drew her attention.
She turned in time to see a small man leap forward, arms raised to attack, only to be swatted back by another, larger man.
“You can die quick with incineration—or I can make it painful.” The sickening crack of bone echoed through the cavern.
Ryker shifted closer. Griffin and Bain, too.
She wrapped her palm tighter around the sled rope holding their extra ore.
Janus help her, there were inmates all around who could use what she’d mined to survive, but without it she, Valdus and his men, and even Pratt—if she could rescue him in time—would be doomed.
She pressed her hand to her stomach, bile rising.
“Hey, breeder.” A booming voice rang out from far too close. “Want to reconsider your earlier stance? Maybe save a man’s life? You come to me and I’ll give him the ore he needs to meet quota. Otherwise…”