Finding Nova

by Belle Harper

  “Ryker.” Nova breathed out as she launched her arms around my neck, sobbing quietly. I held her tightly with my one good arm and ignored the pain in my other, not wanting to let her go. I inhaled her scent and ran my hand up and down her back to comfort her. I didn’t want to let her go, but now was not the time for hugging.

  “Shh… they are outside,” I whispered to her. She dropped her arms from my neck and made her way quickly over to the man on the bed and fussed over him. He watched me the whole time, still trembling and not batting an eyelid. I guessed anything could happen in the blink of an eye.

  “Kento is hurt bad. We need to take him with us. How are we getting out of here?”

  I looked around the room. There was a door leading to a small bathroom out the back. A small broken window greeted me. Okay that was a start. I looked out the back and couldn’t see any Raiders out there. But just because I couldn’t see them, didn’t mean they weren’t there. Fuck, I wish I had bothered to look out here before I came and got her.

  I could hear Nova talking to Kento. They guy looked like he wouldn’t make it much longer. There was no way he would be able to run, and I didn’t know if I would even be able to carry him with one arm, given the amount of blood loss I’d already had.

  Fuck. I paced back and forth trying to think when Kento spoke up. “Buy Harlow,” he rasped out on a shaky breath. I looked to Nova as I approached the bed. Kento jerked away from me so fast that he fell off the bed trying to put distance between himself and me. Shit.

  “I won’t hurt you. I’m here to get Nova. I’m here for her. Who is Harlow?” Nova helped Kento off the ground and back onto the bed. The guy was shaking so bad. Fucking hell. What had this guy been through? I could never imagine. I will carry him if I have too, I will not leave him behind to die like this.

  He spoke quietly to Nova, and she turned to me, a small smile on her face. Telling me she was trying to stay positive, she was staying strong. Even now. She came to me and I bent down to her when her arms stretched out and she surprised me when she cupped my face. I couldn’t help myself, I nuzzled into her hand. Wanting to feel her touch on me. Taking everything she was giving, even if this was all I ever got. I could see why the other three love her and would do anything for her.

  “Kento said that the guard at the door, Jake, only joined a month ago because he wanted to help them all. Jake is in love with Harlow. She is the one who has been looking after Kento. He said when the time is right, he is going to save them. We get Harlow in here, he will help us.”

  I paced the room a few times., my hand raking through my hair. Shit, what if he rats on us? I was only here for Nova. Now she wants me to trust this Jake guy to rescue not only her but two others. I nodded to Nova and she brought her hands to my chest. Looking up at me her big eyes, full of hope.

  “You know this is getting harder the more people we add. My arm is practically useless. I don’t know how I’m getting away with you, much less three of you.” I ran my hand through my hair and over my face. I needed to think, I needed a clear head. I looked out the broken back window again. And saw nothing again. Maybe this was the way, we could escape from here, but time was not on our side now. Could this Raider guard Jake buy us some time? That’s what I would need, especially with Kento. He could not out run these Raiders. And I could never live with myself if I had to leave him behind to save Nova. I would never forgive myself.

  “We have to take Kento. He can’t stay here any longer. We have to help him, Ryker. Please.” Nova pleaded with me and held my hand in her small one. I looked down to where we were joined and then into her big eyes. Almost broke my heart. I nodded once, letting her know I would not be leaving Kento behind. But if they found us escaping, they would kill me on the spot and Nova and Kento would be back in those cages being sold to the next man, and the next… I shook my head from that thought. I gestured that she move away from the door and back to Kento. I opened it slightly and the young Raider Jake looked up at me.

  “Is something wrong?” He tried to glance inside the room, so I blocked it with my body as I opened the door a little more, my eyes darting to the area around to see if anyone was watching me and how many of them were out there.

  “I want to buy a woman named Harlow,” I said. Jake’s eyebrows rose, and he looked back to the semi where she hopefully still was, I could see the way his posture changed that he was not happy with what I just asked.

  His hard eyes pinned me as he growled out “Why, you have enough.” Which told me very clearly Kento was right, that this guy did care for Harlow. Things might just work out if I play this right.

  “Come inside and I want to show you a problem I have in here.” He hesitated at first, those hard eyes flared with something before he followed me in. He looked over to Kento and Nova huddled on the bed. He stepped closer to them and then stopped, his head whipped to me as if he forgot I was right behind him then back to them both.

  “What…what’s going on? Kento?” Jake’s voice was soft when he spoke. Not the same anger he expressed to me outside.

  “We want Harlow, we are leaving and taking Harlow with us.” Nova whispered, her hands trembled as she told him, but her back was straight and chin held high.

  Jake stepped closer to her, and I growled at him. “Stay away from my Nova.” He turned to look at me again. Then back to Nova and Kento. He was still for a few moments before standing straight and walked back over to the door. He didn’t say anything as he placed his hand on the doorknob. My stomach twisted in knots, was he going to fuck us over?

  “You need Harlow.” He started “I will go and get her for you right away.” As he started to open the door, he turned to me. “You promise? You will get her out of here?” He asked.

  I nodded. “Are there any Raiders out the back?” he shook his head and pointed to the front of the camp where I first came in on the truck. “You need to stall them, for as long as possible. Don’t let anyone come in here.”

  He nodded and left swiftly.

  “Shit, okay we need to go out through the bathroom window. The drop isn’t too bad but it will hurt a little. So far, I can’t see any of them out there but that doesn’t mean they aren’t, but just be watching and listening in case Jake is wrong and they are out there. The light is all but gone, so it will be hard for them to see us, but hard for us to see them and where we are going.”

  Nova nodded and I went about removing some broken glass shards from the window frame, placing them in the dirt brown sink. Didn’t want to add gutted to the list of problems with this plan right now. A knock at the door sounded and it opened to a shaking woman with shoulder-length white hair. Her blue eyes glanced to me then Nova. She looked upset with what she had been brought into.

  “What did you do?” she hissed under her breath. I cleared my throat to tell her and Harlow went ridged as she dropped to her knees her head lowered. Shit. Is that what they train them to do?

  I stood where I was and spoke softly “I’m here for Nova, I came to save her, and I’m taking Kento and you with me.”

  The look on her face almost shattered me. With the hope in her eyes, her body went slack as the words settled. Her mouth opened to talk but nothing came out. I quickly left and finished up with the window

  Once we were all in the bathroom, I laid down the shirt I had put on earlier across the window frame. I didn’t think it would fully protect them from any left-over glass, but it was better than nothing and I wasn’t going to ask for their clothes, they were barely dressed as it is. I looked between the three of them trying to work out who should go first. Nova was the strongest by far, followed by Harlow. Kento—fuck, the guy could hardly hold his own weight. I would have to help him out.

  “Oh, God.” Nova grabbed my injured arm, now it was exposed she could see where the bullet had entered and left through my shoulder, the blood had dried and crusted over the wounds. I hissed when she gently touched next to the wound. The pain was a reminder of what these Raiders will do if they catch us. Act
ually I wouldn’t feel it anymore if they caught us. I would be dead.

  I decided Nova would go first as she seemed the strongest, then Harlow would help me get Kento out, and then Nova was going to have to catch him. And fuck, if this wasn’t a stupid plan. But it was the best I could do with what I have. I just needed to get Nova, and if I could help the others, then I would do everything I could. Even if it meant I didn’t make it out alive.

  Once Nova was outside, she crouched down low and scanned the area. We waited for a minute and there were no sounds or movement. “Go,” she whispered. Harlow helped Kento up to the window. As soon as I touched him, the guy went all stiff. “I have to help you out,” I whispered to him. He slowly relaxed and I held his arm as I lifted him up and I lowered him out to Nova. She caught him as best she could to soften his fall. He didn’t make a sound when they landed on the ground together. The guy was so injured but was so strong. Next was Harlow and she was easy as she dropped to a crouch next to them both.

  “Wait for me by the trees,” I said, pointing to some trees behind them.

  As I walked out the door, the Raider kid, Jake, was there. I nodded to him. “White house on the corner,” I said and he returned the nod. It's where I had got the shirt from earlier and the house had more inside than any other on the outskirts of Eagle Point. I walked off away from the building, trying to look natural as I strolled away from the camp. I quickly doubled back around, checking for any Raiders that might be hiding. They were so focused on the sale of their slaves and the goods they had been bought with, they didn’t seem to be worried. The thought kept screaming to me that they were too well organized not to have guards out the back. But there was a bunch of them cooking and drinking around a drum fire to really notice much else.

  I stalked around to the back of the building and made a bird call, hoping Nova would know it was me. It was so dark I couldn’t see a foot in front of me. The clouds in the sky hid the moon; it worked in our benefit but hindered me in finding them. Luckily, there was a small forest behind this motel, so we could use the trees shrubs as cover as we worked our way from here. And back to the white house I was in earlier where hopefully Colton would be coming up with the Jeep. That was if he’d understood where I was leading him with all the signs I’d left him before I got this far. God, I hope he did.

  38

  Nova

  When I heard a weird whistle, I shrunk down lower in the shrub. I wasn’t sure if it was Ryker or a Raider. I didn’t want to find out if it was a Raider, I wasn’t going back in a cage. Staying hidden was the best option until Ryker came back. But then I heard it again. I swung my head to look behind us, every sound I heard now had me on edge.

  I held Kento closer to me. It was cold tonight and he was still only wearing sweat pants. The day hadn’t been that warm and he hardly had any meat on his bones as it was. His skin was cold and clammy. Harlow was on his other side, trying to rub some warmth into him. The weird sound happened a third time and Harlow and I froze our movements. Kento let out a small whistle. We both looked down at him in shock. Harlow quickly placed her hand over his mouth as we ducked our heads even lower. I heard some twigs crack and some shrubs being moved aside. My heart raced faster at every sound I heard coming towards us.

  “Nova,” I heard whispered. Ryker. My heart started beating faster at the sound of his voice. He was here, he came back for us. We were getting out of here. I almost broke down and cried right there, but there was no time for that now.

  “Yes,” I whispered back. Ryker finally found us, my hands were shaking but he took them in his and rubbed them as he leaned into me. Lending me his strength. He looked around then gestured for us to crouch as he helped us lift Kento to his feet. Then he bent down and gathered Kento up with his good arm. He grunted when he used the injured one to go under his legs.

  “Your arm?” I tried to be quiet but I was worried. He was clearly in a lot of pain. He shook his head as he started walking forward, trying to bend down low but it was hard with him carrying Kento. I heard him hiss out once but he didn’t make any sounds after that. I grabbed onto Harlow, and we held each other as we tracked through the woods behind Ryker. Watching and listening to everything around us.

  After a few hours of walking and many times asking Ryker to please let us carry Kento, we made it into a small rundown town that was barely standing. We ran as best we could in our weakened state, stopping and crouching low at every unfamiliar sound. I didn’t know if my heart raced more from the running or fear. But having Ryker here, his eyes scanning constantly and always watching where I was, I felt safe. Finally, we were given respite in the form of an old, white, tattered house. It smelled like death inside but it was better to smell that then be out where the Raiders were probably looking for us now.

  I helped Ryker lay Kento down on an old couch, Ryker grabbed his arm as soon as he pulled away. I reached for his arm but he shook his head and nodded to Kento where Harlow now sat next to him, chanting “you are brave, you are strong.” I chanted with her until Ryker returned with some clothes and a rough-wool blanket.

  “I think these will fit. They are female clothes, but he is small, and he needs everything he can get right now. I’m worried about his temperature.”

  Harlow and I helped get Kento into the clothes, and he fell right to sleep. Ryker started pacing. He looked out the windows and paced more. He was stressed—really stressed. I was too, but I tried to hide it in front of him. I didn’t want to stress Ryker out any more than he was. I went to him and laid my hands on his chest. I smiled up at him. “Thank you,” I told him. Thank you for saving me. His smile was a sad one, and I noticed his eyes were red. He looked utterly exhausted, but he held my hands close to him and pulled me into a warm embrace. His good hand snaked through my hair and held me to his chest. I listened to the rhythmic beating of his heart. It was fast, but it slowed to a beat that comforted me.

  He took a deep breath “You are safe now, you don’t need to thank me Nova. I’m just so glad you are here. Safe.” I pulled away from his chest and looked up to his eyes. They were now glossed over with unshed tears. I couldn’t help it, the tears silently ran down my face. He moved his hand to my face and wiped the tears. I probably looked like hell, but he smiled down at me and kissed my forehead.

  The one question on my mind now was. “The guys… are they coming?” He pulled away from me, he seemed reluctant to let go and instantly I missed his warmth. He went back to look out the windows then stood in the middle of the room, looking back to me then Harlow and Kento.

  He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, he let out another deep breath and his shoulders slumped. I hadn’t seen Ryker like this yet, but I hadn’t known him long. And now he’d saved me twice in that short time.

  Tears threatened to spill…again. “They aren’t coming?” I heard the pain in my voice as I choked on the words.

  Ryker was over to me in an instant. And held me to his warm body once again. He made a soft comforting sounds while he stroked my back, my legs wanted to give out. But he held me strong, and I knew it was giving him pain to use his shoulder.

  “I don’t know, Nova. I left as many clues as I could to where they had taken you. I couldn’t wait for Ezra to wake up. They hit him hard… so hard. I left the key and made as many arrows as I could. I just had to get you. I needed to…to get you, I just had too.” I felt him kiss my head and his body shook as he told me. I held onto him tighter, there was nothing else he could have done. He came for me, he…he. “You came for me, you came.” I mumbled into his bare chest, tears now flowing between us.

  “I couldn’t lose you Nova, I only just found you.” He pulled my face back and the tears on his cheeks told me he felt the same right now. I only just found him, but I couldn’t lose him either.

  I stiffen quickly when I saw movement outside.

  “Shit.” I quickly pulled on Ryker to duck down and pointed to the window. His head whipped around so fast as he put his hand on me to stay down
and gestured to Harlow that someone was coming. He crawled over to the front door with his finger over his mouth, telling us to be silent.

  I heard two sets of footsteps, and then the doorknob turned with a sound that felt so loud it was screaming at me to run. The door slowly opened.

  “Harlow?” a man’s voice whispered into the dark room.

  “Lucas?” she called back and as he came into view. Harlow threw herself at the tall man standing there. Some shuffling and the door closed. Harlow was crying now and as I finally saw Lucas more clearly, I recognized him from the line-up the Raiders made us do. He was the one who handed me the towel to wash my face and use his water. Another man was there too, Jake. He hugged Harlow too. And kissed her. I turned away, not wanting to pry into their private moment. But feeling relieved that she had her men with her. They were both safe here with her.

  “Thank you. For everything. But we all need to leave before they come for us. There are four slaves and one guard missing, they would have noticed by now,” Lucas said.

  I looked to Kento, who was awake now. I wished I had some water to give him or some food. I didn’t bring anything once I got out of the cage. I wasn’t thinking about that when I saw Ryker. All I could think about was getting Kento and me out of there.

  Harlow, Lucas and Jake kept hugging each other while they spoke to Kento. You could tell that Lucas and Jake really loved Harlow. It reminded me of Ezra, Noah, and Colton. I held myself together by wrapping my arms around Ryker’s waist.