by Bec McMaster
"Where you from?" Rykker demanded.
"The Rim."
"Rykker," Vex called, leaning back in her chair and lighting a cigarette. Clearly she didn't like the attention shifting from herself for the moment. "I like this talk of a mother lode. Enlighten me. Just what have you brought back for me?"
"A gift for you, Warlord," Rykker said, yanking Sage forward.
For once, Mia was glad that she and Sage were adopted from different parents. Physically, there was nothing to link them. Nothing to make anyone suspicious.
Cypher examined Sage with a satisfied smile. Mia's hands curled into fists, but she didn't dare open her mouth. Any misstep and she'd condemn them all. Even if the mere thought of shooting Rykker in his sneering face made her heart beat a little quicker.
"She's beautiful. All of that red hair will look wonderful in my menagerie. Well done, Rykker." Vex gestured her daughter forward. "Give Rykker his reward."
Zarina withdrew a small pouch from her belt, and tossed it to Rykker, whose eyes lit up. He slid the pouch in his pocket with a faint smile. "You're generous, Vex."
"I can be. Sit. Enjoy my new friends. We're just getting acquainted."
Rykker settled in the chair directly next to Vex. Clearly the other woman was playing games—she'd deliberately left the chair empty as if she expected him.
"So how many others did you bring me?" Vex murmured, stroking his arm.
"Five," Rykker replied. "One or two of the girls might suit the General's causes."
"Five?" Those stroking fingers stopped. "I thought you said you hit the mother lode."
"A slight difference of opinion developed in Vegas," he replied, gesturing to the shoulder wound he carried. "Yanno and his men double-crossed me. The bastard shot me in the shoulder, and I was forced to retreat with what I had."
Vex blew smoke in his face. She'd withdrawn her hand. "And yet you ride in here like a champion."
"Yanno's a dead man walking," Rykker replied. "I just needed to get this shoulder stitched up, and then I'm going to find that prick, cut his throat, and take back what's mine."
"They'll be ruined by then. Good for little more than fieldwork, or maybe the brothels." Vex ground her cigarette out.
Mia's rage brewed.
"Something wrong?" Rykker asked, noting it.
"I've barely met you," Mia said swiftly, "and already you seem like the kind of man who likes to make excuses."
Rykker paused. "You let her speak for you?" he asked McClain.
That hand squeezed her thigh in warning. "I think you underestimate our relationship. Mia and I are partners. In all matters. The words that come from her lips might as well come from mine."
"What kind of man lets a bitch do his talking for him?" Rykker asked.
"I don't know, Rykker," Zarina suddenly interrupted. "What kind of man does?"
He slowly became aware of whose side he was sitting at.
Vex tapped those long elegant nails on the side of her chair. "Yes... do tell."
Rykker flashed his teeth at Zarina, his lip curling before he turned to placate Vex. "You and your daughter are warriors, Vex. Not bitches. You know what I meant."
"I like the girl," Vex said. "She seems like a warrior to me."
Mia curled back against McClain, resting her head on his shoulder. Point to her.
"You come in here," Vex said, looking fierce now, "calling my guest a bitch. You know I don't like that word."
"My apologies." Rykker started to sweat.
"You bring me one slave as a tribute, and barely have a handful of others to show for your efforts." Vex's eyebrow lifted. "And you let Yanno steal your mother lode."
"That's where you're wrong," Rykker argued.
"Wrong?" The word was laced with caution.
"The mother lode wasn't the first batch of slaves we took. No. I was referring to the area we took them from. Got a real good look. Lots of women and children. Not a great deal of security. Ranchers, townsfolk... there are whole settlements there, virtually mine for the taking. I just need the manpower."
The glacial look in Vex's eye became distant. "Talk is cheap. I want to see action. You owe me another tribute for the offense you've caused tonight. Bring me another and maybe I'll forget the bad taste in my mouth."
Rykker pushed to his feet. "I will."
"Oh, and Rykker?"
"Yeah?"
"You might be my favorite, but there are many others at your heels. It's a long way to fall. Now get out of my sight."
As he strode past them, he shot Mia a dark look, one she had no trouble reading.
She'd just made an enemy.
A dangerous one.
SIXTEEN
"I SHOULDN'T HAVE said anything."
Adam undid the collar from Ellie's throat and curled the leather around his fist as Mia paced.
"Thanks," Ellie said, with a sigh. She rubbed at the red mark where it had rested.
"We can't afford to be seen as weak," Adam countered, tossing the collar on the bed. "Besides, I think Vex likes you."
"Vex liked Rykker," Mia pointed out.
True.
The four of them reconvened in Adam's room following the massacre at the War Games. Mia couldn't stop pacing, but Adam suspected that had more to do with the shock of seeing her sister and not being able to do anything about Sage's imprisonment. The jitters extended to Jake, who seemed far too quiet. Trouble brewed within the other man's hard body.
Only he and Ellie seemed unaffected.
"Do you think he'll come after us?" Ellie asked.
"He doesn't seem the sort to let bygones be bygones," Adam replied. He'd met men like that in the past. Rykker didn't seem the sort to kiss Vex's heel and enjoy it, so he'd probably take this upset out on the four of them. "Watch your backs, okay. What's the rule?"
"Nobody goes anywhere alone," Ellie parroted. She looked tired. "We know Vex has Sage now. Where do you think they took the others?"
Mia squeezed her shoulder. "Rykker said he had five others, so that means they're all still alive. We can work out where he'd keep them in the morning."
"This is fucking bullshit," Jake declared, tension radiating through his body. "How can you all just sit here? That bitch has my wife. Who knows what she plans to do with her?"
"For now? Not much, I think," Adam replied.
Mia stepped closer to Adam's side, as if she subconsciously looked to him for protection now. "Jake—"
"No!" Jake jerked to his feet and headed for the door. "I'll be damned if I'm letting my wife stay one more night in this hellhole."
"McClain!" Mia warned.
"On it." Adam moved fast. He grabbed Jake by the arm, but Jake moved with furious grace, swinging a punch toward his face.
The blow glanced off the forearm he hastily flung up, and then he used his greater weight to shove Jake against the door. They wrestled furiously for a second. Anger gave the other man a strength he could barely match.
Adam pinned Jake against the hard timber, his forearm pressed across Jake's throat and his other hand twisted in the man's collar.
"You get your hands off me, you filthy fucking—"
"Jake! Stop it." Mia touched his arm.
Jake sagged against the door, his breath coming in ragged gasps, and his eyes showing far too much white as he glanced at her.
Adam sucked in a lungful of air. That had been close.
"I'll let you go the second you start acting rationally," Adam replied, cutting him off fast. If Jake blurted out his secret right now, who knew how Mia would react? He needed them both to listen.
Or they'd get themselves collared for real.
Jake glared at him, the pulse in his throat throbbing.
"You walk out that door," Adam growled, "and you not only sacrifice any chance of getting your wife out of here safely, but you condemn Mia to the same fate. And I won't let you do that. You understand me?"
"Who the fuck are you to order me around?"
"Jake!" Mia snapped.
"I'm the only one thinking clearly right now." Adam held him there for a long second, but he felt the tension melt out of the other man, and finally eased up. Thank God. "I know this is hard for you. The both of you. You need to trust me."
"We do," Mia replied promptly.
Even if she shouldn't. Damn it, she'd hate him when she realized what he was keeping from her.
Jake looked away, his nostrils flaring. "How do I do this?" he asked hoarsely.
Ellie slipped her hand into his and rubbed his shoulder. "The same way we all do. One foot in front of the other."
"You listen to me," Adam replied. He included Mia in his glare. "The pair of you are emotionally tied to this. I get that." He let go of Jake's collar. "You brought me along for a reason. So let me do my job here. I'm in charge. I call the shots right now. And the pair of you need to be patient. Vex doesn't trust us. Not yet. She made that perfectly clear in her private quarters, and with that display tonight."
"Yeah. She's scary." Mia shivered.
"And she's probably not the dangerous one," Adam pointed out. "Vex is unpredictable, but I think I've got a handle on her. Zarina's the one I don't know much about. And she was watching everything that went on tonight, especially the way the pair of you reacted when you saw Sage."
Mia's face paled. "You think she'll tell her mother?"
"Who knows?" He rubbed his mouth. "Like I said, I can't read much of her intentions yet, but we all need to be very careful of the way we act around her. I don't think she likes Rykker much, if that helps."
Mia looked thoughtful. "Well, Vex isn't going to touch Sage. Not tonight." She wrapped her arms around herself, her voice hardening. "Can't touch the merchandise, right?"
"I don't like this any more than you do," Adam pointed out. "But Sage and the others aren't being mishandled right now." He took a step back, allowing Jake some space, but staying close enough that he could grab him again if he tried to do anything stupid. "So we need to assess the situation. We need more information, and to get a good look around. We have time. What we don't have is ammunition, allies, or an escape plan."
Jake sank onto the bed, his hands clasped firmly between his legs, the very picture of stillness. "Vex won't sell her," he said, looking up slowly, his eyes revealing the horrors of a man who'd seen the end of his world. "When I saw her there I was so relieved because I thought that at least she wouldn't be touched, but now.... How can we get her back from the fucking warlord who runs this place? She's clearly got buyers lined up, so she'll take one look at our money and laugh in our faces."
"It they're Confederate buyers, then she can't afford to cross them," Adam mused. "And they can pay more than we could even dream of. So that's out of the question now. We're going to have to steal her and the others back. Plan A is down the drain."
"So what?" Mia drawled. "We go to Plan B? Burn the place down?"
"Don't forget Vex's nice little promise to castrate the pair of us and sell us into slavery if she catches us stealing from her," Jake shot back.
"You did turn an interesting shade of green," Ellie noted.
Adam dragged a chair out from the table and gestured the three of them to sit. "Sage is now Vex's pet. We don't really know what that means, but it buys us a little time. I'll head out tonight to have a decent look around."
"We need to know when Vex's supply route to the Confederacy leaves," Mia added. "Do they come here? Or does she send the people to them? You say we have time, but how many days do we have?"
"That's what we need to find out," he replied.
"I'll come," Mia said, taking the seat next to him.
Adam folded his arms on the table. "I can move faster—"
"You're not winning this argument," she replied, a fiery glow in her dark eyes. "So save your breath. There are only three of us, and we need you. You've probably got mad skills that I can't even imagine, but even you can't watch your own back. So it's either Jake or me, and he looks fit to fall over. Plus—nobody goes anywhere alone. Your rule."
"I'm alright," Jake protested.
Mia arched a brow in his direction. "You've been going for days with barely any rest. I know you're not sleeping. I barely am either, but I've had more than you. And let's be honest, Jake, right now I could take you one-on-one and you know it. You need sleep, or the next time someone looks sideways at Sage you'll blow up, exactly like you just did before."
Jake clearly didn't like it, but he shut up and then dragged out the third chair for Ellie. "So... reconnaissance tonight?"
"Mia and I will check out Vex's stronghold, see where they're keeping Sage and what the security is like," Adam continued. "The streets are full of reivers partying after the War Games, which gives us some cover."
"And a lot of potential eyes."
"We'll deal with that," he replied confidently. "Reivers aren't known for their sanitary habits, which means we'll probably smell them coming, if we don't hear them."
Jake's eyes flashed to his in wary understanding, but Mia merely nodded.
"I was speaking to Zarina after the games," he continued. "She mentioned that the slave markets reopen tomorrow. Rykker's got a fresh haul he wants to sell, which no doubt includes your other friends. Jake, you get some sleep tonight. You and Ellie are on the markets tomorrow. Buy the others back if you can." He dragged out the money pouch he carried and counted out just enough coins to keep them here for a few days, if everything didn't go to plan. He tossed the rest to Jake. "If we can't buy them, then track who does. We'll reassess after breakfast. Any questions?"
Mia chewed on her lip. "We need to work out how we're going to get out of here once we free our people. We need transport."
"And probably a distraction," Jake added.
Adam merely smiled. This fucking place made the skin on the back of his neck rise. "When the time comes, I can provide the distraction."
Plan B it was.
It would make him feel a hell of a lot better to know Rust City was in ashes.
THE NIGHT ECHOED with howling as drunken reivers chased each other through the streets and fought in bloody brawls that seemed to be for pure enjoyment.
Mia shivered as she watched a pack of them cheering two bloody comrades on as they grappled each other in the center of their circle. McClain halted at a corner, drawing her against his side. So far they hadn't been challenged as they slipped quietly through the streets, ignoring the mayhem. Just two more reivers in the crowd. Mia had braided her black hair back fiercely, and dirtied her face a little to look like some of the other female reivers she'd seen. She had both knives at her hips, plus her pistol, and she kept reminding herself to strut as if she owned the place.
"There it is," McClain murmured, his hand on the small of her back as he guided her into the shadows of a doorway.
She peered around the corner. Vex's stronghold loomed in the night, its stark white walls bleached in the moonlight like a skull. The wire fence around it wasn't patrolled. Mia pointed to where the fence met the wall of the building. "We can't come at it from the front without being seen from a mile away. But maybe there's somewhere to climb that wall around the back?"
"Mmm." McClain's breath warmed her ear. "I'd be happier if it wasn't so frigging bright. We'd stand out against those walls like—"
A shot suddenly echoed, and they both jumped.
A gun? No, a flare gun.
The flare sailed into the sky with a hiss and the world erupted in violent light. Cheers went up, and a couple across the street stopped kissing long enough to look at the flare.
Rust City lit up like frigging Christmas, painting the pair of them vividly in the doorway.
McClain swore, and Mia tugged him around the corner into a run. They darted past tin shanties and dirt alleyways as she listened for an outcry. None came. Mia slowed to a trot at McClain's side. Running here would only look suspicious, especially considering they were right outside Vex's stronghold.
Still, it took everything she had not to leap out of her
skin when a cat suddenly hissed and darted between their feet.
"Hell," she whispered. She wasn't made for subterfuge like this. It was rapidly becoming clear that she wasn't cut out for any of this; shooting people, fighting hand-to-hand, and trying not to show how much she bled inside when she saw what these reivers did to innocent people. But she would just keep doing what needed to be done. Find a way to survive this hellish experience.
It helped having McClain there, a steady, calm influence at her side.
"This way," McClain said. He eyed the stronghold across the street. "Focus on what we're here for."
Sage. Her heart rabbited in her ears, but she nodded. Right.
Somewhere in that building her sister lay awake, no doubt listening to the same rabid howls.
They took refuge tucked against another tin shanty. McClain knelt in the shadows, examining the place. Bars lined the windows, but the wire fence was lower here, and outbuildings inside the yard provided some cover.
"That's Vex's chambers right there," McClain pointed to the top of the building. "And those five rooms there at the back have bars on the windows. It stands to reason that she'd want to keep the slaves she's shipping to the Confederacy close. She wants them untouched, and despite her hold on them, I wouldn't trust the reivers either.
"I can climb that wall," McClain said. "I'll see if I can find your sister, to let her know what we're up to. She's just as dangerous to us right now as Jake is, but if I can talk to her...."
"What about me?"
He began unbuckling his hip holster. "You're watching my back. You see something unusual, then give a yell, so I can get the hell out of there."
She ached to see her sister. But he spoke sense. The adobe walls were sheer, and she was tired. Her body still ached from the blow she'd taken to the shoulder in Vegas. There was no way she could climb that wall. Patience. Just a little patience. Then she could get her sister out of here.
"Tell her I love her and that we'll get her out," Mia whispered.
"I will." McClain handed her the holster. "The gun's loaded. You have any hassles here, then don't be afraid to use it."
"I won't." Mia caught his hand as he turned to go. Breaking into Vex's complex took dangerous to a new level. And he'd done more than enough for all of them. "Watch your back."