She tried to yank her arm from his grip. “Where are your servant’s bands?” If they were gone it meant he’d escaped them. She shivered. She was in danger if he had.
“Don’t worry about them. I need to get you out of here. We might be killed if we stay.”
She needed to stall him. She couldn’t place this uneasy feeling, but she didn’t want to go with him anymore. “But what about everyone else?”
“They’ll be alright.”
She tugged on him to get him to stop pulling her. “The servants might be killed. And I want to know why you don’t have your slave’s bands on? How did you get them off?”
He paused long enough to toss her over his shoulder.
“Galen, dammit! What are you doing? Put me down.”
“Nope. It’s my job to see that you’re safe, and I’m going to damned well do it, so you lie there and be silent.”
Panic froze her as her brain tried to work out what was happening. If he didn’t have his servant’s bands, he was at least twice as strong as he’d been with them on. And there was no way to incapacitate him remotely if they were gone. It couldn’t be good that he was without them. But he’d saved her life before. Could she really doubt him? He was being rude, but in a dangerous situation that seemed to be his way … but why did she get the gut feeling that he was lying to her face?
“Galen, please stop — ” Her protest died mid-sentence as they passed over a form crumpled in the hallway. One of the guards. They passed by so quickly that she couldn’t tell if the man was dead or not. Galen hadn’t even paused. Why? Did he know the man’s fate?
Galen can probably read his life signs without touching him.
Or had he killed him?
“Please tell me what’s going on. You’re frightening me.”
He grunted, and kept walking. She slammed her fists into his back, but she couldn’t cause him pain. She knew that. She could pummel his back until she broke her hands and he wouldn’t even flinch.
The lights flickered and then they were plunged into darkness. It didn’t stop him though. He walked like he could see perfectly in front of him. Like he had last night in the alley. She couldn’t do anything. She hung there useless over his shoulder.
There was one thing she could do. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and screamed for all she was worth.
“Dammit, woman. Are you trying to bust my eardrums? You can scream all you want but I’ll kill anyone who comes after us. I think I managed to take out most of the guards here anyway.”
Dead? “Did you kill all of them?”
He sighed. “Some. When they realized what was happening and who was attacking, I was their first target.”
Who was attacking? More cyborgs? It must be. Nothing else would make the security team attack Galen.
He kicked open the door that led out to the patio and set her down. Light blinded her. It was a beautiful, sunny day for the middle of winter but the cold still permeated her clothes. There was hum of a ship behind her. She whirled around and got a look at what was there.
It was a massive shuttle, with guns mounted haphazardly on it. It clearly hadn’t originally been fashioned with them. It was big enough to fit twenty passengers comfortably. More if they were traveling a short distance. Ten men were lined up outside of it, and one stood in front of the rest.
“Shit, Galen, don’t scare us like that. We were about to go in after you.” The man in front stepped forward, and grasped his hand. “Good to see you. A month is too long.”
Galen snorted. “Yeah, and I’ve only been here for two days. Being in the slave trade isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
The man leaned around Galen to get a better view of her. “But I see you got the prize. Which wasn’t guaranteed.”
“Yep.”
Got the prize? Like hell. She turned and bolted for the doors. She’d show him. He shouldn’t have released her if he expected to keep her. She slid in through the patio doors, right into the arms of another tall cyborg. She kicked his shin as hard as she could and cursed as pain shot up her foot. She was an idiot. She couldn’t hurt one of these men in shoes, let alone without them. All she’d get was broken toes for her trouble.
“Now, now, none of that. I believe you’re supposed to stay with the group.”
He grabbed her upper arm and hauled her back into the yard. “Galen, I think you misplaced someone.”
He shoved her toward Galen hard. She almost hit the ground when he saved her from the fall, wrapping his arms around her and pinning her to his chest.
“Fuck, Torin. Be careful. You don’t need to hurt her.”
“She tried to run, thanks to your poor supervision. Besides, I’m used to dealing with our women. One of them wouldn’t have stumbled like that.”
Galen stepped away from her but kept his hold on her arm. “Which is why no one touches her but me, and if you have to, use a light hand. You could easily kill her. And as for running, what do you really expect? It’s not like she can get away.”
“It could have taken us hours to search this place if you’d let her go.”
He smiled. “I could have caught her. She can’t outrun me. And I knew your team was coming through there anyway. Now let’s load up and get the hell out of here. It’s only a matter of time before the Ops show up, and since they’re our people, we’d be badly outmatched in that little death trap of a shuttle you’ve fixed up.”
He skimmed his hand down her arm and laced his fingers with hers, tightening his grip when she tried to pull away.
“Where are you taking me? Let go!”
He shook his head and forced her to walk toward the ship. “I’m taking you to the rest of our people for a few weeks. See, the senate is trying to pass a law that would give the government the funds and manpower to hunt down and kill all of us. Your father can make a big difference in that. He has a considerable amount of power in a room where many of the senators are on the fence about the issue, even if their only reason is that we’re expensive. Your father isn’t. He wants us killed. He’s the swing vote. If he switches to our side, many will follow.”
“Kidnapping me won’t help your case. He’s not going to change his decision because you’ve taken me.”
“Then you’ll die. I suspect he cares enough about you to save you from that.”
They walked up the ramp of the shuttle in silence and he shoved her into a chair. He belted her in.
“Computer, lock this seat.”
There was a click as it locked and dread shot through Jamila’s veins like ice water. “This is a prisoner transport chair.”
He nodded. “Ripped from the latest and greatest government vessel.”
“You don’t have to lock me up. What can I possibly do?”
He smiled. “Plenty. I’m quickly learning not to underestimate you.”
He stood and faced the man who’d caught her, Torin. “Did you do that other thing I asked of you?”
He nodded and glanced at her. “Yeah, but I don’t get why you wanted it done. It’s a dangerous mission to get a handful of people.”
“They’re important. And they might spill and make this whole operation useless.”
She hung her head and stopped listening to them. She’d trusted him, and he’d betrayed her. It was her own damn fault. She should have known better. He was a freaking cyborg, with his own agenda. But she’d thought he at least cared for her a little. She was wrong. He was going to kill her if her father didn’t give in to his demands. And Cyrus wouldn’t. If anything, this little act would make him lose it and hunt them all down. Of course, she’d be long dead before he could exterminate them.
Galen sat in the chair next to her. “Get us out of here before police show.”
The door closed as the ship launched immediately. They must ha
ve left it heated while searching for Galen, so they didn’t have to spare time warming up. A sound plan. Galen kept glancing at her. After a minute of having him watch her, she couldn’t take it anymore. He was trying to make her crazy.
“Why do you keep staring at me? Leave me alone. Why don’t you go sit somewhere else? I can’t stand having you near me.”
“I have to watch you. It’s my job to get you from here to the station. Period.”
“I can’t exactly escape if I’m fucking bolted in the seat, so I think you can leave. What, are you waiting for me to burst into tears? Scream at you? What?”
“I don’t know what I’m waiting for. I definitely don’t want you to have a breakdown, but I’m fearing you will.”
Oh, she was definitely on the verge of a breakdown, but she couldn’t tell him that. She wouldn’t show weakness to this man. Never again. He’d gotten her trust, and taken advantage of it.
“Where are you taking me?”
“An outpost on the edge of this system.”
“What’s out there?” She knew one thing that was out there. Aliens. Hostile aliens. There were no humans out that far. Since serious space exploration had begun, they’d come into contact with very few alien races. Half were too underdeveloped to interact with. However, they’d made contact with two other races. One thought humans were too violent, and had severed all contact due to several confrontations, and monitoring Earth’s news stations. The other race was purely predatory. They wanted resources, slave labor, planets to colonize and blood. She shuddered and hoped that last rumor wasn’t true. Humans had a tentative treaty with them, when they had proved to be too much of a pain in the ass to eliminate completely. They’d settled for trade. But more than one trade mission had been massacred. Or taken. No one was really sure but it seemed humans offended other races no matter where they went. The Corabin found almost every gesture and word to be an offense.
“We have a small space station out there. A long term living space left over from when human space travel was less developed.”
Good lord. They were going to die. Those things were rickety and most had been scrapped years ago when miners had discovered better materials to make the stations out of. Pre-advanced space travel? They were lucky life support hadn’t failed, or an airlock hadn’t vented them all out into space.
She snorted. “So you do plan to kill me? I thought you were waiting until my father said no to your demands?”
He rolled his eyes. “We’ve fixed it, and it’s been in good working order for years. And most importantly the government doesn’t monitor what they believe is trash.”
“And what rickety ship are we taking there?”
He grinned. “Oh, it’s not rickety at all. I can’t wait to show you. It’s my baby.”
Her curiosity got the better of her. “What ship is it? Did you steal it?”
“Sure did. All by my lonesome. And when you see it, you’ll understand why I am so very proud of myself.”
She eyed him. “Tell me now.”
“Nope. Won’t do it.”
They sat in silence for a while. She might be curious about the ship he’d stolen, but she was still pissed, and not prepared to forgive him. Ever. How did he engage her in conversation so quickly? She would ignore him from now on. She nodded to herself, cementing her resolve.
The proximity alarm in the ship went off and she jolted. Either they were coming up to something, or they were being shot at. The jumper rocked from an impact.
“We’re taking fire.”
A second blast pitched the small spacecraft to the left.
“Shit.” Galen unstrapped himself and stood. “I knew they’d come after you. Dammit.” He dashed for the pilot’s compartment, and leaned over Torin’s shoulder.
“Any identification yet?”
Torin nodded. “Government Police five-five-six. They’ve — ”
The speakers crackled before the message came over the intercom. “Unknown vessel, kill your engines and prepare to be boarded or you will be fired upon.”
“Requested that we stop.”
Galen snorted. “Yeah, I got that. Options?”
“We’re faster and more maneuverable. If we full burn, we can make it back to the Mother. But — ”
“There’s a forty-one point seven percent chance we’ll explode.”
The pilot titled his head back and forth. “Well, with the upgrades it’s more like thirty five. We could also open fire. But — ”
“Their guns are bigger, better, and they have more than we do.”
“We must be soul mates. Can’t you let me finish a sentence?”
“Nope, it’s easier this way.” Galen hit a yellow button on the dash. “Government vessel, I have a senator’s daughter onboard. If you don’t turn around, I’ll kill her.”
“We don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
Jamila dropped her head back on the neck rest. She was a dead woman.
Galen sighed. “Great. Bring us around and blow out their engines. You’ll only get one shot at it, so make it count. Then get us out of here. Full burn.”
“Gotcha.”
Jamila rattled her harness. She knew she couldn’t pull it off, but that didn’t stop her from trying. “Galen, this is crazy. Let me go in a life pod. They’ll be too busy picking me up to go after you if you go fast. You’re going to get us all killed.”
He glared at her. “I think I know what I’m doing a little better than you.”
“Let me go.”
Torin glanced over his shoulder at her. “You don’t get it, we need you. We can’t let you go. If we die, then we die. But I get the feeling they won’t destroy us with you here, no matter what they say. Senators are very powerful men. Even if we get away, they’ll likely look for other ways to get you back. It would mean riches and rank for anyone who managed.”
“I’m really not worth that much. If you think taking me will convince my father to do anything for you, you’re wrong.”
Galen held up his hand. “Jamila, hush. You can’t talk me out of this.”
She bit her lip to keep from screaming at him. They were going to get her killed before they even had a chance to murder her themselves. This was proof that he was one of the crazy genetically engineered people. He was unreasonable. She didn’t want to go to their space station. They were probably all as crazy as Galen.
The ship spun around so fast that even the inertial dampeners didn’t reduce the feeling of nausea that swamped her. She watched the government ship as they accelerated dangerously toward it. She clenched her fists. When she was sure they’d hit it, the jumper dipped and flew under the police vessel just in time. They fired, and veered away.
“Punch it!”
The sudden momentum shoved her back against the chair. The air forced from her lungs as they hit full burn. She struggled to breathe as pressure threatened to crush her chest. As suddenly as it came, it was gone, as they reached a constant speed.
Galen slapped Torin on the shoulder. “Nicely done.”
“Thank you, I’ll take a fucking bow later.”
Galen walked back to his seat and collapsed into it with a grin on his face. “I was a little worried there. I didn’t think they would be able to respond so fast to your abduction.”
“Bully for you. Are you actually happy about this? You were almost caught and you’re smiling.”
He shrugged. “Cyborgs were built for battle. It’s exciting. Cheer up, Jamila. We made it out alive and soon we’ll be on the ship. You’ll get to roam, within reason. And you’ll get some food. I’m sure you’re starving.”
“Like I’d eat anything you’d give me.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to poison you. I need you.”
“Until you don’t need me, and then you
’ll kill me.”
He glanced away from her. “It won’t come to that.”
“So you say. Forgive me, but I find it hard to believe someone who’s betrayed me. It’s a fault of mine.”
He sighed, closed his eyes, and settled back in his seat.
She shook her head, and looked away from him. The other cyborgs watched her. Why? The gaze of one flickered to Galen, and his eyes narrowed. What was he thinking? Probably that she and Galen were closer than they were. At least she’d never actually slept with him. Though, she’d done everything but. Shame swept through her. She was an idiot. She knew she wasn’t some uptight prude, but this? Letting a cyborg slave go down on her, and then being screwed over by him? Things couldn’t get much worse. She closed her eyes and tried to think about something else.
Chapter Eight
She jumped as the click of her harness being released woke her. Her head pounded.
“Whoa, easy there. You’re safe.”
She blinked up at Galen and smiled tightly, trying to ignore the pain in her head so she didn’t take it out on him. His eyes widened. She glanced around and realized why he was shocked. She was surrounded by cyborgs, and on her way to some space station in a dangerous part of the solar system. She should be cursing this man.
She pushed herself to her feet and swayed as a spike of pain jabbed her right behind the eyes.
Galen grabbed her elbow. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I have a migraine.”
He frowned at her. “That doesn’t sound fine. Don’t worry, we’ll get you food and water and a painkiller.
“Food and a painkiller sound lovely.”
He shook his head. “Are you having any dizziness?”
She sighed. “No.”
“Good. Tell me if you do. We’ll have to go to medical.”
He led her off the jumper before the other cyborgs finished collecting their gear. They stepped into a huge cargo bay.
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