by Sophie Stern
Of course, sometimes the pain is too much to bear. Sometimes it’s all too much to handle. Sometimes even the sex gets the best of me, and I break down, but I do my best not to let them see me cry.
I never want them to see I’ve broken.
Broken dolls are discarded, and as long as I’m strong, they’ll keep me around to play with. If sex is the only reason they’re keeping me, well, that’s fine. At least I’m not dead.
Not yet.
I’ve had my moments of weakness, but I’m past all of that now. I’ve made it three months.
Three months and two days.
Today is not going to be the day I die.
I sit up a little straighter, and I watch the door to my cell. There’s definitely someone out there. I can hear voices, but they’re muffled. I’m not sure what they’re saying, but I think there are at least two or three people.
They’re trying to get the door open, I realize, but they don’t have the keys.
I sit back and wait. There’s nothing I can do, and I don’t know whether they’re here to save me or hurt me. I take a deep breath, and then I take one more.
In and out.
In and out.
Everything is going to be okay, Diana. You’re going to be just fine.
And then the door swings open.
Three giant men stand in the doorway. One of them is blue: a Sapphiran. The other two have white skin and dark hair. Human? Orchidian? I can’t be sure.
I don’t say anything.
I don’t know if I should be scared or not.
If they’re here, there’s only one explanation: Boss Man is dead. He’s dead and gone and they’ve found his lair.
Immediately, the man in front squats down. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Something about having him down, close to the ground, makes me feel safer. I feel less threatened, like maybe he won’t hurt me.
“Hello,” he says carefully. The other two men looked shocked, and I realize they weren’t expecting me. What were they expecting? A puppy?
I nod at him, but don’t say anything. I try to stay strong, to look brave. I try not to look scared. If I’m scared, they’ll hurt me worse. It’ll be more fun for them.
“I’m Max,” he says carefully. “What’s your name?”
Suddenly, I start coughing. Hard. I reach forward for my water, but before I can grab it, Max has my water in his hand and is holding the bottle up to my lips.
“Open,” he says gently. I don’t even think about it. I just let him give me water. I let him take care of me. I open my mouth and finish off the bottle. “More,” he says, but not to me. One of his men produces another water bottle, and he holds this one up to my mouth, too. Again, I drink.
And drink.
And drink.
The water is cold, and it’s so good, and there’s so much of it. I can’t remember the last time I had so much water. No, that’s not right. I do remember.
Three months and three days ago.
After a minute, I’ve had my fill, and I pull back from the water, shaking my head gently. Max hands the water bottle to his men, but he doesn’t move away. He’s very close to me, but he doesn’t seem threatening. He’s not acting like he’s going to hurt me, but I don’t want to get my hopes up that he’s going to save me, either.
After all, maybe he’s just trying to gain my trust so he can hurt me, too.
“What’s your name, sweetie?” He asks again, more gently, and this time, I find myself whispering.
“Diana.”
“It’s a beautiful name,” he says. Then he turns back to his men. “Blake, get a blanket. Edgar, let Extrinsic know we’re coming back with one more person. They only knew to prep for the ugly dude.”
“Will do. I assume medical should be alerted, as well.”
“Yes.”
The two men disappear, and then it’s just me and Max. I realize, suddenly, that he asked for a blanket because I’m naked. Max doesn’t seem bothered by my nudity. In fact, he barely seems to notice it at all. He’s much too busy staring at my cuffs.
“They won’t come off,” I whisper. My throat is still dry, and it hurts to speak.
“What’s that, now?”
“The cuffs,” I hold them up higher. “They won’t come off.”
“Oh, we’ll just see about that.” He smiles, and there’s something about the way he grins that makes me think this is a guy I can trust. This is a guy I can believe in. This is a guy who isn’t here to hurt me.
And that’s a strange thought.
For months, the only people I’ve been around have intentionally tried to cause me pain. Max isn’t doing that. He’s being gentle instead.
“Can you hold still for me?” He asks, and I nod seriously. He fishes a little device out of his pocket and holds it up. “This is going to cut through the metal, okay? I don’t want the laser to hit your skin, so please don’t run away. There will be plenty of time for that later, but right now, my primary goal is to get you out of these things safely.”
“I’ll be still,” I tell him. Max seems satisfied, and a few seconds later, my cuffs are off, and my hands are free. Immediately, I wiggle all of my fingers and move my wrists around, but I’m surprised when pain shoots up and down my arms.
“Easy,” he says. “You’ve been in these awhile, haven’t you?” I nod. “It’ll take some time for your body to get used to moving around. Would you like me to rub your arms, Diana? I can help take away some of the pain.”
I want to say no to him.
I want to tell Max he’s a man, and all men are assholes, but I don’t think he is. My father wasn’t an asshole, obviously. Maybe Max is a man like my dad. Maybe he’s not bad. Maybe he doesn’t want to hurt me.
“Yes,” I whisper. Max doesn’t move, though. He doesn’t grab my wrists, doesn’t move closer to me. He just sits there and I waits, and then I realize he’s waiting for me to make the first move. He’s waiting for me to offer my wrists to him.
It’s about more than my wrists.
It’s about trust.
And right now, I don’t know if I can ever trust anyone again, not even this man.
Chapter 4
Max
She’s scared, and I don’t fucking blame her. Who the fuck would have thought we’d find a woman in Ulizeoa’s tunnels? Who would have thought we’d find a trapped, delicate woman?
I certainly didn’t think we would.
When the boys said they’d found something, I figured it was bodies or weapons or drugs.
But a woman?
That was one thing I was not expecting.
Now she’s sitting in front of me, and I know I’ve asked her something hard. I’ve asked her to give me something precious: her trust. Oh, I know she’s been through hell, but there’s something fantastic in Diana’s eyes: determination.
She might not know it yet, but she’s one strong fucking woman.
I can tell the second she decides to trust me. She lets out a deep breath, her entire body relaxes, and she offers her wrists to me.
“Thank you,” I murmur quietly, taking them. I immediately begin to go to work rubbing her wrists and arms.
“For what?”
“For trusting me, Diana.”
She’s silent as I work on massaging her arms. I’m beyond irate when I see the cuffs were put on too tightly, and her skin is chafed and damaged. She’s got a couple of open cuts. It’s not like this is the only place she’s damaged, either.
Diana is a beautiful woman. It would be impossible not to notice that, but her entire body is bruised, battered. Not broken. It’s not broken. She’s not broken, but she is hurt, and she’s going to require medical attention.
I lift her wrists to better examine one of her cuts.
“I’m fine,” she whispers.
“You’re not fine, love,” I shake my head. “Oh, sweetheart. You’re so very far from fine.” I look at her, and there are tears in her eyes. She appears to be steeling hersel
f, and then she asks me the question I’ve been dreading.
“Are you here to take me?”
“I’m here to rescue you.”
She looks at my face, searching for something. She wants to know if I’m telling the truth, and that in itself breaks my heart. She’s been tricked before. She’s been tricked and she’s been hurt over and over again, but she’s still being brave.
She’s still being bold.
She’s still being the strongest woman I’ve ever seen in my damn life.
And then she does something completely unexpected. Diana throws herself into my arms and begins to sob uncontrollably. I wrap my arms around her instantly and hold her as she cries for her past, cries for her future, cries for the time she lost being trapped away here. I hold her as she cries for hope, and then I start to cry, too.
“It’s going to be okay,” I whisper. “Everything is going to be okay, Diana.”
“It’s not okay,” she cries, but slowly, her tears begin to slow, and her body stops shaking, and soon I’m just holding her in my arms.
Blake comes back and stands at the door. He doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t have to. We’ve been working together long enough that we can read one another pretty damn well. I hold my hand out and he drops the blanket in it.
“You look cold, Diana. Let’s get you wrapped up, okay? Would that be all right?” I try to keep my voice even, soothing. The last thing I want is to hurt her more. She’s been through so much and I’m sure I can’t even imagine everything she’s faced.
“Yes,” she whispers. “Thank you.” She moves back slightly and I wrap the soft blanket around her. I wonder how long it’s been since she was warm. Diana looks from me to Blake and back again, and then she asks, “What happens now?”
“Do you have family, Diana? Are you from Dreagle?”
“No,” she shakes her head quickly. “There’s no one for me. You can just drop me off at a hostel or something. I’ll figure something out.”
Blake laughs, and I lift her chin. “Pardon my language, darling, but there is no way in fucking hell I’m dropping you off at a hotel in your condition, or any condition. You’ll come with us.”
“You already planned to bring me, didn’t you? That’s why you told Edgar to get the ship ready.”
“Something told me you didn’t have anyone coming for you, sweetheart.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because if you were mine, Diana, I’d tear apart the fucking world to save you.”
“The men...they killed my father. We were treasure hunters,” she says quietly. “And they just killed him. They shot him and they took me. There’s no one else for me. My mom died a long time ago.”
“You’ll be safe with Extrinsic,” Blake says, piping up. “Our ship is very secure and we’ll be able to get you the best medical care possible.”
“I don’t,” she shakes her head. “I don’t have any money. I can’t afford that.”
Again Blake laughs. “Well, I suppose it’s a good thing ol’ Max here has taken a liking to you. He’s loaded.”
“Loaded?” She seems confused.
“He means I’m rich, sweetheart, and you don’t need to worry about paying for anything. Come on. Let’s get going. There’s nothing left for you here.”
She nods, and tries to get to her feet, but she stumbles, and I catch her. Blake frowns.
“There’s something wrong,” he says. “We need to get her to medical right away. She’s severely dehydrated and if I had to guess, her ankle broke a long time ago.”
“Diana, I’m going to carry you. Is that all right?”
“Yes,” she says, and allows me to lift her into my arms. Diana is light. Her blonde hair makes her skin look even paler, and if I had to guess, she’s lost a lot of weight recently. She looks too thin, too fragile, and I’m afraid I’m going to accidentally hurt her somehow.
“I’ll lead the way,” Blake says, and heads back down the hall. He’s shaking his head, and I know what he’s thinking. Who the hell could hurt a woman like this? Who would do something so terrible?
Blake and I have both done plenty of bad things in our lifetime, but nothing like this. Nothing like what’s happened to Diana.
If Ulizeoa’s men weren’t already dead, I’d kill them all myself for what they’ve done to her. I’d tear them into bits, and I know for certain Blake would do the same.
Diana doesn’t look around as we move down the hall. Something tells me she’s seen them plenty of times before and she knows what’s here. She just doesn’t have any interest in reliving those nightmares.
“It won’t be long,” I tell her. “Just try to rest.” She relaxes against my body, and once again, I’m amazed by her trust. I’m amazed by her bravery. I’m amazed that no matter what happened to her, she’s still being strong.
She’s still being an incredible woman.
Blake slows down, and I catch up to him.
“I want transport to the ship,” I tell him.
“Already on top of it,” he taps his talk goo.
When we arrived on Dreagle, we made our way to the tunnels primarily on foot. Our mother ship has several smaller ships and flying units that can discreetly navigate the ugly world of Dreagle and get us back home quite quickly.
“Thanks, buddy.”
“Of course.”
We walk in silence, carefully moving through the hallways. At one point, we pass Ulizeoa and he seems shocked by the bundle I’m carrying. Then his eyes narrow, and he growls.
“Shut him the fuck up,” I tell Edgar, who promptly punches the bastard in the face. I glance down at Diana, but she’s fallen asleep and is blissfully unaware that her captor is so close.
If I hadn’t already agreed to deliver him to Rex, I’d kill the asshole myself.
Chapter 5
Diana
I open my eyes, but they instantly snap shut again. Why is this room so bright? Where am I? Usually, my world is shrouded in darkness, but today, it’s different.
And then I remember.
The men came.
A group of big, strong, giant men came and they rescued me. They should have terrified me, but they didn’t. I should have been horrified, but I wasn’t. They were big, yeah, but they were also brave, and I loved that.
I felt safe with them.
They looked at me with concern in their eyes: not lust, not hunger. They looked at me like I was the most incredible woman in the whole damn world, and they saved me. They brought me out of the darkness and into some place that is really, really bright.
I try to open my eyes again.
“Don’t rush it,” a soft, feminine voice says. “It’s going to take some time.”
“Who are you? Where am I?”
“My name is Sarah,” the woman says. “You’re on the Extrinsic ship. Do you know what Extrinsic is?”
“No,” I try to shake my head, but it’s suddenly filled with pain.
“Don’t try to move,” Sarah says gently. “Everything’s going to be just fine, and you’re going to heal properly, but it’s going to take some time. The lights are difficult to get used to, especially after spending so much time in the darkness.”
“They told you?”
“Max filled me in, yes. He also threatened to cut my balls off if I didn’t take care of you,” she chuckles.
“But aren’t you already a...I mean…”
“I’m a woman, love. Yes. He was just expressing how serious he is about you being taken care of.”
“I don’t know why,” I whisper. “I’m just a…”
“Just a what? A survivor? A warrior? A brave, incredible woman? Yes, you’re all of those things.”
“What’s going to happen to me?”
“You’re in the medical unit now. Diana, right? Max said your name was Diana.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Well, Diana, you’re going to rest here and we’re going to get you healed up, and then you’ll be free to wan
der around the ship as you like.”
“And then what? I mean...will you drop me off on a planet somewhere?”
I’m alive.
I’m out of the darkness and I’m alive, but my entire world is shattered. Even without thinking about it, I know I’ll never go back to treasure hunting. Those days are over, and my father is gone. Even if I wanted to search for something, it wouldn’t be the same without him, and I have no interest in trying to find a new partner.
Not after everything I went through.
“That’s up to you, of course. You aren’t a prisoner, but if you want to stay, Max has arranged everything for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, he’s made it clear that everyone is to leave you alone and let you do what you like, within reason, of course.”
Max.
I picture his face in my head, and I try to hold back a shiver. He’s so handsome, so kind. I’m still not really sure why he saved me instead of hurting me. Maybe he really is just a good person. I guess after being locked up for so long, I kind of started to think that good people didn’t exist anymore.
“For today, let’s focus on sitting up. Do you think you’re ready to try?”
“Yeah,” I whisper, even though I’m not ready at all.
“Okay. I’m going to come over and touch you, Diana. It’s just the two of us, okay? If something happens that’s painful, or you’re uncomfortable, you just let me know and we’ll stop.”
“I think I can manage that.”
I feel Sarah’s hands at my shoulders and back, and she carefully helps me to sit up. My eyes are still closed, but I don’t throw up, and the pain isn’t too terrible.
“Do you want to try opening your eyes?” She asks.
“Not yet.”
“Would some glasses help?”
“Yes, please.”
I feel her place something on my face, and I open my eyes. This time, the brightness doesn’t seem so bad. I see Sarah, and I smile. Her short red hair is bright and colorful, and it brings out her happy smile.
“How’s that?”