3013: CLAIMED (3013: The Series)

by Roma, Laurie

  “Stop wondering,” Serra said dryly.

  She shot him a glare as he coughed to cover up his laughter, then yelped as Jax pulled her roughly into his arms. “You know damn well we aren’t interested in anyone but you.”

  “I know,” she said with a happy sigh, but lost her smile when one of the female greeters spoke.

  “I would be pleased to show you to your room.”

  No way in hell.

  “That’s okay,” Serra said with an icy smile as the woman moved toward Archer again. “I believe we can find our own way.”

  “Fierce,” Jax breathed out before nipping her ear with his teeth.

  “I’ll show you fierce. If she comes anywhere near our room, I’m asking that mountain over there to carry my bags,” Serra whispered back tilting her head toward one of the large male greeters who patiently waited a few steps away.

  Jax’s eyes narrowed. “Not going to happen.”

  He picked up her bag himself, then gestured their entourage forward. They had only walked a few steps when Tania Lysander-Dobbs stormed up in front of them and slapped Serra hard across the face.

  “You stupid whore! You’ve ruined everything!”

  Hearing his woman cry out had Jax’s blood boiling, and he had to force himself not to strike back against the older woman. Instead, he pushed Serra into Archer’s arms and stepped in front of them, meeting Tania’s furious gaze with his own.

  “If you ever strike my chosen again, I will break your fucking hand.”

  Tania must have recognized the icy blast of his barely controlled rage in those softly spoken words, because she stumbled back a step, straight into Skylar’s waiting arms. She let out a screech of protest as Skylar roughly jerked her hands behind her back.

  “Give me a reason, you bitch,” Skylar whispered gleefully as she slapped on the restraints. “Please resist and give me a reason to knock your stupid ass unconscious.”

  “What is the meaning of this? Unhand me!”

  Holding a hand to her cheek, Serra tried to move to Jax’s side, but he used an arm to hold her behind him. “No, baby. You stay away from her.”

  Serra sighed. “Well, at least she made it easy to find her.”

  “She did,” Jax agreed, then turned his attention back to the struggling woman when she let out a wild screech of pain.

  Skylar shot him an innocent look as she held up one of her bare hands, so only their group could see the energy crackling along her palm like faint wisps of blue lightning. “It was only a little jolt. She’ll live.”

  Jax ignored her, focusing all his wrath on the woman who had terrorized his beloved as a child, and cost them years of happiness together. His smile was downright feral as he said, “I’ve been looking forward to speaking with you, Tania. In fact, I’d say I’ve been waiting years for it.”

  Dark satisfaction filled him as the woman went still, and all the color drained from her face. “I don’t have anything to say to you. Serra, you tell them to let me go! How can you let them treat your mother like this?”

  “You stopped being my mother the second you messed with my mind,” Serra said, her voice devoid of all emotion. Tania’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened in fear.

  “Take her up to our suite,” Archer ordered Skylar and the officers after he noticed the attention they were getting from the crowd. As they left, he gently lifted a hand to touch the red mark on Serra’s cheek, and couldn’t stop his own hands from shaking with anger. “Are you all right, baby?”

  “I’m fine. Or I will be. Let’s just get this done.”

  ****

  Archer watched Serra carefully as she huddled in front of her data unit with Takeshi.

  He had to admire how well she was taking the entire situation, but he was also worried. She was excellent at compartmentalizing, and was focused on finishing their mission before she dealt with her emotions. It might not be the healthiest of reactions, but it was how she processed bad situations and kept working. God knew she’d had enough of those in her life so she’d had plenty of practice. He knew there would be fallout later, but he would be there for her when that happened.

  Both he and Jax would always be there for her.

  Hell, Archer had to keep it together, especially after Jax had all but lost his shit. The worst of Jax’s rage had been alleviated by slamming his fist through the wall as soon as they had entered the privacy of their suite. Archer was used to Jax’s tantrums, but they had both been worried about Serra’s reaction. Even at his worst, Archer knew that Jax would never hurt her, but she might not understand Jax’s need to release some of his aggression in a physical way.

  But after Jax hit the wall, Serra had simply raised a brow and frowned at him. “You’re going to pay for that…and apologize to the owners.”

  Stars, Archer loved her.

  They had secured Tania Lysander-Dobbs in the conference room located within their suite. It was equipped with soundproofing and high-grade locks, which made it the perfect temporary holding cell for their prisoner. They’d decided to leave her in the room while they waited for the rest of their team to arrive, then they’d argued about who would get to interrogate her.

  It didn’t help that everyone wanted a shot at Tania.

  In the end, it was decided that Jax, Dom and High Commander Newgate would take the first run at questioning her. Archer had wanted to go in with them, but he’d needed to hold Serra while she had watched more then he’d needed to assuage his own anger.

  It enraged him when he’d felt her shaking as Tania had confessed to bribing her way on to Tartarus, where she had brokered the deal to have Serra programmed with the xili drug back when she was seventeen. And for what? Pure and simple greed. Tania had known Serra was the key to ensuring she had been able to live the lifestyle she had always wanted, and she’d been enraged when she’d heard about Serra’s claiming ceremony through her network of gossip.

  Tania has sneered at Jax when she had answered. “I saw the way you looked at her. I had to do something. You would have ruined everything if you had claimed Serra when she turned eighteen, and I couldn’t allow that. You still managed to get your way, even though I paid good credits to make sure she stayed away from you.”

  As she had been questioned, she didn’t hold anything back. Now that she had been caught there was no need. It was apparent that she didn’t understand how much trouble she was in, but it wasn’t their duty to inform her of the ramifications of what she’d done until they were finished.

  Halfway through the interrogation, Serra had turned around and walked over to the living room to open her data unit. “I’ve seen enough. She’s nothing to me now.”

  Takeshi also turned his back on the viewing screen, and after sharing a look with Archer, moved to sit down next to Serra on the couch to help her with her work. Archer shifted in his position so he could continue to watch the interrogation, and still keep his eye on his chosen. He was sickened by the way Tania continued to speak about how she had betrayed her own daughter with such ease, answering whatever questions she was asked. It wasn’t until Jax demanded to know about the theft of Serra’s work that Archer caught her lie.

  “I’m telling you, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who cares about that stuff, anyways. Serra just hands it all over to the Alliance, so why are you asking me?”

  “Where is your assistant Eloise?” Dom pressed.

  Tania’s lips tightened in distain before she spat out, “Why the hell do I care? I fired that useless girl a week ago.”

  The men called a break and left Tania in the conference room, but when she saw Cade and Andrew standing in the doorway, she began to scream, demanding to be set free. “Do something! Help me, you fools!”

  Ignoring her, Cade closed the door to the conference room himself, locking her in. “I always knew there was something wrong with her,” Cade began. “But I never knew she was just plain evil.”

  Andrew turned to High Commander Newgate. “Sir, I’d like to officiall
y request that our claim on Tania be stricken from—”

  “Already done,” Roman Newgate said. “Your bond was broken the moment she committed treason by conspiring with the Tarins and used xili on your daughter.”

  “She’s hiding something, but I need a break away from that bloody bitch,” Jax muttered as he stalked over to stand behind Serra. Needing to do something for her, he began to rub her shoulders.

  “So do I,” Dom said as he rolled his neck to relieve the tension there. “Stars, she deserves the worst mother of the fucking century award.” He winced as he turned in Serra’s direction to apologize.

  “Don’t worry. I agree with you,” she assured him.

  “Archer and I will take the next round,” Arik said. “She was lying about her assistant.”

  “She was,” Archer agreed.

  Jax leaned over and pressed a kiss onto the top of Serra’s head. “Come on, sweetheart. Why don’t we take a little break—”

  Serra tilted her head up. “We could…or I could tell you that the Strike Force Team you sent out got the buyer.”

  “No shit?”

  She nodded then let out a laugh when Jax lifted her straight up off the couch, turning her to press a hard kiss on her mouth.

  “The buyers were tracked to a small outpost outside the Odalla sector on Reema,” Takeshi said as he fingers blurred over the keyboard. The viewing screen on the wall switched from showing Tania sitting in the conference room to the footage taken from a camera that had been on one of the Strike Force team members during the takedown. “The team found a group of marauders that have been known for trading in black market goods.”

  “Any survivors?” Roman Newgate asked.

  “Two. Five were killed in the takedown. No casualties for the Strike Force.”

  “I need coffee.” Serra turned away from the violence on screen, trying to hold back a yawn.

  “I’ll get it.” Officer Ryans popped up from his seat and hurried over to the food console.

  “I want Officers Nolan and Prentice taken into custody. They’re here on New Vega, and I want them in interrogation. Since Eloise Greer is in the wind, they might know where she is.”

  Officers Meyer and Rhine stood up from where they had been sitting. “Sir, we can go now,” Officer Rhine offered. “I know where Nolan usually likes to gamble.”

  “We’ll go with you,” Cade said. “I need to get out of this suite for a bit. Just knowing Tania is in the other room is…”

  “Making me sick,” Andrew finished. He walked over kiss Serra’s cheek. “We’ll be back soon.”

  The four men left the suite while the others continued watching the video of the takedown on Reema. Serra smiled gratefully at Officer Ryans as he handed her a steaming mug of coffee, giving Skylar the other mug he was holding. He walked around the room, distributing the other mugs, then went to stand next to Jax as they watched the screen.

  “The Strike Force team is damn good,” Jax commented.

  “Commander Malloy’s group is one of the best,” High Commander Newgate said with no small amount of pride.

  “You work with them a lot, don’t you?” Archer asked.

  “I do. I’ve spent quite a bit of time with them since my position requires me to do a lot of traveling.”

  Skylar’s eyes were alight with interest and a hint of envy. “Do they have any female members on the Strike Force teams?”

  Dom shot her a dark glare from across the room. “No.”

  Roman Newgate started to respond, but the sound of Arik crashing to the floor had everyone moving. “What the hell happened?”

  Archer blinked to clear his vision, only it didn’t help. He took a step forward then dropped the mug of coffee he was holding as he fell to the floor when he limbs went numb. Seeing Serra on the ground in front of him, he tried to crawl toward her. Fear swept through him as she turned her head to stare at him through glassy eyes. He was barely aware of the others falling. The only thing that mattered was getting to Serra.

  He reached out his hand, fingertips brushing hers as he whispered her name, then lost his fight to stay conscious as the darkness claimed him.

  ****

  Jax let out a groan as he prayed for the pounding in his head to dissipate.

  It had been years since he had last been on a bender and woken up with such a headache. No, that wasn’t right. He hadn’t been drinking. He had been watching a video when—his thoughts cleared even as his head continued to pound like it was going to explode.

  Jerking up, Jax surveyed the room as he fought back the urge to puke his guts out. They were on New Vega in their suite, and everyone in the room was passed out where they had dropped to the ground. Pain tore through his heart when he saw that Serra and Skylar were both missing.

  Serra!

  His body felt heavy, but he pushed himself forward, crawling over to Dom where he lay a few feet away. Jax reached out, checking for his friends pulse, and let out a relieved sigh when he found it beating strong. Without hesitation, Jax lifted his hand and slapped Dom across the face, then lifted his arm barely in time to block the fist that flew at his face in retaliation.

  “What the fuck?”

  “We’ve been drugged.”

  “Serra!”

  He turned and met Archer’s desolate eyes, and Jax let the ice cold rage build inside of him. She was still alive. Whoever did this wouldn’t have taken her just to kill her. They would get her back. There was no option for failure.

  “Son of a—Dom! Arik’s pulse is thready and he’s not waking up!” Roman Newgate was bent over Arik, trying to wake the D’Aire to no avail.

  “Fuck…the D’Aire react differently than we do to certain drugs,” Dom said as he crawled over to his friend when his legs failed to allow him to stand. He lifted his wrist to call for a med tech, but turned his head at the urgency in Archer’s voice.

  “Jax! I need you over here!”

  Jax made it to his knees before he had to reach out and to hold onto the couch to steady himself when his legs remained numb. He let out a roar of rage as he saw Archer braced over Cal Ryans, holding his shirt to a chest wound that was bleeding out fast.

  “I didn’t drink…the…coffee,” Ryans panted out. “They…took…the women…I couldn’t stop them.”

  Jax stumbled over to them and surveyed the damage for himself. A hilt of a knife was sticking out of Ryans’ chest, and the younger man had lost a lot of blood while the rest of them had been passed out. “Hold on, kid. You hold the hell on!”

  “Called…for help…sorry, sirs.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about. Don’t you fucking die on me, Ryans. That’s a goddamn order!”

  Even as he spoke, the door to the suite burst open as a dozen men rushed in, led by Serra’s fathers. “Christ, what the fuck happened here?”

  Two med techs hurried over and went to work on Cal’s injury. “Missed the heart, but we need to stop the bleeding…”

  Jax struggled to his feet, stepping back to give the men room to try and save the young officer. He looked down at the blood on his hands. His friend’s blood. The sounds in the room became muffled until the beat of his heart was the only thing he heard.

  The heart that belonged to Serra.

  Someone had taken his woman, and there would be a reckoning the likes no one had ever seen if she was hurt…or worse. He’d failed to protect Serra, but he would get her back.

  At any cost.

  “Where is my daughter, Jax?” Andrew shouted, but Jax just ignored him as he moved toward the door to the conference room. It took him two tries to unlock the door since his hands were covered with blood. When the door opened, he saw horror in Tania’s eyes as she got a good look at him. Jumping up from her chair, she backed away.

  “Don’t touch me! Help!”

  Jax didn’t stop advancing until he gripped her by the throat. Ruthlessly, he slammed her back against the wall, lifting her off her feet. “Where is she?”

  Archer, Cade and Andr
ew rushed in. “Jax! What are you doing, man?”

  “She knows something!” Jax roared back, not taking his gaze off the petrified woman in his grasp. His mind was a red haze of fury, and he wanted retribution so bad he could almost taste it.

  “I don’t know anything!” Tania gasped.

  “Liar!” Jax snarled, letting her see that he was no longer the calm man who had questioned her before.

  “Jax, we can track Serra. We’ll get her back.”

  “Then do it,” Jax snapped back at Archer. “But this bitch is going to tell me what she knows, if I have to take her apart, piece by piece. You wouldn’t just fire your assistant. She knows too many of your secrets for you to just let her go. And you’re going to tell me everything, because if Serra dies, so will you. Do you hear me? Your life depends on if I get her back. So, start talking.”

  Eye wide with terror, Tania spilled out everything she knew.

  ***

  Chapter Fourteen

  Serra held back a groan of pain as she came to lying on the cold, hard floor.

  She stayed very still as she did an internal survey, and realized that she was undamaged by whatever had happened. After years of getting those raging headaches every time she thought of Jax and Archer, the throbbing in her head barely fazed her. She started to shift her body, but the sound of a metallic thud had her freezing in place.

  “You are awake, human?”

  Turning her head, Serra opened her eyes to see a pair of cat-like, amber eyes staring back at her. Jumping to a wobbly crouch, Serra braced herself for an attack.

  But none came.

  A single Helios female stood staring back at her curiously, head cocking to the side with feline grace. The Helios were from the planet Helix, a jungle world that was almost primitive in nature. Known as shifters for their ability to change into large jungle cats, the Helios were some of the most dangerous beings in the known worlds.

  “You have nothing to fear from me.”

  Nodding, Serra studied the beautiful female as she rose to her feet, swaying for a moment before she got her bearings. The Helios had golden skin with long hair a few shades lighter. She was dressed in tight brown leather pants and a matching vest that showed off her generous curves and corded muscles. Combined with her slanted amber eyes and standing at a few inches over six feet tall, she was an impressive sight.