by Smith, S. E.
Tansy turned to look at Mak before she crossed over to a chair and sat down on legs suddenly weak. The fatigue continued to drain her both mentally and physically. If she survived this, it was a good thing she planned on it being her last assignment. Right now, she felt as weak as a kitten.
“The first few days were wonderful. We were staying at the head of the oil company's compound. Each of us had our own bedroom and bathroom. It was heaven,” her voice trailed away as she stared out the window not seeing the glittering lights of the city but the dark shadows of her memories.
“Until...?” Mak prompted gently as he moved to sit across from her on the couch.
Tansy looked at him, blinking several times to bring the vision of him and not what happened back into her mind. “Until the night a group of men attacked. There was a dinner followed by dancing afterwards. Hannah got to stay up an hour later because she was the oldest. Tink and I were supposed to be in bed but I was too excited. I snuck back down the stairs and hid under one of the tables,” she murmured. “It was so grand and everyone was having so much fun. Hannah was dancing with a really cute boy that had been following her around all evening when suddenly a group of armed, masked men burst in. They began firing randomly around the room. I saw the security guards grab my parents and the other two couples from the oil company and take them out of the room. The boy dancing with Hannah was shot...” Tansy's voice faded for a moment as if she suddenly had trouble getting the sound to come out.
She jerked when she felt Mak slowly entwine his own larger hand with hers and squeeze it gently in encouragement. She tried to pull back but he refused to let her go. Truthfully, she didn't want him to. She slowly relaxed enough so she could continue telling him why she was who she was.
“What happened next?” He asked.
“They took her. They took Hannah,” Tansy said clearing her throat. “There was nothing I could do. I was trapped under the table by two of the people who had been shot. I heard the death rattle in their chests as they died. I couldn't get out. They took her,” she whispered in a broken voice.
Mak cursed silently at the tears in Tansy's eyes that came to the surface but refused to fall. He knew deep down that this was just the beginning of her story. He wanted to go back to when she was so young and wipe away what happened to her. This was one of the reasons Prime males were so protective of their females. While there had been war and conflicts, it was the male’s responsibility to protect the females from having to witness such atrocities.
“Yet, she is with my brother,” Mak said gently. “She was found?”
She shook her head slightly. “Yes and no. She escaped from the camp where they were holding the group into the jungle. She survived for ten days before she came upon a small village along the river. A couple cared for her and contacted my family,” she explained quietly. “Hannah...Hannah was never the same, though. For a long time she would have horrible nightmares. She refused to talk about what happened to her during the time she was held. Even now she refuses to say anything about it. She also can't stand being around a lot of people. There are very few people that she trusts,” Tansy's lips twisted into a smile that never reached her eyes. “I can understand why.”
“Who was Branson?” Mak asked suddenly understanding that was where her story was leading to. This male was the one who put the dark shadows in her eyes.
“Branson,” Tansy said softly looking again out the window without seeing anything. “He was my teacher, my friend, my lover if you could call him that, and the only person I've ever really trusted besides my family and Cosmos. He taught me everything I know. After seeing what happened, what those men did, and what they took from my sister I knew I could never let that happen to anyone else. I could never let them do that to anyone else. So, when I was eighteen I left my parents and started searching for someone who could teach me how to stop people like the ones who took her. I began hanging outside of bars, listening, asking questions, learning.”
The deep growl that escaped Mak's chest was evidence of his displeasure at the idea of her being exposed to so much danger. Tansy chuckled and shook her head. “Branson felt the same way. He came out of one of the lesser quality establishments I had chosen one night to find me surrounded by four men. It didn't take long for him to send them running with their tails between their legs.”
“What did he do next?” Mak asked with a frown.
Tansy looked at Mak with a sad grin. “He grabbed my arm, jerked me down into his lap, and gave me holy hell for the next half hour before letting me go. Here was a man in a wheelchair and he was able to defeat four huge ass biker dudes. I knew he was the one to teach me what I wanted to know,” she said.
“He should have refused,” Mak growled out not in the least liking this 'Branson' at all.
“He did... for the next three months. I camped out on his doorstep, dogged his every shadow, and begged him until he finally gave in. I told him if he didn't teach me I would go back to the bars and find someone who would,” she said pushing a strand of dark red hair back away from her face and letting her head drop to rest against the back of the chair. “For the next year, he pushed me. At times, I didn't think I would survive but every time I thought of giving up he asked what would have happened if Hannah had given up when she was alone in the jungle with those men. Who would have helped her? How could I not be at least as strong as she was to not give up? He knew how to play the guilt card and get results,” she muttered softly before continuing. “Branson was older than I was by almost fifteen years. He was an ex-Special Ops. He had moved into a special program the government started. He was caught during his last assignment and tortured. They broke his back, paralyzing him from the waist down. He was forced into early retirement. He later joined a group of men from his unit who had formed a security company,” her voice broke again as she talked about the man who had changed her life. “He was the smartest, kindest man I ever knew. The only thing he wanted to do was make the world a better place to live, a safer place. He had grown up on the streets. His parents divorced and he never knew his dad. The gangs were his family until he went into the military. It was there he found his niche in life.”
Mak watched as silent tears slid down Tansy's pale cheeks. He hated seeing the dark shadows under her eyes and the even darker ones in them. He could feel the deep sorrow and pain inside her as if it was his own. The darkness of loss was eating away at her.
“What happened to him?” He asked in a somber tone.
Tansy's tear-filled eyes turned to look into his. “Me,” she whispered. “Me,” she repeated with a small sob.
He couldn't stand the pain anymore. Reaching out, he pulled her resistant body into his arms and held her tightly refusing to let her go. He rocked her small, fragile form as silent sobs shook her. There was nothing he could do but give her some of his strength as she struggled to finish her story.
“I refused to give up going after the men who had hurt Hannah. I wanted them to pay for what they had done to her. She was no longer the laughing, happy girl anymore. She was so quiet afterwards. She would stare out the window for hours and I could hear her crying at night. They took a part of her away that I wanted back. I wanted my big sister back and they took her away!” She said bitterly. “Branson told me revenge was not the answer. That it could never bring Hannah back to who she was before. He told me that in order to prevent something like this from happening to someone else’s sister that it was necessary to take out the man or men who order the killings and abductions in the first place. He said it was important to take out the leaders to break the chain of command,” she mumbled against his chest. “So, I found out who it was and I went after them.”
Mak's arms tightened protectively around her smaller form. The vision of what she was about to share exploded in his mind. “They struck first,” he said hoarsely.
“Yes,” she replied dully. “They struck first. Somehow, there was a leak warning them that someone was going to come after them. The
y were told it was Branson. I had gone to meet my parents and Tink for dinner. Branson was working on another assignment and decided to stay home. They came for him,” Tansy couldn't say anything else out loud.
She doesn't have to, Mak thought in despair as the images of what she found formed in his mind in vivid, colorful detail.
Tansy had returned how to find Branson strung upside down from the beams in their living room. He had been tortured and gutted. His remains had been scattered around the house as a warning. A message warning anyone who decided to come after them would suffer the same fate was written in Branson's blood on the wall of their living room. Even their pet cat had not escaped the brutality of the attack. Its head was placed in the refrigerator and not found until several days later when Tansy was cleaning out the weapons cache Branson had hidden.
“I killed them,” Tansy murmured in an emotionless voice. “I killed them all. I went after each one of Roberto's men who was involved and killed them. I wanted him to know someone was coming for him next.”
Mak didn't say a word. He just held Tansy tight. He could feel her fear that she was nothing but a cold-hearted murder. She believed she was no different than the men she had killed but he knew better. He saw the images of her rocking the young girl who had been brutally molested and beaten. He saw her helping the families of the men who were murdered for rescuing the hostages who were taken with her sister. He saw dozens and dozens of ways she helped to direct the young boys and girls who had taken the wrong path and joined gangs find a different type of family away from the violence of the streets. But, there was still something she was holding back from him. Something very important had happened since they had checked into the hotel. There was a resolve in her that had not been there before.
“Why is it so important for you to do this and not someone else,” Mak asked quietly.
Tansy pulled back enough to stare up into his eyes. “I know who really betrayed Branson now. I never knew who had. I knew who did the actual killing but I never could figure out who was the one who had betrayed him until now,” Tansy said with a hard edge to her tone. “I know who it is and I'm going to kill the son-of-a-bitch if it is the last thing I ever do.”
Chapter 17
Mak held Tansy’s small body tightly against his own. She had woken several times during the night. He was so tuned to her mind now that each nightmare became his own. The first time he woke her by making love to her hard and fast. The next few times he simply pushed his own thoughts into her dreams, taking over through force to change them to his own. He could feel the exhaustion still pulling at her. Her mind refused to slow down or stop long enough to let her get the good, deep rest that she needed.
He needed to find a way back home. He was afraid for the first time in his life… afraid he would not be able to keep his mate safe. She was determined to kill the man responsible for her ex-lover’s death. He had been right when he said she had not been with a male before. It was true she hadn’t been a virgin as his brother J’kar described but she had still been untouched. Her relationship with Branson could only go so far due to the physical limitations forced by his injuries. Regardless, he could feel the deep love and sadness she had for the other man. A part of him was surprised at the lack of jealousy he felt at her feelings for another male. Perhaps it was because the man was dead but he was more inclined to believe it was because he was thankful for the guidance and protection the man had given to his mate when she was younger. If he had not taken her under his wing, she might have not met with someone who could teach her how to have survived until he came into her life.
The sun was beginning to rise when he felt her stirring again. He knew the exact moment she woke fully. He felt the heat of her anger. Mak rolled over, caging her between his arms and under his body.
“You were doing it again,” she glared sleepily up at him.
He brushed a kiss over her lips and grinned down at her. “Who… me? Would I ever sneak into your mind without your permission?” He asked trying to look innocent and failing miserably.
Tansy’s lips twitched at his teasing. “Since I didn’t say anything about you being in my mind… yes, you would.” Her eyes softened for a moment before she continued. “Thank you.”
Mak groaned at the bashful look in her eyes before he buried his head into her shoulder. “You never have to thank me for being there for you. I love you, je talli,” he whispered. “It is my right to care for you.”
Tansy released a small embarrassed laugh and hugged him close for a minute before her stomach let out a loud growl. “Well, I hope that care includes a shower and food. I could really use both,” she sighed out.
Pulling back until he was looking back down at her, he grinned again. “Yes, except for one problem. I would use your communication device to order food for you but the person on the other end would not be able to understand me,” he said with remorse.
“I’ve got that covered,” a voice from the door said.
Tansy’s head jerked around at the unexpected intrusion and she uttered a loud curse. “Damn it, Cosmos! You scared the shit out of me! What are you doing here?” Tansy asked shocked.
“I was worried about you but I should have known the big-ass alien male I sent to you would have you covered,” he said with a grin from the doorway looking at Tansy peeking out from under Mak’s huge, partially covered figure. “I just wasn’t expecting it to be quite so literal,” he joked while raising his eyebrows up and down.
Mak growled out under his breath. “I should have killed your ass when I had the chance before,” he snarled out playfully.
“Why would you want to kill Cosmos?” Tansy asked puzzled looking up at Mak than over at the door where Cosmos shifted uncomfortably.
“I’ll go order some food,” Cosmos quickly said before disappearing into the other room.
Mak chuckled and looked down between his and Tansy’s body at her full breasts pressed against his chest. “He made a comment about your breasts.”
Tansy looked up at Mak shocked for a moment before she pushed against his chest trying to get him off her. “God, what is it about men and their fascination with a woman’s boobs?” She asked, rolling out of the bed. "It must be a genetic thing pre-programmed into every male regardless of what planet they come from."
“Why should we not be fascinated with something so beautiful?” Mak asked enjoying the view of Tansy’s ass peeking out from where her hair hung down back as she walked to the bathroom.
Turning, she flashed her eyes suggestively at him. “Well, if you are that damn fascinated why don’t you come show me?” She asked with a mischievous smile before disappearing into the bathroom.
Mak let out a curse under his breath as his cock swelled in response. He would have to be dead not to hear the invitation in his mate’s voice. He practically fell out of the bed trying to get untangled from the sheets wrapped around him. In all his existence, females had been afraid of him. Gods, even the males feared him! How he was blessed to find a bond mate who was not only unafraid of him but met him head on in every way was beyond his comprehension. The fact that this tiny human mate was not intimidated by his size humbled him. He couldn’t wait to introduce her to his mother and sister. They were the only other females who were not intimidated by his size.
A dark frown crossed his face as he thought about his sister. Where was she if Cosmos was here? Who was protecting her? A low snarl of rage burst from his lips. His gaze swung from the bathroom door where he could hear his mate bathing to the door leading into the other room. He groaned and ran his hands through his hair in aggravation. Grabbing his pants, he shoved his legs into them before he strode to the door pulling it open so fast it banged against the wall. Cosmos was hanging up the phone when Mak reached for the front of his shirt.
“Where is Terra and why are you here?” Mak growled out, annoyed.
“Hey!” Cosmos said startled as Mak continued pushing him until he was up against the wall near the door leading into t
he hotel room. “She’s safe! I swear I wouldn’t have left her if I didn’t think she was safe,” Cosmos choked out.
“Mak! Let him go!” Tansy said from the doorway of the bedroom.
Mak’s eyes darkened when he saw his mate standing there with nothing more than a towel wrapped around her lush figure. Her hair was hanging down like wet ropes of flame and her dark green eyes sparkled with fury. He was about to tell her to go back to their room when a whistle of appreciation whipped his head to the other side. He let out a deep growl of warning as he stared at the other three men in the room. He had been so focused on Cosmos and finding out about Terra that he neglected to see if there was anyone else in the room.
Tansy shook her head at the other men and moved forward to try to save Cosmos who was beginning to look a little blue. “Let him go, you overgrown ox! No killing the good guys and definitely no killing my baby sister’s best friend!” Tansy growled back gripping the towel in one hand while smacking Mak in the arm with the other.
“Go get dressed,” Mak snarled quietly under his breath. “I do not want the others to see you unclothed.”
“I’ll drop this towel and let everyone and their brother see me if you don’t release Cosmos this instant!” Tansy snarled back.
“I have no objections to you holding him a little longer,” one of the men said hopefully.
“Me either!” the other said with an appreciative grin on his face as he stared at Tansy’s long legs. “For someone so small, the female has long legs and is…” He broke off when Mak dropped Cosmos and turned on him.
“She is mine!” Mak snarled out moving into a defensive stance between her and the other men.
“I think we figured that out from the scent on her,” the last male said drily. “Besides, we have learned to be careful around human females. They can be very painful if you get to close and they don’t want you to.”
Mak turned with a soft expletive and watched as Tansy helped Cosmos to his feet, barely keeping her towel on. He pulled her against his body ignoring the glares she was giving him. Tansy looked over at the three huge males standing and sitting near the small dining table in the room. Each had dark silver eyes but only one had short hair. The other two wore their hair a little longer than Mak did. She tilted her head and studied them as closely as they were studying her. None of them were as tall or as broad as Mak was. He towered over even these men who made her feel like an ant in an elephant’s pen.