Heart of a Smuggler

by Heart of a Smuggler (lit)

  Gabie cleared her throat. “Sorry about that little scuffle.”

  If looks could kill, she’d be dead as a door nail on the floor right then and there. Meekta was not impressed.

  “You seem to have a lot to say, so you can go first.” He pointed at Gabie.

  “Uh... well, Misha went to help a man in distress and when I saw she was in trouble, I went to help her.”

  “I’m informed that she was not in trouble when you ran after her.”

  “It’s psychic. I just knew. And I was right.” She wished he’d stop glaring at her out of those eyes. It gave her the creeps, and she shoved her hands in her pockets to hide their trembling.

  “What about you?” He looked at Paz.

  “I went to help,” Paz croaked, looking like he might faint any second.

  Olin shrugged. “What he said.”

  Meekta looked at Misha. “You started it.”

  “Uh... er...” She shuffled her feet. “I saw this man being attacked by that other man with that ridiculous furry-trimmed robe on and went to help.”

  “You went to help an identified murderer.”

  Her eyes flashed. “He’s not a murderer!”

  Meekta’s eyes cut to Emet. “You are Emet, claimed by Shona, wife of Mellar, a planet leader. You are accused of her murder.”

  Gabie’s eyes widened. Shona was the wife of a planet leader? Oh man, they were so dead! Who was going to believe their word over a planet leader, for God’s sake?

  The noose was tightening around her neck. She could just about feel it.

  “You told me Mellar was a settlement leader!” She hissed at Misha.

  “Oh, like I know everyone? I wasn’t far wrong anyway.”

  “There’s a huge step between settlement leader and planet leader!”

  Shamon didn’t look too happy, either. He straightened from his leaning position against the wall.

  “May I speak?” Sabra stepped forward.

  Meekta sat back, glowering at Gabie and her crew.

  “Of course, Sabra,” Uleah said. “If you can help sort out this mess—”

  “Sabra?” Emet looked up hopefully. “You’re Sabra?”

  Slowly Sabra walked up to him, her gaze drifting over his face as though memorizing him. Gabie felt Misha stiffen beside her.

  “Aye,” Sabra said finally. “I’m Sabra. You were Shona of Brcyton’s loyal servant.”

  “Yes.” He reached eagerly inside his shirt, only to stop when several security guards stepped forward. “I have something for you.”

  He did? Gabie leaned forward to gaze past Misha and Olin at Emet.

  “Really.” Sabra’s gaze dropped to his hand. “What is it?”

  “A disc. Shona asked me to see that you got this disc.” He pulled the tiny pouch from his shirt, lifted the thong over his head and dropped it into Sabra’s outstretched palm.

  “And what does it contain?”

  “I’m not sure. Information on Mellar, I think.”

  “Have a care what you say,” Meekta said quietly. “Mellar is a respected member of the IPS Council.”

  Well, didn’t this just get better and better? Gabie groaned mentally.

  Emet looked at him. “Mellar is a cruel man. He deals in slavery and I know Shona hated it.”

  Whoa. Gabie blinked and exchanged glances with Misha. Slavery?

  Sabra’s eyes gleamed. “And you believe this disc contains information of that slavery?”

  “I think so.”

  “Why didn’t you contact me through the IPS?”

  “Shona died from yet another beating at Mellar’s hands.” Emet shook his head. “With her dying breath she bade me to give this to you, and I had to steal away into the night. I didn’t know how to find you without revealing myself to the law and being reported to Mellar first. As a claimed, branded outlaw, he would have known of my whereabouts first. I had to find a way to contact you somehow without tipping anyone else off.”

  “Yet you came to be on this ship. How did you know I’d be here?”

  “I was captured by space pirates, but when they heard that Rose was pregnant, they released us.”

  “Rose, huh? Your pregnant sister?” Sabra cut a glance at Gabie.

  Oops. Gabie shrugged and gave a half smile. Ah, hell.

  Emet nodded and continued, “But I recognized the pirates as having ties with Sonja, who is married to Red of the Daamens. I knew she might know where you were. She’d heard you were on your way to the IPS, so the pirates...” He coloured. “They gave me a wig, an identi-disc the big blonde had stolen from some server she’d slept with recently, and put me on a planet shuttle bound for here. I came as a worker.”

  “Really.” Her nostrils flared a little. “I’ll be wanting that identi-disc. And Freeman?”

  “Yes?”

  “That identi-disc was never reported as having been stolen. Strike that name off our workers’ list. That dumb bastard ever sets foot on this ship again and I’ll personally tear his lungs out.”

  “Consider it done.”

  Sabra looked at Emet again. “You took a risk coming here.”

  “I took the risk for my family. I had to see you, Sabra. I had to deliver this message from Shona. This was my only chance and I took it.”

  “I knew Shona. She’d contacted me with her fears, but we had to proceed with caution as she didn’t have proof. Now...” Turning, Sabra crossed to the desk where Meekta was sitting and spoke quietly to him. He nodded and she slid the disc into a raised slot in the desk. The slot slid down, taking the disc with it. The screen in the far wall flared to life.

  “You wanted to see Sabra?” Gabie hissed at Emet. “Damn it, we could have gotten the message through to her directly! She had our arses in a sling this whole bloody time!”

  “What?”

  “You dick!”

  “I didn’t know!”

  “Give him a break,” Misha said. “We hid him. How could he possibly know?”

  Gabie threw her hands up in the air and faced front again, only to find Uleah watching her in amusement.

  Yep, they were just great at relieving stress for people.

  Shamon was looking a little stunned himself. Well, at least she had company.

  Shona’s face came on the disc and she looked tired. “Sabra, I have finally got proof that Mellar has been breeding slaves in a small gulley four hundred miles from here. He keeps them under guard and they can’t leave the settlement. Emet, the man who is bringing you this, is my most trusted servant. He comes from this settlement and his family are there. He saw the settlement himself when he passed over it on an errand for me, and he recognized the place from his childhood. His sister, Rose, was from there as well but she has disappeared and I fear that Mellar has taken her for slavery.”

  Shona’s face disappeared and a map appeared on the screen.

  “The valley is here. Approach with care because there are armed guards everywhere. The people are fetching high prices in a small settlement in the Outlaw Sector. The settlement is far inland and is populated by high ranking outlaws. The people are prized for their black hair and pale skins that won’t tan no matter how long they’re in the sun. It’s a genetic fault that Mellar has been perfecting with selective breeding.”

  The map disappeared and a list appeared.

  “On the right are the listings of all the people Mellar has sold, and on the left are the names of the outlaws who bought them. Mellar himself signed the document with his special seal, and you’ll find his prints on them. He was too arrogant to think I’d find it. He is in partnership with his cousin, Drasen, who handles the slave trades personally. Drasen calls himself Raznin when he’s doing business.”

  Raznin? Gabie’s mouth dropped open. That bastard Raznin was Mellar’s cousin? Cripes!

  Sabra looked satisfied. Very satisfied.

  “In case there’s any doubt, here are image photos taken showing Mellar with Drasen during the rounding up of slaves. The man who took these disappear
ed. I don’t know what happened to him, but I have no doubt he was discovered and is dead. I don’t know if Mellar suspects me or not, but so far he’s just his normal mean self. If you get this from Emet, I’m probably dead, because otherwise I’d have brought this to you personally.”

  Shona stopped talking and photo images flashed onto the screen. Mellar and Raznin—truthfully named Drasen—were pictured in each of them with thin, hungry looking people, their big eyes shadowed. The photos had been taken as things happened, so there was no doubting who was putting shackles on people, who Mellar was kicking, the paper he handed Drasen. More image photos, each more damning than the last.

  The screen went blank.

  Sabra looked at Meekta. “According to the people we rescued, which, by the way, was a huge shipment because Drasen had a fair number onboard already, Mellar had rounded up every last person in the valley. He split his load between several ships for safety in case of attack by space pirates or the law, and then he met the different ships near the Outlaw Sector and gathered the whole lot of his slaves together for the final transportation into the Outlaw Sector. This was to be his final load. He suspected things were getting dangerous and obviously wanted to close operations. We were lucky to find those people before they were sold. But we’ll still do a thorough search of that valley and we’ll round up those men who worked for Mellar. They won’t be hard to identify with help from the people they kept imprisoned. “

  “Well,” Meekta finally said. “Do your worse, Sabra. Any man who is on the Council and does this brings shame to us all.” Fury burned in his eyes and he sucked in a deep breath. “I know you suspected Raznin—Drasen—of having a hand in this, and now you have all the proof you need. Neither of them will ever see the light of day again. In fact Cardrak, the prison planet, will be their next and last stop.

  “They do have to stand trial,” Freeman said mildly.

  “Have no doubt, the Council will ensure they get what they deserve.” Meekta stood up. “I shall contact the leaders immediately and have them arrive as soon as they can. Meanwhile, keep those two... men... locked up tight.”

  “Four, actually,” Freeman informed him. “Mellar’s sidekick, Cheran, was caught trying to sneak away, and Tason, who works for Drasen, is keeping him company down in the cells.”

  “Good. I want those people found and returned, as many as can be. I realize that some will never be found, but those that can, find them.” Meekta left the room.

  The whole mess was a nightmare. But there was one thing that stood out with glaring brilliance.

  “You knew,” Gabie accused Sabra. “You know that Raznin was Drasen.”

  “I suspected.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you just pick him up? Why make us do that whole mockery of a slave run?” Man, she was so angry she wanted to kick something.

  Preferably Sabra, but she was scared the security officer would kick back.

  “The run wasn’t a mockery, but was to ensure that Raznin and Tason were definitely who we suspected.” Sabra pulled the disc from the slot in the desk. “You were the only one with a direct link, but we couldn’t use your word against Drasen’s in a court. It wouldn’t hold water. So we needed to witness a direct transaction. You gave us that.”

  “I don’t believe this.”

  Sabra gave her a genuine smile. “You did a lot of people a big favour.”

  “My heart beats with gratitude.” Gabie pointed at Emet. “I can’t believe we could have avoided all this if we’d only known that he carried the disc to give to you. Cripes!”

  “Well you just think about that next time you knowingly aid and abet a known, wanted criminal. Michel will be tickled pink when I tell him.” Sabra looked at Emet. “You’re free, but you’re still in custody here as a prime witness until the trial.”

  Misha looked exceedingly happy.

  “Tell me where Rose is and I’ll send someone to pick her up,” Sabra continued. “She will also be held in protective custody here until after the trial.”

  Emet looked like someone had just given him a palace, he was beaming so much.

  Gabie couldn’t help but grin. Well, things hadn’t turned out so bad, had they? Nope, things had turned out just right and—

  A big hand curled around her wrist. “I want to talk to you.”

  Oops. Gabie looked up at Shamon. “I don’t know. Are you still mad?”

  “What if I am?”

  “You can’t touch me. I’m in protective custody.”

  He looked down at her. “I saw what you did, Gabie.”

  “Hey, I think most people did.” She gestured at her food-stained clothes. “We were all wearing some dinner by the end of that fiasco.”

  “I mean chasing that bastard when he was wielding a carving knife.”

  “Oh. Well, like I said, he was after Emet, and Misha was rushing to Emet’s aid, and Misha’s my best friend, so what could I do but enter the fray with her?”

  “My best friend,” Misha said cheerfully. “All three of you.”

  “We did come to your rescue,” Paz said, trying to push out his skinny chest.

  “I saw that, never fear.” Shamon closed his eyes briefly. “I saw you go down in piles of bodies, I saw you leap onto tables, I saw you shove Meekta into a plate of stew—”

  “What? I did?” Gabie’s eyes rounded. “Wow. No wonder he was pissed off.”

  Shamon opened his eyes. “What I want to know is why you threw yourself on top of Mellar when you saw him coming towards me. I could have stopped him. I was going to stop him until you let loose with that God awful yell and ploughed down on top of him. Again.”

  “Oh.” She grinned and swayed close, looking up at him. “You see, I jumped him before because I love Misha as one of my best friends. One, because Paz and Olin are also my best friends.”

  “Aye. But they were out of range by then.”

  Gabie slid her hand up his chest and smiled up at him. “Well, I jumped him the second time because I love you.”

  He looked stunned. “’Tis a reason?”

  “Of course. You see, I still couldn’t decide if I loved you or not until I saw him running towards you with that bloody big carving knife, and I thought of you getting stabbed, and then, well, then I knew.”

  “You knew you loved me only when you saw that carving knife?”

  “I knew when the thought of you getting hurt or killed just tore me up. I can’t live without you, and that’s the real sign of love.”

  He stared at her for several seconds.

  “Are you still mad?” She smiled hopefully up at him.

  Shamon looked up at Uleah. “I’m taking her back to my room.”

  “Sure.” Uleah didn’t look too concerned.

  “You know,” Gabie said as, her hand in his, she trotted along beside him, trying to keep pace with his long stride. “I’m a little disappointed that you’re not happy about my declaration.”

  “Oh, I’m happy.”

  “You don’t look it.”

  “I want some privacy right now before we go any further with this.”

  “Oh. Okay. You’re not going to start yelling, are you?”

  His look was anything but angry. Hoo boy, the heat in his eyes was... hot.

  “Oh!” Gabie smiled widely as understanding clicked in suddenly. “Shall we have a race for the bed?”

  Shamon’s answer was to scoop her up in his arms and ignore everyone who looked at them in startled amusement, or in the case of some, annoyed recognition of Gabie.

  She didn’t give a vagrat’s arse, because really, who would be game to rant at her when she was in the protective custody of this big giant?

  Snuggling close, she kissed his neck.

  That certainly made Shamon speed up. He swung around a corner, strode down a quiet corridor and almost kicked open the door at the end. He’d no sooner carried her inside than he kicked the door shut with his heel on the way through.

  The man was definitely multi-skilled.
<
br />   She expected him to throw her on the bed. Instead, he placed her on a stool which brought her on face level. She still had her arms around his neck.

  Placing his hands at her waist, Shamon kissed her with restrained passion, but when she sought to break that restraint he lifted his mouth from hers.

  “Shamon—”

  “Nay. I have to say something first.”

  “You’d be the only man in history who wants to talk first. I thought that was a woman’s domain?”

  He gave that low, heat-inducing chuckle. “You make me laugh, Gabs.”

  “I’ll remember that next time I make you mad. If I can get you to laugh, I’m home free.”

  Shamon surveyed her seriously.

  The smile slipped from Gabie’s face, and a little flicker of uncertainty filled her. “Shamon?”

  He looked her directly into her eyes. “Gabie, when I saw you tackling that bastard with that knife in his hands, your fearlessness took my breath away.”

  “Trust me, I was scared.”

  “Aye, but you did it for Misha. For me. You say you’re scared, but you’ll fight for those you love.”

  “Yeah, well...” She shifted a little.

  “But I nearly died when I saw you within inches of that carving knife. Gabie, I love you. Promise me you’ll never do such a dangerous thing again.”

  “Well, I can tell you what you want to hear, or I can tell you what I’ll do.”

  He arched one brow.

  “I promise to try and find another way.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “Come on,” she said. “How much trouble could I get into, stashed safely away on Daamen and only let off the planet in responsible company?”

  “’Tis true.” He looked thoughtful. “But when I think of the lasses you’ll meet. Sonja, Oriel... Dana.” He gave a fake shudder. “I start to worry.”

  “Everyone loves me.” She grinned.

  “I’ve no doubt you’ll provide them with endless entertainment. ’Tis what you’ll teach them and vice versa that I’m worried about.”