“Who’s he?” Lottie asked.
“I don’t know, but he’s an alien. We stowed away on his ship to get out of New Cambridge, but it was attacked, and they brought us here. They’re planning to ransom him back to his people and auction us off.”
“Us?”
Zinnie pulled her cloak to the side to reveal a tiny baby nestled against her chest. Lottie’s eyes widened. Judging by the clothing, it was a girl and she couldn’t be more than a few weeks old. It would not be easy to make an escape with a baby in tow. Putting that potential complication to one side, she wandered over to get a better look at the alien male. Although his face was partially concealed in the shadows, she recognized him the moment she saw him and barked out a laugh.
“Bryn Errak,” she said.
He was the Taar-Breckian warrior her friend Caroline had wanted her to marry. The coincidence was incredible. To find herself on this ship with not one, but two people she was acquainted with was unreal. She took it as a sign that the fates were with her. They were going to get out of this somehow.
“You know him?” Zinnie asked.
“Not well, but yes.” There was no point going into the whole story. “Do you know what’s wrong with him?”
“He has a nasty stomach wound. They let me bandage it up, but it won’t heal if he doesn’t get proper care soon. He’s been unconscious the whole time.”
So, she probably couldn’t rely on him for help, then. Lottie walked back across the room and sat on the floor next to Zinnie. She peered at the baby who stared up at her with big blue eyes. A cute little thing, she seemed to be on the alert.
“Is she yours?”
“No. Her mother asked me to get her safely to Taar-Breck. I am to deliver her to her father. I seem to have made a mess of it.”
Lottie smiled sympathetically as Zinnie’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“How are you managing to feed her?”
“They let me have a pouch of synthetic milk.”
Lottie couldn’t help grimacing. Synthetic milk was putrid stuff and contained hardly any of the nutrients a baby would need in order to thrive. It made getting off this ship even more urgent. If they could get to Taar-Breck, or even back to Bylanthia, the child would stand a better chance.
“But you don’t like it,” Zinnie spoke softly to the baby, “do you, Caro?”
When she heard the baby’s name, Lottie froze. It was what Elizabeth had called her sister. Lottie looked at the little girl in Zinnie’s arms again. Those eyes were familiar.
“Who’s her mother, Zinnie?”
“I promised not to tell anyone before the father.”
Lottie hated to push the subject, but she had to know. “Is Elizabeth Chatterton her mother?”
Zinnie looked down at the baby and nodded. It was unbelievable. Elizabeth must have been pregnant the last time she saw her. Nobody had ever said a word about it, so perhaps they didn’t know. She wondered what had made Elizabeth entrust her baby to Zinnie and realized it must have been under extreme circumstances.
“Were you with her just before she died?” Lottie asked. “Is that why she asked you to take the baby?”
“What do you mean? Elizabeth isn’t dead.”
“She was killed in a raid on the rebel camp in the north.” Lottie was confused. If Zinnie hadn’t taken the baby as Elizabeth lay dying, then what exactly had happened?
“But she wasn’t at the camp. She gave me the baby just before she was arrested. The secret police have her.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Yes.”
It was a lot to take in. Lottie had barely started to come to terms Elizabeth being dead and now Zinnie was telling her that might not be the case. She needed to let Caroline know her sister might still be alive. If she was in the hands of the secret police, she was in real danger. It made getting off this ship even more important.
“We have to get out of here,” she told Zinnie. “Now, tell me, do you have any idea how many of them there are?”
“I’ve only really seen four, but I’m pretty sure there are two others.”
Six. That was on the low side for a ship this size. It was probably more like ten, at the very least. It was a daunting challenge to overcome so many men, but it might be possible.
“Have you had much interaction with them?”
Shame flashed in Zinnie’s eyes and she looked away as though she couldn’t bear Lottie’s scrutiny. Lottie laid a hand on the other woman’s shoulder and squeezed tight. No words were needed. She understood that these men had taken advantage of Zinnie’s vulnerability and forced her to do things she didn’t want to.
“How many times?” Lottie asked gently.
“Half a dozen, maybe more. They make me... uhm...”
“It’s okay,” Lottie assured her. It didn’t take much imagination to realize what the men had been doing to Zinnie, so there was no need to press her for details she clearly didn’t want to share. “How long have you been on board?”
“Three days, I think. It’s hard to keep track of time in here,” Zinnie said. “How did they capture you?”
“Through my own stupidity. I trusted someone I shouldn’t have, and he led me straight to them.”
“Is he the one who hurt you?”
Lottie frowned in bewilderment and then realized Zinnie was staring at her scar. It was funny, but unless other people mentioned it, she managed to forget it was there.
“No, that happened in an explosion,” she explained. “I was in a coma for three months, and I guess I was lucky to survive. You know, Vicky was one of the people who took care of me in the medical facility.”
“Vicky Walton?” Zinnie checked. “She’s alright, then?”
“Yes, she joined the Taar-Breckian interplanetary forces as a medic.”
“She wasn’t abducted, then?”
Was that the story being circulated back on Earth? Lottie had wondered how the High Council would spin the sudden disappearance of one of their most beloved citizens.
“I don’t know how she came to be with Allik, but she’s pretty happy with him now.” Lottie wished she’d had more time to catch up with her friends and find out about how they’d come to be on Taar-Breck. “Lucy Bainbridge is there too and she’s sickeningly in love with her man.”
“Miss Lucy deserves to find a good man,” Zinnie said. “But what about you? Is it true you ran off with a Bylanthian warrior?”
“No, I ran off with four Bylanthian warriors.”
The other woman’s mouth dropped open and Lottie couldn’t help laughing. It was a while since she’d seen that reaction to her unconventional relationship.
“Four? I’d make do with one.” She probably didn’t realize it but, as she spoke, Zinnie’s gaze drifted wistfully toward the unmoving Bryn. “But someone like me could never be a warrior’s bride.”
“What do you mean, someone like you?” Lottie demanded.
“A servant.”
The way Zinnie spoke, as if the circumstances of her forced servitude on Earth somehow made her a lesser being, irritated Lottie.
“That’s rubbish. You’re a nice person and you’re very pretty and outside of New Cambridge, I don’t think anyone cares about class. You’ll find someone.”
“If we live that long.”
Zinnie sounded defeated and Lottie knew that if she’d been shut in this horrible room for three days and abused by the men who ran the ship, she’d feel demoralized by now as well. She couldn’t let her captivity drag on.
“We’re going to get off this ship,” Lottie vowed fiercely. “My mates will be hunting for me by now.” She hoped her words were true and that her mates were on her trail. Bayren had threatened to make it look like she’d left voluntarily but her mates would never believe she’d abandoned them. They were going to come looking and they’d find her. “But I promise you, Zinnie, even if I have to personally tear every man on this ship to pieces, we will get out of here.”
* * *
Marc scoured the surveillance footage, determined to find something to shed light on what had happened to Marra and Lottie. He’d sent Ren to the flight base to investigate the unauthorized shuttle launch and Jax had returned to their private quarters to look for anything that would help them work out what was going on. Only an untrusting Daen believed Lottie had left them of her own free will. He’d stayed with Marra, who thankfully seemed to be holding her own. Her heartbeat was getting stronger and, with any luck, she would wake soon. Then, perhaps, they would get the answers this footage was failing to provide.
“This is everything?” Marc checked with the young captain who was a recent addition to his security team.
“Yes, sir.”
Marc frowned. It seemed someone had overwritten the security system and shut off the surveillance disks for about twenty minutes, blacking out the entire Imperial complex. The person who’d done that would have had to know how to access the data, but they clearly weren’t technically minded enough to be able to selectively disable the cameras. That was a much subtler action that would have made their tampering more difficult to detect.
“Who’s been in here today?”
“Only me, sir,” the younger man replied, “oh, and the level two cadet who came to check the systems were fully operational.”
That was out of the ordinary. Level two cadets didn’t have the necessary clearance to enter the command room.
“And you let him in here to poke around?” Marc challenged.
“He had permission from Bayren Flin.” The other man’s tone was defensive, a clear sign he knew his judgement had been poor. Nobody should be allowed in here without Marc’s say-so. “Is there a problem, sir?”
Marc suspected there was, but he couldn’t act upon it without speaking to his brothers first.
“Yes, there is, and you and I will speak about it later.”
He didn’t have time to deal with his subordinate right now. He got up from his seat and made his way back to the private apartments. Although he didn’t want to think of his mate in danger, he found her preferred that to the alternative. He couldn’t bear the idea that she’d left because she didn’t want them.
Jax was standing by the window in the main living space when he entered the apartments. It surprised Marc to find Daen with him.
“I don’t think Charlotte ran away,” Marc said.
“No, she didn’t.” Daen looked guilty as he spoke, presumably because he’d assumed the worst of her. “Marra has woken. She remembers Bayren Flin attacking her.”
“That makes sense. He sent one of his lackeys to interfere with the surveillance systems,” Marc told the others.
“I was afraid it would be someone like him behind her disappearance,” Jax said. “He suggested we set her aside, so we might find a mate of our own species.”
Marc cursed under his breath. He hated the prejudices held by some of his people against the humans. If only they’d give Lottie a chance, they would see how good she was for them. He looked over his shoulder as the main communication device in the apartment buzzed. Jax went to answer it and turned the volume up so they might all hear.
“What have you discovered, Ren?” Jax asked.
“There are no images of the people who boarded the shuttle, but we were able to determine that it docked with a large cargo vessel before leaving the quadrant. Our data suggests the cargo ship belongs to humans. It’s on a path back to Earth.”
“Go after it, Ren,” Jax urged. They all knew that nothing but danger awaited Lottie in New Cambridge. “But do not intercept until we are sure Charlotte is on board.”
“As you wish, brother.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” Marc said.
“And me.” Marc and Jax both looked at Daen in surprise. He never took an active part in missions like this, although he was as well-trained for it as the rest of them. “I have wronged her. I should aid in the rescue.”
Jax nodded approvingly. “I wish I could come with you, but I must remain here,” he said with regret. “But I will interrogate Bayren thoroughly. I will also contact Commander Rossingham. If the ship is bound for Earth, it will have to pass close to Taar-Breck. We may have to rely on their help.”
Marc could see that Jax was torn up about having to stay behind, but it was the right thing for him to do. He’d only just regained his throne and it was vital he remain here to be seen to rule. If he’d said he wanted to accompany them, Marc would have dissuaded him. He grasped Jax’s hand in a gesture of reassurance and he and Daen walked from the room. Trepidation rolled off his younger brother.
“Come,” Marc said, putting his arm around Daen’s shoulder, “we have a mate to bring home.”
Chapter Sixteen
Time passed at an excruciatingly slow pace. Lottie’s head ached and she felt nauseous, but she couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. She moved around the room, stretching out her limbs and trying to stay alert. She had no idea when their captors might appear, and she wanted to be ready for them. It was a long time since she’d been in a fight, but her body had been well trained and knew what to do.
She watched Zinnie placing the baby down on a nest she’d made from her cloak. Although she wasn’t the type to coo over infants, she had to admit Caro was a beautiful child. She had Elizabeth’s eyes and those delicate lips. She seemed unnaturally quiet, though, and that was cause for concern. Whether her lack of fussing was because she was simply a contented baby or if it was due to her being hungry didn’t matter. They had to get Caro to safety and let her family know there was every chance her mother was still alive.
“I’ll protect her with my life,” Lottie vowed.
Zinnie looked up and nodded. She didn’t need to say a word for Lottie to know that the other woman would do the same. The silent understanding between them brought an unexpected tear to Lottie’s eye and she realized she’d missed the companionship of other women. Blinking back the tear, she was grateful when a groan from the corner of the room alerted her to Bryn waking up. He’d been unconscious since she was first thrown in here and this was the most promising sign of life she’d seen from him.
“Lieutenant,” she said as she approached him cautiously. Even if he was weak and chained to the wall, he might still lash out in some way if startled. “Lieutenant, are you alright?”
“Never better,” he growled sardonically as he rolled over and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He looked at her suspiciously. “Who the hell are you?”
“Charlotte Calder. We met in New Cambridge once.”
At his nod of recognition, she decided to chance getting a little closer and crouched in front of him. He was an attractive man, a year or two older than Jax, perhaps. It was hard to tell as Taar-Breckians aged more slowly than Bylanthians and humans. If she hadn’t already been madly in love with her mates, she might have been happy to marry a man like Bryn, as her friend Caroline had wanted.
“I didn’t recognize you,” he told her.
Instinctively, Lottie’s hand went to the scar on her face.
“Not because of that,” Bryn assured her. “You still look the same. It’s because I can’t see the color of your hair in this light. I’d know that flaming red hair anywhere.”
Lottie smiled. Her hair was distinctive. She’d often wondered if she should dye it to be less conspicuous, especially since she was frequently in situations where it might be safer to blend in. She’d decided against it, though. Her hair made her look formidable and with the scar on her face she imagined most people would think twice before antagonizing her.
“How did you come to be here?” Bryn asked. “Are you another stowaway from my ship, like those two?” He gestured toward Zinnie and the baby.
“No, I was captured on Bylanthia,” Lottie said. “But I don’t intend to be a prisoner for long. How badly injured are you?”
“It’s a deep wound but if I can get free,” he held his shackled wrists out to make his point, “I will fight.”
; Lottie looked at the manacles and allowed herself a smile. If they’d been magnetic or programmed to respond only to the DNA of one of their captors, she’d have been helpless. These cuffs, however, were as outdated as the rest of the ship appeared to be, and used an old-fashioned lock, the type that opened with a key. She got to her feet and scanned the room.
“What are you looking for?” Bryn asked.
“A thin piece of metal, like a stiff wire.”
“You intend to pick the lock?”
“If I can find something suitable to do it with.”
“I’m wearing a corset,” Zinnie spoke up from the other side of the room. “It’s probably got wire in it.”
Lottie hadn’t followed the High Council’s stringent rules for so long, she’d forgotten that corsets were mandatory for all women to wear. They were horribly uncomfortable garments with a rigid structure.
“That could work.”
“I will avert my eyes,” Bryn said, turning away as Zinnie got to her feet and started to unbutton her dress.
When Zinnie had removed the corset, she handed it to Lottie. Made from a delicate silk and adorned with embroidered flowers, it was not something she’d expect a servant to wear. Perhaps it had been given to her by someone special. Not usually one for sentiment, Lottie felt a twinge of guilt about having to destroy the garment.
“Are you sure you’re okay with me ripping this apart?”
“It was a gift from Victoria, but I think she’d approve.”
If Victoria was there, she’d be cheering them on to rip it apart.
“I’d offer to buy you a new one,” Lottie said, “but I’m not going within ten thousand miles of Earth if I can help it.”
“It’s alright, Miss...” Zinnie paused to correct herself, “Lottie. I’d prefer not to wear it anyway.”
“You will be even more attractive without it,” Bryn added helpfully. “It is better to display your natural curves.”
Tamed by Her Mates Page 15