by S. E. Smith
Pain exploded through Tink’s side. Her eyes widened as she looked down and saw a knife protruding from her stomach, Bachman’s hand wrapped around the hilt. Almost in slow motion she felt the cold steel of the blade and the warmth of her blood as it started seeping from the wound. Pain flashed again as Bachman pulled the knife out and stabbed her again. He rubbed his lips up and down her jaw as he did it.
“You shouldn’t have played so hard to get.” He whispered. “Mm, you smell so good. It’s a shame I couldn’t have more time to play with you.” He slowly followed the line of her jaw to her lips. “So sweet. So sweet.” He said once more before he gently kissed her again, slowly pushing the blade into her for a third time.
Chapter 14
J’kar jerked in his seat as pain exploded from his stomach and side. His eyes glazed for a moment before he exploded out of the booth. Startled, the other men turned to watch as his features turned to a dark, deadly still mask.
“She is hurt…dying.” He growled.
Moving at an unnatural speed, he leaped up onto the stage and through the back entrance to the corridor behind it. Growling, he sped down the corridor to where a man stood guarding a door. The man didn’t have a chance to say a word before he was thrown down the corridor, landing against the far wall and collapsing in an unmoving heap on the floor. J’kar hit the door so hard it shattered off the doorframe. He entered the room in time to watch as the man holding Tink released her. Growling again he hit the man in the jaw hard enough he was flung backwards into the back wall where he collapsed against the metal shelving. Turning, he barely had time to catch Tink as she slid down the wall her eyes glazing over and silent tears running down her face.
J’kar caught Tink to him, slowly lowering her to the floor. He frantically cupped her jaw as she gasped for breath. Following her hands, he was shaken to see blood pouring out of wounds to her side and stomach. She was gasping, having trouble breathing and had a ghostly white complexion. Behind him, Derik, Lan, Brock, and Cosmos burst into the room. Cosmos let out an anguished cry when he saw Tink.
“Baby, what did he do to you?” His eyes filled with tears at the sight of Tink’s poor, battered body. “Call 9-1-1. Dammit, someone call for help.” He ran his shaking hand down over her hair.
J’kar cradled Tink close to his chest. Tink turned her face into his chest slightly. “Tell…” she gasped, trying to get a breath, “Tell my family I lov….”
She closed her eyes as darkness started to settle over her. She was surprised she didn’t really feel pain any more. Instead, she felt so cold. She started shaking. Even the warmth of the body pressed against her couldn’t seem to push the cold away. She knew she was dying but she didn’t understand why. She didn’t want to die. She had so much to live for. She heard distant voices, growling, pleading. She was so tired and cold. Maybe if she fell asleep she wouldn’t feel the cold anymore.
J’kar felt the life force leaving his bond mate’s body. He wouldn’t, couldn’t lose her. Growling at Brock, he said hoarsely, “Set the portal. We have to get her to the warship now. It is her only chance.”
Brock was already setting the coordinates. He pulled J’kar’s portal device out of the pouch at his waist and set the warship’s coordinates into it. He nodded to J’kar.
“Go, we will follow. What should we do with the human male?” Brock asked nodding towards an unconscious Bachman.
“Bring him. If she dies, so does he…but painfully. If she survives, he will wish I had killed him.” J’kar responded pressing the portal device he watched as the shimmering doorway appeared. As soon as it was fully formed he gently lifted Tink into his arms and walked through.
Cosmos had only a moment to absorb what was happening before J’kar disappeared with a dying Tink in his arms. Surging to his feet, he moved to follow him only to be stopped when a hand grabbed his arm. Looking up, he stared into a pair of compassion-filled eyes.
“It is the only chance she has to survive. Our medical technology is far superior to yours. She may not make it even with ours. J’kar will do everything in his power to make sure she does.” Lan said. He could tell how much Cosmos cared for the female.
“You will let me know?” Cosmos asked. “I have to know…her family. Her family has a right to know what happens to her.” He added. He had no way of knowing how he was going to explain this to Tink’s family and if she didn’t survive, he couldn’t even think that far ahead.
Lan nodded. “We will try to notify you one way or the other. She is where she belongs.”
Turning to Derik, Lan said something in their native language that didn’t translate. Derik responded by grabbing one arm on the unconscious Bachman while Lan grabbed the other. Brock activated his portal and the three men, dragging an unconscious Bachman, disappeared through the portal doorway. Cosmos was left standing in the empty equipment room.
The moment J’kar walked through the portal doorway he was yelling for medics. The two men who guarded the transporter room immediately linked to the medical level to move stat. J’kar ordered them to stay for the others who were following him. J’kar never slowed down as he whisked through the sliding doors of the engineering department carrying the bloodied, unconscious body of his bond mate. Men cleared a path as they saw him, fear and worry marring their faces. J’kar tried to be as gentle as he could trying not to jar Tink’s battered body any more than he had to in his hurry to get to medical. He was just getting off the lift when the healer met him with a portable levitating emergency medical regeneration unit. J’kar gently laid Tink on the bed. Retaining hold of her hand as the healer lowered the top of the unit over Tink. The unit would provide artificial life support until the healer could get her into a full regen bed. Nano-units would be deployed immediately to begin repair of the damage done during the brutal attack.
Once in the medical unit, the healer turned to J’kar. “You will need to leave while I stabilize her. Fortunately, I have been working with RITA to learn about human biology and anatomy. It has been fitted into our system to help in case of an emergency. Please, my lord, I need to care for her.”
J’kar looked at the healer than back at Tink’s pale face. Touching her cold cheek with the back of his hand, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Save her, Zariff. Her life is my life.” He said quietly.
Turning, he left the healer to do what he could to save his bond mate. Heading out of the medical unit he ran into his brother Borj. Borj took one look at his brother’s face and saying nothing, simply walked next to him back to the transporter room.
Derik, Lan, and Brock appeared through the shimmering portal doorway dragging the semi-conscious body of Scott Bachman. The two guards immediately grabbed the groggy human.
“Who the fuck do you think you assholes are?” Bachman said groggily. “Let me go.” He demanded.
“Release him.” J’kar said as he came into the room.
He watched as Bachman clumsily stood up and threw a triumphant smile at the guards. Standing up straighter, Bachman turned to stare at the man who had walked in and turned pale. The front of J’kar’s clothing was soaked with Tink’s blood but it was the expression on the man’s face that caused Bachman to pale. He was looking death in the face, his own.
J’kar watched dispassionately as Bachman’s smile disappeared and fear replaced the triumph in his eyes. Towering over the man who shrank as he approached him, J’kar looked him up and down.
“You are guilty of attacking my bond mate. The penalty is death. If she dies, you will suffer a death like you have never imagined. It will be long and painful. If she survives you will wish everyday you draw a breath that you had died for you will work in the mines until your death.” J’kar said in an ice cold voice.
Turning as if to leave J’kar swung around again and hit Bachman in the jaw with all his might. Bachman crumbled in a heap at his feet. It didn’t help but it made him feel better to know the bastard wouldn’t be smiling again anytime soon. Now, all he wanted to do was return to
the medical unit and his bond mate.
“I think you broke his jaw.” Raising an eyebrow, Lan replied looking at the crumbled heap.
“Good.” J’kar said grimly leaving the room to return to the medical unit.
Borj stood aside as his brother left. He looked at the three men who returned with J’kar.
“Tell me.” He asked quietly.
He listened as his younger brother and two friends explained what happened once they disappeared through the portal. Letting out a disturbed sigh, Borj nodded before leaving the men. The two guards would take the prisoner to a holding cell. The other men left to get cleaned up and rest. Deep in thought, Borj made his way back to the medical unit. He needed to talk to his brother. If this was something common for the females of Earth it was imperative they take action.
Borj walked quietly into the medical unit. J’kar stood in the outer room watching through the clear glass as the healer worked on his bond mate. He could feel her life force, barely. He raised one of his arms to rest it against the glass and leaned his forehead against it. He should have been more observant. He should have just taken her. He should have protected her.
“You cannot change what happened.” Borj stated quietly standing close to J’kar. “Your actions saved her life.”
“We do not know if her life will be saved yet.” J’kar responded with a catch in his voice. “She was so beautiful. Her voice… She sang like the beautiful flying creatures of the mountains.”
Closing his eyes he tried to picture her body swaying as she sang. Tried to remember how her sultry voice wrapped him in a cocoon of sensual pleasure. Instead, he saw her pale face, her bloodied body lying lifeless in his arms. A single tear coursed its way down his cheek.
Borj simply stood by his brother while he grieved. He knew there was nothing he could say or do to alleviate his pain. Now was not the time to worry about his own needs. He needed to stay strong for his brother.
Chapter 15
Tink felt good. Not wonderful, but good. Like she had a good night’s sleep and wasn’t quite ready to wake up. Her eyelids felt heavy and she was comfortable. Struggling to remember whether she needed to get to work or not, she frowned. Something happened. She couldn’t quite remember what it was but it seemed like it was important. Her thoughts swirled through a combination of memories. The party and music, the band, saying goodnight to her friends, putting up the equipment, the room…Memories suddenly flooded her and she let out a cry. Struggling to move, to sit up and fight, she felt her hands pinned against a broad chest. Fighting to open her eyes, she let out a scream.
“Hush, little one. Hush, you are safe.” A deep voice said over and over as a strong hand clasped both of her wrists in its warmth. “Hush, little one. I will keep you safe.”
Tink felt a hand running over her cheek gently wiping away the tears slowly coursing down it. She felt the hand gently move to cup her head as she twisted to get free. Soft, firm lips moved across her forehead, her cheek, her lips soothing her, comforting her. Unable to use her hands, she finally won the battle to open her eyes. It took a moment to focus on the face above hers. It wasn’t the attacker from her memory; it was the tall, dark haired man with the silver eyes she had been dreaming of for the past week. Confused, Tink stopped struggling dragging in shuddering gasps of air and laid still.
J’kar was startled out of a light sleep when he heard Tink scream. He had not left her side for more than the few minutes it took to shower quickly. Even that was done in the medical unit. It had been four sleep cycles since he brought her back to the ship. During that time, the healer almost lost her twice. If it had not been for the artificial life system and the work of the nano-units she would not have made it. The nano-units were able to stop the bleeding and repair the most critical wound but there had still been a lot of damage and she lost a large amount of blood. Her life force left her briefly on two occasions. J’kar melded his own life force to hers to bring it back. The effort drained him. Now, as he held her he was overwhelmed with emotion. Running his hand over her face, he gently traced his fingers across her lips as he drew his other hand holding her wrists to his chest over his heart.
“Feel my heart. It is glad you are here, with me.” J’kar said tenderly.
“What? Where am I? What happened?” Tink looked up into J’kar’s eyes fearfully, still reliving the horror of the attack. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest and she was having trouble getting a breath. Her eyes were glued to the silver eyes staring down at her.
“What is this, J’kar? Can you not give the poor girl time to wake up and recover from her ordeal before you claim her?” A voice said with a touch of humor in it.
Tink turned her head to look at the new voice. Her eyes met a pair of silver-colored eyes glimmering with compassion and humor. The man who spoke was older. He appeared to be in his early fifties. He had small lines around his eyes and mouth like he smiled a lot and had a calming presence.
“I am Zariff, healer for the Prime members aboard this ship.” Zariff said looking at J’kar who was still lying halfway across Tink, holding her hands tightly to his chest and cupping her head with his hand. He cleared his throat and looked expectantly at J’kar with a raised eyebrow. “My lord, do you mind if I examine my patient?”
J’kar’s face had a light reddish-hue when he straightened up. Slowly releasing Tink’s hands from his, he brushed a quick kiss across her forehead before standing and moving aside so the healer could look at his bond mate.
Tink watched the display of emotions as they crossed J’kar’s face. She wondered why she was as reluctant for him to release her as he appeared to be. Shaking her head, she refocused on the man called Zariff.
“Where am I?” Tink asked hesitantly, her fingers wrapped nervously in the thin, soft material covering her.
“You are in the medical unit aboard the Prime hunter-class warship, Prime Destiny. You were not in very good shape when you first arrived, my dear.” Zariff said affectionately. “I am most pleased with your progress though.”
Tink didn’t know what to think. Zariff ran a strange device from her head down to her toes and then looked on a flat screen. He did a lot of humming sounds and a few comments that sounded suspiciously like ‘interesting’. Tink simply laid there fumbling with the covers acutely aware she wasn’t wearing much under it from the feel of the material.
Glancing back and forth between the two men, Tink’s eyes suddenly filled with tears again. “I want to go home. Where’s Cosmos?”
J’kar growled softly at the mention of the other man’s name on his bond mate’s lips. His eyes flashed a brilliant glow of silver. “You…” He started to say sharply until Zariff turned and laid a hand on his arm.
“Patience, My Lord. She is confused and still weaker than I like.” Zariff said quietly. Turning back to Tink, Zariff smiled. “Your friend is well. He remained behind. I’m sure J’kar will be happy to explain everything to you later. Right now you need to regain your strength.”
“Hi, honey. How are you feeling?” A voice suddenly asked.
“RITA?” Tink gave a start, straightening back on the bed.
“Of course, dear. You don’t think I would leave you all alone now do you?” RITA teased. “Your respiration and color look good. You lost a lot of blood, you know. You frightened everyone. I’m reviewing your diagnostic scan and everything looks like you should be up and about in no time at all.”
Tink smiled, she felt almost like her mom was there with her. “Thanks, RITA.” Tink let out a small yawn. Her eyelids were growing heavy. “I think I need to sleep….” Tink’s voice slowly faded as she fell back asleep.
J’kar watched Tink as she slowly lost the fight with sleep again. “Is she..?” He swallowed. He couldn’t finish the sentence.
“She will be just fine.” RITA and Zariff said at the same time.
Zariff laughed. “It is good to have RITA’s expert advice as she is more familiar with the human body.” Zariff looked at the
scanner again before continuing. “Her body just needs rest to deal with the trauma it has been through. I should be able to discharge her in a couple of sleep cycles. Why don’t you go get some rest? I will notify you when she wakes again. It probably won’t be for several hours.”
J’kar looked at Zariff then back at Tink. She looked so delicate, so fragile, lying there. His eyes roamed over her face watching as her lips parted slightly in her sleep. His gaze moved to her chest so he could watch the gentle rise and fall of it as she took a breath. He was almost afraid to leave. What if something happened to her while he was gone? He could feel each breath she took as if it were his own. His life force was melded with hers even though the bonding had not been completed. He came so close to losing her. Moving closer to the bed, he ran his hand across her cheek and gently pushed her hair away from her face. He knew he would do whatever was necessary to keep her safe. She would no longer call for this other man, Cosmos. No, she would call for him, he thought with grim determination.
