by Reagan Woods
“Arrgh!” She shouted, pulling at her hair with both fists. “What’s the damned difference?”
“Do you really not know the difference between pretense and reality?” That obtuseness had to be deliberate.
“God! You are impossible,” she groused. “What happens after we get out of Xani?”
“Off,” he corrected, purposefully nitpicking her Doranese to see how far he could push her. “We want to get off Xani.”
She rolled her eyes so hard that, for a moment, he thought she was seizing. “I mean, what will you do with me once we leave Xani?”
Bram studied her for a moment. It was a good question. “Er – what would you have me do?”
Chapter 14
“Take me back to Earth!” Lacy exploded. “Isn’t that obvious!?!” She tried to rein in her temper, she really did. It was no use. Bram made her want to pull out her hair. And then his. The ass had the audacity to stand there, mouth agape, and act like she was the unreasonable one here.
His mouth clicked shut and he tugged an ear, tilting his head to study her. She was a spring, coiled too tight and ready to snap under pressure. “What?”
“I…do not think you understand what you ask.” His voice was gentle, but Lacy knew condescension when she heard it.
Simpering, Lacy pressed her palms together. “Help me to understand, please, Oh Great One.”
One corner of Bram’s mouth ticked up and he shook his head. “Imagine the universe is a box.” White fingers sketched the outline in the air. “You and I are here, in this corner, and Earth is all the way over there, in the opposite corner.”
Lower lip between her teeth, she stared at the imaginary cube between them. “Bummer.”
“Yes.”
“How do we get over there?” She pressed, pointing to the spot that represented Earth.
“A ship with a working wormhole generator,” he explained. “Before you ask, such a ship would be costly to acquire and outfit, and we’d need an experienced crew.”
That sounded daunting. There had to be a bright side. Clasping her hands together, she smiled hopefully, “But it can be done?”
“Unlikely.” He scowled, absently massaging his temples. It wasn’t the first time she’d had that effect on a man.
There was no way Bram would ride off into the proverbial sunset. He was a lifer with the Warriors, she could tell from the pride in his voice whenever he mentioned them. He would find a way back to his invasion-happy buddies. “What are your plans, then?”
“The Lyarans have promised me a skimmer. If I conserve fuel, I can make Solveng, that’s a deep-space trading post, in under a month. From there, I will look for work.”
That was a fascinating plan. However, he cagily left out the part she’d hoped for where he rejoined his Warrior brethren and hitched a ride back to Earth.
Holding up a hand, she frowned. “Wait. Back up. Who are the Lyarans?”
“Our captors,” he supplied.
“Oh.” Tapping a finger on her cheek, she considered. “Think they’ll take me home?”
“That did not come up in our conversation,” he answered, something ominous moving behind his eyes. “But, if you want to negotiate with pirates, I’m sure they’re willing.”
“Pirates,” she repeated. “Can pirates be trusted to keep their hands to themselves?”
His white brow winged skeptically as his mouth pursed. He gave her a pointed once-over. “If you have something they want and can’t just take, maybe.”
“Well, damn,” Lacy groused. She didn’t see where she had any choice other than to accompany Bram. Unless his stories about Xani were made up. She couldn’t think of a reason for him to lie, but, then, he was an alien. And a man. Not the best combination. “I’ll figure something out.”
“Suit yourself,” he gritted tightly. He rolled his shoulders and twisted his head until his neck cracked. “I’m going to be busy for several days. You’ll have to stay here.” He gestured toward the dispenser on the wall. “There is food. I’ll be back to check on you whenever I can manage. We might encounter some…turbulence. If things get rough, lock yourself in the sonishower.” One long finger pointed to the clear tube in the corner. “It has buffer gel.”
“Ummm, where will you be?” Lacy was so not hanging out here.
Bram explained gravely, “In forty-eight hours, we exit the Cengemi Belt. There is no cover after that. We must stay ready to fight until we’re clear of the Dead Zone. I’m needed on the bridge.”
“Great!” She slipped out of her boots and pants and turned the wand on. “I’ll go, too. Give me a minute to do this, first.”
“Lacy.” The way he said her name told her he was close to the end of his patience. She didn’t care. There was no way she would sit around and wait for a bunch of alien men to save her or enslave her.
“You’re not trained for anything, you’ll be in the way,” he said bluntly.
“We have time, Bram,” Lacy reminded as she busily worked the healing wand over her flesh. “You’re a great instructor. Surely, you can teach me something useful.” She flashed her winningest smile. “Please?”
His eyes gleamed speculatively. “Fine,” he gave a decisive nod. “Finish up. You must eat after each treatment, and you need three treatments per day.”
Splitting her attention was a bad idea, she realized as heat flared on a downward stroke. Hissing, she examined her ankle. It was a little red, but she’d avoided a nasty burn.
When she looked up, Bram stood over her with his palm out. “I’ll help. Put your pants back on so I can lift the back of your shirt.”
She snorted. “I think you’ve seen everything I have.”
“Do it,” he commanded, clearly exasperated. “You should protect your modesty around males. You don’t want to send the wrong message.” His expression darkened.
“Fine,” Lacy rolled her eyes, but did as he suggested. “For the record, I haven’t decided against accompanying you. I just can’t figure out what I’m supposed to do.”
“And I have no idea what to do with you,” he admitted, loosening the tie at her waist and raising the back of her tunic. The healing warmth spread over her lower back, making her realize how much it had hurt.
“That feels better,” she sighed as the muscles in her neck and shoulders relaxed and released the burden of pain.
He made a tisking noise. “Your kidneys and liver are working hard to clear the waste left behind by the accelerated cell turn over. You aren’t as malnourished as the other Earthers I saw, so your body is handling the stress of healing better than expected.”
Lacy nodded her head. “If you say so.” She had no idea if that was true, but it sounded good.
With a snort, and a shake of his pale head, he clicked the wand off. “Keep this close,” he advised. “Let’s get you a bowl of broth.”
“That stuff is disgusting,” Lacy complained, tucking the device into her belt. “Why can’t I eat what you eat?” Arms crossed beneath her breast, she prepared to fight for better treatment. The broth was rancid, and it wasn’t fair she had to drink that while he ate the oatmeal-like stuff.
Instead of the expected threats, he smiled. “The mash is even nastier than the broth, but you’re welcome to try some. The broth was designed to encourage your body to create more blood and helps it shuttle more nutrients to your struggling cells.”
“Oh,” Lacy was taken aback to realize just how much went into keeping her functional. “I feel much better,” she offered. “But I’ll stick with the broth.”
“A wise decision.” Bram filled a bowl and pressed it into her hands. “The glow on the healing wand shows how damaged the area being treated is,” he told her, demonstrating where to look on the wand, as she sipped. His deep, velvety voice gave her something to focus on besides the foul taste. “Red indicates seventy percent or more cellular damage. It’s not wise to continue treatment if it is red.
“Why?” She settled on the edge of the mattress to sip her bowl
of slop.
“That kind of damage requires a regen bed.” Bram sat next to her and stretched his long legs, appearing at ease.
“It was green today,” she squinted, trying to recall last evening. “I think it was blueish-green yesterday.”
He ticked off fingers as he listed colors, “Purple is sixty percent damaged, blue is fifty percent and aqua is forty. Green means you are almost healed,” he explained. “The wand will show yellow when you have about a day of treatments left, and the indicator glows white when the cells are at peak health.”
“That’s good to know.” Lacy bobbed her head, committing the information to memory. It could come in handy.
Chapter 15
Bram shot a warning look in Lyon’s direction. The other male had been staring at Lacy for hours and it was wearing on his nerves. He didn’t want to fight, but the way Lyon eyed her, like a coveted prize, had him practically frothing at the mouth. With great effort, he kept his urge to throttle the other male under control.
For her part, Lacy ignored them. Pink tongue lodged against the corner of her mouth, she concentrated on lining up the sights of the laser cannons in her simulation. It was much harder than it seemed, but she was a remarkably quick study. A few more hours on the simulator and she’d be ready for action. Another gunner might prove useful.
Lacy had expressed delight when she learned the utilitarian console housed sophisticated military tech. “Wow! Who would suspect this piece of trash has so much firepower.” She’d quizzed him at length about the hologram generator and how it worked. “Bram, I’m pretty sure those wires are just shitty electrical work. I don’t see how…oh damn! I take it back.” The female had an insatiable curiosity. “So, tell me again how those spinning boxes are able to create a three-sixty view of this ship? Without sensors? You think I’ll just believe everything you say because I’m an ignorant Earther? Look, Mr. Knowledgeable Alien Man, ain’t nobody buyin’ what you’re selling.”
That she felt comfortable enough to speak Doranese with him now was good, but he still had questions. Why didn’t she know Corian Standard? Who took her from the work camp and how? After they left Xani, he intended to get answers. The responsibility of keeping her alive weighed heavily on his shoulders. No matter how foolish he was being, he couldn’t force himself to withdraw his protection from her.
In some ways, Lacy reminded him of his mother. She wasn’t like Sesk’aa physically. That would make the attraction he felt for Lacy disgusting, but the similarities were there in the odd comments and wary eyes.
He suspected she’d been some sort of sex worker in the past. On his planet, that was a respectable life choice for a lone female. Sesk’aa had made a living that way, but it hadn’t been all good. Some males would treat a female poorly simply because they could.
Like, Sesk’aa, it was clear Lacy’s life hadn’t been easy. Things weren’t about to get easier, either. Bram knew he could ease her mind a bit on one front, though. She might appear unaware of Lyon’s interest, but the telltale shift in her posture to hold herself apart from Lyon told Bram it was past time to put an end to this nonsense.
Two consoles angled toward one another made up the work stations of the command deck. Three gel chairs snugged up to each console. Bram had set Lacy up in a middle chair where he could keep her close. Instead of working at the other console across the room with Zocan, Lyon had taken the vacant seat to her right.
The four-dimensional simulation ran much the same as a live scenario. The holographic projection at her eye level displayed the asteroids of the Cengemi Belt. The sim generated increasingly difficult scenarios of hostile ships approaching. After innumerable trade ships and low-level pirates handed Lacy her ass, she developed a feel for the controls and began blasting her way out of mock trouble.
“Do you want to say something?” Bram queried dryly as he caught Lyon’s eye across the simulated fire fight. It was best they had this out now, he didn’t want any resentment festering when they needed to work together to outwit the hunter.
A sardonic twist of the mouth gave the Lyaran a fierce look before he answered, “I can’t believe we gave her to you. She’s a fucking menace.” His words were harsh, but his tone was awash with admiration. “Was she in the military on her homeworld?”
Frowning, Bram answered, “I don’t believe so.” He’d been so focused on survival, his and hers, that he hadn’t asked a lot of questions.
“You don’t know?” Lyon’s golden brows shot toward his hairline. “You speak her language, for the love of the Goddess. Ask her.”
“She needs to focus,” Bram rebutted. “After we eliminate this threat and leave Xani, there will be plenty of time for questions.”
“You don’t know anything about females, do you?” The other male smiled widely. “Owning a female’s body is one thing. Owning her mind is another matter altogether. If you don’t get to know her, she will find a way to escape at first opportunity. They’re different than we are, certainly, but they’re still people.”
“I’ve heard that,” Bram came back sarcastically. “Lacy is her own person, and, if she wants to leave me, I will take her someplace safe.”
No matter what, she was coming with him when he left Xani. He would not compromise there. She was ignorant to the ways of the universe. Left on her own, she’d attract the worst sort of trouble.
“Was that Doranese you’ve been speaking with her? Some of it sounded familiar. At other times, I couldn’t tell if you were coughing or speaking.” Golden eyes glanced away disinterestedly. His act was good, but Bram knew Lyon hoped to find out where Lacy originated. He just couldn’t figure why.
“The coughing is her native tongue. She speaks Doranese as well,” he confirmed, waiting for the other male’s next move.
“I see.” Lyon’s brow furrowed. “I ran the coughs through our translator and didn’t get a hit. Our companion, the one your commander took, spoke a similar language when she thought no one was listening.”
“Or when she was angry,” Zocan put in from across the room. Bram hadn’t realized the other pirate was tuned in to the conversation.
“Yes,” Lyon smiled fondly, a distant look in his eye. “Lacy is like a mini-Lara with strange hair. The similarities are astounding.”
Zocan snorted out a laugh. “Lara’s hair was strange, too. I’ve never seen a female with such wayward locks.”
“I recorded some of Lara’s rants,” Lyon admitted.
Bram stilled at the odd confession. The two males had stated that this missing female was part of their crew, not part of their trinepact. Yet, they were behaving as if Vank had removed a vital organ when he took the female. It was mind-boggling that males could have such a friendship with a female.
“Yureth,” Zocan said. “That was the name of her planet. She mentioned it once.”
Lyon’s golden eyes shot to Bram’s. “Is Lacy from Yureth?”
“I’ve never heard of Yureth,” he hedged. He didn’t see how he could deny knowledge of Lacy’s homeworld when they’d put much of the puzzle together already. “Lacy is an Earther from the planet Ear—ouch!” Eyes shooting to his thigh, Bram saw Lacy’s hand posed to pinch tender skin again.
“I don’t speak Corian Standard,” she snapped in blistering tones. “But I damned well heard you using my name, and I’m pretty sure you just told them I’m from Earth. What the hell, Bram?”
“Is she willing to translate the recordings for us?” Lyon asked cheerfully, his single-mindedness about reuniting with his friend overshadowing the reality of Lacy’s anger.
Zocan popped up from his chair. “No, we should ask for a brain scan. That will allow us to run Lara’s rants through a translation program. It will be hilarious to have them to play back to her when she’s safely returned to us.”
Tugging his ear, Bram studied the seething Lacy. The pirates’ loyalty to their former crewmate made him think. He saw the contrast between Lyon and Zocan’s commitment to reuniting with Lara and Vank’s own lack o
f loyalty to him. It put the reality of his situation in stark relief.
Bram had always admired Vank, the male who pulled him from the lonely life of guiding jungle hunts on Cuva, going so far as to join the Warriors and earning an assignment where he could work with his friend. Yet, Vank had abandoned Bram without a backward glance.
“You’re good on the simulator. They want to know if you were military.” It was weak, but he opted to ease in to the conversation with flattery.
Shaking her head, she answered, “Earth had steady electricity and gaming systems when I was a kid. I made Flight Menace my bitch.”
“Ah.” He didn’t know what that meant, but now didn’t seem the time to admit that. “Well, you’re a quick study. Er – their former companion was an Earther.”
“Right.” Crossing her arms, she flattened her mouth.
“They want a favor,” he pressed. “They’d like to take a brain scan and – “
“The hell you say!” She cut in vehemently. “I’m not letting them in my head.”
“Lacy,” he rubbed his eyes. “They saved your life.”
“They traded me into slavery,” she snorted, sliding around in her chair to face him full-on. “Why would that endear them to me?”
“You’re not a slave, are you?” He cocked his head and fixed her with a hard stare.
Belligerence radiated from her. “You can’t make me do it.” Her feet had swung carelessly above the floor when she got comfortable in the tall seat, but now she edged forward as if to jump down and run.
Bram took exception to her distrust, growling, “I think we already established that.”
“What does that mean?” Lacy’s scowl darkened.
“It means you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Bram answered. It was a struggle to keep his expression neutral when he wanted to shake some sense into her. Somehow, he refrained. Giving the pirates what they wanted, something innocuous, might not cement the slow-building trust amongst them, but it couldn’t hurt.
