Savage

by Tana Stone

  Her fingers traced along the tops of his shoulders. “At least you’ve made up for it.”

  He looked up, his throat thick with emotion. “If you let me, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you and making you happy.”

  Caro blinked rapidly. “Rukken, I…”

  Before she could continue, he sensed it. He put a finger to her lips. It was very faint, and he needed silence to know if he’d been right or if he’d imagined it.

  He held his own breath as Caro’s pupils widened. Had she sensed it, too?

  It came again, the pulse of a Dothvek mind. Then another. His heart pounded as he leapt from the water, pulling her behind him. “We must run!”

  Twenty-Five

  Caro tugged her clothes on, the fabric clinging to her wet skin and making it more difficult. “I don’t understand. Where are we going?”

  For once, she was jealous of his bare-bones dress code. His own scant garment was pulled around his waist quickly, and he glanced over his shoulder toward the sand dunes. “There is no time. We are in danger.”

  She followed his gaze to the desert, but she saw nothing, aside from the sinking suns and slats of orange light spilling across the gold peaks. She’d sensed his fear when he’d paused in the pool, his breath catching as he’d obviously heard or picked up on something she couldn’t. Was it a creature of some kind, or was it a Dothvek hunting party? Although she’d thought of little else but getting away from him since she’d woken up in his tent that first night, now the thought of armed Dothveks determined to reclaim her made panic flutter in her chest.

  Caro didn’t have time to analyze her feelings for him, or the disturbing fact that she might have fallen for her captor. All she knew was that he sensed danger, and for whatever crazy reason, she trusted him. They needed to run.

  When she’d pulled her shirt over her head, she followed him to the tent, still adjusting the now-damp fabric as she went. Even worse, grains of sand had crept into her clothes and were stinging as they rubbed against her flesh. “What do we do?”

  Rukken threw a pouch across his chest and stuffed a few objects inside before hooking his blades around his waist. He thrust two waterskins at her. “Fill these in the pool. We will need them on our journey.”

  “We’re leaving here?” She cast her eyes around the small tent. “This is your home.”

  “And it is no longer safe.” He motioned with his head to the flaps of the tent, his eyes pleading with her. “Go. I will meet you outside.”

  Caro pushed through the flaps and rushed to the water, squatting at the edge and filling first one of the skins, and then the other, her heart pounding. She looked longingly at the water, then swiveled her head to take in the entire compact camp. Even though she’d arrived as a captive, she now had fond memories of being there. She couldn’t believe that after all her attempts to get away, this was how she was leaving.

  Glancing over the dunes, her breath stalled as she saw the sunsets. Long rays of gold and orange stretched from the edge of the sky, illuminating the sand. The peaks were lit up like undulating waves in a fiery ocean. It was almost impossibly beautiful. She tried to sear the moment into her mind, blinking hard so she wouldn’t cry. As crazy as it was, she would miss the little oasis.

  Rukken ran out of the tent, a bundle hitched over one shoulder. He glanced behind him—the blazing horizon not giving him pause—then continued toward her. She stood and held out the waterskins, which he hooked to a strap across his chest.

  “Are you ready?” He studied her face, as she swiped the backs of her hands across her eyes. “We will need to move quickly.”

  She nodded. “Are you ready? This has been your home for a long time.”

  He took her hand. “You are my home now.”

  He didn’t wait for her to respond, which was good, because she was officially speechless.

  They moved up and down the sand dunes as quickly as possible, with Rukken keeping her from falling many times. The suns were behind them, and the shadows lengthened as they continued.

  After a while, her legs burned, and her breath was labored. It was almost night, and the heat of the day was fading. She knew that soon it would be both dark and cold.

  “Are we going to walk all night?” she asked, slowing her pace when they reached the top of a high dune. She could see the sand stretching out far into the distance, the rocky ridge bordering the desert a faint silhouette.

  Rukken stopped for the first time, although he was not out of breath. “No. We are far enough.”

  “Far enough for what?”

  “I do not sense them anymore.” His face was solemn as he peered at the desert behind them. “They might have stopped, or they might have found our camp.”

  Caro followed his gaze. Even though the suns were only a hint of light slipping below the horizon, the moons were rising. The orbs gave off nothing like the sun’s light, but their gentle glow made it possible to see.

  They’d gone so far she could spot no trace of his tiny oasis hideaway, and she felt a pang of sadness for it. Even though they were no longer there, she hoped no one would find it. She hoped the tucked-away camp stayed hidden so Rukken could return to it one day, if he needed to.

  “Who was it?” she asked, her voice soft.

  He met her gaze. “I do not know for sure, but I sensed malice.”

  “And it was definitely people, and not some kind of desert monster?”

  His eyebrows lifted in surprise and amusement. “You thought we were running from a monster?”

  She leveled a finger at him. “Don’t even think of laughing at me. A monster is definitely a possibility out here. I heard all about the giant serpent Holly and T’Kar fought off. If that isn’t a monster, I don’t know what is.”

  His expression became serious. “You are right. The sands are dangerous. But we are not running from a monster. We are running from those who wish harm.”

  Then it couldn’t have been her crew, Caro thought. Even if they were pissed at Rukken for taking her, doing harm would not be their primary aim. Especially since Tori wasn’t with them. “Do you think they are Dothvek?”

  He furrowed his brow, as if concentrating, then relaxed it. “I do not know. What I sensed is gone. We might have gone too far for me to pick up on it or…”

  “Or?” she prompted.

  “Or they are masking their minds so I cannot sense their presence.”

  “You can do that?”

  He nodded. “It is difficult to maintain, but possible.”

  “I’m going to go with option number one. We got far enough away that you can’t sense them, and they can’t sense you.”

  He managed a smile and squeezed her hand. “You are most likely correct.”

  “So, what now?”

  Rukken led her down the sandy slope until they were in a wide valley. “You were also correct about the dangers of the sands at night. We should make camp, before you fall into a pool of lightning sand.”

  She slapped his arm. “That’s not funny.”

  “I did not say it was.” He pulled her to him, pressing a hand to the small of her back. “I have never been as scared as when I saw you slipping into the ground. I thought I would lose you just when I’d found you.”

  Caro swallowed hard. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she’d been so desperate to get away from him that she’d run across the desert by herself without knowing where the Dothvek village was, or how far away. Now she was running with him in the other direction, and potentially away from the Dothveks.

  He brushed his lips against hers, and tingles shot all the way to her toes. When he kissed her, it was even harder to remember why she’d wanted to run. She wound her hands around his neck as he pulled her deeper, feeling the hum reverberate through her body.

  When he pulled back, the hum did not stop.

  Caro looked up, feeling the hot rush of air across her face. If she wasn’t so startled, she would have screamed. The dark hull of a ship hovered above them
before lowering slowly to the ground, sand flying around in a stinging swirl.

  She closed her eyes, and Rukken shielded her with his body. His chest vibrated as he bellowed something, but the sound of the ship was too deafening for either of them to be heard.

  She didn’t know if they should run, although the ship was not one she recognized. It wasn’t Mourad’s, she knew that for sure. She’d seen the rival bounty-hunter’s vessel enough to know it on sight. But who else would be landing on the planet? It wasn’t like it was a hot spot for visitors, since the natives didn’t have much in the way of technology and weren’t eager for off-world visitors.

  When the ship powered down its engines and the sand settled, Rukken stepped back and pulled his blades from his waist.

  Caro looked at the massive ship that had crushed the surrounding sand dunes with its weight, and noticed the armaments mounted to its hull. His blades wouldn’t do much against this kind of technology.

  Lights blinked around a ramp as it lowered from one side, and she walked closer to see who would emerge. There wasn’t much point in running. If it was a ship filled with invaders, she wouldn’t get very far. Curiosity may have been her biggest weakness, but she had to know who had plopped down in front of them.

  When she saw the figure emerge from the bright light spilling out of the ship, her heart stopped for a moment. She would recognize that long stride and wild hair anywhere. “Tori?”

  Twenty-Six

  Tori hesitated as she reached the end of the ramp, tilting her head and peering out into the darkness. She wore her usual dark pants with a jingling chain belt looped around her waist, and her mass of curls was held in a pile on her head with shiny, metal sticks. “Caro? Is that really you?”

  Caro’s throat tightened as she saw that it was her crew mate. She ran toward her friend, throwing her arms around her and hugging her hard.

  Tori stiffened as if bracing for a blow, then she relaxed and patted Caro brusquely on the back. “It’s good to see you, too.”

  Caro pulled back, holding the security chief at arm’s length as she looked her up and down. Tori looked surprisingly unharmed, and she smelled strongly of soap, not exactly what she’d expected. The last time she’d seen her, the security chief had been smeared with dirt and blood. “You look fine. What the hell happened to you? The last we heard, you jumped on Mourad’s ship with one of the Dothvek warriors.” She glanced up at the hulking spaceship. “This isn’t Mourad’s ship.”

  Tori grinned, the points of her teeth flashing. “No, it’s not. But it’s kind of a long story.”

  Caro took a long, shaky breath as she blinked away tears. She hadn’t wanted to admit how worried she’d been about her missing friend, and a part of her had thought she might never see her again. “I can’t believe you’re back. We were all so worried.”

  Tori cocked her head. “Worried about me?”

  “Yeah, yeah. I know you’re a hard-as-nails Zevrian, but you’ve been gone for a while. As far as we knew, Mourad put you out an airlock.”

  Tori snorted. “He wishes. No, that asshole is still back on Kurril, scratching his head and wondering why his ship exploded.”

  Caro’s mouth fell open. “You blew up his ship?”

  “I didn’t say it was me.”

  Caro crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at her friend.

  Tori huffed out a breath. “Fine. It was me. But he deserved it after everything he did.” Her expression darkened. “After killing Max.”

  Caro put her fingers to her lips. “That’s right, you don’t know.” She grabbed Tori’s hands. “Tor, Max isn’t dead.”

  “What?” Tori’s entire body jerked as if she’d been slapped, then she shook her head vigorously. “But I saw her dead body. I saw Mourad check her pulse and tell his crew mate to dump the body.”

  “That was Bexli.”

  Tori blinked at her rapidly. “Bexli was Mourad?”

  “No.” Caro laughed. “Bexli gave Max a drug to make her look dead, then she morphed to look like Mourad’s guy and carried the body to him. Max appeared to be dead, and Mourad actually checked her over. That’s why Bexli did it. So Mourad would think she was dead and never bother her again. It was the only way to make sure he didn’t keep chasing her and us.”

  Tori rubbed a hand across her forehead. “It was all a trick?”

  “Yeah. We were pretty upset when we realized you boarded Mourad’s ship thinking Max was dead, but we didn’t have any way to let you know what had really happened.” Caro tipped her head back to look at the ship. “I guess everything turned out okay. But if you blew up the ship you left here on, whose ship is this?”

  Tori still looked a bit shell-shocked at all the new information, but she managed a grin and followed Caro’s gaze up at the ship. “It’s ours now.”

  Caro’s breath caught in her throat. “We have a ship? A new bounty-hunting ship?”

  Tori swept her arms wide and nodded. “And it’s even bigger than our last one.”

  “This is amazing. I can’t wait to tell the others.”

  Tori shifted her gaze over the darkened desert. “Speaking of the others, where is everyone? I know Holly is probably still in the Crestek city, but now that I have a fancy, new ship with lots of high-tech weapons, we can go get her out together.”

  “Actually, Holly escaped,” Caro said. “With the Crestek she promised to marry. They’re both back in the Dothvek village. I think.”

  “So, none of them are with you? You’re all alone out here?” Tori squinted into the night. “Or are we closer to the village than I thought?”

  Caro turned back, but didn’t see Rukken. “They aren’t with me. You actually landed pretty far from the Dothvek village. At least, I think you did.”

  “That was on purpose.” Tori jerked a thumb behind her. “Landing this baby is trickier than it looks. I didn’t want to attempt to bring her down close to anyone, in case I missed and flattened an entire village.”

  Caro wiggled her fingers as she imagined piloting the large ship. “I can’t wait to get my hands on the controls. After flying our old ship, this will be a treat.”

  Tori rocked back on her heels and eyed Caro. “So, if we’re not near the Dothvek village, what are you doing out here on your own? You still haven’t explained that part.”

  Caro hesitated. “I’m not here alone.” She peered through the darkness, which seemed even blacker now that she was standing under the bright, artificial lights of the ship’s ramp. “Rukken! It’s safe to come out. This is one of my crew mates.”

  Tori slid a hand to the blaster on her belt as the hulking figure appeared, striding out of the night and walking up to stand next to Caro. He nodded at Tori in acknowledgment, giving her a small grunt. Then he rested a hand on the small of Caro’s back, and Tori’s eyebrows disappeared under the curls hanging over her forehead.

  “Rukken?” Tori asked, not dropping her hand from where it hovered over her weapon. Her gaze drifted to his heavy tattoos and his more primitive clothing. “Is he an early-model Dothvek, or is it casual day on the desert?”

  Caro knew that Tori wouldn’t be too understanding if she told her that Rukken was an exiled Dothvek who’d kidnapped her, but she also didn’t want to lie to her friend. “He’s Dothvek, but he doesn’t live in the Dothvek village anymore.”

  Tori grunted, sounding remarkably Dothvek herself.

  “He’s a bit of a loner,” Caro said.

  Tori’s gaze did not flicker. “I kind of got that.”

  Caro turned to Rukken and put a hand to his arm. “This is Tori, one of the crew mates I’ve told you about. She’s our security chief.”

  Rukken flicked his eyes above him. “She has a ship. I thought you did not have a ship. I thought it exploded.”

  “This isn’t our old ship,” Caro said. “That one did blow up. This is a new ship that I’m assuming Tori commandeered while she was away.”

  “She stole it,” a small voice said, from inside the shi
p. “And I helped her.”

  They all turned to see a boy walk tentatively down the ramp and stand next to Tori.

  “What did I say about staying inside until I told you it was safe?” Tori said, when she glanced down at him.

  The boy shrugged, not meeting her eyes. “It got boring, and I couldn’t hear what you were saying so well.”

  Caro gaped at Tori, whose cheeks had flushed slightly. “Who’s your new friend, Tor?”

  Tori held up a single finger in warning. “Like I said, it’s a long story. Rynn here helped us get off Kurril. It was the least we could do to bring him along.”

  Rynn nodded and grinned up at them. “It was part of our deal.”

  “I’ll bet it was.” Caro extended her hand to the boy. “I’m Caro, one of Tori’s friends.”

  Rynn’s eyes grew wide. “Are you one of them bounty hunters she’s been talking about?”

  Caro nodded, smiling, and darting a look at Tori, whose blush now made her brown cheeks look like they were sunburned. “I am. What has she told you about us?”

  “Just that you’re the best bounty hunters in the galaxy, and you can snatch a person out of anywhere.” Rynn lowered his voice. “Are you the one who can turn into things?”

  Caro laughed. “No. That’s Bexli. She’s a shape shifter. I’m the pilot.”

  Rynn looked disappointed for only a second. “She told me about you, too. You can fly through the eye of a needle.”

  Caro straightened her shoulders and glanced at Tori.

  “What?” Tori said. “It was a long trip back here. I might have embellished a bit. I had to keep the kid entertained.”

  Caro held up both palms. “You don’t need to explain to me. I’m just pleased to know you think I’m such a good pilot.”

  Tori sighed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

  “Never.” Caro paused before asking what she wanted to know. “So, it’s just you and Rynn? What happened to the Dothvek who stowed away on Mourad’s ship with you?”

  “Her boyfriend?” Rynn asked, grinning. “He’s here.”