“Stop! Leave her alone!”
Almost reaching the terrified woman, she screamed when rough hands grabbed her, yanking her back. Pain ripped through her as the man wrenched her arms behind her back, zip ties pinching the skin of her wrists. Thrown over a shoulder, Alyssa watched the men attack Shar and Ela, knocking them out with electroshock guns as a terrified wail erupted from Katie.
The men approached Erica, who immediately jumped up with her hands in the air, and they bound her wrists, dragging her along with Katie. Alyssa tried to scream protests, but it was all she could do to keep from vomiting as the man’s shoulder jabbed into her belly, like a punching fist.
The side of the med pod looked as if a giant bite had been taken out of it as the men loaded the women into a black panel van. Alyssa’s lungs burned, the air knocked out of her after the man dumped her onto the van floor, her vision going black for an instant when her head smacked the dirty metal.
Gulping in air, dust coating her throat, Alyssa attempted to yell again, but her voice came out as a harsh whisper. Angie and Katie were bawling, cowering against the wall that separated the back of the van from the front seats while Erica sat by Alyssa’s legs, staring at her like a frightened animal.
“Where are you taking us?” Alyssa’s voice came out in a croak, swallowing back vomit at the smell of old oil and chemicals.
“Shut up!” One of the men jabbed her belly with a dirty baseball bat, doubling her over onto her side where she lay her head on Erica’s knee.
“Please, don’t hurt us!” Katie begged, scooting closer to Angie as Erica gasped, causing Alyssa to look up to find her watching the other two women.
She slid over to where Katie comforted a hyperventilating Angie, bloody scrapes covering her face, her hands free of zip ties, clutching her swollen belly.
A ragged piece of metal jutted out from between Angie’s blood-soaked fingers. Her eyes were closed and she was muttering something too quiet for Alyssa to hear as Katie frantically searched the area around her.
“Hey! Hey, we need something to stop the bleeding! Do you hear me? She’s going to die!”
The men crawled in and slammed the back doors shut. One of them crawled over Alyssa and Erica to inspect Angie’s wound and chuckled, then moved back to where his friend guarded the van doors.
“Why aren’t you helping her?” Alyssa kicked at the man and he turned on her, whacking her knee with the bat, causing her to cry out.
“Shut the fuck up, alien whore! You’re all going to die soon. I’m not helping that alien cock-sucking bitch.”
“You can’t kill us!” Katie screamed at their captors. “The commander will find you and destroy you!”
“That E.T. prick can’t hurt us. He’ll never find us, or you, for that matter.” He jabbed the bat in her direction. “We’re going to tear those abominations out of your bodies.” He sneered. “You’re all going to be piles of ash by nightfall.”
Panic welled up in Alyssa’s chest, suffocating her. The van lurched, seeming to climb over extra-large speed bumps, tossing the women around while the men held onto bars in the van’s metal framing.
The ground suddenly leveled out, and the van stopped bouncing around so much as they drove for several minutes, with Katie crying and Angie gasping in pain. Alyssa attempted to crawl to Angie, but the sneering man grabbed her foot, yanking her back down.
Alyssa watched the men, who watched her back with smug, amused faces, fury burning in her brain, making her head ache as her body throbbed from the abuse. She laid her head back to see Erica staring, eyes glazed over.
“Hold on, Erica. It’s going to be okay. The commander will rescue us.”
Nothing registered in the woman’s eyes.
“Erica,” she said, more insistent, “snap out of it! You can’t go into shock.”
“Shut the fuck up!” A foot slammed into her thigh.
“Dammit!” Alyssa clutched her leg, pain radiating along her bruised nerves.
The van continued along, and she hoped they weren’t on some obscure road no one knew about. She closed her eyes, praying she would live to see her baby born.
Abruptly, the brakes slammed on, throwing the women into a pile against the front wall as the men bounced against the back doors, swinging from their handholds. Shouting from the front seats caught their attention.
“What the fuck? Go out there and see what’s happening!” The cruel man commanded the silent one with a sharp jerk of his bat.
Before the quiet man could grab the handle, the doors wrenched open and both of them were yanked out of the van and thrown to the ground. Hiding her relief, Alyssa spotted Jordan standing over the black clothed figures with another coalition member.
More members piled on the radicals, dragging them to their feet and hauling them out of Alyssa’s line of sight as Jordan climbed into the van, scanning the women.
“Are you ladies okay?”
“No, sir, my friend is hurt really bad.” Alyssa whined to him, letting her pain fill her voice.
He crawled over to Angie, sucking in a shocked breath, and motioned another guy to help him. Together, they moved all the women out, except Angie, as Jack the coalition medic hovered over her where she lay on the van floor, panting. Katie paced at the back of the van, her face strained, her eyes flashing between worry and fury. Another medic looked over Erica, who hadn’t snapped out of it yet.
Jordan pulled Alyssa out of earshot and scanned her for injury while keeping at arm’s length.
“Bas is going to kill me if you got hurt.”
“I’m fine. Just a few bruises, I think.”
“You better get checked out, just in case. You hear me?”
“Yes, yes. I will. I promise. Where are we?”
“East of the compound. Some dirt road that leads to the radicals’ base camp.”
“I’m glad you guys made it in time. They were planning to gut us and burn our bodies.”
“Sick bastards!”
“You need to take us back now,” she said. “Shar needs to take care of Angie. I’m worried about the baby. She only has a month until her due date, I think.”
“Right. Let’s go.”
They rushed back to the van and loaded Angie and the other women into the bed of a large pickup truck. Jordan helped Alyssa climb in with them before jumping into the bed of a second truck with the other coalition members.
The truck shocks slammed hard with every rut and pothole they drove over, causing Angie to moan every couple of minutes, sending Katie into panic mode each time, while Erica slumped in a corner of the truck bed.
Alyssa fretted over Angie, watching the medic frequently replace clumps of blood-drenched gauze. She scooted over to Katie, offering a sympathetic shoulder as the woman clung to her, tears pouring down her face.
The truck swung past an enormous hole in the outer fencing, the mangled side of the med pod visible through the huge gap, Alyssa and Katie gawking at the destruction.
Before they made it around to the front gate, guard trucks surrounded them, and Szu’Kara guards poured out, pointing rifles at both trucks, making Katie squeal, terrified.
“Stop!” Alyssa yelled at the guards. “These men rescued us! They can take you to our attackers.”
General Ras appeared from behind his men, angry and smug all at the same time.
“Team One—” he gestured at some of his men “—retrieve the assailants.”
A group of guards broke off, getting back into a vehicle to follow Jordan’s crew back to the radicals’ van. The general ordered a couple of his guardsmen to get into the truck with the women.
“Proceed to the front gate. My men will follow you.” The whole assemblage made their way to the front gate, where more guards descended upon them, watching the coalition members in the truck.
“You need to get this woman some medical attention immediately!” The medic hollered at Ras, who nodded at the nearest guard who ran to the med pod, which still had black smoke rising from
the blasted wall. Alyssa prayed help would make it in time.
She placed a hand on Angie’s trembling leg as the poor woman cried out when the medic pressed a fresh ball of gauze to where the shrapnel had torn her flesh to pieces.
A limping Shar arrived, guards trailing behind her with a stretcher, and inspected Angie while the guards loaded her onto the stretcher, then hauled her away with Katie close behind.
“You must go with them.” General Ras glared at Alyssa. “Take this woman with you, she does not look well.”
“I will.” She raised her chin, loath to be ordered around by him. “You will take good care of our rescuers?”
“Of course... after we question them.”
“They saved us, General,” Alyssa said, pointedly reminding him. “I hope you treat them with the respect they deserve. Those other men who took us were going to kill us and burn our bodies, and these men should be rewarded for their bravery.”
“I will treat them as I see fit, Miss Rose. The commander will decide if there shall be any reward. Go, now.”
In a huff, Alyssa grabbed Erica by the arm, dragging her to the med pod. When they arrived there, Ela and Shar were in the surgical bay working on Angie while Kelly and a triage team examined the other three women.
“Kelly, how are Katie and Erica?”
“Traumatized, but they’ll survive. Katie has a few bruises and scrapes and Erica is suffering from shock. You’ll all need to stay here overnight for monitoring.”
“What about Angie?”
“I don’t know yet, hon. She’s in really bad shape.”
“I’m so worried. That piece of metal looked like it went straight into her belly. I hope the baby makes it.”
“Only time will tell.”
Kelly left the women to rest in the shared room. Erica lay curled up in a ball on the bed farthest away from the door, facing the wall, and Katie snored softly in the bed next to Alyssa, having been sedated for hysterics. Scrunching her body into the bedding, Alyssa wished she could talk to Sebastian as worry for Jordan and the other rescuers flooded her mind.
Fatigued from the ordeal, Alyssa let her mind wander until she fell into a restless sleep, plagued with nightmares, replaying the radical attack. At some point, she opened her eyes just enough to see Kelly injecting her with a syringe of clear fluid, warmth flowing through her veins, sinking her into blissful nothingness.
Chapter 22
Cool silk slid over Alyssa’s bare skin. She nuzzled the plush pillow cradling her head, the luxurious sheets enveloping her bruised body. Rolling onto her back, she flinched at the dull pain in her belly. Darkness surrounded her, so she couldn’t make out the room around her. “Where am I?”
A shadow moved nearby, and lights snapped on, blinding her. Holding her hand above her eyes, she could barely make out Kayn’s outline sitting in a chair at the end of the bed. Oh, my God, I’m in Kayn’s bedroom… in his bed!
“You are safe, my dear.”
She clutched the sheet to her bare breasts. “I, uh…Wasn’t I in the clinic?”
“Yes. I brought you here to recover in peace.”
“The nurse said they wanted to keep me overnight, to watch over me.”
“You are fine here,” Kayn said with an impatient snap, “with me.”
Quelled by his tone, Alyssa shrank into the blankets.
“Why am I naked?”
“Your clothing was soiled.” What the hell?
“Can you get me some clothes from my quarters?” Alyssa tried to sound appropriately grateful. “Please?”
“I will arrange it. Are you hungry?”
Her stomach grumbled in response. “What time is it? How long did I sleep?”
“It is nearly two in the morning. You have not eaten in many hours, and must have sustenance, Alyssa.”
“Yes, of course.” She nodded slowly. Twelve hours! It’s been more than twelve hours since the attack.
“Wait—Angie! How is she? How’s the baby?” Alyssa flailed her arms at him as he turned to leave, dropping the sheet.
“Be calm.” Kayn’s commanding tone blared in her sensitive ears, his eyes flashing with irritation. Breathing in deeply through his nose, he softened his tone as she balled the sheet up over her chest, cringing against the pillows. “I am sorry, Alyssa. They did not survive the attack. I am quite relieved you did not sustain injury, as well.”
Kayn’s words slithered through her mind as she gasped, sorrow squeezing the air from her lungs. She stared through him with unseeing eyes as tears rained down her cheeks. Her head felt full of cotton, dizzy from the news of yet another tragic loss.
Stiff arms encircled her drooping shoulders, and forgetting her hatred for him, Alyssa allowed Kayn to comfort her as terrified thoughts swarmed her anguished mind, full of what-ifs and could-haves.
“Be well, Alyssa. You are safe here with me.”
“I’m sorry, Kayn. I know you aren’t comfortable with emotional displays.”
Alyssa composed herself, pulling away from him as he stood abruptly, turning away. Looking at her over his shoulder, his narrowed eyes pierced her fragile heart.
“I am not uncaring, Alyssa. Angela and her child were important. My people are affected by this loss.”
Kayn strode out of the room, leaving her to wallow in her sorrow. Fear and angst twisted at her heart, constricting her chest, and she sucked in ragged breaths, attempting to pull herself together, yet unable to stop her tears.
After about an hour, Kayn returned with clothes in one hand and a paper bag of food in the other. Depositing her clothes on the bed, he began to lay out the food on his nightstand as Alyssa snatched her clothes, wiggling into them underneath the blankets.
Unable to see Kayn’s pupils, Alyssa had the eerie feeling he watched her even though he faced the nightstand, her skin prickling with goosebumps.
“Eat, Alyssa. I will be in my office if you need me.”
“T-thank you, Kayn. This is... very kind of you.”
“You are welcome, my dear.”
Alyssa watched him leave the room in the direction of his home office, and with a resigned sigh, she climbed out of the bed to drag the chair over, her ravenous stomach forcing her to consume everything Kayn had brought.
Leaning back in the chair, feeling thoroughly stuffed, Alyssa placed her hands over her belly as sorrow gripped her heart. I wish this baby was Sebastian’s. My life would be so much simpler if it were.
Memories flashed in her mind. Imagining Sebastian’s crooked smile, Alyssa could breathe a little easier, and she felt a pang of guilt about waking up in Kayn’s bed. With a quiet groan, she shook away thoughts of cobalt eyes and comforting arms, knowing what she had to do.
Gathering the food containers, Alyssa carried the trash to Kayn’s lavish kitchen, her bare feet slapping against the tile floor, echoing in the hollow silence. She opened the fridge to find he still stocked her favorite foods and drinks, and grabbed a bottle of juice, washing down the aftertaste that lingered in her throat. Stop stalling!
Alyssa paced between the kitchen and the hallway while the bedroom beckoned to her. Instead, she marched past, halting at the open office door, the darkness inside threatening to swallow her whole, with only a small desk lamp offering a shining beacon, illuminating Kayn’s watchful eyes.
With a deep sigh, Alyssa strolled over to his side, his arm snaking out to pull her closer, and she cringed inwardly while plastering a smile on her trembling lips.
“I don’t think you’re uncaring, Kayn. I honestly didn’t mean to insult you. I’m just still rattled by the attack. Those men were very scary.” Ugh.
“It is fine, my dear. You are forgiven.”
Kayn pulled her into his lap, cradling her like a frightened child, and she tucked her head under his chin.
“What happened to the attackers?”
“The rebels have been detained by Ras. I have authorized him to deal with your assailants in a timely manner.”
“What does that m
ean, ‘deal with’?”
“That will be decided by the general. I assure you, he will take appropriate measures with the men who murdered Angela and her child.”
Alyssa bit her tongue, shoving her fury to the back of her mind.
“You must not allow this to affect you. Your health is important.”
“I can’t help it, Kayn. Angie was a good person. We may not have been close, but she was one of my mommy friends. She didn’t deserve this.”
“I agree, but I am only concerned with your well-being. You must take care of yourself.”
“I will. I promise. What about the men who rescued us?”
“Ras informed me you would like them to be rewarded.”
“Yes. I think it’s the right thing to do. They put themselves in danger to help us. Although, I think I might have been a tad bit short with the general. I was pretty shaken up.”
“Not to worry, my dear.” Kayn snorted. “He has endured harsher insults.”
“Fine. What about the reward?”
“I will ensure Ras rewards your rescuers before he releases them.”
“Releases them?” Alyssa shot up to scowl at Kayn, back stiff as a board. “Those men are still being held? Why?”
“Ras must determine how these men knew you were in need of aid.”
“Kayn! They saved us! They’ve been locked up for half a day.”
“They will be fine.”
“What about food? Have they been fed? This isn’t the way to treat people who endangered themselves to save others.”
“Why does this upset you so?”
“Because those men saved me from a horribly painful death!”
“Calm down, Alyssa.” He brushed his fingers over her cheek.
She blew out a harsh breath, and relaxed her tense shoulders, putting on a determined face.
“Kayn. Please. You must release them. I can’t have this on my conscience, and I won’t be able to rest as long as those men are being held captive by Ras.”
“They are not being held captive, Alyssa. They are healthy humans. They will not wither away from starvation in half a day.”
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