by Sara Fields
“Men. It’s time to do something about Strohass,” I growled.
“Agreed,” all three said at once.
A semblance of a plan was beginning to grow in my mind. We knew our Kira and Strohass didn’t. I’d take advantage of that.
Chapter Twelve
Kira
I didn’t wake until the next morning. The lights came on and I blinked the sleep from my eyes with as much reluctance as I could muster. When I sat up and yawned, I flinched, the pain in my cheek and jaw overwhelming.
Oh, right. I’d been an idiot.
Everything came rushing back and I groaned, falling back and shutting my eyes. Let me go back to dreamland. My life had been way better there.
Ugh. My head hurt. Felt like a damned migraine.
What time was it? How soon till I was to be sent to Strohass? Why was I sleeping on the couch and not in our bed?
Nothing made sense. I wish this headache would go away.
The door slid open and Jax came inside the apartment. Had he gone somewhere?
He met my eyes and shook his head. I could almost hear my hopes crash on the floor as I realized that there was no getting out of what was to come next.
“Go bathe yourself quickly, Kira. The four of us want to spend the morning with you,” Jax said and I nodded softly. Biting my lip, I scooted off the couch and headed to the bathroom. I brushed my hair and my teeth and began to feel human again. I caught a glance of my face in the mirror and gasped at the purple bruise blossoming on my right cheek. My hand rose up to touch it and I winced when I applied just a little pressure.
Perfect.
I ran the shower and hopped inside. I washed myself, scrubbing of the grimy feeling of Strohass’ touch on my skin. I shivered.
I felt like I was preparing for my doom.
When I was finished in the restroom, I walked back out to the sitting room, where my Vakarran captors were waiting for me. There was a food box on the table, just like the one that had made me pizza the night before
Was this a last meal kind of thing?
Maybe.
I sat down and placed my palms to either side, thinking of the most scrumptious breakfast I could imagine. When I opened the lid, inside was a pile of Belgian waffles, eggs, bacon, and sausage. I licked my lips. Might as well go out in style, right?
No one said anything, but I could feel it in the air, knew they were upset. Did they actually care if I died? If I was really hurt?
Coltan sat next to me and cupped my face gently. He inspected the bruise on my face and growled quietly in disapproval. He shook his head. It was then I looked up at each one—Coltan, Aedan, Jax, and Zaavyr—and I realized they were angry.
Not at me, but at what they were being forced to do.
They wanted to keep me as their own and I had to admit, I wanted to stay with them too, but then, I thought of my sisters.
If someone like Strohass ever got his grimy fingers on them, I didn’t know what I would do. I chewed my lip, taking a deep breath in preparation.
I could live through anything. I’d survive and thrive and escape. I had to.
For Alaina, Danika, and Kaela.
I ate the rest of my breakfast, every last bite in order to ensure I had the energy I would need. I didn’t know when Strohass would feed me next, if at all.
When the time came to go, each of them held me, one by one.
Coltan came first.
“Stay strong,” he whispered in my ear. I felt his warmth surround me and I melted into him. I would miss him a lot.
Jax was next.
“Remember who you are,” he said softly. His eyes searched mine, forever analyzing me and I smiled softly in return.
Aedan gripped me then in a hug so tight that I could hardly breathe. I could feel his emotion surging off of him in waves.
“Be smart, Kira. Be true to yourself,” he warned, but then he pressed his lips to the top of my head.
Zaavyr came to me last. He stared into my eyes, searching for something, but I didn’t know what. I’d miss his leadership. He’d have made a good master to the likes of me, but I’d never tell him that.
“You will always be our little rebel. Never forget that,” he said softly, and I cocked my head with curiosity. He took my hand then and led me toward the door.
We left the other three behind.
“Good luck,” the three of them echoed together.
I didn’t respond.
As the leader, Zaavyr took it upon himself to lead me to Strohass’ apartment. The trip was over far too quickly and before I knew it, we had arrived at his door.
I was extremely aware of my nakedness as I knelt on the purple mat in front of the heavy steel doorway. In the haze of the journey, I hadn’t noticed that Zaavyr was carrying a box with him.
He handed it to me then and knelt down beside me.
“It is very important that you open this box and present the contents to Strohass,” he directed, his eyes boring into mine. I was taken aback by it for a second before I nodded. “It is tradition. Make sure to remind him of it. Make sure you open it,” he added.
A blonde woman walked down the hall, a human and she bowed before Zaavyr.
“Master Strohass is running late and requests that Kira be brought into his bedroom to wait for him. Follow me,” she said.
She opened the door with a key and I walked inside. I looked back at Zaavyr in the hallway and with a certain sadness, I turned away. One door was closing behind me, and I felt like I was running straight off a cliff.
I sighed and entered into the bedroom after the human female.
I placed the box to the side and sat down on the bed. The woman looked in my direction, shook her head, and left.
Who spit in her coffee today?
Left alone, I started looking around the bedroom after I heard the door slide closed. My eyes kept going back to the box that Zaavyr had given me and I stepped over to it. It wasn’t taped shut, so Strohass wouldn’t know if I opened it.
I slid the top off and gasped at what was inside. It was my purple butt plug, the one with the gem that my four men had put inside me. It looked clean, shiny, and new. I scoffed and moved to toss it away before something shiny glinted in my view.
I moved closer and moved some of the paper at the bottom.
The butt end of a knife poked out. I reached in and grabbed it, quickly replacing the top of the present. The knife was a bit odd, in that there was only an ivory handle, curved with positions for my fingers, but no blade. I gripped it in my hand and squeezed.
Under one of the finger grips was a hidden button and I pressed it, gasping softly when a blade appeared, only it was an outline of a laser. I heard the door and I quickly scrambled to hide it under the pillow on the bed. I dropped to my knees and stared at the floor when I heard a female clear her throat before me.
I lifted my head, feeling a sudden relief at who was waiting.
“Nadia,” I exclaimed, rushing to my feet and embracing her in a tight hug.
“Kira, I can’t stay long, but some of the commanding officers on the bridge sent me to deliver these papers. See to it that Strohass gets them. He won’t like it if he finds me here with you,” she said quietly, dropping her eyes in fear when she said Strohass’ name.
I took the file from her arms with a smile.
I paused for a moment before I lifted my head.
“Nadia?”
“Yes, Kira?”
“Are you happy? Is Raythe is good to you?”
“He is. I’m to bear his child soon. I couldn’t wish for anything more,” she smiled, while placing her hands on the small bulge in her lower belly.
“I’m glad you found your happiness. I was worried for you all these years,” I whispered.
She raised her head and looked straight at me, her chocolate brown eyes softening.
“You’ll find yours too, Kira,” she replied, before she waved and left the room, leaving me along once again, only this time, with critical i
ntel for Strohass’ eyes only. I grinned. Couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this one, I thought.
I opened the folder and looked at the contents on the first page. My heart dropped at the first words.
Alaina Stryke. Danika Stryke. Kaela Stryke.
Fuck.
My world came crumbling apart upon seeing the first few sentences. I turned the page, horrified at what came next. Images from satellite cameras showed my sisters’ faces, one by one on the next few pages. Intelligence had found the existence of my camp of people and it implicated me in the process.
I wonder if Strohass knew already, if this data was just confirmation of what he already suspected. I didn’t know.
I had to stop it. I had to protect my family, my friends, at all costs.
My gaze flickered to the knife’s hiding spot.
I heard the sliding sound of the door and quickly shuffled the contents of the folder back inside. I knelt and waited. I had to find out if he knew.
Strohass chuckled in the doorway. I allowed my head to raise and I watched him. He stared back at me, his eyes perusing up and down my body. It made me feel dirty and unclean. My heart began to pound as the possibilities of what was about to happen raced through my mind.
I didn’t want this. I knew what he wanted, what he would do to me.
He was going to hurt me, and he was going to enjoy it. He wanted to see me bleed and cry and whimper and beg for forgiveness before he killed me.
He was the real enemy. All this time, I had thought Zaavyr, Aedan, Jax, and Coltan were, but I had been so very wrong. They were nothing like this man.
They were different, kind, understanding. They respected me.
Staring back at Strohass, my heart sank. I was going to miss my four captors.
My icy heart cracked as tears threatened to fall. What I wouldn’t give to fall into their arms again. Coltan, forever sweet. Zaavyr, the leader. Jax, the thinker. Aedan, the protector.
Breathe, Kira. Breathe.
I felt myself come undone.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to have you naked and waiting on my bedroom floor, Kira Stryke,” he murmured, and my stomach recoiled in disgust.
I wanted to throw up.
“Come a little closer to me. I want to see the look in your eyes before I force myself into that traitor mind of yours,” he added, his shadow falling over me.
I shook as I rose. He walked closer to me.
“I’ll make you tell me your deepest secrets, Kira. In the end, you’ll beg and scream, but I’ll get them out of you.”
I lifted my chin in defiance, finding a pocket of courage hidden deep within me.
“You’ll have to kill me before I say a single word,” I spat back, my chest rising and falling with my fury.
He just laughed at me. Fucking asshole. I’d teach him to underestimate me.
He turned away, looking toward the file on the table at the entrance to the room. My heart pounded faster. He flipped it open and perused the first few pages, without even looking at me. My eyes flicked back to the pillow, where I had hidden the knife.
I couldn’t make it to the weapon in time. He was too close. I’d have to wait. Assess my options when the time was right. He was too big, much stronger than I. He was a Vakarran and I couldn’t make the mistake of underestimating him.
“I’ve killed many humans for much less than your crimes. And now, lo and behold, you’ve been hiding humans somewhere in the forest all this time? First, I’m hearing about this. I wonder who else knows?” he inquired, his tone dangerous.
Breathe, Kira. Keep calm.
He turned back to me, shoving the file away.
“Where would that file come from? Who else knows?” I pressed. I had nothing to lose.
“I don’t know. Upper management? A secret spy? I didn’t order anyone to look into it, but once I’m finished destroying you, you can bet your sweet ass I will,” he threatened.
I couldn’t let him do that. I had to protect my sisters and the others who depended on me for safety, for their freedom.
His eyes darkened, and he took one step and then another toward me. Time almost seemed to slow to a crawl and I screeched in terror. His eyes were like looking into hell, black veins swirling and pulsing around his copper-colored irises. They were narrowed with anger and zero control as he moved across the room. Death. He personified death.
He was going to kill me.
His arm swung around, backhanding me once again and throwing me onto the bed. He crawled on top of me and I cried out as his hands circled around my throat, cutting off my air as he pried my legs apart with his knee. My cheek throbbed, and it was becoming increasingly hard to breathe. His grip tightened around my neck, tighter and tighter with each passing second. My blood roared with fear and fury at such treatment.
“I will break you. I’ll destroy the rebellion in you once and for all, unlike that waste of time four-man team,” he roared, confident and sure of himself, and I struggled to escape his strength. I could feel my neck bruising as black spots circled around in my vision.
I jerked my knee up, connecting with his balls and he visually flinched, temporarily releasing a little pressure on my neck so that I could draw in a breath. He slapped me again, even harder this time and I whimpered, reaching my arms to either side.
My vision swam. My head felt like it was going to implode.
The pillow was right above me. I could reach it. I could get the knife.
Hope blossomed inside me.
Slowly, I struggled, moving my right arm up and back, until I felt the soft fabric at my fingertips. Strohass kept his hand around my neck, sitting back. With his other hand, grinning evilly, he started pinching my nipple so hard that it brought tears to my eyes.
Up. More. I could feel the ivory handle just out of reach.
My vision darkened; the lack of air was getting to me.
I reached further.
I squealed, my body pounding with pain. He was touching me now, between my legs, pinching and probing. It hurt. I felt violated. I choked back a sob.
My fingers closed around the knife’s handle. I breathed a sigh of relief. I felt that little button. I looked back at Strohass; he was distracted, wasn’t paying attention to my hands, too focused on putting his fingers in my cunt.
I whimpered as he touched me, hurt me.
He relaxed his hold on my neck, taking his hand and pushing his dirty fingers against my entrance. His nails scratched me, and I cried out in pain. I lifted my torso off the bed, just a little and stared at his lips, trying to entice him. He bent downward toward me, probably to kiss me as he forced his fingers inside me.
Now.
I pressed the button on the handle, powering on the laser knife and swung my arm around, slicing my blade across his throat in a neat, but incredibly deep line. The laser edge cut through his skin with ease and his eyes bulged at the realization of what I had done.
The blood began to fall, splattering all around me. I’d sliced through one of his main arteries then.
Good.
Die, fucker.
The blood splashed around me, raining down on my naked skin, black against the paleness of my breasts and my belly. His hands raced to his throat, trying to stem the flow of blood, to stop it. But it was too late.
I had the upper hand.
I took the knife and arced it back around, slamming into the right side of his skull. The laser pierced him more easily than a hot knife to butter.
He stared down at me and I smiled with my victory. He realized it then. A human had defeated him, destroyed him at his very own game.
I watched the life flicker out of his eyes and he fell forward. I maneuvered out of his way, sliding out from underneath him before he landed on top of me.
I pushed myself off the bed and onto my feet.
Strohass laid dead in the bed beside me, his blood pooling across the sheets underneath his body. He’d never have the chance to order a search for my family. He’d
never be able to find them.
He’d thought he was going to break me. I’d conquered him instead.
I stared down at myself. I was covered in his blood.
I had to get out of here. If the Vakarrans caught me like this, they’d likely kill me on the spot. I couldn’t leave here looking like this. I looked around and found the restroom. I showered quickly, the water causing the drying blood to flow down my body in black little rivers.
I scrubbed my skin until I was clean, rubbing so hard it turned pink. I scrubbed my hair and my face too. I washed as quickly as I could, knowing time was of the essence. Squeezing the water from my hair, I combed it with my fingers, so that it looked presentable at least.
I grabbed the file that implicated my forest band of humans and hugged it to my chest. Next, I took the knife out of Strohass’ head, unwilling to leave my weapon behind. Looking around, I saw a large vent in the wall. The screws looked loose.
I knelt beside it and quickly unscrewed the four corners. I threw the screws under the bed and gripped the vent and pulled. It came out rather easily and I placed it to the side. I climbed in and turned around. Putting the folder and the knife aside, I reached out and replaced the vent to its rightful position. Using my strength, I ensured that even when I let go, it stayed in place.
With a deep shaky breath, I ventured down the linear tunnel. I crawled for a good five to ten minutes before the tunnel branched off, a massive running fan to the left and a clear way to the right. I followed the clear path. It ended with another grate much like the one in Strohass’ bedroom.
I prayed that the screws were loose here too.
I gripped the steel and pushed hard. The metal groaned, and the grate popped out. I gasped as I fell forward and tried to catch myself. A blur of movement crossed in front of me as a group of Vakarrans appeared out of thin air.
I’d forgotten about their chameleon abilities.
Shit.
A hand clamped over my mouth and I struggled as I was pulled out of the tunnel against my will. I heard the vent slide back into place behind me and I tried to scream into the palm covering my lips.
“Quiet, Kira. We have to get you out of here,” Zaavyr’s voice rang in my head.
