by Susan Kelley
Despite the desperate situation, Emma’s professional curiosity demanded she study the man. Was he just an accident of nature or had someone once again experimented on human physiology? The man’s prodigious strength, uncanny ability to take punishment and lack of human compassion bespoke something sinister and frightening. When the room had been cleared, the monster came to stand in front of Emma. He folded his arms across his chest and fixed his cold stare on her.
Ben leaned down close to Emma’s face. “You’ll go with me and sign over control of your share of the mining empire as soon as I have new papers ready. I’ll leave your knights here.”
“No.” Emma’s only plan was to keep Vannie and Vin alive. “I don’t trust you. They come with us. As long as you don’t injure them further, I’ll cooperate.”
Ben straightened up. “How did you gain a Recon Marine as a protector? I thought they were all dead except the four serving Giroux.”
“Vin is not my protector. He came to me in his search for you.” Emma looked at the giant. “I guess you continued your work in the epigenetics program after the military discontinued it.”
“This is Vin, the second-in-command?” Ben laughed. “They’re amazing creatures, are they not? He killed five and disabled six more. And somehow he survived Nemon’s kind attentions. Despite our many attempts, we never quite matched the original Recon Marines for complete superiority. Too bad they had that one malfunction and refused to obey orders.”
“You bred them to be too intelligent.” Emma gestured with her chin toward Nemon. “I see you corrected that.”
Nemon growled and unfolded his arms.
Ben laughed. “I’ve missed you, Emma darling. You’re somewhat correct. We made major changes in their design. Actually, I would enjoy a test of our newest weapon against the outdated one.”
“I think the outdated one already proved more than a match for your supersized model.”
Ben’s smile soured. “Nemon, get them loaded onto the ship. Fortunately, it’s designed for prisoner transport. Emma, you’ll have a few days with your friends before we end this.”
They helped Vannie to his feet, and then Nemon slung Vin over his shoulder. A few days to figure out how to get them out of this alive.
Chapter Sixteen
Vin might have had a worse headache at some time in his life, but he couldn’t remember when. He did recall exactly how this one came about. Outnumbered and poor planning on his part. Later he would berate himself but for now he had to figure out how badly he’d failed his mission.
Taking stock of his physical capabilities, Vin lay completely still and kept his breathing even. Each inhalation hurt, cracked ribs but none of the stabbing pain of broken bones. In addition to his pounding head, every muscle in his body hurt from the rounds fired into his body armor.
Someone had removed the armor, but he wasn’t restrained. Two people breathed nearby. One shifted and his breath hitched as if in pain. Vin opened his eyes to a white ceiling.
“Vin?” Emma touched his arm.
He started to sit up, but she pressed his shoulders back to the floor. She lived and seemed alert and undamaged by drugs.
“Just lie still.” She moved closer, folding her legs and sitting beside him. Her hip touched his side exactly on one of his deeper bruises. It hurt, but it didn’t matter. Not after hearing her voice and seeing her unharmed except for the sadness in her eyes. His heart soared, and his head didn’t hurt as much. “The rescue didn’t go as planned.” His words sounded idiotic.
Emma smiled but the shadow remained in her eyes. “I didn’t expect help at all. If not for your timely arrival, they would have given me that mind destroying drug already.”
“We’ve only put off their plans.” Vin sat up, ignoring Emma’s admonishments.
Vannie leaned against the bars of their prison cell, his face not quite as gray as the metal poles behind him. Bandages covered his left shoulder and straps held his arm across his chest.
Relief sang through Vin again. “I thought I might have gotten you killed.”
“Thought I might be dead, too, though it wasn’t you that done it to me.” Vannie shifted his bulk and groaned. “I think we’ll all be dead soon if these bastards have their wont.”
“I made a poor plan,” Vin admitted.
“No.” Tears filled Emma’s eyes and spilled down her pale cheeks. “This is all my fault. Moe’s dead because of me, and they’ll kill you two soon. I did this.”
“What are you talking about, lass,” Vannie said, his eyes also growing moist. “Moe would have stepped in front of an army for you.”
“No.” Emma took a deep, trembling breath. “I made contact with people, and I knew my stepfather could use it to find me. I expected him to come.”
“You told him where you were?” Vin’s headache grew in power again.
“I wanted to be done hiding. The attacks on Hovel Port were getting so bad, and I knew I had the resources to stop it, to protect us.” Emma tears came faster. “I’m so ashamed, Vin, but I took advantage of your presence. I felt safe with you there. I’m so sorry. And now I’ve gotten Moe killed.”
Vin sorted through her words, searching for the reason for her apology.
Vannie sighed. “Don’t be fretting now, Emma dear. Moe and I knew the bastard would find you one day. Who knows if you even hurried it along? Moe and I knew that if Vin could find you, your stepfather would too. It was the luck of a demon that brought them to Hovel Port on the same night as the Underboss mounted his assault.”
“I feel like I used you.” Emma stared at Vin, her eyes like melted chocolate.
“Emma, I knew he would come for you. That’s why I was there in the first place. I don’t understand what you’re apologizing for. If my presence allowed you to feel safe enough for this confrontation, I feel honored.” Vin gestured at the bars. “I’m sorry your confidence was misplaced.”
Emma laughed, the sound watery and unhappy. “You saved my life.”
“Not yet.” Vin pushed himself off the floor.
“We have a few days until we arrive someplace where they can replace the papers.” Emma helped Vin gain his feet.
Vin needed her help. Agony shot through his head and for a moment the floor rolled beneath his feet. It settled down, but his stomach churned with threat. “Where are we and why are Vannie and me still alive.”
“We’re on my stepfather’s ship, but I have no idea where we’re headed,” Emma answered. “I told Ben I would sign their cursed papers if they didn’t kill you. They wanted to leave you behind on the moon where you were injured, but I told them I wouldn’t cooperate unless you two were at my side.”
“Why didn’t they have you sign the papers there?” Vin walked to the bars, his legs still uncertain the floor was flat.
Vannie answered. “From what I heard, blood ruined the forms. Paper is rare and they didn’t have any more. We’re traveling to where they can purchase more. You killed their damned doctor so the drugs are off the table for now.”
Vin didn’t see a table, but he was glad the demented doctor was dead. Might the admiral abandon the drug plan now? “I don’t understand the value of the papers.”
Vannie leaned his head against the bars and closed his eyes. “Except for blood drop signature, a hand written name on a paper is the truest test of authentication for legal documents. Some courts believe the paper is more accurate since you have to be alive to sign, unlike giving a drop of blood.”
Emma wrapped her arms around her waist though the prison seemed a comfortable temperature to Vin. “Any attempt to copy a signature can be caught by scanning. The proofing tests can tell if a signer suffered undue distress when writing such as being drugged or coerced.”
“They are doing this to steal your part of his mining empire?” Vin wondered why Lester needed more money. Why risk so much? But how much had he been risking if Vin hadn’t been there to help Emma?
“My share in nearly have of the company’s ruling stock.�
� Emma paced the room, needing only ten steps from one wall to the next. “Hadrason’s shares of his own companies have been added to my shares because he’s permanently incarcerated. My real father was Hadrason’s full partner. Upon my father’s passing, his shares were divided between me and my mother. When my mother died, her shares were passed to me.”
“I didn’t know you mother was dead.” Vin had read somewhere that losing parents caused great distress though he had no experience with it. Emma looked away and didn’t reply. Why did he say such thoughtless things, damn it?
“So your stepfather would own the entire mining fortune once you sign it over to him?” Vannie asked, sitting up straighter.
“He thinks he would.” Emma looked up at the camera lurking in the corner.
Vin wondered what would happen if he disabled the device. Would it bring punishment or a new prison cell? He turned from it, not willing to chance being separated from Emma and Vannie. Hardened aluminum comprised the bars. Ships had to take care with the weight of interior structures. Despite the bars’ light weight, he would need a laser saw to get through them. But the lock appeared simple enough for when the time came.
Vin vowed not to make the same mistake he’d made on the moon base. He would find out the enemy’s number before making a move. They traveled on a ship, but he needed to find out their destination.
“Vin.” Emma touched his arm. “You should rest.” She led him the few steps to the back wall and then urged him to sit down with her.
His ribs protested, but he could do nothing about it.
“I wish I had some bandages to wrap your ribs,” Emma said.
“Did they hurt you in any way?” Vin dreaded the answer.
“No. They pushed me around a little.”
Vin thought he heard a fabrication in her tone, but he didn’t trust his interpretations of her conversation. He took her hand in his and earned a smile. Finally he’d done something right. She leaned her head against his shoulder and everything seemed a little better. After a short time, her body relaxed in sleep against him.
Vannie caught his gaze and smiled with that strange sadness Emma had shown earlier. Then he closed his eyes and settled against the bars as if snuggling into a bed.
They needed to escape but for a little while, Vin savored the company of a friend and this kind, generous woman who seemed to care about him. She even feared she had used him for her own ends when he thought he might be the one committing such a sin.
After Yalo, any deep feeling had terrified Vin. He’d feared even thinking of the word, love. But having almost lost Emma, he knew he loved her. And instead of causing a renewal of his terror, acknowledging the love calmed and focused him. This time he would save the woman he loved, and if he must, he would be the one who died.
* * * *
Emma woke nestled against Vin’s side. She jerked upright, sure she was hurting him.
He gave her a questioning look. “Bad dream?”
She suspected a Recon Marine understood more about bad dreams that most people. Wishing it could banish all the horrid things lurking in his subconscious, she kissed him. “Actually I was dreaming we were in your narrow cot back on Merris Five. It was a wonderful dream.”
Vin leaned toward her but stopped before his lips found hers. He sprang to his feet as if completely healthy and then gave her a hand up.
Emma’s body ached from sleeping on the hard floor and the rough handling of the last two days. Before she would wonder what oddity of personality had caused Vin to jump away from her, she heard the approaching footsteps that had alerted Vin.
Ben and his monstrous guard marched into view. Her stepfather appeared confident, even more so than usual. “Well rested, are we?”
Emma put her hand on Vin’s arm, feeling the tension beneath her fingers. “You know, Ben, speaking in the third person is a sign of a neurosis. I know some good doctors who could help you with your problem.”
His proud distain crumbled into anger. “You’re the crazy one, bitch. You followed in your nutty mother’s footsteps.”
“There’s no cure for what’s wrong with this bastard,” Vannie mumbled as he pushed away from the bars. Vin walked forward and helped Vannie to his feet. Vannie swayed a bit before finding his precarious balance. “Well, there is that one cure but it will wait until I can get out of here.”
Ben laughed, an ugly sound that bounced off the low ceilings. “I’m being threatened by an old, broken down scrub miner.”
Vannie smiled at the insulting name used to characterize the people who panned rivers downstream from large mining operations. “At least I own my company. I didn’t even have to marry an heiress to get it. Don’t have to threaten or drug any one to get it either. Guess Emma’s mother didn’t find you very trustworthy that she cut you out of the business. Did she know you were doing underhanded deals?”
Ben curled his lip at Vannie and then swung his gaze back to Emma. “Now that we have a little time to speak, daughter dearest, tell me why you chose to live with such human trash. I’ve learned that slum town had only bare amenities. With your fortune you could have selected any number of comfortable, civilized planets to hide away from your responsibilities.”
He didn’t deserve any answer, but Emma wanted Vin to hear her answer. “Because I’m not a princess willing to sit in her palace and have servants wait on me. Yes, I was avoiding you, but I selected a settlement that needed me. You wouldn’t understand that since no one has ever needed you.”
Ben looked amused rather than angry. “Princess? That’s exactly what you are and always have been. Need you? What for? To patch up their little cuts and bruises? I’ve spent my life bringing the light of civilization to the dark places in the universe. If not for the military little patches of peace like Merris Five would be overrun with pirates and other unsavory types. The Galactic Union has been preserved because the military puts down any world with ideas of secession or that attempts to conquer their neighbors.” Ben gestured toward Vin. “Ask your trained dog. His unit killed more people to keep clueless civilians like you safe than any other branch of the military.”
Vin only stared at Ben. Emma tried for the same coolness as her stepfather. “I know the Recon Marines protected people like me. But for you to include yourself in the same category as them is insane. Are you delusional or are those the lies you tell the people around you? I guess you couldn’t brag how you’ve spent your years in the service doing little except collecting wealth and power? And you couldn’t tell your colleagues about how my mother stopped your greedy plans when she discovered what you really were?”
Ben’s cool façade cracked. “Your mother always thought she’d married down. She never appreciated my genius. You are very much like her.” He gestured toward Nemon. “Look at what I’ve created with the improvements I supervised in our genetics program. Our newest soldiers understand obedience.”
“Don’t call him a soldier,” Vin said. “Your military commission has been revoked and none of these men with you are soldiers. Unless you’re starting you own army.”
Nemon jumped forward and slammed his open hands against the bars. Emma jumped back with a squeak as Vannie did with a vile curse. But Vin stood his ground, not even flinching.
“Get back,” Ben snapped at Nemon before turning his glare back on Emma. “We’ll make landfall the day after tomorrow. Then you’ll keep your deal or I’ll shut your protectors up for good.”
Two days. Emma took a deep breath. “I need medical supplies. You won’t find me very cooperative if my friend dies of infection. And bring us some food and water.”
Ben narrowed his eyes and gave a curt nod. He stomped his way back the way they’d come, probably the direction of the bridge. His monster went with him.
A short time later Nemon returned with three other guards. One carried a tray of food and the other carried a medical kit. Nemon and one guard aimed stunners at Vin and Vannie while the other two unlocked the cell door by punching in a code. They s
et supplies inside the door and retreated quickly. Nemon tried to stare Vin down for a long moment before leading his men away.
The food was good and after they ate, Emma spent two hours treating Vannie’s wounds. They needed cleaning and stitching. Vin helped her tear the old bandages off as all cutting instruments had been removed from the medical supplies. After she’d finished with Vannie, she tried to check Vin. He refused.
“Vin, I know you must have some cracked ribs. At least let me wrap them. I’m surprised you don’t have a skull fracture from that kick.”
“My ribs feel better, and my headache is nearly gone.”
She couldn’t convince him to let her treat him but she did cajole him to sit down and rest. The four guards came back for the food tray, retrieving it and leaving a jug of water, pillows and blankets.
Vannie stretched out on his back, groaning and complaining after the guards left. Not that they wouldn’t know of his insults with the camera lurking in the corner. Within minutes, Vannie’s snores created a perfect cover for speaking privately.
She spread the remaining blankets and pillows for her and Vin to share. He hesitated a moment, looking up at the camera, and then stretched out beside her. She placed her hand on his chest, savoring the deep strong beat of his heart and the gentle rise and fall of his chest. The strong rhythms of his life comforted her. Despite the bars of the prison, she felt safe.
She wanted to ask Vin’s forgiveness again and make recompense for her foolishness in revealing her location to Ben. At the same time, her guilt burdened her less. This amazing man beside her held her to no blame.
Vin’s arm crept around her and pulled her closer to his side. He’d somehow traveled across half a galaxy and found her. She couldn’t expect him to rescue her again. Now she had to save him. She still held one more secret that her stepfather didn’t know about. One last card to play that would risk all she’d fled to protect the year before. She needed to send another message.
