“She is a woman. We have never executed a woman before,” another voice argued. “And I cannot understand why Colonel Jacobs would issue such a command—even if he lay dying.”
Ryder . Her chest tightened and she drew her lips between her teeth to keep from whimpering.
“I say we lock her in the maximum security cell and go fight with our brothers,” one of the men continued to argue. “We can make the decision about her life later. Belton has regained the stronghold in this war, but we should be out there amongst them.”
“I quite agree.” There was a brief pause. “All right. Let us put her in the cell and return at a later point.”
Talia closed her eyes, just before one of the men crossed the room toward her. He slipped his arms under her body and lifted her.
They would not execute her immediately? She swallowed hard, uncertain if she were relieved or despondent by the turn of events. Part of her wanted it to be over, to not prolong the horrifying end of her life, which was sure to come.
They walked for a while, before she heard the grating sounds of a steel door being opened.
He laid her down on the cold concrete floor, the chill radiating through her body. Fingers brushed across her forehead and the soldier sighed.
“Gods, woman, I cannot imagine you being the type of woman who would kill Colonel Jacobs,” he murmured.
His touch disappeared and she heard him stand up. Then the door scraped shut, a lock sounded, and his footsteps echoed as he walked away.
Talia sat up, opening her eyes. Panic swept through her. She could see nothing; her eyes may as well have still been closed. There was a thin slit in the door to allow in air, but only a tiny bit of light came from outside.
She rose to her feet and lifted her hands. The ceiling was just a bit above her head.
“No.” She whimpered and reached her hands to the side, immediately encountering the wall an inch away.
Her high-pitched wail was muffled in the tiny box of a cell. She needed out of here. Oh gods, she needed out!
The cloying pressure of being confined pressed on every inch of her body. Tears ran down her cheeks and she curled herself into a ball and gasped for air.
“Oh gods.” The words were a pathetic croak as she rocked back and forth as much as was allowed.
She would go mad in here. A hysterical laugh burst from her lips and she pressed her eyes closed. Sleep. Just pretend you are sleeping .
Trying to erase the horror of being in the cell, she pictured the gardens on Belton that she had walked through just yesterday. In her mind she was free again and Ryder was very much alive.
He held her in his arms, smoothing her hair back and kissing her forehead. The pungent smell of flowers tickled her nostrils.
She kept her focus on that image, praying reality would not seep into her vision and bring the unfathomable reminder that Ryder was dead and she soon would be, too.
Ryder switched his electro-mace from one hand to another and glanced around the city. Bodies lay everywhere. Some were his own people, but most were soldiers of Zortou. Smoke lingered in the air, yet the sounds of war and death had ceased.
At present there were talks under way of surrender from the enemy soldiers.
His chest grew tight and he struggled to draw a breath. So much destruction and lives lost in such a short amount of time. And in the past few hours of fighting, he had yet to catch sight of Talia.
It was possible she had found a safe location to hide out through the ongoing battle. Another possibility lingered in the back of his head. The possibility that Dillon had been right. That she had indeed betrayed him and left on a pod hours ago.
The thought did not sit well. His gut protested the likelihood that she was behind this. But if not Talia, then who?
“Colonel Jacobs?”
The voice came from behind him, and Ryder turned to see a soldier standing a few feet away. The man’s exhaustion from fighting was evident in his crumpled posture, but his eyes were round with shock.
“Lieutenant?” Ryder raised an eyebrow. “How do you fare?”
“I am well.” The soldier did not even blink. “Forgive my behavior, Colonel, but I thought you dead.”
“Dead?”
Unease and suspicion ran through Ryder and he stepped closer to the soldier. The only people who would have known about the attempt on his life were Talia, Krystal, and Dillon. And whoever had shot him with the poisoned dart.
“Yes, sir.”
“As you can see I am very much alive.” Ryder narrowed his eyes. “How did you come about this information?”
“We were informed by Private Ines Santos.”
Ines? How the hell had Ines known what had happened to him hours ago? His gut twisted and he tightened his fists at his side. Gods. How had he not seen this coming earlier?
“What else did she tell you?” The question came out harsher than he had intended.
The soldier must have sensed Ryder’s change in temperament, because he shifted and cleared his throat.
“Ines instructed us to carry out the execution of a prisoner; said that you had requested it while you were on your deathbed.”
The world seemed to tilt and his grip on the electro-mace tightened.
“Which prisoner?” he demanded hoarsely.
“A woman from Zortou—”
“ No! Gods no!” Bile rose in his throat and his chest grew so tight he could not breathe. Dead. They had killed her.
The soldier was speaking, but Ryder did not hear his words. Only the man’s hand gripping his shoulder brought him back to focus.
“Sir, I repeat, we did not carry out the execution.”
Ryder forced in a breath and stared at the man, letting the words sink in.
“Repeat that, Lieutenant?”
“The execution was not performed. We didn’t feel right about it. We put her in the small, maximum security cell.”
“How long ago?” The relief spilling through him was not complete, and would not be so until she was in the safety of his arms.
The soldier hesitated. “It was hours ago, Colonel. We placed her in there and came back to fight.”
Damn . She’d been in that tiny hellhole for hours? His stomach clenched with anger just thinking about it.
“Spread the word that anyone who comes across Private Santos is to take her into custody.”
“Sir.”
The soldier’s urgent tone stopped him as he turned away. He glanced back at the soldier, whose face was now pinched with fear.
“I passed Private Santos just minutes ago. She was on her way to the cellblock.”
Fuck . Ryder choked in a breath and then turned, sprinting toward the cell house.
19
“T hey did not kill you?”
The high-pitched voice echoed in the hallway, snapping Talia up from the depths of her trancelike state.
Listening carefully, she picked up only one set of footsteps. Ines had come alone.
Talia had suppressed so much horror, pain, and anger over
the past few hours that it all reignited with this sudden spark.
Damn the woman . Damn the woman for killing Ryder and for betraying her own planet.
“I always knew you should never count on a man to finish a task.” Ines’s voice was now right outside the door.
The urge to draw blood hit Talia hard. To fight for all she was worth. She may not have a weapon, but she would not go down quietly when Ines unlocked the cell.
“Did Ryder tell you we were lovers?” Ines went on.
Open the cell door. Just open it, you ice-hearted bitch!
“And I quite enjoyed myself with the Governing Council when I arrived on Zortou.”
She could hear the sound of Ines fidgeting with something. Loading a weapon perhaps?
Talia rose to her feet and stretched her muscles as much as the cramped cell would allow.
“Why do you not speak? You are alive, are you not, Natalia?” Irritation rang clear in the other woman’s voice. “I have to say that I am looking forward to plunging a dagger into your heart, then watching the life drain from your eyes.”
Ines had a knife.
The sound of the lock sliding back rang loud. The cell door jerked open and Talia sprang out, sending her elbow directly into the other woman’s face.
Ines stumbled backward with a cry of pain. With vengeance the only thought on her mind, Talia leapt on top of her. She grabbed the hand that Ines held a dagger in, and smashed it against the cold stone floor.
“Let us finish what we started earlier,” Talia ground out, her blood pounding with rage as she glared down at the woman’s outraged expression. “And we will do it without weapons.”
She slammed Ines’s wrist again and again into the floor until she heard the satisfying crack of bones and the weapon fell from her limp hand.
“Then again, I prefer using a weapon.” Talia reached out and snagged the dagger. “Who will die now, bitch?”
She raised it above her head, ready to plunge it straight into Ines’s breast.
“Talia!”
Her hand shook and she blinked, jerking her head to look down the corridor just as someone turned the corner and ran toward them.
Ryder . Was it even possible? Had Ines—
“Ooph.” Ines’s fist jammed into her windpipe, sending pain through her body and making it nearly impossible to draw a breath.
Talia clutched her neck with one hand and rolled off Ines, attempting to keep her grip on the dagger with her other hand.
“If I die, you die with me,” Ines snarled.
The other woman was stronger; even with a broken wrist she managed to wrestle free the deadly weapon. She swung it in an arc. In a blur of motion Talia watched the blade descend toward her own heart.
Just as sudden, Ines’s arm went slack. The dagger lost momentum in its course and only glanced across Talia’s skin, before clattering to the floor.
Ines’s body shook, foam appeared at her mouth, and then her eyes glazed over. Her body went limp on the floor next to the dagger.
“Talia!” Ryder lowered his weapon and closed the space that separated them, kneeling beside her on the floor. “Gods, I thought you were dead.”
“No.” She reached up and cupped his face, issuing a ragged sob. How was it possible? “Ryder, I was convinced you had the same fate.”
“My love.” He groaned and lifted her into his arms, crushing his mouth down on hers.
She parted her lips to his tongue, eager to taste him. To assure herself he was indeed alive. His arms tightened around her, his mouth almost desperate as it moved against hers.
His hand reached to cup her breast and she gasped. Lifting his head, his brows drew together in confusion. He glanced down where his hand lay and the air hissed out from between his teeth.
“She cut you.”
“I do not think it is a very deep wound.” Talia said hesitantly, glancing down at the thin ribbon of red blood that had soaked through her dress.
“Yes…but…” His jaw clenched and fear flickered in his gaze. “What if she poisoned the tip?”
Talia’s pulse jumped and she ran her tongue over her mouth.
“How do you feel?” he asked and began to walk, carrying her down the corridor.
“I feel…” She broke off to think about it. Her heart was racing, her body felt alive and tight, but that was just the result of being in Ryder’s arms again. “Normal. But a bit horrified to have witnessed the deaths of so many people.”
“I am sorry you had to see all this.” His grip on her tightened. “To have gone through any of it. If I had not arrived when I did—”
“Then I probably would have killed her myself.” A smile played at her mouth and she ran her palm down the stubble on his cheek.
“Yes, I do believe you would have.” His gaze held admiration.
“Ryder…” She licked her lips, her stomach twisting. “The Council is dead.”
He paused in his stride, his shock evident by the expression on his face.
“All of them?”
She nodded.
“But how? I did not see any of the members during the battle.”
“Franklin killed Ramirez and Victor.” She closed her eyes tight, trying not to relive the horrifying image. “And then Ines…she killed Franklin.”
“Ines.” The word came out harsh. “I know now that she was behind this. I should have seen it earlier.”
“Did you think I betrayed you?” Talia opened her eyes again, wanting to see the reaction in his gaze.
His eyes darkened and he shook his head. “There were others who added up the evidence and wanted to blame you. Yes, it looked bad…and yet I knew. Everything within me knew that you were innocent.”
“Thank you. To hear you say that…” She swallowed hard and looked away. “Oh gods. I never allowed myself to hope to be free of them.”
Tears of relief filled her eyes. After years of being their slave, she would never have to endure their touch or temper again.
Ryder stroked her hair and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Talia, we must get your cut looked at.”
She took a steadying breath in. “But surely you are needed on the battlefield. You should not spend your time nursing a prisoner with a small cut.”
“The war is over, Talia. Zortou is surrendering as we speak.”
Shock swept through her. She stared at him with wide eyes as he carried her out of the building and into the open air.
“Over?” she repeated hesitantly, glancing around. All was silent, though the faint smell of sulfur was in the air.
“Yes. Completely over.” He glanced down at her. “Though after I drop you at the medical station, I must meet up with my superiors.”
“I understand.” She nodded and looked away. Zortou was surrendering? What did this mean for the people of her planet? And most of all…what did this mean for her and Ryder?
Ryder rubbed the back of his neck, stifling a yawn as he made his way to the medical station. Gods, it was getting late. The meeting with his superiors had gone on longer than he’d assumed it would.
Keeping focus had been no easy task; his thoughts had always returned to Talia. Switching from concern,
to desire, to some sort of soft fuzzy emotion he had no wish to analyze.
He wanted her in his arms…in his bed…in his life. He just wanted her. His eyes narrowed and he increased his pace, his heart thudding heavy in his chest.
Gods. Was it true? Had he fallen in love with her?
“Ryder.”
He paused and turned to see Krystal coming up behind him. He grinned and walked back toward her.
“I was beginning to worry about you, kid. Did you get through all right?”
“Yes, we did fine.” She blushed and looked down. “Thank you, Ryder. For knowing what was right for me. For making sure I ended up with the most perfect man in the universe.”
“I am glad you two have realized that you are meant for one another. I can think of no better man for you,” he said truthfully.
The thought of the love the two had found made his gut twist and the need to reach Talia more urgent.
“If you will excuse me, Krystal, I am on my way to see Talia—”
“To release her? I am so ashamed that I doubted her, for even a moment.” His sister stepped forward, her gaze direct. “You are planning on releasing her, aren’t you?”
Ryder blinked and glanced away. Release Talia. Gods. Krystal’s words were reasonable, yet he had not even considered that option.
“The war is over, Ryder,” Krystal argued. “You know she has never been a threat to our planet. She has been far more of an ally to us than an enemy. The time to give her the freedom she deserves is now.”
Release Talia . His stomach twisted with the thought of letting her go. Gods, how could he not, though? She had been a prisoner her entire life. Who was he to continue to keep her one?
“Yes.” He closed his eyes and gave a jagged nod. “Of course I am releasing her.”
The words fell from numb lips. She deserved her freedom. He could hardly keep her prisoner here on Belton. Had he really been so selfish to have even considered the idea?
Take Me Page 22
