by Marie Harte
“You wouldn’t.”
“Why not? I’m a known criminal, but one with standards. You Eyran scientists, however, have a bad reputation with creating things that destroy.” Rafe stared from Erin to Synster. “You kill me and all details surrounding Erin, you and Canunn will be all over the Vrail news vids within twenty standard hours.”
Dreyk nodded. “I told you we play hardball, Synster.”
Synster grimaced. “That’s not necessary.”
“Oh, but it is.” Rafe held Erin in his arms, wanting nothing more than to put her down and pound Synster into a bloody pulp. “Now I want a credit chip with two hundred thousand on it, as well as passage back to Tekor for me and my friend.” He nodded to Dreyk. “And I want to know if anyone else is currently looking for Erin. Anyone else I’ll have to beat back when they come pounding at my door demanding to know why I stole their bounty out from under them?”
Synster flushed. “A harmless group. Mara’s Light agreed to track her. But Dreyk contacted me before Catam returned my calls. I expect they’ll be easy enough to manage for someone with your reputation.” Synster threw back at him. “Now give me the girl.” Synster nodded at two large security men to step forward.
“No. You give Dreyk the chip, and we’ll wait while he verifies it.”
Synster glared. “I don’t think you realize who’s in charge here.”
A sudden disturbance in the air had Dreyk and Rafe on one side of the small clearing and Synster and his team on the other. In seconds, two large Ragga, a Mardu, a large, stunning male and a tall, sexy female appeared with pistols at the ready.
“Synster, how good to see you,” Catam said with rancor. “Not going to give away my currency, were you?” Catam’s gaze flashed to Rafe’s, but he said nothing more and looked back at Synster.
“Speak of the devil,” Dreyk murmured with amusement. “What were you saying about getting rid of Mara’s Light, Synster?”
Synster’s eyes widened with alarm as he stammered for his security to protect him. Guns aimed at one another and shouting ensued while Rafe cradled Erin to his chest protectively.
“I had to bring Synster and crew,” Dreyk said under his breath by way of apology. “They found Ryen and Anin earlier today. But on the bright side, at least I have you two a minute to finish up.”
Rafe glared, not amused at any of this.
“Cheltam, what a pleasure,” Catam spoke loudly, breaking through the noise. “Should have known you’d be in on this.”
“Yes, you should have.” Rafe was so going to kick Catam’s ass for involving himself in this mess. And where the hell were Isa and the girls?
“Catam, perhaps it would be wise of you to remind Cheltam that I command Mara’s Light,” Mara said with steel underlying her words.
Rafe fumed. “Lady, right now I don’t give a shit who works for who. The girl is mine to deal with. So Synster, you want her back? Gimme that chip.”
Catam and the others exchanged glances, and Rafe noted that Lurin, Mara’s mate, looked none too pleased with his attitude. Well, fuck it. This was his operation, his woman, and his responsibility. Not his little brother’s.
“Fine. Dagga, give him the currency,” Synster snapped.
One of the men set the amount and handed Dreyk a chip. Dreyk vanished, and while they waited for him to return, Rafe kept Erin close. Catam, he noted, studied him with interest.
“Just tell me this is all the crowd we’re going to have today. Because if I so much as see a hint of a peacemaker, I’m leaving with the woman. And you’ll never see her again,” Rafe snapped, annoyed.
“You’re not going anywhere, not with our currency,” Mara had the nerve to interject.
Rafe glowered. “Mara, you push too hard and you’re going to get hurt.”
Synster and the others backed up as the crew of Mara’s Light advanced on Rafe. But seriously ticked off at his interfering brother, Rafe let loose his Xema abilities, calling on the distortion techniques as he replicated. In seconds, three dozen images of Rafe holding Erin dotted the area, and in the confusion, Rafe moved back into the wood line out of sight of everyone.
Catam, a fellow Xema, most likely saw him move, but was smart enough to keep his eyes on the fake Rafe’s all around him. Rafe spoke through all of them, making it impossible to find his exact location.
“Soon as the currency is verified, the girl’s yours.” He spoke to Synster. “So you have no need of the others we discussed.” Stalling them, he planned how to handle this mess. Much as he didn’t want to, Rafe knew he would have to give Erin back, if only to follow her to her siblings. She’d never allow them to come to harm, and as his mate, bound Rafe to doing the same. Rafe could only pray Dreyk had managed to find them the techie and supplies they needed.
“I hate when they do that,” Lurin muttered, scowling at the copies of Rafe and Erin. “Damn Xema.”
“You can say that again,” Catam said with menace. “When this is over, Cheltam, you and I are going to settle a few things.”
Rafe scoffed, “You and what crew?” Which had the crew of Mara’s Light shouting and threatening, putting Synster and his men on the defensive all over again as Mara accused Synster of lying to them.
Thankfully, Dreyk found Rafe in the woods and kept his voice and presence hidden from everyone else. “The credits are good. I already transferred them. My techie just finished scrubbing all the records of Erin and her family from Blue Rim. And it wasn’t cheap. Cost a hundred thou just for that.”
“Dreyk, get on with it.”
“Sorry. Look, the way I figure it, we give her back to Synster, then track them with this.” Dreyk held a small device to Erin’s waist and pressed a button. “You have to keep Cheltam’s cover. And she can lead us to her family, because you know she won’t stop until they’re freed again. Once we have them and the other prisoners still being held at Blue Rim, we blow the place up.”
“What?”
“You know Sernal wants everything bagged, tagged and documented. But that will just give rise to new Creations, new subjects to torture and experiment on.” The rage in Dreyk’s voice gave Rafe pause. “What’s right is right, Rafe. And against the law or not, Blue Rim needs to be stopped.”
“But there are innocent people—”
“No. No one at Blue Rim is innocent. They all know what goes on there. Trust me. There aren’t as many people working the labs as you’d think, and every one of them is cleared to Create. That’s what Blue Rim does. They play -god for profit.”
“But—”
“I’m sorry, Rafe. I’m taking them out, with or without you.”
Dreyk handed Rafe a micro-teleporter, a small device Rafe accepted and tucked into the pocket of his trousers, and waited.
After a minute, Rafe sighed. “Okay. We blow up the lab, but not the people. I’m not a killer, Dreyk. And neither are you.” Though Dreyk clearly wanted to argue, he nodded instead, and Rafe let out a breath of relief. He’d never been totally comfortable working in the gray. But then again... He stared down at Erin. He would do whatever it took to protect her and others like her, others like Dreyk and her siblings. “I’ll handle the arrests and you can blow up the lab, okay?” The delight on Dreyk’s face made him wince. “But you make sure to leave Synster and Canunn to me.”
“Done.” Dreyk smiled, menace radiating off him like that damned perfume he exuded. “Now how about you quit fucking with their minds out there and hand Erin over?”
Rafe shook his head, not wanting to let Erin go. “You do it. I can’t.”
Dreyk nodded with sympathy and gently took Erin into his arms. He walked out into the clearing, and Rafe drew in on himself, making his images disappear. He heard the exclamations of surprise, Dreyk’s rumbling, and then Dreyk reappeared.
“Synster and his men are gone. But we need to leave, right now.”
“Why?” Within his next breath, solid arms wrapped around his waist and arms, taking him off his feet even as someone lifted a pistol to
Dreyk’s forehead. Dammit. More illegal teleporters. Too bad he hadn’t used the one Dreyk had just given him before they were captured.
“Why? Because Mara and her crew were not amused with your antics,” Lurin Vez explained in a deep, angry voice.
“Shit.”
“I tried to tell you.” Dreyk glared at Catam holding a gun to his head. “Fucking Mardu.”
Catam glared back, and Rafe wondered how much damage the two Raggas holding him might inflict before he could reach the teleporter in his pocket. Dreyk only stayed to help him, though he wished his friend would leave to track Erin.
“We don’t have time for this,” Rafe began when Mara cut him off.
“Make time.” She scowled, giving him that sharp, lavender gaze that normally had her crew squirming with trepidation. “Dammit, Gar, I’m tired of your bullshit. Enough is enough.”
“I’m not Gar.”
Catam and the other stared at him, and Catam blinked in disbelief. “You’re not... Rafe? What the hell did you do to yourself? You even smell like Gar, like you’ve been claimed...” he trailed off in horror.
“Yes, little brother. My mate is right now in the hands of some crazy scientists and I want her back.” In his anger, Rafe let out a burst of energy, effectively shoving the Raggas holding him into the trees at their backs.
“Crap.” Catam scowled. “Okay, okay. Uh, Mara? He’s not lying. This really is Rafe. And I think it’s best if you guys leave this to us,” he ended, motioning to Rafe and himself. “It’s a family thing now.”
“You want me to leave you and your idiot brother, and Dreyk,” she said scornfully, earning a raised brow from the man, “up against Blue Rim and a Creation?”
Rafe glared at her, ignoring Lurin’s frown. “Erin is not a Creation. She and her brother and sister did some time for petty theft and were captured by System law. Unfortunately, like many of the others Blue Rim took, she and her family became unwilling experiments trapped in a scientific horror for years.”
Mara paled. “Hell. I’m sorry, Rafe. I assumed, since Gar was so adamant, that she wasn’t natural.”
Rafe fumed at the word “natural” but didn’t argue. Best to let her and the crew believe him. “Yeah, well, if we don’t get her back, she might just become the monster you’re all accusing her of being. You have no idea what she’s suffered for the past four years.”
Lurin shook his head. “Four years? I don’t want to think about it. Come on, honey,” he said to Mara. “Let’s get back to the ship. Nu, Set, Catam, let’s go. Rafe, I trust you’ll signal us when you need our help?” Catam looked like he wanted to argue, but Rafe nodded for him to leave.
Rafe was about to refuse their help, however, when Dreyk stepped in. “That’s a good idea. We can use you as a distraction when we pull the others out.”
“The others?” Mara asked.
“The other prisoners still trapped inside,” Rafe growled.
Nu and Set flexed their hands, as if anticipating a fight. “Let’s go,” they said as one.
“Yeah,” Dreyk added. “Come on, Cheltam. Follow me. You won’t believe the stuff our contacts found for us.” Dreyk disappeared.
Rafe turned to Catam. “Erin’s mine. I claimed her, fully.”
Catam’s eyes widened. “She’s Xema? A female Xema?”
Rafe nodded.
“Hot damn. Okay, brother. You find her, we’ll help. And hey, just think, when this is all over, she and Mom can bond, leaving poor Isa and the girls alone.”
Rafe couldn’t help a small smile at the thought of Catam’s fiery mate and their mother at odds again, putting Catam in the hot seat. “Sounds good. Be careful out there.” And that said, Rafe teleported to Dreyk’s signature inside a private weapons class ship.
“We’re going to blow them off the planet,” Dreyk said with malice.
“After we rescue Erin and the others.” Rafe absently rubbed his chest, feeling half the man he’d been just this morning without Erin at his side.
Chapter Eleven
ERIN WOKE TO a throbbing headache. Damned stunners. She winced as she blinked into white light but couldn’t block the brightness from her eyes. Her wrists lay strapped to the table under her, her ankles bound as well. And the coldness of the metal under her skin showed her she wore nothing at all. Completely vulnerable to the powers that be. Her nightmares made real, all over again.
“Ah, there you are.” Canunn smiled, his watery blue eyes as welcome as death would have been...before Rafe.
“Let me go.” Why she bothered fighting, she didn’t know. Canunn would never release her, and she could only imagine how Synster would react to her escape. She could only hope Anin and Ryen remained safely away.
“No, dear. You were a very bad girl, Erin. And to say you caused me some inconvenience is putting it mildly.” Canunn raised a small tool and Erin flinched. He touched one end of the tool to a large transparent energy block and depressed a button. A small probe shot from the tool and landed on her bare belly.
Mind-numbing energy jolted through her, tearing a scream from her with savage intensity.
“As I recall, you never could tolerate the volmagni block, could you?”
“Bastard,” she said once she caught her breath. She continued to shiver, the blast of energy stealing her heat, adding to her discomfort at being nude before her Creator.
“That won’t do at all.” Canunn frowned, and Erin realized she didn’t care at all about his disappointment. That urge she’d once had to please Canunn at all costs no longer existed. Hell, once she got herself free of these bonds, she could snap his neck and be done with him. The understanding that she maintained control over herself was liberating. Though she’d worked to overcome Canunn’s basic teachings, she’d always feared returning to Blue Rim, that she might fall back into the roll of experimental slave. Funny, but she didn’t mind her forays into submission with Rafe at all. With him she felt safe to enjoy herself. She liked pleasing him, but only because she knew how much he liked pleasing her.
Canunn and Synster, on the other hand, had never cared about her at all. Their focus did and would remain on what she could do for them. Another wave of agony swept through her as Canunn turned up the volmagni’s settings. When she could think again, Erin knew that as much as she longed to rip Canunn’s head off his body, she needed to play along until she could escape.
Summoning a few tears and a remorseful expression, she closed her eyes and apologized. “I’m sorry, Sir. I’ve been so confused lately.” Sorry I’m not free so I can beat you into a bloody mess with my bare hands.
“That’s more like it.” The relief in Canunn’s voice told her he hadn’t been as sure about her as he’d have liked. And Erin decided to use that to her advantage.
“Sir?”
“Yes, Erin. You can open your eyes and look at me, you know.”
She blinked to find him frowning. “Sir, where is my family?” He normally liked when she asked about them, as if reassured she wasn’t a monster because she loved her siblings.
“They’re safe enough for now.” Canunn glanced at her breasts before stepping away. He returned with a sheet and covered her nakedness. “Erin, I’d like you to answer me honestly.” He paused, and she watched in astonishment when her Creator blushed. “Are you still pure?”
Understanding what he wanted to know, she decided to needle him a bit. “I haven’t ingested or imbibed of any toxic substances. I suppose then that makes me pure.” She smiled, trying to reassure him.
The little jerk swallowed loudly and glanced away, and she wanted to laugh with perverse enjoyment. Now that she thought about it, Synster had always been the one interested in sexuality. Canunn avoided it like the Mornian plague.
“What I mean is, have you, ah, have you engaged in sexual intercourse?”
Even stated in such clinical terms, Canunn made sex sound dirty. With Rafe, their loving had been anything but. Yet knowing what her Creator probably knew and wanted to hear, she summoned mor
e tears.
“I’m so sorry, Sir. I couldn’t avoid it.”
Canunn immediately wiped her eyes with a cloth, and Erin was surprised to see compassion, something he’d never before shown her. “I told you not to leave us, didn’t I? Poor Erin. Did you find yourself abused at the hands of many? From what I could tell of your scans, you were sodomized overly. My poor Erin.”
Sodomized and loving it. Damn, she missed Rafe. Already her body softened for him at the thought of their joining. “I am sorry, too, Sir. I’ll never leave you again. Never. Whatever you demand as punishment shall be just, as you are just.”
Canunn smiled, a wobbly expression bordering on honest emotion. Tears filled his eyes. “I am so happy to hear you say that.” He released the bar over her left wrist and paused, as if comprehending how stupid he was to give her the chance to escape. But Erin bided her time. Canunn wasn’t a complete idiot, and when she glanced around, she saw several armed guards in her periphery. She lay still, not moving at all. Canunn released her right wrist, then her ankles, tense while he waited to see what she might do.
Erin remained still.
“Erin?”
“Sir?”
“Would you like to leave the table?”
“If it would you please you, Sir.”
Canunn exhaled loudly. “It would please me very much. Please remove yourself to lab room one. Clean yourself, then dress. Synster should be back any minute with Anin.”
Erin nodded and left, her thoughts abuzz. Synster had Anin, but what about Ryen? What had happened to her siblings in her absence? As she left Canunn, she noticed the many security guards now posted along the exits of the large room, as well as along the hallway and outside of lab room one.
She entered the lab and sealed the door behind her. Quickly cleaning and dressing, once again in the sterile white pants and sleeveless vest worn by all test subjects, Erin stopped and waited. For several moments she merely stared at the floor, at the cool tiles and their utter sameness that used to drive her crazy. But as she stared, she saw the memories she’d made with Rafe. She felt the heat of the overhead sun as she walked through Mardu’s glorious fields. Rafe’s unique scent called to her, reminding her that somewhere outside the walls of this prison stood a man who loved her—Erin, a Creation.
