Wicked Prisoner

by Lily Thomas

  Books By Lily Thomas

  Giant Wars Series

  Loving His Fire

  Grounded By Love

  Melted By Love

  Galactic Courtship Series

  Xacier’s Prize

  Claiming His Champion

  Captivating the Doctor

  Escaping the Hunt

  Abducting the Ambassador

  Wicked Prisoner

  Wicked Prisoner

  Lily Thomas

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover created by SelfPubBookCovers.com/ Ravenborn

  Copyright © 2018 by Lily Thomas

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce the book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information email lilysamanthathomas@yahoo.com.

  www.lilythomasromance.com

  ISBN: 9781980375210

  ISBN: (ebook) B07B49JQ7C

  Chapter 1

  Kruhn glanced around the bar, as he grabbed another glass of Andora whiskey. It was his favorite drink, and he was going to enjoy every last drop. He’d paid enough credits for it. He took a long sip and let it burn all the way down his throat, warming him from the inside out.

  Two of his best friends came up to the bar where he was relaxing on a chair.

  “Bartender!” Veux hollered, as he slapped a blue-skinned hand against the counter.

  “No need to yell, sir, I’m right here.” The woman said with a bit of exasperation, as she turned to face him.

  Kruhn smirked from behind the rim of his glass. “How many have you had already, Veux?”

  “Had of what?!” Veux turned to holler in Kruhn’s direction.

  “You’re drunk.” Kruhn slapped his friend on the back, as he took another sip from his glass.

  “Nah! Never!”

  “He’s drunk,” Drelz confirmed from the other side of Veux.

  “What would you like?” The bartender propped her hip on the side of the bar.

  “How about you?” Veux leaned over the bar top and puckered his blue lips in her direction.

  The bartender’s red eyes skimmed over him. “Sweetie, you couldn’t handle me, even if you weren’t three sheets to the wind.”

  Veux wasn’t deterred. “I’ve been with plenty of Lieridons. I like tall women who can take it rougher. We Vrak’rir are known to be the best lovers in the galaxy.”

  “Ok, that’s enough. Leave her alone.” Kruhn put his empty glass down on the bar top.

  All three of them were Vrak’rirs. Their bodies littered with tattoos from their time in the Vrak’rir military. Now they made more money as mercenaries.

  “I’m not done yet. She wants me.” He winked at the bartender.

  With a roll of her eyes the bartender walked away to take care of another patron, and Veux immediately forgot about her. Leaning back against the counter Veux took in the bustling bar. “I need to find myself a woman. It’s been too long. Why don’t we take fewer jobs and stay in one place long enough for me to get to know some of the fine ladies on these planets?”

  “Good luck.” Kruhn laughed again, but he agreed. None of them had found their long-awaited mates. Traveling across the galaxy should mean that they would run into more women and increase their chances of finding their mates more quickly. Instead, their success in the private sector had kept them too busy to meet many of the people on the planets they visited.

  Sure, he’d had a few pleasurable nights here and there, but he was growing tired of fooling around with women who meant nothing to him, and he wouldn’t settle down with just any woman while his future mate was still out there somewhere.

  Mates were both a blessing and a curse. Kruhn just hoped his mate wasn’t waiting for him back on Vrak, his species home planet, while he was gallivanting around the galaxy.

  For tonight, maybe he should follow Veux’s lead and find himself a woman to pass the time. Kruhn leaned back on his stool and glanced over the range of species dancing, drinking, and intermingling in the dimly light room as he took another sip of his whiskey. There was a particularly attractive Cri who caught his attention, but he couldn’t work up the desire to go flirt with her. They’d already accepted their next job, and it wasn’t his style to get distracted in the middle of a mission. Veux could have his fun tonight, but Kruhn wanted to stay focused.

  True to form, Veux was perusing the darkness of the dance floor with hungry eyes. With an exclamation of excitement, he pointed into the heaving mass. “Found her!” He launched himself off against the bar top and began dancing his way through the crowd to a Dekkarian.

  “He’s drunk if he’s going after a Dekkarian.” Drelz took a seat beside him.

  “We already know that much. Only a drunk man hits on a Dekkarian and a Lieridon in the span of five seconds.” Kruhn laughed. You could hardly find two more different species.

  Lieridons were tall, red-eyed, and had a few insect-like features. Nothing about them appealed to him. Then there were the Dekkarians, cat-like with their spots and tails. Two species he would never flirt with, even if his life was on the line.

  “No, I mean drunk, like he should be passing out soon. Who would go after a Dekkarian? Those cat eyes give me the creeps.” Drelz commented as he took a swig from his own glass.

  Kruhn patted the bar top signaling the bartender for another Andora whiskey. The only way to keep an eye on Veux was to be just as drunk as he was.

  Back on the dance floor, a male Dekkarian stalked up beside Veux and the female Dekkarian. He didn’t look happy.

  “We’ve got trouble incoming.” Kruhn rose from his seat.

  Drelz glanced over and let out a curse under his breath. “Boyfriend probably.”

  Kruhn and Drelz rose quickly from their seats and began to make their way through the throng of dancers. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d had to pull their friend out of a dispute over a woman.

  Unfortunately, they weren’t fast enough this time. By the time they reached the threesome, Veux and the male Dekkarian were yelling, almost chest to chest. Kruhn sized up the Dekkarians in one swift glance. The female stood off to the side, an amused smile on her face, but completely non-aggressive. If this got physical, she wouldn’t be jumping into the fight. In fact, she’d probably led Veux on, knowing that her male companion would get jealous. In a one-on-one, Veux probably had the Dekkarian male in a fight, even while drunk, but Kruhn wanted to be close enough to back up his friend, just in case.

  “Couldn’t he find himself a good stripper? I mean, we are in a bar full of them. Why does he have to pick the only woman in here with a man?” Drelz complained.

  “Because it wouldn’t be Veux if he didn’t make our lives even more difficult,” Kruhn explained. However, he agreed with Drelz. Veux was going to get them all into trouble.

  Then again, Veux might just get them into enough trouble for their mission to begin. Kruhn smiled to himself. Maybe Veux’s drunkenness was going to come in handy for once.

  Unfortunately, there was no time to communicate this to Drelz. The male Dekkarian launched himself at Veux, and the two men went down, knocking several dancers off their feet. Cries went up across the dance floor as the partiers pulled back from the fight. On the floor, fists flew, and a couple of solid blows landed on both sides.

  Kruhn and Drelz jumped into the fray. Drelz managed to separate the men, clearly still hoping they could end this fight before it got out of control. However, Kruhn had other plans, and luckily the male Dekkarian was eager for a fight. He jumped up from the floor with an unnatural grace, landing perfectly balanced on his feet and
lashed out with a powerful punch.

  Kruhn was prepared for the Dekkarian’s skill. Keeping his weight on the balls of his feet, he deflected the punch to the side and returned a quick jab to his opponent’s nose.

  Kruhn refrained from putting his full force into the punch. He didn’t want to take out the Dekkarian, just make a good scene. His technique was rewarded as he watched blood spray out of his adversary’s nose, and the bar patrons let out a collective gasp.

  Kruhn expected the Dekkarian to back down, and he lowered his fists, but to his surprise the male lashed out, catching Kruhn on the jaw and sending him staggering to the side. He recovered quickly, turning the stagger into a low sweep and knocking the Dekkarian off of his feet and onto his back.

  Soldiers rushed into the bar, and Kruhn straightened from his crouching position. He couldn’t have planned it better if he had tried. He and his crew were standing over the Dekkarian, who had blood pouring from his nose while he gasped for air. It was clear who the soldiers were going to blame.

  “Hands up!” One of the soldiers barked as he leveled a gun in their direction.

  Kruhn let out a growl. It went against his nature to submit, but his hands rose into the air. Drelz looked at Kruhn in puzzlement for a moment, but Kruhn gave him a small nod, and understanding dawned in Drelz’s face. Giving a small nod of his own, he elbowed Veux in the stomach before raising his arms peacefully over his head.

  Veux, too drunk to catch on to the subtle cues from his crewmates, was indignant. “Hey! This wasn’t our fault,” he objected, casting a glare down at the Dekkarian.

  “Quiet!” Drelz hissed, kicking Veux in the shin.

  “Ow!” said Veux, but it distracted him enough that he stopped trying to protest their innocence.

  Two soldiers approached the three Vrak’rir cautiously and handcuffed them while their partner kept his gun trained on Kruhn. “Now stand there quietly.”

  Kruhn growled again, but he fought down his instincts and surrendered himself to the authorities. Their next mission had begun.

  Jade straightened her uniform before marching onto the bridge. As the only female guard on the prison transport ship Righteousness, she had a lot to prove.

  Unfortunately, no one thought a woman made a good prison guard, because of the dangers presented by multiple alien species who were larger and stronger than many humans. Most of Jade’s fellow guards were burly, tough, and overly-masculine brutes who clearly thought she didn’t belong.

  Jade was determined to prove everyone wrong. She’d chosen this profession because it felt like she was doing something to make the universe a better place to live in for people who didn’t want criminals running around freely. The more bad guys they delivered to prison planets, the safer they would make everyone else’s lives in the galaxy.

  She’d been off duty and fast asleep when they picked up the latest prisoners. From the entry log she’d skimmed over while gulping down a quick meal, she’d learned that the prisoners had been picked up from the planet Rionia, a pleasure planet, but that was all she’d had time to read before she pulled on her uniform and headed to the bridge.

  “There you are.” The captain gave her a disapproving look as she came onto the bridge.

  “I was off duty.” She informed him. Every time she came back from being off duty, the captain acted like she had been shirking her responsibilities. It irritated her, but she refused to let him win. He was just another person she would put in his place given enough time.

  “While you were off duty, we picked up three Vrak’rir from Rionia. It seems they couldn’t handle being on a pleasure planet without their beastly natures taking control.” The captain scoffed. “If I were on a pleasure planet, I’d be seeking the attention of a woman, not a fight.”

  “Maybe fighting is considered pleasure for these Vrak’rirs.” Another man commented, sending the captain into a fit of laughter.

  Rionia was filled to the brim with prostitutes, drugs, and alcohol. It was owned by humans but run by Frirens, and it was the number one place to go if someone was looking for a good time. Or to get robbed. Rionia, like all pleasure planets, was supposed to be a place where everyone could leave all cares behind and enjoy themselves without worry, but despite the notoriously strict rules the Frirens maintained for their guests, crime still found its way onto the planet.

  Jade shook her head, her ponytail wagging behind her. Didn’t people know better than to mess with the Frirens and their rules? They took laws seriously.

  Jade crossed the bridge to her sit at her post. She could feel the captain’s eyes following her every move, and it creeped her out. In addition to having to deal with men who didn’t think she could do her job, she also had to put up with constant harassment. Jade bit the inside of her cheek. She’d expected harassment from the prisoners, but she hadn’t expected it from her coworkers. She tried to shake it off. The captain might leer, but he wasn’t going to scare her away.

  Just as she sat down, the captain’s voice rang out.

  “Go down to the brig and relieve Jacob, so he can grab something to eat.”

  Jade closed her eyes briefly and made herself breath in and out slowly. She got the feeling Captain Drew had waited for her to sit down before telling her where he wanted her stationed.

  Rising from her seat, she sent him a smile and a perky nod. “Of course.”

  She left the bridge quickly before the captain could throw anything else her way, or she said something that would get her fired.

  At the moment, she was nothing more than a simple guard, but with her determination and talent, she had hoped to go up in rank rapidly. Unfortunately, her sex was preventing her progression, and it was beyond irritating. She was just as good as her male colleagues, but she appeared to be overlooked whenever there was a job opening.

  Now Jade was at the point where she had to ask herself if this was actually turning out to be the job she wanted.

  Transporting prisoners was dangerous work, and the job didn’t allow her any time to pursue relationships. If she ever wanted to start a family, this had to be the worse career choice she could possibly have made. The only men she came into contact were sexist prison guards or violent prisoners, and neither was a suitable match, not when she was looking for a man to treat her as an equal and respect her.

  Jade held her head high while she passed a couple of off-duty guards in the hallway. She could hear them snickering as she passed, and her back tensed. It’d been fun for a few years, when she felt like she had the opportunity to make a difference in the galaxy, but now her job was more of a frustration than anything else. Everywhere she looked there were people trying to block her from progressing up the ranks.

  Maybe it was time for her to start thinking about a career change. A career that allowed her more time for herself, where her superiors didn’t look down at her for being a woman, and where she would have the chance to meet a nice man.

  Of course, if she changed careers, it would mean that she wasted several years on the prison guard position, and she wasn’t sure she was quite ready to admit defeat.

  The next moment she got, she’d call up her brother and see what he thought. Ever since her parents had retired and begun traveling, she’d looked to her older brother for advice.

  She didn’t begrudge her parents their vacations. They’d worked hard for what they had, and they deserved to enjoy their older years.

  She just needed someone to talk to about this, someone to take her seriously. A conversation with her brother would be just the ticket to boost her confidence. He had been surprised when she decided to become a prison guard, but he had supported her every step of the way, and she knew he would continue to have her back in the future.

  Striding into the brig, she found Jacob standing behind a console. He looked up and sent her a grin that made her skin crawl.

  “Hey, sweetheart!”

  She sucked in a couple deep breathes. Jacob was just one more irritation for her aboard this ship.
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br />   Jade glanced over at the three Vrak’rir inside a cell behind a blue force field.

  One of the Vrak’rir stood and came to stand at the front of the cell, where he openly appraised her from head to foot, his gaze lingering on her breasts. “I had no idea they had such good-looking prison guards on these ships.” He raised his black eyes to hers. “Are you searching for a good-looking man?” Jade shivered and looked away. She didn’t usually let the prisoners get to her so easily. She sought to project a bored manner and crossed the room to the console.

  “The only good-looking man in this room is me.” Jacob laughed at the Vrak’rir’s comment.

  “The lady has eyes, and I’m sure she realizes you’re the ugliest man in the room.” The Vrak’rir shot back, his onyx eyes zeroing in on Jacob.

  Jacob’s eyes bulged.

  Jade smirked inwardly but tried to diffuse the situation. “They’re drunk. Ignore them.” She spoke up for the Vrak’rir before Jacob did something stupid to the prisoners.

  “They’d better watch themselves,” Jacob muttered.

  “They want a reaction. Just don’t give it to them and they’ll shut up.” Jade came up beside him and took a look at the console. Everything was reading in the green.

  They were stationed in here to monitor any fluctuations, just in case a surge took the force fields down. There were enough prisoners on this ship that they could riot and take the ship easily. Making sure that never happened was important.

  “You’re still the ugliest thing in the room despite what she might tell you.”

  Jade looked up in surprise. Usually prisoners gave the guards a hard time, but they also knew when to back off. This Vrak’rir didn’t know when to stop.

  Jacob had had enough, and she watched with resignation as he marched over to the force field and pulled out an electric baton. Many of the guards used physical punishment against the prisoners, even for small offences, and the last time Jade had tried to interfere, it had gotten back to the captain. She’d been placed on latrine duty for a month.