Righteous Fury (To Protect and Service Book 2)

by Tracy St. John

  Kimi was woefully lacking in grenades.

  What she did have was an understanding of where she was standing and where Hanos’s crazed stampede would take him. Though every fiber screamed at her to move, she held motionless before his rush toward her until the last possible second. Only when she smelled the stench of his rancid breath did she dart aside.

  At his approach, the door that had been behind Kimi swished open. Hanos hurtled through the opening, crashing into the wall on the other side of the corridor. He fell, screaming in murderous rage.

  Kimi didn’t bother to check if he was in a vulnerable position she could attack. He was too far gone in insane fury, and she’d never take him in such a state. Instead, she ran out of his torture chamber lair, tearing down the hallway as fast as she could go.

  She needed somewhere to hide or something to fight with. Most of all, as Hanos shrieked behind her, she needed distance between her and him.

  The passage had plenty of bronze-skinned Gilotheans moving about, but those Kimi didn’t crash through jumped aside. Though Kimi was reasonably sure they rarely saw naked Earthlings sprinting down the corridors of wherever she’d ended up, it wasn’t her they gaped at with astonished terror. They were staring behind her, toward where the pounding of booted feet thundered after her.

  None of those cocksuckers wore weapons. Surely the assholes who worked for the alternate universe’s worst criminal had guns to do his evil bidding—but nothing approximating weaponry appeared before her desperate gaze as she ran and ran and ran, with the bellowing beast hard after her.

  The hallway went on endlessly before her, promising no help, but Kimi spied a T-junction coming up. If she could get around it, maybe duck into a room before Hanos saw where she went—

  As she neared it, a familiar face appeared, running hard as he hurtled to confront her. Before Kimi could dodge or set for a fight, Tum swung a thick, black baton at her.

  A flash of terrific torment, followed by a jolt of white lightning across Kimi’s vision. Darkness was behind it, gaping to swallow her.

  * * * *

  The world swam in on waves of agony, thudding through her skull. Kimi knew she’d been clocked hard. She’d experienced sinus headaches, tension headaches, even migraines. They each had their own particular flavor. This hurt was from the kind of impact that yelled concussion.

  She’d experienced a few of those too.

  Images floated on the red mist sea of her closed lids. The meth addict was in the past. So was the drunk she’d stopped early in her career, who’d gave her a goose egg on her forehead that prompted some wags in the office to call her “the unicorn” for the following year.

  Who’d gotten a bead on her this round? Who had knocked her unconscious?

  The bronze-skinned guys. Gilotheans. Tum, the toady of Hanos.

  Shit.

  Knowing she was well and truly fucked, Kimi forced her eyes open. The bleary nature of her sight couldn’t mask the sheer ugliness of the bastard standing in front of her. She tried to crouch into a defensive posture, well-honed instinct guiding her actions, but she couldn’t move. Which was weird, because she was upright.

  A small part of her mind screaming for her to wake the fuck up, Kimi’s gaze moved to the left, then the other side. Her arms and legs were splayed wide between two marble columns, the footposts to Hanos’s bed. She’d been returned to his quarters, with the human birdcage and wall of torture devices.

  She wasn’t tied to the columns, nor did her feet touch the floor. She was suspended in midair, floating inches above the ground. Stuck somehow, a fly in a spider’s web—minus the web. How weird.

  Damn it, pull your shit together, woman! Wake up!

  “Are you conscious? I’ll give you another few moments to clear your mind.” The ridiculously cultured tone that issued from Hanos’s caveman features waved aside some of the fog. “You killed one of my men, by the way.”

  “He wasn’t the first. I sincerely hope he won’t be the last.” She managed a glare, wanting Hanos to understand who was up on her list.

  He laughed, a deep, throbbing humor that would have been sexy on anyone else. “Bigger and better than you have tried. If you’re awake enough to issue threats, then we can start. I’ve covered you in a sensitizing gel, by the way. Everything I do to you will hurt twice as much.”

  He tapped the table beside him to focus her attention. That awful metal-studded paddle was there. Kimi’s sex clenched defensively at the sight, and her mouth went dry. Sweat broke out all over her skin.

  However, Hanos picked up a thin, silvery rod that lay next to the paddle. Short, no longer than Kimi’s forearm. Hanos swished it about for effect with his exoskeleton-encased hand, then slapped his opposite forearm with it. A red streak appeared, and blood welled from the cut. He grinned.

  “We’ll get to the pussy paddle, but I’ve decided to start with this. As you see, it won’t merely hurt. It will rip your flesh to pieces. I plan to tear into each sweet inch of you, except for your cunt. I’m saving that for the paddle and my cock.”

  “You monster.” Kimi hated how her voice trembled, but she couldn’t help it. Straining to break free of the force field or whatever kept her in place failed to budge her an inch. She couldn’t escape.

  He laughed again. “You’ll probably not survive, but I’ll make sure to prolong the suffering as long as possible. Especially the hours I’ll enjoy each of your holes, after I’ve beaten them bloody. You’ll know I’ve had you before your final breath escapes. I’ll end by choking you to death on my cock. Yes, I’ll enjoy that the most.”

  He waited, his gaze expectant. Did he think she would beg for her life? Kimi grabbed the bit of rage she could find beneath the terror that filled her. She clung to it, as a frightened child with a teddy bear.

  “Fuck you.”

  “No, my precious bitch. I fuck you. Over and over.”

  The first flick of the rod was casual, landing on the inside of her thigh, just inches beneath her pussy. Despite the lazy delivery, shrieking anguish flared brilliant and awful. Kimi couldn’t stop the scream that barreled from her lungs.

  When her cry ended in sobs, Hanos chuckled. “Very nice. Exactly what I wanted to hear.”

  Kimi registered the wet heat running down her leg before he struck again, on the opposite thigh. The world was swallowed up in hellish pain, and she screamed, trying to writhe and unable to.

  “That’s it, bitch. Scream for me.” He panted, the front of his trousers swelling.

  He hit her again. And again. Pausing between blows to watch her suffer and bleed, to wallow in her shrieks and the soft patter of blood dripping to the floor beneath her. The blows kept coming, slow and meticulous, tearing her into shreds in slow motion.

  Chapter Eleven

  I will not beg for mercy. I will not.

  It was the last mote of pride Kimi had left, and she clung to it with all of her being. She was in hell, she was about to die, and it would be horrible to the final strike. Nonetheless, she would not give Hanos the satisfaction of hearing her plead.

  He grinned at her and licked her blood off the end of the rod. “I’m having so much fun. It’s better by the second.” He raised the metal switch again.

  He hesitated. At first, Kimi thought it was to prolong the anticipation, to watch her attempt to brace herself for the coming strike. Instead, he turned to stare at the closed door that led to the corridor.

  Kimi’s heart pounded thunderously in her ears, and she couldn’t stop the sobs groaning from her throat. Nevertheless, the sounds of fighting reached her. They were growing closer.

  With a curse, Hanos whirled and ran to the next room. “Tum! Meet me in the shuttle bay!”

  He’d no sooner disappeared when the hall door opened. Wonder of wonders, Laaruu burst in with other Paatiin at his heels. He sighted her instantly, and horror filled his expression.

  “Kimi!” His ringing shriek added to the pounding in her ears.

  “He went…he went that way.
Hanos went in that room.” Kimi managed to heave out the words between hitching moans, darting her gaze to the side to give them direction.

  “Find that bastard! Kill him!”

  The men with him were already racing into the adjoining chamber. A couple remained with Laaruu as he punched buttons on the marble column to Kimi’s left. He caught her as the force field shut off and she fell.

  “My poor darling. I’m so sorry. Kimi, forgive me.”

  She thought he might have been weeping, but darkness was closing in. She welcomed it, diving into its embrace, grateful to escape the horrendous torture.

  * * * *

  Kimi drifted in and out of consciousness for ages. When she woke, her state was fuzzy. She was unclear where dreams ended and wakefulness began until she figured out that Hanos belonged solely to the nightmares.

  She was grateful that there was no pain, and Laaruu always hovered near. He became the touchstone of what was real and what was imagined. When her Paatiin master was in view, there was no Hanos. Laaruu’s presence became her safety net, her assurance that all was as well as she could hope for.

  In either state, Kimi despised the weakness suffusing her limbs. Of all the awfulness she’d gone through, that condition was somehow the worst.

  “I can’t move,” she whimpered during an instance when lovely turquoise eyes floated before her gaze.

  “It’s all right. You’re safe. You are recovering.”

  She had the impression of tears on his cheeks, but it was hard to be sure. The rictus of agony Laaruu wore couldn’t be mistaken, however.

  Hanos faded from her dreams, which became sweet. A picnic by a lake with her parents and Raven. Swimming and dunking her best friend. Dancing with Maurice. Zipping through the desert at sunset on her bike. Laaruu cuddling her on his lap. Gazing at her with adoration. Making love to her.

  She woke again and felt clearer than before. Immediately, she spied Laaruu’s tired face framed by obsidian hair. He watched her. Watched over her. Her guardian and protector. Her savior, twice now.

  Kimi had something to ask him. What was it? It slid around her brain, an eel refusing to be caught.

  She chased after until she had it. “Did you catch him? Hanos?”

  The guilt on Laaruu’s features doubled. “I’m sorry. He and the man we’ve identified as Tum got away. Several shuttles took off after we boarded the transport.”

  “The women? The children?”

  “They’re safe. All is taken care of. Try not to worry. Just get stronger.”

  Then she was gone again, to that haven of dreams. The unconscious fantasies took a more delicious turn: Laaruu washing her, Laaruu giving her a spanking, her kneeling at Laaruu’s feet and tasting his cock, Laaruu plunging into her and riding her with abandoned lust.

  Some distant part of Kimi decided she didn’t care if she never woke up. It prayed she had succumbed to her injuries, died, and entered the dream paradise for eternity.

  I like being his. It’s unbelievable, but I do. Let me stay here.

  Yet the hazy images that bled into each other dissipated in the end. At last, Kimi opened her eyes and knew she’d awakened for real. Clarity asserted itself, undeniable lucidity.

  Laaruu was there, next to what had to be her hospital bed, as he’d been each instant she’d neared the surface of wakefulness. She blinked at his drawn features. “You look like shit.” Only after she’d spoken did she recall the beating she’d taken. She was a fine one to call the kettle black. Kimi swallowed against the sudden tide of nausea. How scarred was she?

  Meanwhile, Laaruu arranged his features so that he appeared rested and glowing with health. “How’s this? Better?”

  “Not if it’s a lie. You can show how tired you are. How long?”

  “Since we recovered you? Three days.”

  “That’s all?” She’d been certain she’d drifted for an eternity.

  “Our medical abilities exceed Earth’s. You’re almost fully healed.”

  Kimi licked her lips. “How bad is it? The scars, I mean.”

  “No scars. You’re as beautiful as you ever were.” His smile was genuine.

  “You’re shitting me. He tore me to shreds.” Kimi sat up, shoving the sheet aside that covered her. She pulled on the soft white nightshirt—or whatever it was—and gaped at her legs, where Hanos had concentrated his horrid cutting switch. Her Nordic princess skin, its golden hued tan fading from her days in space, was whole. Unblemished. Not a scratch, not a bruise marred the surface.

  “As I said, our medical achievements are advanced.” Laaruu’s chuckle was thin with fatigue.

  “No kidding.” Convinced she wasn’t destined to live out her days as a patched-together rag doll, Kimi took in her surroundings. “Wow.”

  The room was matte gold. Wall, ceiling, floor, even the bedding, had the sheen of brushed metal. It was a luxurious color that spoke more of a Hollywood mansion than a hospital. It even smelled rich, with the fragrance that wafted naturally from the Paatiin people rather than nose-searing antiseptic.

  However, there was no mistaking the machinery on either side of her as anything but medical in nature. Even though it was similar to no diagnostic technology she’d ever seen, the units had the characteristic that said, you fucked yourself up but good. Low hums and an almost imperceptible clicking emanated from them.

  “Are we on the space station?”

  “The medical wing where you were supposed to be taken for the computer array.” Laaruu sagged, though his expression turned strangely blank. “Kimi, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight. What happened is my fault.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” After the way he’d rushed in to rescue her from certain horrible death? She’d have pardoned him for just about anything for saving her from what Hanos had planned.

  “You can’t say what happened was forgivable. It’s not. My stupidity could have gotten you killed.”

  “Okay, you could have been a little more cautious with letting me roam off with strangers. But hey, I lived to tell the tale. I’m not mad, Laaruu. I don’t hate you.”

  This was not the self-assured Paatiin who’d thwarted her attempts to kill herself with the bottle. His stoic control didn’t fool her for an instant. Laaruu was a man deep in the throes of the kind of guilt that could destroy his soul.

  Familiar territory for Kimi.

  He grabbed her hand, holding it to his chest. A crack in his composed demeanor. “If they’d dumped the clit stimulator before putting you on Hanos’s ship, I wouldn’t have found you in time.”

  “You got to me before the worst could happen. Not only that, we were able to rescue those women and children. Something good came out of this.”

  He drew a deep breath. Let it out. “I’m taking you home to Alt-Earth.”

  Kimi stared at him. It took several seconds for her to unravel the statement, for its import to dawn on her. “You’re letting me go?”

  “If you want to return to your life there.”

  Kimi’s heart should have leapt with joy. Laaruu was setting her free! Yet it wasn’t joy that filled her. Instead, she felt a profound loss, one she couldn’t quite figure out.

  Bullshit. You know why it hurts.

  Kimi shook it off, addressed the other considerations that made her hesitate. “There are more of my people out there, more of Hanos’s so-called breeding stock.”

  “Did he say so?”

  “He mentioned moving them a few at a time. I can’t leave without the rest.”

  That goes double for Raven.

  “You wish to stay? To search for them?” Laaruu’s eyes narrowed.

  “Can I?”

  “Under one condition.”

  Kimi didn’t have to ask what that condition would be. “You’re a bastard.”

  A hint of his too-familiar smirk twitched his lips. “I’m giving you a choice. A one-time offer. I’ll take you home as soon as you’ve recovered, or you can stay permanently as my slave.”

&nb
sp; “Damn you. You just can’t let it go, can you?”

  More of the smile. “It would be more accurate to say, I find it difficult to let you go.”

  Her chest tightened. Kimi pretended it didn’t. “Make some changes to the contract. I get to wear clothes in public.”

  “No.”

  “Then make this a temporary bond. Let me see how it goes for maybe six months. After that, I’ll make the final decision based on how we’re getting along.”

  “No.”

  She squealed in frustration. “You have to give me some reason to sign my entire life away, Laaruu.”

  “I’ll petition Saazeer for support and resources to hunt Hanos and the women he’s taken. I need my master’s sanction to secure fighters, weapons, money, and ships. Once he agrees, you and I will track the bastard down and take our revenge for what he did to you.”

  Kimi licked her lips. Did he mean it? “What if Saazeer refuses your petition?”

  “I’m very persuasive. I’d thought you’d have noticed that by now.” Laaruu grinned outright and squeezed her hand.

  It was no less than a deal with the devil. But the rewards—freeing the abducted women, learning Raven’s whereabouts and helping her out of whatever bind she was in—they outweighed the price of the soul Kimi had written off anyway.

  It meant a lifetime of being Laaruu’s slave—if she couldn’t escape him when it was all said and done. A warm flush crept over her. Was it fear, or something else?

  He saved me. Not just from Hanos, but from myself too. From the despair that was killing me as surely as the alcohol was.

  “Okay. You have me. What’s the first move?”

  Joy lit his features. Real delight, not merely triumph over getting what he wanted. For a moment, Kimi thought Laaruu would sweep her out of the bed and twirl her around the room.

  Instead, his brilliant smile settled into smug satisfaction. “I’m buying you the best upgrades available. You need that computer array in order to fight Hanos and his army.”