by Rayna Tyler
I turned to Derrick, giving him the scowl he deserved. “This ends now unless you would like to end up like your friend.”
Chapter Ten
Cara
The longer it took me to reach Zaedon, the more irritated I got. I let up on the accelerator just enough to maneuver the transport around one of the larger ruts in the road, but not enough to keep it from bouncing across the uneven surface.
I couldn’t believe Derrick had lied to me, and as soon as I found out why, I was going to hurt him. The level of pain he’d suffer depended on whether or not I found Zaedon in the same condition I’d left him.
The damage to the harvester was a simple connector repair, a fix I was able to make in less than ten minutes. It would’ve been easy for Derrick to tamper with the engine undetected while everyone was preoccupied during the lunch break.
So, not only had what he’d told me about the harvester being in bad shape been untrue, but his story about Josh hurting his hand had been a total fabrication. During harvests, everyone in the community found a way to contribute to the process. Since Josh couldn’t pick plants or assist with repairs, he’d volunteered to help with the transports that delivered additional water and food throughout the day. When Derrick concocted his make-believe story to get me away from Zaedon, he hadn’t counted on Josh showing up shortly after I arrived to fix the problem with the harvester.
“Draeck, Cara,” Josh cursed. “I’d like to get there without breaking any more bones.” Minis were designed to carry two people. With Isaac sitting in the seat next to me, Josh had been forced to sit in the open cargo area behind us.
I glanced between the seats where Josh sat, brows furrowed, green eyes glaring, gripping the structural bar running horizontally along the wall with his good hand. His long legs were bent at the knees so he’d fit in the narrow space between the storage bins stacked against the opposite wall. “Sorry.” I slowed the vehicle a little more, then sped up a few minutes later when the road evened out again.
“Cara, I’m sure Zaedon’s fine. He seems like the kind of male who can handle himself in any situation.” Isaac held the edge of the control panel with a white-knuckled grip since the minis didn’t have safety straps to keep people in their seats. He hadn’t been any happier to hear what Derrick had said than Josh had been, and, after assigning someone else the task of harvesting the last small area had insisted he come along with us.
The rational part of my mind agreed with my grandfather. It was the irrational, emotional part, the part that understood how devastated I’d be if something terrible had happened to Zaedon, that disagreed.
I gripped the steering control tighter, wishing I’d listened to my instincts, and notched the accelerator up higher, taking the final turn in the road too fast. As soon as I rounded the final curve and saw a solarveyor parked in the middle of the roadway, my feeling of dread went from tingling along my spine to tearing through my system.
“Isaac, any idea who that transport belongs to?” I was familiar with the vehicles in the village since I’d worked on most of them at one time or another.
“No, never seen it before.”
“Me neither.” Josh knelt between the seats now that he wasn’t being bounced around in the back anymore.
I geared down the engine, bringing the vehicle to a stop a few feet away from the other transport. There was no sign of anyone anywhere. No Zaedon, no Derrick, no Chompers and the wagon, and certainly no one who could have arrived in the transport.
My heart raced, the pressure in my chest so tight, I could hardly breathe. All I could think about was finding Zaedon, and wondered what condition he’d be in when I did.
I’d barely given the access panel on my side of the vehicle a chance to open before I was sliding out and rushing around the other vehicle. I froze after nearly tripping over a pair of long legs belonging to a human male I didn’t recognize. His wrists and ankles were bound, his upper body braced against the transport. His eyes were closed, and his head lolled to one side. There was a red blotch along one side of his chin, evidence that he’d been punched.
“Damn, do you think Zaedon did that?” Josh asked, stopping on my left and staring at the male on the ground.
“Of course he did.” Isaac moved to my other side. “Told you the boy could take care of himself, same as my baby girl here,” he stated proudly.
“Yeah, but if Zaedon did this, then where is he?” I stuck my head through the open doorway of the solarveyor, knowing I’d be unable to relax until I actually saw him. “And where’s Derrick?” I asked after finding it empty.
“I think I know.” Josh walked past the other end of the transport and pointed to an area farther down the road.
I stepped around the male on the ground to get a better look and saw Zaedon coaxing Chompers with a handful of grass. I got a glimpse of Derrick and another male a short distance behind him.
Relieved he was okay, I took off running, not bothering to wait for my grandfather and Josh. “Zaedon,” I called out when I got closer.
Zaedon snapped his head in my direction, a wide grin on his face. “Cara, I presume the repair went well.”
“The harvester is up and running.” I couldn’t believe he was asking about the repair when I was more interested in the bound and unconscious male propped against the transport. I didn’t stop walking until I was less than a foot away from him. “You’re okay?” It was more of a question than a statement.
“I am.” Zaedon placed his hands on my hips, pulling me closer. “Why would I not be?”
I pressed my palms to his chest, the physical contact relaxing me even more. “Because there’s a male on the ground back there, and I thought you might have been…” I noticed the cut and drying blood on his arm. “Wait, you’re hurt.” I touched the skin below his injury.
He glanced at his arm and shrugged. “It is nothing.”
I heard a loud cough and glanced behind me at Josh and Isaac. Josh quickly hid a smirk, and my grandfather’s grin got even wider. Zaedon, the frustrating male, must have seen them approach, knew they were standing there listening, but hadn’t bothered to say anything. He’d also slipped his tail around the backs of my legs so I couldn’t pull away easily.
“Glad to see you’re okay,” Isaac said.
“Yeah, Cara was concerned about you,” Josh added with an amused smile.
Zaedon raised a brow. “She was?”
The glare I leveled at Josh meant there’d be retribution if he told Zaedon just how badly I’d overreacted. “Maybe just a little.” I squirmed so Zaedon would let me go, then stepped back to face all three of them. “I want to know what happened after I left.” I had some theories, but I wanted to hear the details from Zaedon.
“Cara, I can explain.” Derrick had stopped picking and was rushing toward us.
One glimpse and I recognized the male tagging closely behind Derrick. His name was Mike, and he didn’t live in the village. He was a regular visitor and spent most of his time hanging out with Derrick. I also noticed that neither male wore gloves, their hands stained a vibrant purplish blue from picking pods, no doubt Zaedon’s idea.
“Good.” I poked Derrick’s chest. “Then start by telling me why you lied to me.” Now that I’d had a chance to calm down and could think clearly, I realized he must have been the one who’d sabotaged the part Torrlun repaired. “After that, you can explain why you purposely damaged a part in the harvester so Zaedon and I had to drive all the way to Golyndier to get it repaired.”
I could feel the heat rising on my cheeks, my state of lessened stress quickly disappearing. Thinking about our near miss with the mercs and our run-in with the bandits only irritated me more.
I took a deep breath, holding up my hand to let Derrick know I wasn’t finished. “Most of all, I want to know why there’s a merc lying on the ground over there”—I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder—“and why Zaedon has a blade wound on his arm.” Since I’d never seen Derrick or Mike handle a blade, I assumed the swor
d strapped to Zaedon’s waist had come from the unconscious male and was the cause of his injury.
At the sound of Mike’s gasp, my glare jumped from Derrick to him. “Yeah, I know what he is, and I’m pretty sure I know what he’s doing here.”
“Better yet, since you’re incapable of telling the truth and can’t be trusted, I’d like to hear what Zaedon has to say first,” Isaac said.
“You can’t possibly…” Derrick stammered.
Isaac crossed his arms, silencing Derrick with a narrow-eyed glare. Anyone who’d ever dealt with my grandfather knew better than to argue with him when he gave that look, including me.
Derrick clamped his lips together, a flush darkening his cheeks.
Isaac tipped his head at Zaedon. “Why don’t you tell us what happened?”
Zaedon glanced in my direction as if answering would somehow hurt me. I nodded, letting him know that the truth, no matter how unpleasant, was what everyone needed to hear.
“Derrick did not approve of my relationship with Cara and enlisted the services of a merc who planned to sell me into slavery.” Zaedon’s annoying arrogance appeared in his grin. “The male was foolish enough to believe I would go with him willingly, and learned otherwise.”
I swallowed against the bile threatening to rise up my throat. What Derrick and Mike planned to do to Zaedon went way beyond despicable.
I’d never trusted Derrick, but he was part of the community and spent a great deal of time working with Josh and sometimes my grandfather. It bothered me even more to see the disappointment on their faces.
Contacting a merc took time. Derrick and Mike must have concocted their plan shortly after Zaedon arrived. More troubling was that they’d brought him to the community, to our home, and put the lives of all the families living here at risk.
Mercs rarely traveled alone. How long would it take for his friends to realize something had happened to him and decide to come looking for him?
If Derrick planned to have the merc get rid of Zaedon, he probably didn’t know about the bounty on my head or that his actions would make it impossible for me to stay here any longer.
The more I thought about his betrayal, the angrier I got. “How could you do something so horrible, and why would you want to?”
“Because I care about you, Cara.” He stretched out his hand, taking another step closer. “I couldn’t let you choose him over me. His kind is responsible for the war. For so many deaths.”
I didn’t know if Derrick heard Zaedon’s low snarl or realized what would happen to him if he touched me. As it was, I’d had enough of his narrow-minded thinking, and if Zaedon didn’t get to him first, I was tempted to hurt him myself.
I sidestepped, moving between the two males. “Zaedon isn’t responsible for the war or for what Sarus did to our people. In case you’ve forgotten, many ketaurrans died trying to protect us.” I clenched my fists, tamping down the urge to do more than punch him. “So, yes, I would choose him over any male on the planet who thinks the way you do.”
“Zaedon, I can’t tell you how sorry I am that this happened.” The glare my grandfather leveled at Derrick and Mike had them averting their gazes.
“Isaac, it is not your fault, nor do I hold you or anyone else in the community responsible.” Zaedon seemed to be handling the whole situation a lot better than me.
My grandfather pursed his lips and scratched his chin contemplatively before addressing Derrick. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Either of you?” His stern gaze jumped to Mike. They must have understood that Isaac wasn’t looking for an answer and complied by remaining silent.
“Not only did you hinder the harvest and jeopardize everyone’s food supply, you breached the safety of the community. The mercs have never bothered us, and we can’t let this one leave, not after what he’s done. When his friends find out he’s missing, there will be consequences.” He rubbed his nape. The weight of the decision he was about to make showed in the deepened wrinkles around his eyes and the tightness in his jaw.
“I’m afraid the punishment for what you’ve done will be severe.” My grandfather turned to Zaedon. “Because you’re the one they wronged, you have the right to choose the manner in which they are disposed of.”
“Disposed of?” Mike’s voice rasped, and he grabbed Derrick’s arm. “What does that mean?”
Derrick shrugged him off. “Figure it out for yourself. You’re the one who decided to change our plans and bring the merc here, not me.”
I knew my grandfather, knew the hard decisions he’d had to make in the past. Once he learned that Derrick was responsible for sabotaging the harvester and knowingly put my life at risk, I knew there would only be one punishment. Hearing it voiced out loud solidified the reality of the situation, and I cringed. Derrick knew as well, yet he acted as if no one would dare hold him accountable.
Zaedon quietly pondered the decision. His gaze went from the defiant sneer on Derrick’s face to the pale, wide-eyed shock on Mike’s before finally giving my grandfather his answer. “The war took many lives, and though the drezdarr is working to unite the humans and the ketaurrans, order still needs to be maintained. Choosing whether or not to be merciful in this case is a decision I would prefer to leave with you and the other families they have wronged.”
I had a feeling if things had gone differently and someone I cared about had gotten hurt, Zaedon’s suggestion might have been different. The war had taught all of us that survival was hard, and kicking them out of the community, letting them leave, would be a mistake. If they were capable of bringing a merc here, they couldn’t be trusted not to seek revenge and encourage others to attack our home.
The people living here might be healing from the wounds of losing friends and family members, but the memories were too fresh. They had a lot to lose, and mercy was going to take a long time to achieve. It definitely wasn’t going to happen in this situation.
“I appreciate your candor and will pass the advice on to the other families.” My grandfather turned to Josh. “Why don’t you go and see if there is something in the solarveyor to bind them?”
“Sure.” Josh didn’t look pleased about the situation either, but stalked toward the vehicle anyway.
Tension filled the air the few minutes he was gone. When Josh returned, he had a set of shackles dangling from each hand. “Looks like the merc came prepared. These were sitting on the floor near the doorway.” He handed a set to Isaac, then walked over to Derrick.
“Hands out, gentlemen.” When Derrick and Mike refused to comply, my grandfather added, “Unless you want me to borrow Zaedon’s sword and show you how well I can wield it.”
Derrick had seen my grandfather handle a blade before, knew he was skilled, and didn’t hesitate to hold out his wrists. Mike was a little more reluctant until Zaedon unstrapped the sword and handed it to my grandfather. With an appreciative nod, Isaac strapped the blade to his waist. “Josh and I will take them back in the transport and leave the mini here for you.”
Once their wrists were cuffed, Josh motioned for them to move. “Let’s go.”
I watched Derrick drag his feet as Josh urged him and Mike toward the transport. He paused before climbing inside. Rage, disgust, and fear showed in the last glance he gave me.
“What about the merc?” I asked.
“We’ll take him with us.” Isaac spoke to Zaedon. “I don’t suppose you’d mind helping Josh get him inside while I talk to Cara for a minute?”
“Not at all.” Zaedon turned to follow Josh.
Isaac tucked a curl behind my ear. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, not sure if I was being entirely truthful. Thinking I’d lost Zaedon had reminded me of the past.
“He’s not Graham, you know.” My grandfather’s perception into what I was thinking always amazed me. “That boy was reckless and might have gotten you killed as well.” He squeezed my hand. “Baby girl, don’t look so surprised. I know what you do for Burke is dangerous
, have known for a long time. So does Ellie.”
“But you never said anything. Why?” I’d been so careful to keep the details of what I did a secret and couldn’t believe they knew.
He smiled. “Figured there were a lot of things you couldn’t share, so we never asked.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
“No problem.” He scratched his chin. “You know I leave giving advice up to Ellie, but since she’s not here, I wouldn’t be much of a grandfather if I didn’t tell you what we both think.”
In other words, Ellie had been discussing me with him. Sharing his thoughts now wouldn’t necessarily spare me from the lecture I could expect from her when I got back to the house. I’d found when dealing with my grandmother, it was always best to be prepared. I shook my head and groaned. “Fine, let’s have it.”
“Ellie thinks you should leave the past where it belongs and give Zaedon a chance.”
“And she’s the only one who feels that way?” I scrutinized him with a grin.
“Well, to be honest, she’s not the only one. Clearly, the boy adores you and…” He glanced at something behind me. “Just think about it” was the last thing he said before Zaedon appeared at my side.
“The males are secured, and Josh is waiting for you,” Zaedon said.
“I can send someone else to finish up if you both want a break,” Isaac said.
With everything that had happened, I’d forgotten about Chompers. I glanced toward the last place I’d seen him, glad to see he’d found a large patch of grass and hadn’t wandered off. “Since we’re not far from the drop-off, Zaedon and I can unload the wagon and transport the storage bins.” I turned to Zaedon. “If that’s okay with you?”
He grinned. “I would very much like to finish what we started.”
“You might want to take care of that cut on Zaedon’s arm before too long.” Isaac sauntered toward the transport, calling back at us as he walked, “Wouldn’t want it to get infected.”
