Stealing Coal (4 page)

handhold. The sound of the ramp retracting and the doors slamming closed assured her

that Roid heard her. Something pinged on the exterior of the shuttle and she flinched,

hoping nothing would breach the outer hull. They would have no choice but to leave

the freighter, leaking air or not.

The engines roared to life, making the floor vibrate hard. Jill flinched at the thought

of the damage that could be done to the old shuttle by forcing such a cold start but

knew there were no other options. She heard when Roid opened fire on the docking

sleeves to force them to release the sealed grip they kept between shuttle and freighter.

The room lurched, nearly sending Jill to the floor as they moved, a loud metallic groan

reverberating throughout the cargo hold. She turned her head to stare at Arm, gripping

the mute cyborg who remained motionless while he gaped in obvious astonishment at

Arm’s face just a few feet above his. The android carefully lifted the mask off him.

“Dig in and hold him,” Jill yelled.

Two popping noises assured her that Arm followed her order. Jill winced again.

Floor panels were difficult to fix but then the shuttle shot forward fast and the engines

powered to maximum. Pain tore up both Jill’s arms as she clung to the wall to avoid

being thrown around. Arm didn’t move and he kept hold of the cyborg. Jill’s weapon

wasn’t so lucky. Metal scraped the deck before it slammed into a far wall. Once again

she wished for better gravity stabilizers.

“We are clear, evasive maneuvers, and full burn.” Roid’s girlish voice could barely

be heard over the racket the engines made. “I’m not reading any hull breaches.”

As soon as the vibrations were manageable Jill released the wall and turned to face

her guest. He’d recovered from the astonishment of Arm, his attention now fixed on Jill

when she moved forward.

“Hi. I’m Jill.” She paused, not sure what exactly to say to the cyborg since she

hadn’t planned to steal him in the first place. “In three days we’re going to reach Hixton

Station in the Gambit system. When we get there I’ll set you free and give you enough

money to shuttle you wherever you want to go.”

The cyborg had really beautiful but frightening dark eyes. He gave her a chilly stare

but said nothing though his full lips pressed tightly together. He took a deep breath but

didn’t speak as seconds ticked by.

“Okay, I guess you don’t want to share your name. That’s all right. You’re aboard

my shuttle. I’m a trader, and against my better judgment I couldn’t leave you behind

after I heard what they were planning to do to you.”

He still didn’t respond but instead watched her until it made her nervous. She

knew he could speak and that he understood English since she’d heard him make

threats. The silence grew uncomfortable. Jill backed away a few steps since she could

practically feel the angry vibes coming off the big gray guy. She shifted her gaze to

Arm.

“I’m going to send Roid in here to babysit our guest. Do not release him.”

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Stealing Coal

“Understood.”

“I thought you stated I’d be freed.” The cyborg’s raspy voice startled her.

Jill met his cold gaze. “I said I’d free you when we reached Hixton Station.”

He fought the chains, his body tensing when he strained, but the restraints held.

Pure rage narrowed his glare.

“I’m not breeding with you.”

She took another step back, reeling from his staggering announcement, and

skimmed her gaze over his gray skin. His words sank in and unless he spoke a different

version of English, which she highly doubted, his words implied sex. She openly

gawked at his powerfully built chest and ran her gaze down his long, massive body.

She shivered with fear at the mere concept. He was the biggest male she’d ever seen,

besides her bulky androids.

“No worries there. I’m not suicidal and you aren’t my type. I didn’t steal you for

sex.”

“That’s why females keep males tied down and restrained. If you aren’t going to

force breed me then release me now.”

“I don’t know you and I enjoy having the ability to keep breathing. You’re going to

stay restrained until I know that you won’t hurt me.” She paused. “That will be when I

have Arm push you onto Hixton and release you after you’re off my shuttle.”

He literally growled at her. It was a deep, scary sound that reminded her of a

vicious dog she’d once found trapped in a ditch. She’d rescued it and the thing had

promptly bitten her once she pulled it to higher ground. She subconsciously rubbed the

scar on her upper arm.
No good deed goes unpunished.
She could still remember her aunt’s

voice telling her that as she’d tended Jill’s wound twenty years earlier.

Jill backed up, putting more distance between them. “Okay then. You stay here and

growl. I’m going to go pilot the shuttle but one of my androids will make sure you’re

fed if you’re hungry. I’m well stocked so you’ll have plenty to eat as my guest.” Her

gaze flicked over his body once more. He didn’t look as if they’d starved him. She

turned away. “Just tell one of them you’re hungry when you want to eat.”

“What is
it
?”

She froze, and then frowned over her shoulder. The cyborg stared up at Arm,

studying him with a perplexed expression. Arm watched him too. She took a deep

breath.

“He’s a military android I found and salvaged. Earth Government had tossed him

into a trash heap on a dump planet. His name is Arm and he’s not an ‘it’. I have two

more of them, Roid and Fray. Please don’t call them anything but their names. I’m very

fond of my guys. They won’t hurt you but they won’t take orders from you either. Their

first priority is protecting me. They are loyal and it’s a rare trait these days that I

appreciate.”

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Laurann Dohner

The cyborg frowned at her. “I’m going to break free and take control of your ship. I

may show you mercy for saving me by not killing you.”

“Great,” Jill muttered, storming toward the door. “It’s official now. I really am a

sucker. I’m going to have it tattooed on my ass in big block letters.”

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Stealing Coal

“He’s requesting to be freed from the chains.” Roid hesitated. “Arm stated he’s our

man. We should release him. He isn’t acting irrational.”

Jill wished she’d learn to think before she did things. If she did, she wouldn’t end

up in these messes. “He’s dangerous so, no, you can’t free him. He’s to remain locked

down. Did you feed him?”

“Yes, Jill.” Roid watched her. His two-colored eyes were sparking, making her feel

guilty for not being able to fix him properly. She had to look away not to flinch when

his left eye flickered on and off rapidly.

“Just tend to him and make sure he has what he needs.” She checked the screen

again to make sure the freighter wasn’t coming after them. She knew when they’d

blown their docking door seals that it would slow the freighter down, hopefully

damage the bigger ship enough to keep them from coming after her at all, while they

made repairs. She wanted to put a lot of space between them before they recovered.

“I’m going to stay here and keep monitoring space to make sure that freighter isn’t in

range.”

“It would be irrational of them to hunt us.”

“They are people, not computers, and logic doesn’t mean a thing to them. Humans

are emotional and they really seemed to want to keep the guy in the cargo hold. Some

people get pretty testy when you steal something they highly value.” She hoped Roid

understood.

“May I move him into your quarters?”

“Why?” The question surprised her. “I told you to keep the cargo hold warm so

he’d be comfortable. I remember he’s not fully dressed.” The memory of the mostly

naked cyborg flashed in her mind. All those muscles he had were fascinating. She

pushed that image aside, knowing how wrong it was. “If he’s cold, adjust the heat

again.”

“You have a bed. Real people sleep on those.”

Jill turned her head, bit her lip, and looked directly into Roid’s sensors. “I don’t

know how to explain it to you but that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Is he not a real person?”

Shit and hell
. Sometimes trying to teach androids things had to be the most difficult

thing she faced in her day-to-day life. The androids tried hard to learn everything they

could and she even considered them friends. She knew they weren’t actual living

beings, but they had the ability to adjust as they picked up new facts to save in their

programming, and they were all she had. She tried to go with logic since she couldn’t

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Laurann Dohner

exactly tell Roid that there was no way she could sleep feet away from a chained male

who wanted nothing better than to break free. As for having him sleep in her bed? She

pushed that thought away fast, not even willing to go there.

“He’s real but he needs to be where he is. Real people don’t share a bed or quarters

unless they are a couple, which we’re not. He’s going to have to make do until we reach

Hixton Station. While I’m thinking about it, could you please go through storage and

see if you can locate some of those discarded men’s clothing we have onboard and see if

something might fit our guest? That way he’s got an outfit to wear when we drop him

off.”

The idea of leaving the cyborg in nothing but the skimpy, loose shorts he wore had

her imagining what he’d look like standing up.
Probably pretty terrifying
, she thought,

then sighed. She really didn’t need the trouble stealing him had created but leaving him

behind would have bothered her more. She looked up from the screen to find the

android still watching her.

“What?”

“Are you ill?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

“You’ve been less talkative since we left the freighter.”

“I’ve had you babysitting our guest. It’s not that I don’t want to chat with you but

I’m avoiding the cargo hold.”

“Why?”

Yeah, why?
Her mind paused on that silent question.

“You have a real person onboard to talk to but you haven’t gone to see him. I don’t

understand. Logic states that you would spend as much time as possible with him. You

are always lonely, Jill. We’re aware that we lack certain qualities other people who are

real would give you.”

“You’re real to me.” She reached out and touched his hard-shelled body, rubbing

what passed for his skin, feeling cool rubbery substance under her fingertips on his

arm. “Did he ever tell you his name? It’s hard to speak to someone when they won’t

talk back.”

“He refuses.”

Her hand dropped. “I’m fine. I’m just a bit worried about that freighter coming

after us. He’s probably worth a lot of money to them and they aren’t going to just let

him go without trying to recover their loss.”

Roid turned away to leave the piloting section of the shuttle. “He is requesting

you.”

“Well, shit,” Jill muttered as she stood. She wondered what kind of threats the

cyborg would make this time. She dreaded every step of the way. If it were up to her,

she’d avoid him the entire trip to Hixton.

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Stealing Coal

Warm air hit her as the doors whished open and she hoped she hadn’t set it too

high for his comfort. Then again, she didn’t want her mostly naked guest to be chilled.

What she saw when she stared at him made her jaw drop open.

“Shit!” Her astonished gaze drifted over his chest, his lower chin, and his throat.

“What happened?”

A dark, angry gaze met hers. “Your android fed me.”

“It’s all over you,” she pointed out. “He’s fed me when I’ve been sick a few times.

He’s good at it.”

A black eyebrow arched. “Release me and I promise not to kill you.”

“Yeah, you’re going to take over my shuttle. I heard you the first time. I think I’ll

pass. Let me call Roid in here and he’ll clean you up. I’m so sorry about the mess. I have

no idea why this happened.”

“I won’t eat what he attempted to feed me but he wouldn’t stop putting it inside

my mouth.” His unusually rough voice deepened. “Keep him away from me.”

“What’s wrong with oatmeal? It’s my favorite. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy my

breakfast choice but it’s morning shift. He’s trying to feed you what he thinks a human

would want to eat. He’s really gentle and wouldn’t hurt you.” Her gaze flashed over

the oatmeal on his skin. “Did you fight him while he spooned it out to you?”

The man growled. “Clean me. It itches.”

Clean him? No way,
she thought, shaking her head. “I’ll get Roid to do that for you.”

“I said to keep him away from me,” he snarled. His chin tilted up to stare at Arm.

“And why is he holding on to this thing still?”

Jill moved closer. “I told him to dig in and hold you so that’s exactly what he’s

doing. He embedded himself into the floor when we escaped from that freighter to keep

you from rolling around. That freight table you’re on isn’t secured to anything and I

highly doubt you’d have enjoyed slamming into a wall or worse, toppling over. I

figured he could pull double duty by securing you in place and keep you company. He

is a great companion if you will allow him to tell you the jokes he knows.”