The Bargaining (8 page)

Not again, she thought, concentrating on breathing deeply and evenly as she and Deacon pushed forward toward the waiting shuttle. I do not have time for this right now!

She jumped a little when she felt Deacon’s shoulder against her back, propelling her forward at an even faster pace. Startled, Kili looked back at him and frowned. “What’s the matter?”

He glanced toward the open land off to their left and grunted. “Just move. Come on. It’s not that much further.”

Kili picked up speed, but she couldn’t stop herself from following his glance toward the field. Where before she had seen nothing but grassland and the lonely outpost tower at its edge, now she saw the fast-moving shapes of five mounted soldiers bearing down on them like birds of prey.

She inhaled sharply but didn’t slow down. In fact, with Deacon pressing her on, she moved even faster. She ignored the bite of pebbles and branches against the soles of her bare feet and practically flew over the ground toward the shuttle. If Deacon said it wasn’t much further, it would take more than some armed guards and the threat of a certain fate worse than death to keep her from reaching it.

Putting her head down and keeping her gaze fixed on the next few steps, she nearly missed the break in the trees and the cleared area of the trade road opening up in front of her.

“About fuckin’ time,” Deacon growled from over her shoulder. “Move it! Shuttle’s in a clearing, about ten yards west and ten yards in. The entry’s in the rear. I’ll be right behind you.”

Kili nodded, but it was the heavy hand in the small of her back and its forceful shove that actually got her moving. Sending up a quick prayer, she took a deep breath and made a break for it.

The minute she cleared the tree line, she heard a great shout go up from the direction of the meadow.

“There!” A man shouted. “They’ve made the road! Catch them!”

Kili risked a brief look over her shoulder and immediately wished she hadn’t. The five riders reached the road only a second after she did and wheeled their horses to bear down on her at a gallop. There was no chance in hell she could outrun them. Still, she refused to give up without a fight.

Instead of taking the quicker path down the center of the well-cleared road, she dashed straight across and began weaving in and out of the trees as she raced toward the area Deacon had indicated. She didn’t waste any more time looking behind her, but from the sound of the newly familiar roar and the echoing impact of blaster fire, she could guess that Deacon had also reached the road and begun firing. Taking advantage of the opportunity he was risking himself to give her, she poured on another burst of speed and blocked the sound of screaming from her head. Someone had been hit, but she knew it wasn’t Deacon and she didn’t care about anyone else.

The sound of hoofbeats didn’t sound quite so close, but she refused to look back. She kept her gaze on the ground in front of her and nearly ran straight into a very large, very unhappy-looking man with dark, dark hair and an even darker expression in his storm-gray eyes. She squeaked and tried to dart out of the way, but his reflexes were almost as quick as Deacon’s and he seized her by the arms before she could so much as twist aside.

He glared down at her with a truly furious expression on his face, and when he spoke, she could feel the sharp daggers of anger being aimed straight at her. “Just where the hell do you think you’re going?”

Chapter Fifteen

Kili opened her mouth to reply, even though she wasn’t entirely sure she could speak, but nothing came out. It didn’t have time, because another figure stepping out of the trees in the direction of the shuttle drew her surprised attention.

“Take it easy, blockhead,” the newcomer snapped. “Look at what she’s wearing. You think she’s a highly trained mercenary guard? This is fucking Ankhar. She’s a sex slave. Now lay off.”

Kili was having a hard time registering what the second person had to say. Part of that difficulty might have to do with the bruising grip the unhappy-looking man had on her arms, but the rest of it could be immediately and unmistakably traced to the identity of the second speaker. Not only was it someone Kili had seen before, but it was a woman. A free woman, with short-cropped hair in a thousand shades of blonde and a high-powered force rifle in her freckled and capable hands.

“Evenaril,” she breathed, not quite believing her eyes.

The woman looked at her again, her eyes narrowing. “The name is Eve,” she said. “Eve Cartwright. Who are you?”

Kili ignored the suspicious looks she was getting from the dark-haired man and focused her attention on Eve. She had been right! This was the woman who had posed as
nitara
in the prince’s harem, and then escaped with Deacon’s rebel partner. “I am Kili. Kishantiana. I am -- I mean, I was a
nitara
in service to Prince Jaru. I thought you had escaped. We all did.”

“I did,” Eve said, lowering the rifle just a bit. “But the frickin’ Protectorate goon boys got our partner.”

“You mean Deacon.” She twisted away from the man’s softened grip and stepped forward, her hands outstretched. “He was right behind me, but there were soldiers. I am afraid they will take him.”

The man behind Kili gave a throaty growl that reminded her a bit of Deacon, and grabbed her by the arm again, drawing a weapon of his own with his free hand. “Show us where,” he ordered. “Right now!”

Hope surged in her and Kili nodded eagerly, spinning on her heels and retracing her steps toward the road where she’d last seen Deacon. She heard the two rebels running along at her heels and moved faster, heading right back into the danger she’d just been running from. She heard shouting before they reached the road and suddenly a hand at her shoulder jerked her backward. Eve and the man Kili now assumed to be Taggart stepped in front of her and began firing at targets Kili could barely see.

“Deac!” Taggart shouted over the echo of the fire. “You there, man?”

Kili held her breath, waiting for the reply. When it failed to come instantly, she felt her heart begin to sink and her throat tighten. She heard Eve swearing up ahead and instinct began driving her forward. Taggart grabbed her again to hold her back. She glared at him and prepared to put a knee someplace really uncomfortable when a very unhappy growl sounded from up ahead.

“Here!” Deacon roared back. “But I could use a little --”

He broke off and Kili heard a loud thud and an angry male grunt.

“-- fuckin’ help!”

That was all anyone needed to hear. In one movement, the three of them leapt forward and charged through the trees into the open road ahead.

Eve and Taggart didn’t even hesitate. They seemed to know what to do before Kili even had time to see what was going on. While she was still blinking to adjust from the dimness of the woods to the bright sunlight of the roadway, the two of them had charged on the four soldiers currently trying to subdue an unwilling Deacon. The fifth soldier lay unconscious or dead at the base of a large tree. Kili found herself wishing with unaccustomed bloodlust that he was dead.

The anticlimactic battle took less than a minute. By the end of it, Taggart was slapping lightweight polyfiber wrist restraints on the unconscious guards while Eve shrugged a tiny pack off her back and took out a canteen, handing it to Deacon.

He accepted with a grunt and took a long swig before handing it back to her. “What the hell are you two doing here, anyway? Didn’t I just risk my ass so you could get off this Powers-forsaken rock?”

Taggart stood and shrugged, taking the canteen from Eve’s hand. “We forgot to say goodbye.”

There was a long moment of silence before Deacon started to laugh, a deep, rumbling sound that made Kili press her thighs together.

Not again!

She didn’t think she made any actual noises, but Deacon turned in her direction as if she had and held out his hand to her. When she hesitated, he raised an eyebrow and his mouth curved in a sardonic smile. “C’mere, little bit.”

Hesitantly, she moved forward. Eve and Taggart had turned to look at her curiously, and she felt awkward under their intent stares. She also had to concentrate to keep her hips from swaying in an unmistakable invitation. For the first time in nearly a decade, she found herself fighting the urge to cover her breasts with her hands. She told herself that would only draw more attention to her nudity, but honestly, she was afraid of what would happen if she touched herself. The urgency was building back up inside her. Her experience with Deacon hadn’t been enough to suppress it for long.

Her jaw clenched tight as she sought to stay calm, to fight back the fever threatening to take her over. She hated this feeling, had always hated it. No matter what the
nitarana
or her master or any of the other girls had told her about it making her life easier, she wished more than anything that it would stop. She wanted to be in control of her own body, not feel controlled by it.

By the time she stopped beside Deacon, his smile had turned to a frown and his brow creased in concern. “What’s wrong?”

Kili shook her head and fixed her gaze on the road beneath her. She had no wish to tell him, especially not where Eve and Taggart might hear. No need to share her shame with strangers.

“Taking in strays, Deac?”

She recognized the drawl as Taggart’s, but she didn’t look up.

Deacon laid a hand on her shoulder, beneath the veil of her hair, and squeezed in reassurance. “Not today,” he said. “Kili here is how I managed to get out of my cell and off the palace grounds.”

She felt Taggart’s gaze on her again, his appraisal even more thorough than last time.

“Funny,” she heard the rebel leader say. “She doesn’t look like much of a tour guide.”

A low grunt made Kili look up just in time to see Eve’s elbow land hard against Taggart’s ribcage.

“Come on,” the other woman said. “The family reunion can wait. Somehow I doubt these five schmucks are the only ones who were sent after an escaped rebel prisoner. It’s time to blow this Popsicle stand.”

Taggart mumbled something under his breath but turned back in the direction of the shuttle. Kili glanced up at Deacon before she made a move and he nodded to her, urging her forward. “Let’s go,” he said, his voice once again the soft, quiet one he used with her. “We’re almost gone, baby. Just a few more minutes.”

Chapter Sixteen

If only it had been that easy.

The minute Deacon got the words out of his mouth, he wanted to kick himself. He knew enough not to tempt fate before the ship was docked back in its home port, but he’d gone and done it anyway. He wondered if there were some place on this shithole planet he could find a black cat to walk in front of him, too. Just to be thorough about it.

Still haranguing himself, he guided Kili forward as they followed Eve and Taggart back to the shuttle. This leg of the trip was more relaxed than the first one, but he still moved them along at a brisk clip. No one was safe until the shuttle was up and parked in the hull of Tag’s ship, which would be docked at the rebel base before Deacon allowed himself a sigh of relief.

Well, another one. He’d been pretty damned relieved to see Tag and Eve come hurtling out of the woods, weapons blazing, as he struggled with the concentrated attack of all five of the guards pursuing him and Kili. His goal since this fiasco started had been to get off this damned rock before Tag sent anyone riding to the rescue. It looked like he’d fucked that up royally, but he didn’t intend to allow anything else to go wrong. Nothing.

Which meant that the persistent tingling in the back of his neck was really pissing him off. He kept his gaze scanning around them, looking for the slightest sign of movement, but he saw nothing. Shit, this bad feeling thing was getting really old.

“Fabulous!”

He looked up ahead to see Taggart pushing deeper into the trees and stepping out into a small clearing just big enough to conceal a three-man emergency shuttle.

“Ladies, our ride is waiting,” Tag said, sweeping his arm toward the ship. “What do you say we take a little pleasure jaunt?”

“I say two trips to this damned planet was too many,” Eve said as she lowered her force rifle and strode quickly to the shuttle. “The only way to get me back here a third time would be to kill me and send me to a taxidermist. Let’s go!”

Taggart chuckled. “As my lady commands.” He turned to the others. “You guys want a lift?”

Kili looked up at Deacon as if asking permission to board. He had the sudden and overwhelming urge to make sure she never asked anyone for permission ever again. Growling, he grabbed her arm and started forward. “Hell, yes. And step on it.”

Eve had already lowered the hatch and climbed on board the small vessel. Taggart followed quickly and slipped into the pilot’s seat while Deacon ushered Kili in ahead of him and secured the door closed behind them. He saw Taggart going through a quick flight check and handed Kili over to Eve.

“Strap her in,” he ordered Eve, ignoring the other woman’s look of confusion. “She’s not gonna be used to lift-off, not to mention warp. I don’t want her hurt.”

Eve raised an eyebrow at that, but she didn’t say anything. She just put a light hand on Kili’s shoulder and guided her out of the way to a folding jump seat at the side of the vessel.

“Right here,” Deacon heard her say. “I’ll strap you in and then the two of us will stay out of the way of the inevitable explosion of testosterone we’re about to witness. Trust me, it’s a sight to see.”

Ignoring the jibe, he took two long steps toward the cockpit and settled into the seat next to Taggart. Neither of them said a word as they hurried through the flight preparations and got the engines online. They both knew what they were doing, and they both wanted to be hell and far gone from this place as soon as humanly possible.

Soon, as in right now.

“Thirty seconds,” Deacon barked over his shoulder, one hand on the instrument panel, the other fastening his safety straps over his broad chest. “Get braced!”

He spared a quick glance back at Kili, who sat still and quiet on the jump seat with Eve seated on the floor beside her, jury-rigging a harness for herself. Kili looked pale to him, and it was hard to tell in the dim shuttle, but she looked like she might be trembling. He didn’t have time to check on her, though. He had to trust she would get through whatever was going on now the same way she had through everything else they’d come up against so far, and he knew Eve would deal with an emergency if anything happened.