Arak's Love: A World Beyond Book 2 (18 page)

Chapter 21

Sylvie’s heart threatened to burst from her chest. The pressure increased as she swallowed past the boulder in her throat. Sylvie knew if she started crying now she wouldn’t stop. This was her worst nightmare come true. Trapped in a cell and back under someone else’s control. Except unlike the last time, she didn’t feel powerless. Not with Arak at her side. Throat tight, she asked. “Are they going to kill us?”

Arak leaned back against the stone wall and met her gaze, eyes filled with deadly intent. “They can try.”

Her laugh held a nervous edge. “I’d prefer they didn’t.”

Arak shifted his weight and cupped the nape of her neck, his stare burning through her. “Trust me, Sylvie. I’ll get us out.”

Goosebumps prickled her flesh and Sylvie rubbed at her arms to ward off the feeling this might not end well. She struggled to stay calm. To not let paranoid fear keep her from helping Arak if he needed it.

A tear slid free. He caught it on his fingertip. “No more of these.”

She sniffed and laughed. “Alright.”

The lock on the door twisted.

“Someone’s coming.” His nostrils flared. “One guard.”

Arak nudged her chin with his knuckles and smiled. The smile was edged in ice. Sylvie buried her hands under her armpits and backed up a step to give him room. He stretched his arms out to his sides, claws exposed on his fingertips. The door creaked open and the guard entered.

One side punch from Arak and he folded. A swipe of claws and the man ended up on the floor moaning. Arak went to one knee and stripped the belt from the pants. He roped the guards wrists behind his back.

Arak turned to Sylvie, extending his hand. “Let’s go.”

Not the least bit afraid, she hurried to his side. As soon as their fingers touched, the claws on his left hand retracted. His other arm dropped to her waist and palmed something hard down her pants beneath her shirt tail. Sylvie frowned, lips parted but Arak’s hiss stopped her. They burst through the door of their prison together.

“Stay close to me, Sylvie.”

She bit her lip and nodded. He squeezed her hand once and together they raced down a hall, stopping every few steps as Arak paused. He tipped his head to the side and listened. A frown pierced his brow. She waited until he tugged on her hand, leading her down the hall at a fast clip.

When they neared the end of the darkened path, he crouched low and Sylvie knelt next to him. Both hands reached up and cupped her face. “Listen.”

Sylvie shook her head and blinked when her tears welled. “Nope. No throwing me.”

His lips twitched. “I’m going to scout ahead. Sound is distorted in here, making it hard for me to hear and I want you safe.”

Her eyes burned. Sylvie gripped his shirt and pulled him forward. His hands caught on the wall behind her. “You listen to me. I want
you
safe.”

He kissed her. It was the last thing Sylvie expected and exactly what she needed. “Stay here.”

Then he removed his clothes and shifted. Before she could blink, the white cat disappeared around a corner and Sylvie was left with her back to the wall in the small alcove where he’d stashed her. In that moment she decided to devise all the ways she’d make him pay for stashing her in the corner. Seconds ticked to minutes and minutes dragged on longer than she wanted.

A wisp of air caused her to rise to her feet, fists ready. Lips brushed her cheek. “It’s me, love.”      

 Sylvie smacked Arak’s bare chest and exhaled in relief. “Together, Arak. We do this together.”

He nuzzled her neck and inhaled. “Alright.” When he pulled back, he began dressing quickly. “There are guards everywhere. Marenians, too.”

Fully dressed, his intense stare pinned her to the spot. “I won’t lose you.”

Sylvie’s lips quivered but she held on to her sanity by staring at into his blue eyes and trusting him. “Let’s do this.”

He grinned and grabbed her hand. They doubled back the way they’d come. Shouts sounded behind them as their absence was discovered. Arak shoved her ahead only for Sylvie to end up face to face with a familiar figure.

“Nice effort. Follow me and don’t try anything, Arak.” Faruk stood in the doorway, his weapon aimed at Sylvie’s head. “You know I can drop her before you move.”

Arak cursed, a low growl rumbled from his chest but he placed his hand on Sylvie’s lower back in reassurance. Two guards joined them, taking position behind Sylvie and Arak. She forced her limbs to move, allowing Arak’s presence to give her comfort. Faruk stopped at a door at the end of another passage and flicked on sensors, turning the dark space light.

“Leave us,” Faruk ordered.

The guards left without speaking a single word.

***

Heat rose from Arak’s body, his anger a living thing. Faruk had ordered his men to tie Sylvie’s hands together. No one wanted to risk dismemberment by getting too close to confine Arak in a similar manner. “Traitor.”

The word came out garbled in a low snarl, his fangs prominent. He thought of the missions the teams went on, the disadvantage they worked under because Faruk sold them out.

“Is there anything you didn’t tell them?” Arak asked, his upper lip curled.

Faruk’s lips firmed. “I didn’t betray the Jutaks. I’ve told them no secrets about us individually. This is strictly about Torkel Alonson.”

“You gave away operation details. That’s a betrayal. You let Faye take the blame and didn’t speak up when all of us turned on her.”

Faruk scrubbed at his hair with one hand. “None of that matters now.”

“At least tell me why, Faruk?” Why would his friend betray the Jutaks? Why would he turn on Arak even now?

Faruk’s smile held a sad droop in the corner as he shook his head but answered, “Because despite what you think, having a Marenian on the Jutak teams isn’t a good thing. His people are slavers. He could turn any day.”

“You’re shitting me!” Arak couldn’t help it. The very thought was too ridiculous to even consider. Torkel would never.

Faruk’s blue eyes darkened and his lips firmed as he raised the laser higher aiming directly for Arak’s chest. “It’s not personal, Arak. I like you. I like most of the teams. Did you know Alonson considered making Kyele team lead over me?”

Arak didn’t know. “So this is revenge? Jealousy?”

“No!” Faruk barked. “It’s just more evidence that he’s not fit to be a good leader if he can’t tell that Kyele’s not sane. Maybe the two of them are working together to bring down Enotia.”

Now this was going into fantasy land. “I can’t accept that, Faruk. No more than I can accept that you would turn on men who’ve been like brothers to you.”

Faruk shifted his stance. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, Arak but I can’t let you ruin this for me. My partners could have pushed to have the governing council remove Torkel if his Chosen had gone to trial for her actions but he managed to use his friendship with the Commander to get around the law. More signs he’s closer to his Marenian heritage than you think.”

Arak fought the desire to roll his eyes at the wild claim. Torkel had fought tooth and nail to have the charges against Sylvie dismissed. Sweat dampened his palms as he kept his arms up where Faruk could see. He needed to make sure Sylvie walked away from this unharmed. Chances of him doing the same looked slim. “We all know what happened to Faye. She’s innocent in this.”

Faruk frowned. “This is true. They tried to get her to tell what she knew but surprisingly the Earthling didn’t crack.”

Every muscle in Arak’s body stilled. “What are you talking about?”

Had Faruk admitted involvement in Faye’s kidnapping?

“She was questioned extensively. Too bad she didn’t give anything we could have used against Torkel.”

Arak’s stomach pitched. Faye had been in bad shape when they rescued her, physically hovering between life and death. “You risked Faye’s life to get at Torkel.”

“She was an unfortunate sacrifice to reach my end goal,” Faruk argued. “Don’t forget she gave away secrets for a price.”

The determined light in his eyes proved Faruk believed the words he said. Still, Faye had nothing to do with this. “I can’t believe you’d betray all that being a Jutak stands for.”

Faruk’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t talk to me of betrayal. Torkel is Marenian scum and eventually his blood would bleed through.”

“So you’re working with Marenians…because you don’t want to work with a Marenian in charge of the unit? One who’s proven to be loyal and honorable.”

A rough chuckle sounded behind Arak and a familiar Marenian entered the room. Arak shifted his weight, keeping his body as a shield in front of Sylvie. He recognized the Marenian by his crooked horn. Arlo. One of the slavers they’d caught once before.

***

Sylvie recognized the Marenian who entered the room. Never would she forget the evil in his brown eyes or the twisted horn protruding from the side of his temple. The few times their paths crossed, she’d witnessed his disregard for the slaves he sold.

“I should have gutted you when I had the chance instead of letting you go,” Arak growled.

“But you didn’t Jutak.” Arlo stood next to Faruk and his gaze shifted to Sylvie. “And you. You’ve been nothing but trouble.”

Her hands clenched on the waist of Arak’s pants. Another growl rolled from his chest at the threat. “Leave her out of it.”

The smile stretching Arlo’s face showed his pleasure. “Maybe this one will break unlike the other.”

“The other,” Sylvie couldn’t help saying when she really wanted to flee from the room in terror.

His smile blossomed into a chuckle. “Faruk, my friend. You haven’t shown them the vid log.”

Color drained from the Jutak team lead’s face. Arlo went to the communicator behind him and fiddled with the buttons. A large holo screen appeared mid-air. The image displayed Faye as she lay strapped to a table with a Marenian in dark clothing standing over her. Sylvie bit her lip in dismay. Faye’s face was swollen but the man continued his torture and questions. Her painful screams after failing to answer raised the hair on Sylvie’s arms. Faruk winced and glanced away.

“You’re a menace!” Sylvie turned from the screen and pressed closer to Arak’s back.

Arlo snarled and took a step in their direction.

“Enough!” A voice shouted.

Another Marenian entered behind Arlo dressed in a black shirt that struggled to contain his bulging muscles and black cargo pants with boots. Around his hip he wore a laser blaster. Black hair lay in neat waves about his shoulders and dark brows frowned beneath his distinctive horns.

“What are they doing here?” The newcomer demanded.

Fear flashed across Arlo’s features before his lips peeled back in a harsh expression. He pointed at Faruk. “The Jutak
punan
brought them.”

Faruk cleared his throat, shoulders straight. He still wore his black uniform, every inch the elite soldier. “The Earth female saw me. I had to get rid of her but he arrived at her place when I was leaving.”

“You’re a fool. Torkel Alonson is not a man to trifle with. He believes strongly in never leaving a man behind.” The new Marenian appeared to be in charge.

“It’s perfect bait to draw him in.” Faruk defended, gray eyes blazing.

“It’s perfect bait to get killed. There’s a crazy Jutak team in their Unit that does Alonson’s bidding without question. Those bastards are a killing machine. Mark my words, he’ll send them here for this one and we’re all going to regret it.”

Faruk snorted. “He wouldn’t bother using Team Three for this. He’ll come himself.”

“We should kill them,” Arlo interrupted. He pointed at Faruk. “And this one, too.”

“Don’t speak, Arlo. You should have known better. We don’t need the Jutaks on us this closely.”

The muscles in Arak’s back tensed. “Lothar, I presume.”

The Marenian laughed. “Thank you, but no. I doubt he would appreciate the comparison.”

Arlo sneered. “Niko is Lothar’s son. Lothar trusts him to run his business in his stead when necessary.”

“Quiet,” Niko snapped, his anger palpable.

“Father?” Sylvie felt like a parrot. “Evil shouldn’t be allowed to birth more evil.”

Arlo pulled out his weapon and aimed in Sylvie’s direction. Arak crouched and his claws sprung free but the second Marenian moved too quickly. He reached around Arak and grabbed Sylvie. A laser fired and Arak roared behind her.

Niko slammed Sylvie against the wall, his hand about her throat. Every inch of her quaked confronted by his rage. With his face close to hers, Sylvie had the inane thought that a brutal killer shouldn’t have such long eyelashes. His golden brown eyes reflected the meager light from overhead.

“Get away from her!” Arak yelled.

Niko’s head lowered until his mouth brushed her ear. The touch of his curved horn along her temple had Sylvie shaking uncontrollably. She ground her teeth together in determination and lifted her chin, glaring back at the one who held her. “I’m fine, Arak!”