Broken (10 page)

“I
do know you, bold Sky.
Strong Sky.
Courageous
Sky.
Just as you know me and
Jaxt
,”
Zoen
said. Then he put his fist to his heart and bowed
slightly to the side, opening the way to freedom.

Chapter
Eight

“She
walks into a trap,”
Jaxt
growled.

Zoen
didn’t reply. His blood-kin
bondmate
had been in a
foul mood ever since Sky left. They followed her, not even having to discuss
it, but now
Zoen
was beginning to regret it. She
clearly knew what she was doing. She hiked like a soldier and hunted like a
skilled assassin. They’d been moving for hours, and she didn’t seem tired. She
never let her guard down.

Jaxt
swore when he saw her put a hand out and touch nothing, right in the middle of
a dusty clearing.
“A cloak!”

Zoen
ignored him. When the door-sized opening appeared, he realized that they were
on the edge of a fairly extensive human settlement.
A hidden
one.
“She is going in. We cannot follow her in there.”

“You
state the obvious,”
Jaxt
said tightly.

Zoen
put
a hand on his kin’s shoulder. “She will be safe. Those are her people, after
all.”

Jaxt
brushed him off. “Her own people forced her to barter herself for food!”

Zoen
narrowed his eyes,
then
grabbed
Jaxt’s
face, forcing him to look at him. “She is a strong woman. That is why she is
ours.”

Jaxt
glared at him. “She is only one person. There will be many humans in there.”

“And
that is why we will wait here and follow her again when she comes back out.” He
slid his hands to
Jaxt’s
shoulders. “I trust you with
my life, as you trust me with yours. We must trust her
with
her own
.”

Jaxt
put
his hands on
Zoen’s
forearms and grasped him tightly.
“I do not like feeling this way.”

“Remember
when you found me? I was almost dead from starvation,”
Zoen
murmured.

Jaxt’s
hands tightened painfully. “I remember all too well.”

“You
bled so much I worried you would die.”
Zoen
leaned in
and put his lips to
Jaxt’s
temple. “But you did not.
Instead, you saved me.” He kissed his way down
Jaxt’s
cheek. “You lived. So shall Sky.” He touched his mouth to
Jaxt’s
for the first time, following his deepest instincts. His gums ached as his
fangs descended, but it was a small pain.
A welcome pain.

Jaxt
groaned and kissed him back abruptly, all anger and hard edges. When their
fangs nicked each other, their blood mingled in their mouths.
Zoen
pressed closer. The hot length of his
bondmate’s
cock pressed against his hip. “She will survive
because we will do anything to keep her safe.”

Jaxt
ground his hips into
Jaxt
, rubbing their erections
together. “Blood does not lie.”

Relief
flooded
Jaxt
. He’d convinced
Jaxt
toward patience. As a slave, he’d learned that lesson long ago, but
Jaxt
still struggled with the demands of reality as a
Xyran
lord. “Blood does not lie,” he replied, kissing him
deeper.

Jaxt
bit
him again, and the taste sent
Zoen
over the edge. He
pulsed
out his climax against his
bondmate
,
reveling in the heat as
Jaxt
followed him into
orgasm, groaning into his neck. When their breathing slowed,
Zoen
slowly extracted his fingers from
Jaxt’s
hair.

“Have
faith,” he murmured.

“Faith
is for the craven,”
Jaxt
replied, ever contrary.

Zoen
sighed, not particularly surprised.

“Instead
of faith, we will bring our strength to her fight, whatever it may be,”
Jaxt
declared.

What
else could
Zoen
do but agree? He brought his fist to
his heart.
Jaxt
mirrored him. Together, they were
strong.

****

Sky
followed the gatekeeper to the small building where they maintained the cloak
for the settlement. “Why hasn’t anyone cleaned this place up? The cloak has
been working for years now, and it still looks like shit. I know there’s money
rolling through this place. It’s a major trade spot for smugglers. You’d think
Foxworthy would spruce things up a bit.”

John
snorted.
“Yeah, right.
He hoards all the gems for
himself and his cronies. You know that.”

“It’s
bad for business.”

He
rubbed his face. “It’s not bad for him. He charges people for the location, you
know.
Blindfolds them and everything.”

Sky
sighed. “Of course he does. I should’ve known that.”

“Don’t
beat yourself up too much. It’s been a long time since you’ve come to visit,
Sky,” John said, smiling as he wrote her name down on his log.

She
shrugged. “I come when I need to buy something. Otherwise, why bother?”

He
shook his head. “You are such a loner, Sky. What about human companionship?” He
shook the dust off the ledger and snapped the elastic back over it, holding it
shut.

She
watched him tuck the book onto the old wooden shelf. It looked bizarre next to
the gleaming
Xyran
tech that ran the cloak, but that
was the story of humanity: survival, but not much more. Anything more than
“just enough” took up too much energy.

“I
enjoy my own company,” she replied absently, still staring at the cloak’s
control panel. She could bring it down right now, if she wanted. She’d learned
how to run and maintain it when she’d been with Graeme. She’d learned a lot of
tricks when she’d been with him.

“Looks
like you’ve had more company than just your own,” John said slyly, nodding
toward her neck.

Shit!
She’d forgotten about the bite marks.
Ah well,
nothing to do but brazen it out.
“Yeah, well, a girl’s
gotta
have some fun.” She smiled pleasantly at him, old habits coming back with ease.
She’d needed to smile and act harmless for years.
Survival
of the fittest.

“You
might want to rethink the whole loner bit, Sky,” John said, his voice going
low.

She
frowned, looking at his face. He seemed very uneasy, suddenly. “What are you
talking about?”

“
A
lotta
human women
are going
missing these days,” he murmured, fidgeting with his sidearm.

“Human
women have been going missing for years,” she replied, not impressed.

“No,
you don’t understand. I mean, in the last year or so. There’s talk that some
people made a deal with the
Xyrans
.”

Sky’s
breath hitched. “Organized?”

John
nodded. “So, you be careful out there in the wilds.” He gestured to the scrub
and mountains beyond the cloak.

She
shook her head. “I’m always careful.”

“Be
even more careful,” he said, heading for the door.

More careful?
Like not picking up stray
Xyrans
as if they were injured pets?
“Where’s Mack?” she asked John as they walked out of the shack. She peered into
the settlement. Tents, a few dented trailers, and a couple of old cabins made
up the entire gathering. Most of the people here stayed for a few months,
then
moved on, while others moved in.
The
only rule?
Keep your mouth shut.

“Now
why would you want to go playing around with a jackass like that? You know
better, Sky.” John wiped his forehead with a dirty rag. It didn’t do much, just
smeared the dust around his weathered face.

She
patted his arm. “I need a power cell.
Nothing more.”

He
frowned. “That’s expensive.”

Sky
shrugged. “I’m good for it.”

“I’ll
let Foxworthy know you’re here,” John said grimly.

“You
do that,” she said, watching him walk away. Foxworthy was the settlement’s
leader. He and Mack were best friends and the biggest reason she had to get
away. After Graeme died, well… She snorted. Graeme had been a nice man, a good
man, and he’d taken care of her for a long time.
Time enough for me to grow
up.
All she’d had to do was cuddle with him at night, and he’d been
content. When he’d died, his son Mack had taken from her by force what she
would’ve given freely to Graeme, had he just asked. And of course, Mack was the
one she needed to go talk to.
Just her luck.

“Damn
him to hell,” she muttered, stalking down the haphazard row of dwellings. The
settlement functioned as both a living space and a bazaar to the smugglers who
operated outside the purview of what few human governments were left. As she
walked, Sky ignored the itch that made her want to run. She’d escaped this
place once. She was not a prisoner.

And
if you freak out and act scared, the wolves will eat you, so snap out of it.
She paused, eyeing the cabin where Mack lived. The
front porch was covered with garbage. Graeme would kick his son’s ass to
Timbuktu and back if he could see the mess Mack had made of his home.
Good
thing he’s dead. This would break his heart.

She
took a deep breath. Damn, she didn’t want to go in there. She remembered
Zoen
and
Jaxt
, not wanting to let
her go. Was it weird that the thought of two
Xyrans
,
the violent, hostile aliens everyone feared, reassured her? She squared her
shoulders and walked up the steps. She didn’t care if it was weird. It helped.
When she pushed open the door, she stopped and wrinkled her nose. Someone
hadn’t washed in a very long time.

“Sky!
Well, well, what a surprise. I didn’t expect you to crawl back here anytime
soon.”

She
scowled.
“Mack, what a surprise.
You’re actually
fatter than you were a year ago. I didn’t think it was possible.” She watched
him stand up from the chair he’d set near the counter. He wasn’t actually fat,
but he was a big man.
Six feet two and muscled.
He
used to scare her, but after living with
Jaxt
and
making love with
Zoen
, well. She smiled. Mack just
didn’t really measure up, did he?

“Cut
the crap, Sky. What do you want?” he leaned on the counter. Shelves ran the
length of the room behind him, mostly filled with drugs and alcohol. He kept
the contraband machinery in the back, she knew.

“I
need a power cell.”

He
laughed. “Please. You must be joking.”

“I’m
not.” She frowned at him. She hated his guts, but he had the cell, she could
tell from the way he shifted his weight.

He
gave her a speculative look. “If you’re serious, I may be able to find one. For
the right price, that is.” He let his left hand drift down and touch his
crotch.

She
would kill him before she let him touch her. “I deal only in gems, Mack. You
know that.” He should. The last time he’d raped her she’d cut off the tip of
his ear with her knife. She cocked her head. “How’s the hearing these days?”

He
glared at her. He really hadn’t appreciated her knifing him like that. “You are
a bitch, Sky.”

“Focus,
Mack.
The power cell?”
She slipped her hand into her
vest and withdrew the bag of gems slowly, making sure his eyes lingered on her
breasts. Mostly because he couldn’t have them, or her, and she wanted to make
sure he knew it.

“What
do you want it for?” He leaned against the counter, thrusting out his hips.

Sky
wasn’t even tempted to look at his crotch.
“None of your
business.”

“That’s
a dangerous item to cart around.
Especially for a woman alone
like you.”
He stood up and rubbed the scruff of hair on his chin. “Let’s
say I do have one. The price is fifty amethysts.”

Sky
laughed.
“In your dreams.”
She slid the gems back into
her vest. She had just over fifty amethysts in her pouch, along with a few
select tourmalines, but she’d be damned if she’d pay Mack that much. She also
wanted to buy some medical supplies to replace the ones she’d used on
Jaxt
. She turned to leave the cabin, knowing Mack would
stop her.