on a woman is the mark of a convicted prostitute,” Lenny
explained.
Vicious closed his eyes. He could only imagine the
trauma a young woman of such a tender age would have
suffered at being marked a prostitute in a culture where
premarital sex was so taboo.
“When they turned her over to her father…”
Lenny couldn’t bring herself to speak the truth but
Vicious could fill in the blanks. He thought of the way
he’d spanked her backside last night. It had been playful
but had he terrified her then? Had he forced her to endure
flashbacks to all the pain she’d known in her father’s
house? The way she’d cowered in that corner made so
much more sense.
“You know,” Lenny continued softly, “everyone
expected her to become a hermit, but not Hallie. The very
next morning, she limped out to the market and did her
family’s shopping. She was all bruised and battered. Her
head was still bleeding in spots and scabbed in others.
She held her head high and didn’t even pay any attention to
the whispers. Even then, they couldn’t break her spirit.”
“No, I’m sure they couldn’t.” Vicious doubted anyone
could break Hallie. She possessed a well of inner strength
that rivaled any he’d known. Only Terror came to mind.
That man had known soul-crushing hell too.
“Her sister Bernie and I are the same age. That’s how I
knew Hallie. There weren’t many of us girls in that age
range, not after the cough came that winter and killed so
many of us. She lost her stepmother and two brothers that
winter.”
He nodded. “She told me.”
“I’m sure she told you about her father?”
“She said he’s a heavy drinker.”
“Very,” Lenny agreed. “Janer Blacksmith ran that house
with an iron fist. There’s a reason he never had a third
wife. No father in town would allow him to court their
daughters. He’s a good blacksmith but he’s an awful man.”
She exhaled a noisy breath. “Hallie spent most of her
childhood with switch and belt marks criss-crossing her
legs and backside. I’d wager that half of the time she was
covering for Bernie or one of her older brothers.”
Vicious wasn’t surprised by that tidbit of information. If
she was willing to have her head shaved to protect her
accomplices, she’d probably cover for a brother or sister
she viewed as weaker, even if that sibling was older.
“Why did her sister leave Harper’s Well?”
Lenny hesitated. “She was pregnant. With the morality
laws in Harper’s Well, there was nowhere for her to hide.
Even if she’d escaped to The City, they would have run
her papers and discovered she was missing.” She wrung
her hands. “Bernie’s issue was complicated by the father
of her child. He…he’s an alderman. A married alderman.”
“Of course he is,” Vicious muttered. “And Hallie
arranged for her sister to flee?”
Lenny nodded. “She’d been squirreling away money for
years to get away on a transport ship. After the shearing,
she really buckled down and started studying the laws. A
woman can legally gain a travel visa if she reaches the
safe zone during the Grab. It’s a kind of reward. Barring
that, her other choice was to hop a transport ship and buy a
smuggled seat in a cargo hold.”
“But her sister became pregnant and Hallie had to use
her money to get her sister to safety.”
“Yes. Bernie disappeared a few days before I was
Grabbed. Later, I found out she’d been smuggled out on
the
Shepherd
and reached the Safe Harbor colony safely.”
“That had to be expensive,” Sergeant Hawk commented.
“How in the world would a young woman in that hellhole
get that kind of money?”
Lenny dropped her gaze. “That’s not my story to tell.”
Vicious considered the woman’s body language. There
were only a few ways for a woman to earn a significant
amount of money in the backward villages of Calyx.
Obviously, Hallie hadn’t been a prostitute. That much was
clear from their first night together. Whatever the story, he
would get it from Hallie’s own lips.
His gaze fell to Sergeant Hawk’s left hand. The man
wore a silver band on his finger. “Sergeant, what is that?”
The man grimaced and tried to cover his hand. “I don’t
wear it in uniform, sir. Only here in private, with my
wife.”
Vicious glanced at Lenny’s left hand. She wore the
same type of ring on her finger, the band thinner and more
delicate. He noticed then that she wore no collar around
her neck. “You don’t wear a collar.”
She touched her neck and looked worried. “Only in
private, sir. I abide by the rules when I’m outside my
home.”
Vicious waved dismissively. “I’m not worried about
rules and regulations.” He sat forward. “Is this a custom
from your planet? Is this to do with a vow exchange?”
Lenny smiled. “Is that why you’re here? You don’t
understand our way of doing things?”
He nodded. “I believe I may have inadvertently hurt
Hallie’s feelings. I want to learn about your culture.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you.” She glanced at her
husband and grinned. “Hawk wasn’t so sweet in the
beginning.”
“Lenny,” he said warningly but she just laughed and
kissed his cheek. The sergeant looked uncomfortable and
wouldn’t meet Vicious’ gaze. “I assumed my way of doing
things was the best way, sir. It turns out I was wrong.”
Vicious chuckled softly. “Yes, I’m beginning to
understand this too.”
“In our culture, after a man finds a young woman he’s
sweet on, he asks her father for permission to court her.
It’s a slow, gentle process, Colonel. There are chaperoned
walks and letters and picnics. We attend public dances
together and exchange small trinkets. Love grows slowly,
you see?”
“Yes.”
“When we marry, we stand before our friends and
family and exchange vows to love and cherish in sickness
and health, in times of plenty and in times of none. They
come from our sacred book that came with our ancestors
from Earth.” Lenny looked a bit wistful. “Some couples
write their own vows. My parents did.” She paused and
looked a bit uncertain. “A wedding ceremony is a big
thing to us. It’s not the same as being Grabbed and hauled
off to a sky ship, Colonel.”
“Yes, I see that now.” Even if Hallie hadn’t wanted to
get married, he bet that deep down inside, she’d wanted
that kind of commitment. Instead, she’d been snatched up
and forced into a marriage with a stranger.
“Colonel?” Lenny dared to touch his knee. She smiled
encouragingly. “Look, these marriages, they don’t always
start off on the best foot but most of us end up very happy.”
She moved her hand to Sergeant Hawk’s thigh and gave it
a squeeze. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
He nodded. “Thank you, Lenny. I appreciate you taking
the time to answer my questions.”
“Of course, sir. Um, would you mind if I visited
Hallie?”
“Not at all. I’ll have Hallie contact you.”
Vicious thanked them and left their quarters. He felt
numb as he waited for an elevator. Once inside, he hit the
stall button and leaned his forehead against the cold metal.
His heart ached. If Hallie had been planning to run
away all along, how much did she hate him for Grabbing
her and forcing her into their marriage? His chest tightened
so painfully he felt sure he was having a heart attack.
Would he lose her now? Would she want to leave him?
Could he bear to keep her here against her will?
All this new information swirled in his head. He needed
time to process it. But first he had to figure out how to
apologize to Hallie in a meaningful way. Hell, after
everything she’d been through, she deserved so much more
than a simple “I’m sorry”. He just didn’t know how to do
that.
And then it hit him.
He hit the activation button and rode the elevator down
to the shopping center. He just hoped they had what he
needed.
Chapter Ten
Hallie heard the front door open. She nervously rose
from the couch where she’d been reading and turned to
face the entryway. Vicious entered the living room and
caught sight of her. His steps faltered and he paused. Was
he upset that she’d gotten dressed in one of his shirts? He
hadn’t given her any instructions and she’d gotten cold
while he was away.
She noticed the blue gift bag dangling from his hand.
Finally, their gazes met. Awash in anxiety, she gripped her
hands and hoped he wouldn’t yell too loudly when it came
to a head.
Vicious crossed the living room and walked around the
couch, stopping when he was only inches from her. His
intense gaze unnerved her. She swallowed and waited to
see what he would do or say. His fingertips grazed her
cheek and drifted down her neck. He grasped a handful of
her hair and rubbed it between his fingers. She was
surprised to see such sadness in his blue eyes.
“Shorter suits you.”
She frowned up at him. “What?”
“Come here, Kitten.” He took her hand and tugged her
over to the big chair he favored. He dragged her down
onto his lap.
She perched awkwardly and fidgeted with the hem of
the shirt she wore. “I got cold. I hope you don’t mind.”
He caressed her bare thigh. “I don’t mind. I’ll get you
some clothing of your own tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
“Hallie?”
“Yes, Vicious?”
“Look at me, please.”
His slightly pleading tone worried her. She turned her
face toward him and gazed into his eyes. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry about this morning. I was upset and didn’t
know how to communicate with you.” He brushed his
palm over her knee. “I should not have left like that. It was
wrong. I’m sorry to have hurt you.”
She imagined it wasn’t easy for a man like Vicious to
admit he’d been a jackass. “I think I could have chosen my
words better. I didn’t mean to make you feel rejected or to
imply that what we’re building is less real or important
than the bond my sister and her husband share.” She
gripped his hand. “It’s just
different
, Vicious. It’s not bad,
you understand? We’re just starting from a different
place.”
“I understand.” He kissed her cheek, his lips lingering
on her skin. “I spoke with a woman from your village. She
helped me understand the differences between our
cultures’ ideas of the mate bond and marriage.”
“Really? Do I know her?”
He nodded. “Her name is Lenny.”
Shock tore through Hallie. “Lenny Greenmarket is on
this ship?” Excitement filled her. “Oh my goodness! Can I
see her?”
Vicious smiled. “Of course. She asked to see you. I told
her I’d pass along the message. You’re welcome to invite
her to visit as often as you like.”
Another thought struck Hallie. She touched her hair in
the same way Vicious had. The sadness in his eyes… “Did
Lenny tell you?”
Vicious seemed reluctant but answered honestly. “Yes.”
“I see.” Fear soured her belly. “So now you know that
I’m a criminal.”
Vicious made a disgusted sound and grasped her chin,
forcing her gaze to meet his. “You are not a criminal,
Hallie. You’re a young woman who chose to fight for
something she believed in deeply. I know that I jumped to
the wrong conclusion yesterday. I think I may have scared
you by assuming you worked with insurgents. It never
crossed my mind that someone as young as you would be
involved in political dissidence.”
“You’d be surprised,” she whispered. “Our parents and
grandparents seem content with the way things are but
those of us in the younger generations are totally over it.
By the time I was twelve, I knew things had to change. I’d
watched my mother die in agony and my baby brother too.
Later, it was my stepmother and stepbrothers.” She shook
her head as those awful memories tried to take hold.
“When I was given the red feather the summer I turned
fourteen, I accepted the invitation. I knew things had to
change.”
“Red feather?”
“It’s the symbol of our peaceful rebellion. You’ve seen
my passport. It has a white feather on it. The symbol of