that message sent out directly and I’ll let the colonel know
you called. Can I do anything else to help you, ma’am?”
“No, thank you.” She disconnected the call and tapped
Lenny’s image.
“Well?” Her friend looked eager. “What did the colonel
say?”
“Nothing,” Hallie replied. “He’s not there. He’s
watching maneuvers, whatever that is. The man who
answered told me he’d contact Sergeant Crow’s
commanding officer.”
Lenny sighed. “We’ve tried that before, Hallie. It hasn’t
worked. Their commanding officer seems to think that
what goes on behind closed doors is between a husband
and his wife.”
Hallie’s lips settled into a grim line. She knew all too
well how that worked. Her mother and stepmother had
been the victims of that kind of idiotic thinking.
Her gaze skipped to the emergency placard mounted
near the doorway. In the small cubby there, an emergency
access key dangled from a hook. Vicious had told her it
would open any door, right?
A quiver of uncertainty pierced her gut. She wasn’t
quite sure what would happen if she used the emergency
key. No doubt its use would arouse suspicion and alert
someone. Considering she planned to use the key to
basically break into someone’s home, Hallie figured this
wasn’t going to end well for her. Vicious would be furious
with her—but she’d already tried to do things the right
way and no one would help her.
With a slow exhale, Hallie settled her mind. Whatever
the consequences, they were worth the risk. She trusted
that Vicious would understand why she’d taken the key
and not punish her too harshly. He’d told her that she
could leave their quarters and use the card in an
emergency. If this didn’t qualify, she didn’t know what
would.
“I’m coming, Lenny. I think I can get into her apartment
if she won’t answer.”
“She won’t answer. I tried knocking for five minutes
straight.”
“Let me grab a piece of paper.” She rushed into the
living room, grabbed a blue pencil and her sketch pad and
raced back. “Tell me how to reach you.”
Lenny was clear and concise in her directions. Hallie
read them back to her friend and then ended the call. She
didn’t bother trying to find something to wear on her feet.
Vicious hadn’t been able to locate a pair of shoes small
enough to fit her so he’d had to order them in specially.
They wouldn’t arrive for a couple of weeks. Besides, this
was an emergency. If this woman, Deniva, had been
injured, she wouldn’t care if Hallie showed up barefoot.
Hallie ventured into the hallway. It was empty, of
course. Their floor of the ship held only their apartment
and the one used by the
Valiant
’
s
second-in-command, a
sky fleet commander named Corvus. She hurried to the
elevator and stepped inside. The doors closed and she
tapped the button for the main access floor.
Head down, Hallie made her way through the ship. Her
gaze flicked from her handwritten directions to the various
hallways and elevator banks she traversed. It took a
quarter of an hour to reach Lenny’s housing section.
Thankfully, no one tried to stop her. Whether it was the
white collar around her neck designating her as a new
bride, or the way she moved so quietly and swiftly, she’d
never know. All those nights of sneaking around the
village and dropping newsletters at back doors had finally
proven useful. She could move without arousing much
suspicion.
When she reached Lenny’s door, she only knocked once
before the door whipped open. “Oh, thank god! I was so
worried you’d been stopped.”
Hallie shook her head. “No. Even if someone had, I’m
sure just uttering Vicious’ name would have gotten me
back on my way.”
“He is rather scary.” She stepped out of her apartment
and into the hall. “This way, Hallie.”
She was still smiling at Lenny’s description of Vicious
as scary. Not that long ago, she’d thought the same thing.
Now she knew better.
Lenny knocked twice and pressed a square pad on the
side of the door to ring the bell. “See? She’s not
answering.”
Hallie retrieved the access key from the pocket of her
loose-fitting cargo pants. “Here. Let’s try this.”
Lenny’s eyes widened. “Where did you get that?”
“It was hanging in the cubby near the emergency placard
in our apartment. Vicious told me it would open any door
if I ever needed it.” She waved the card in front of the red
eye above the camera attached to the vid-screen. “And I
need it now.”
Lenny looked frightened. “We’re probably going to get
into trouble for using it.”
“What’s this ‘we’?” Hallie shook her head. “I took the
card. I’ll face the consequences. Who knows? Maybe
being a colonel’s wife will keep me out of trouble for
once.”
The door beeped and the locks disengaged. Hallie
shoved the card into her pocket and grasped the handle.
Her heart jumped into her throat as she pushed the door
open. Who knew what they’d find on the other side?
“Here.” Lenny leaned down and removed her shoe.
“Shove that under the door.”
“That’s smart thinking,” Hallie murmured as she pushed
the makeshift doorstop into place. If they needed to get out
quick, there would be no messing around with the door. If
they yelled for help, someone might hear them too.
“Deniva?” Lenny followed her into the darkened
entryway. “Honey? Are you here?”
Hallie cautiously entered the apartment. She stepped
into the living area and scanned the dimly lit space.
“Lights on!”
Nothing happened. Lenny tried. “Lights! Lights!”
“I think someone disabled the voice controls.”
“And the manuals,” Lenny said. “Look.”
Hallie glanced toward Lenny’s hand. It was only just
visible with the light from the hallway spilling into the
entryway. A panel had been ripped out of the wall. All
sorts of snapped wires hung out of the gaping hole.
Certain something awful had happened here, Hallie
scanned the darkened space. A chair had been overturned.
A tablet had been smashed. Her gaze moved to the
communication console. Someone had punched a hole in
the screen, rendering it useless.
“Deniva?” Lenny called out, louder now. She gripped
Hallie’s arm. “What the hell happened here?”
“Someone got the crap knocked out of them,” Hallie
guessed. She moved away from Lenny toward the kitchen.
Her foot slipped in something wet and she hit the floor
hard. “Ow!”
“Are you okay?” Lenny hurried toward her but Hallie
stopped her.
“No! Stay there, Lenny. It’s too dark to see the floor.
You might fall and hurt your babies.”
Lenny’s hand flew to her belly in a protective gesture.
Hallie’s hand slipped in something wet on the floor. She
pulled herself up by grabbing hold of the countertop. As
she winced, she brought her wet palms to her face and
sniffed. Her worst suspicions were confirmed. “Oh god.
It’s blood.”
“What!”
“Lenny, get back to your apartment right now. Lock the
door and call Emergency. Tell them I’m here. Maybe
they’ll come faster.”
“I’m going. Be careful.”
Lenny disappeared as Hallie wiped her bloody hands
on her pants. This much blood didn’t bode well. The
floors here were a much darker shade than the flooring in
Vicious’ quarters. The lack of lighting didn’t help matters.
It was why she hadn’t been able to see the blood pool.
Hallie checked the pantry area and found it empty. She
left the kitchen and moved to the nearest room with a
closed door. She discovered a nursery that appeared to
have never been used. “Deniva?”
No answer.
Hallie moved away from that room. Her foot touched
something wet. Blood again, she figured. Squinting, she
was just able to make out a blood trail into another room.
The master bedroom?
Her mouth so dry she couldn’t swallow, Hallie walked
on shaking legs into the bedroom. Instantly, the scent of
vomit and blood smacked her in the face. She saw a big,
dark pool on the floor near the closet. “Oh no.”
Hallie rushed to the closet door and shoved it aside. A
bright light in the recessed ceiling flicked on, momentarily
blinding her. When she could see again, Hallie almost
fainted. She dropped to her knees in front of the chained,
battered woman and quickly checked for a pulse. Her
fingertips slid through the oozing blood but she located the
faint beat of the woman’s heart.
“Deniva? Can you hear me?” There was no reply. Even
if she was conscious, Hallie wasn’t sure the woman
would be able to speak. Her face was so badly smashed.
Even in her father’s worst rampages, he’d never inflicted
this kind of damage on her mother or stepmother or her. A
black eye, a swollen jaw, a busted lip—yes. This? Oh,
this was something so extreme! Hallie couldn’t believe the
woman still breathed.
But where was all this blood coming from? Hallie ran
her hands over the woman’s arms and neck and chest in
search of a wound. When her hand followed the gentle,
sloping curve of a pregnant belly, Hallie finally
understood. She was miscarrying and hemorrhaging. “Oh
god.”
Hallie gripped the chains attached to the wall and
tugged as hard as she could. They wouldn’t budge. She put
her feet against the wall for leverage and jerked until her
shoulders burned. Her fingers, still wet with blood,
slipped on the metal. “Damn it!”
She had to do something. She had to get this woman free
and get her to medical care. The baby was gone, Hallie
was sure, but Deniva could be saved.
She heard footsteps incoming. “Lenny, get some towels
or something. She’s bleeding so badly. I think—
argh
!”
Two hands snatched her by the shirt and yanked her off
the floor. Hallie flew through the air and slammed into the
nearest wall. The collision knocked the air from her lungs.
Shaking her head, she sucked in a painful breath and
scurried away. She narrowly escaped a big black boot
aiming for her face.
Hallie clambered to her feet and saw her opponent. He
was silhouetted by the light from the closet. She could
only just make out his rage-twisted features. He rushed
her, his bigger body moving with such speed that it
stunned her. She turned just enough to miss the full blow
and jammed her knee right into his balls. He grunted
loudly but didn’t stop. He slammed her into the wall, his
shoulder cutting into her chest so painfully she screamed.
He fell then, the blow to his balls enough to make his
knees weak. She tried to pull free from him as he dropped
but he grabbed her leg and yanked. Hallie fell forward.
Her chin slammed into the floor hard enough to rattle her
brain. Momentarily dazed, she gave him the advantage. He
flipped her over and leapt on top of her.
Pinned to the ground, Hallie brought her arms up to
shield her face. She’d been in this position enough times in
her life to know that protecting her face and neck were the
only way she’d stay conscious. This man was just crazy
enough to kill her.
He was stronger than her father ever had been. He
grabbed her arm and twisted it, the pain so fierce that she
screamed. She prayed for her arm to break. Surely, that
pain would be less intense than the twisting tear of her
muscles.
A fist slammed into her face once, then twice. Blood
trickled onto her tongue and down her throat as the inside
of her cheek was cut against her teeth. He made the
mistake of letting go of her arm. Even though she could
only feel pins and needles, she could still move it. She
threw it up against his neck and used her other hand to
grab his chin. She shoved his face hard and away from
her, hoping to knock him off balance and off her.
He jerked his hips and threw his elbow into her arm.
She cried out as her arm was knocked free. Both of his
hands dropped to her neck. She thrashed now, desperate to
keep him from choking her. Seeing no other choice, she