The Abduction (11 page)

Samantha slid down the building to sit on the concrete, covering her eyes with shaking hands. Her breath hitched in her throat, and tears dripped onto the sidewalk from her hanging head.

Rikist spit blood and gasped for air, and barely managed to slow his descent as he sunk down beside her. He groaned and stretched out his legs and leaned his head back against the metal building. He swallowed and fought to control his breathing.

“Are you alright?”
he gasped.

Samantha shook her head and let out a sob.

Rikist wiped his mouth on his shoulder and grabbed Samantha around the waist and hefted her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his chest and rested his cheek against her hair.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

Samantha stiffened at his touch, and then grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and buried her face in his neck. Her body shook as she sobbed, and she pulled up her knees and tried to melt into the warmth radiating through his blood stained shirt.

“I thought they were going to kill you,” she breathed.
She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “And then he grabbed me…”

Rikist cradled her against his chest, and he wiped his eyes against her hair. He kissed her temple and then tit
led her face up to meet his and pressed their foreheads together.

“I
will never let anything happen to you,” he said, his lips trembling. “Do you understand? I promise.”

Samantha nodded, closing her eyes to let two fresh tears drip hotly down her cheeks. Rikist used his thumbs to wipe them away. He brushed
the hair back from her face and turned to glance at the still bodies on the pavement.

“We need to leave,” he said, panic at the edge of his voice.

Samantha wiped at her nose and nodded. She crawled off his lap and stepped away to fetch his crutch near the body of one of the men. She brought it back to Rikist, and helped him stand. He cried out when his leg gave out, and he caught himself against the building. Samantha shoved the crutch in his armpit and wrapped her arms around his waist and helped him slowly down the street.

They walked in silence down the
silent block and up the steps to the apartment.

“How many pills did you take?”

Rikist’s eyes slid open lazily, his movements sluggish and delayed. He swallowed and shifted on the mattress, turning his head toward where Samantha knelt beside him.

“Um… I think
four?”

“You were only supposed to take
two!”

“Three?”

“Rikist!”

“My leg hurts.” He closed his eyes. “Whole body hurts…”

“Maybe you should throw them up—”

“I’m fine. I just want to sleep.”

Samantha’s hand holding the washcloth poised over Rikist’s
bruised ribs, where she had just finished washing away the last of the drying blood. She had already helped him bandage his leg with the healing wound-vac and iced his knee and the cuts on his face.

Neither had called Krissik.

“Why did they call you a traitor?” She scooted higher up on the bed so that she could look down into his sweating face. “Rikist?”

“Not right now.”

“No, you’re going to talk right now. You just got your ass kicked by three guys jumping you outside your apartment, and I almost got my throat torn out. I deserve some answers.”

“You don’t understand—”

“Of course I don’t,” she cut in. “That’s why you need to explain to me what the hell happened. Why did they want to hurt you? What are the pits?”

His eyes snapped open. “What about the pits?”

“The man that had me said that… when you were gone they were going to send me to the pits. What is that?”

Rikist sighed and shook his head. “
My head hurts. Not now, please.”

“Now! Or I’m going to tell Krissik everything.”
Samantha leaned onto his chest. “Please, Krissik!”

He
looked to the ceiling, and then leaned back and closed his glassy eyes. “Top drawer,” he whispered.

“What?”

“In my nightstand. There’s something you need to see.”

Samantha
slipped off the bed and circled around to the nightstand on the other side of the bed, wondering at the possibilities of what could be inside the drawer. She tapped her fingers on the handle, and then jerked the drawer open. She froze at the sight of a picture frame, face down, and picked it up. The cool silver edging of the frame felt smooth and crisp in her hands as she turned it over.

Her eyes widened as she took in the smiling face of a younger, striped-cheek
ed and short-haired Rikist, his amber eyes shining as his arms held a woman about Samantha’s age with blue eyes and long blonde hair. Her face was turned to gaze up at Rikist, her bright smile wide and genuine.  Samantha wasn’t sure which she was more surprised at: that the couple looked incredibly close and in love, or that the girl was—

“Human,” she whispered.

She clutched the frame to her chest, and then stared down at Rikist. “Who is she?”

Rikist turned his head toward Samantha, his eyes red and weary. “Her name was Lindsey.
”

“Your mate?”
Samantha’s heart flipped in her chest. “Wait, you said
was
… what happened?”

His jaw tightened. “She
’s dead.”

“I’m sorry.” Samantha pressed her li
ps together. “How long were you together?”

“
Five years. I was on the first jump to your planet.”

Samantha sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes never leaving Rikist’s. “
I… When did she die?”

Rikist swallowed. “
Two years ago.”

Tears sprang to Samantha’s eyes, and she looked to the ceiling to blink them away. “Oh, Rikist. I’m so sorry. Why didn’t Krissik tell me?”

Rikist shook his head and wiped at his eyes. He couldn’t answer, so he shrugged.

“And you never made the jump again before it was too late?” she asked slowly, watching his profile.

“I never wanted to.”

“I
’m sorry.” Samantha wrung her hands. “But what does this have to do with the pits?”

Rikist’s face darkened. “
Two years ago our leaders enacted new policies…”

Samantha’s hands shook ag
ainst the picture frame. “What sort of policies?”

“
Imported mates are not meant to be companions, but breeders to extend the bloodline.”

Samantha’s
skin turned to ice. Her stomach dropped to her feet and her throat constricted. She tightened her grip on the picture frame to hide her shaking hands. She glanced down at Lindsey’s smiling face.

“And… and what if the mate could not bear children?”

He took a shaky breath. “She is taken to the pits or sold as a slave.”

Samantha’s heart nearly stopped.

Rikist closed his eyes and breathed. “The pits are where those over breeding age or found unable to make the jump can… enjoy the company of the sterile females for a modest amount of credits. This frees up the jump-eligible male to find a new mate.”

Samantha paled, and she sat back on the bed. She closed her eyes to block out the spinning room. “Is… is that what happened to Lindsey?”

“We knew she couldn’t get pregnant early on, and it didn’t matter to me.” A single, fat tear trailed slowly down Rikist’s temple. “When the new law went into place, the leaders conducted a planet-wide audit…”

“And s
he was taken,” Samantha finished, looking at him.

“She fought back when they came for her. And they shot her
.” Rikist’s face crumbled, and he covered his eyes with one arm. “I was deployed on my ship and I didn’t even find out until three weeks later…”

Samantha scooted closer on the bed. She laid down beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned her forehead against his neck. Her eyes widened in surprise when his hands came up to pull her closer, his arms trembling. She held him tighter as he buried his face in her hair and his chest shook.

He sniffed. “I couldn’t help her…”

“It’s OK, Rikist,” she cooed. “It’s OK.”

Rikist held her for a moment, and then kissed the top of her head and then gently pushed her away. He used the back of his hands to angrily wipe at his eyes. “And here I almost got you hurt too—”

“Don’t.” Samantha sat up and grabbed his face in both hands, forcing him to look at her. “That was not your fault.
I took you down the alley. They came at you—”

He shook his head and
relaxed against the mattress. He let out a disheartened sigh. “Because I
am
a traitor.”

Samantha’s eyes snapped to his face. “What?”

Rikist’s eyes became unfocused, and his breathing deepened. Samantha leaned over him and tapped his cheeks.

“Rikist.
Damn those pills… Rikist!”

His lids fluttered open and gazed at her bleary-eyed.

Samantha shook his shoulder. “What do you mean, Rikist?”

His eyes slid
shut as he shifted position. “I’m a solider. I fight…” he whispered. His breathing deepened and became even.

Samantha closed her eyes and hung her head. She leaned down and kissed his brow.

He twitched at her touch.

“…for the resistance.”

TEN

“Sam-tha?”

Samantha sat at the table nursing her third beer when Krissik came home after noon with lunch
and a physician. She’d finished off one bottle, quickly reaffirming the fact their alcohol wasn’t much stronger than iced tea, and kept at it hoping to take the edge off.

So far it hadn’t worked.

Samantha had spent the morning cleaning up the living room; brushing up the cracker crumbs, throwing away chocolate wrappers, and unhooking and hiding Rikist’s Xbox under his bed. Then she’d taken a shower, changed into a new dress, and brushed her hair down around her neck to hide the slight bruising from her attacker’s fingers before calling Krissik. She hadn’t wanted to, but the sudden return of his fever worried her, and Rikist’s leg had swelled again; his knee bruising to a deep purple and near bursting at his stitches.

She hoped he wouldn’t be too angry…

Krissik’s face brightened when he saw her, and he smiled and greeted her with an eager kiss. Samantha feigned a smile and kissed him back.

“
Thanks for getting here so soon,” she said.

Krissik set the foil tray of food on the counter and
nodded to the physician as helped carry the physician’s equipment and led the gangly man into Rikist’s room.

Samantha waited at the table until Krissik returned and
retrieved plates from the cupboard. He began dishing out portions of fish and transparent noodles for the two of them.

“I do not know what he was thinking trying to
exercise so soon,” Krissik growled as he brought the plates to the table. “How was it you found him?”

Samantha had run the story through her head a thousand times. “He’d asked me to sit
at the top landing to watch in case he fell, and I’d agreed.” She poked at the food on her plate. “I didn’t expect him to try sprints up and down the stairwell…”

Krissik sat across from her and shook his head. “And the idiot
fell and probably permanently damaged his leg.”

“It was an accident.”

“He should know better. If he gets discharged he deserves it.”

Samantha’s hand shook, and she forced herself to take a bite of the tasteless noodles. She swallowed. “So how has work been?”

“Tiring. It is hard getting back into the routine after being off for nearly two weeks.”

Samantha frowned. “I’ve only been here for a few days—”

“It takes time to prepare for the jump; medical tests, fasting, physical training, and immunizations. This way we do not pass out upon arrival in a new environment.”

“Like I did?”

“Yes—because this is not your planet and you are not used to our atmosphere. I would be the same on your planet if not prepared.”

The door to Rikist’s room hissed open, and the physician stepped out. He shut the door behind him, and stepped up to the table as Krissik stood.

Krissik wiped his mouth on a napkin. “How is he?”

“He did not wake during my examination,” the man said. His frown relayed his concern. His eyes flicked to Samantha. “How many
Singrah did you say he took?”

Samantha swallowed. “Three
… maybe four.”

Krissik growled.
The thin man sighed, rubbing his long neck. “I performed a limited magnetic imaging and x-ray to the leg, and found that his anterior cruciate ligament has nearly completely torn through. In light of his refusal to refrain from exercise, he has also caused severe damage to his medial collateral, and ripped the circumference of his medial meniscus.”

Krissik’s face darkened with each of the physician’s words. He cursed under his breath and crossed his arms. “What are you recommending?”

“Surgery, for one, and physical therapy will most likely take several months.” The physician’s frowned deepened further. “You are aware that I have to report this to his master chief.”

Krissik’s face twitched, pain and regret reflecting in his gold eyes. “What if… Are you able to postpone your report to see if he can recover on his own? This… could be devastating to his career.”

The physician narrowed his eyes. “You realize the longer he postpones treatment the greater chance of developing osteoarthritis and deteriorating the full use of his leg?”

Samantha’s heart stopped, and she fought back tears as she took in the doctor’s words.

He might have permanently crippled himself protecting me. And what does he have to show for it?

“I need to go clean up,” she said suddenly. She looked away from the inquiring stares of the two males. “Your brother bled on me.”

Krissik nodded, and turned back to the physician, dismissing her. Samantha took her cue and slipped away into the bathroom.

The shower felt wonderful. Samantha breathed in, letting the heat fill her lungs and mist collect on her eyelashes. She fought to think of something—anything, besides her recent escape efforts and the fact that she probably ruined Rikist’s career. She smiled at the sudden memory of Rikist’s warm breath against her skin as he held her in the street, the strength of his arms as he pulled her close…

Her hands slowed as she soaped up her front, her hands caressing her neck and cupping her small, round breasts. Her nipples tightened as she rubbed her palms back and forth over the small nubs, and her breath quickened as her body heated in response. She closed her eyes and let her hand drift down across her flat and slicked up stomach to the triangle patch of curls. She swallowed against the lump building in her throat as her fingers played with the shaved edges of her bikini line.

It’s been so long since I’ve even thought about a man besides
John…

Her body ached to be in the arms of a man again; one that actually tried to please and serve her because he
wanted
to. With the burden of the newly inherited farm, dropping out of school, ending her engagement, and being kidnapped, she wanted to be able to let go and just…

But that’s not going to happen with Rikist,
she knew.
He would never do that to his brother.

She thought of amber cat-like eyes staring down from above her as warm hands caressed her breasts and arms. She closed her eyes as she imagined the press of pink, kissable lips against her neck, then moving lower…

A cool breeze met her back, and she gasped as hot lips found the side of her neck. She brought her arms up instinctively to cover her breasts. Two clawed hands rested on her shoulders.

“Don’t stop,” Krissik said, his voice low.

“Kris…” Samantha twisted to look sideways at him. Heat rushed to her cheeks as her eyes met his bare chest, and gold eyes bent down to enter her line of vision.

“Please,” he whispered, his breath smelling strongly of mint. “I just want to watch.”

Samantha raised one eyebrow, knowing full well where that hint of minty freshness came from. “Really?”

At least Krissik had the decency to blush as he smiled sheepishly.
He dropped to his knees, his bandaged face nearly level with the bottom of her breasts. Spray from the showerhead pelted his hair and chest, and water rolled down his skin.

“Please,” he said. “I could have taken you at any time, but I did not. I…” His eyes locked onto her triangle of curls and his nostrils flared. “I need you.”

Krissik leaned forward an inch, and then hesitated, rolling his eyes upward as if for approval.

Samantha swallowed. “Kris, I…”

The scent of wet fur and mint rose within the billowing steam, and a gold halo surrounded
Samantha’s vision. Her mouth went dry and her vision swam against the sudden ache in her core, her body seeking a need that she’d left unfulfilled for too long. She knew that it was the pheromones pushing her reserve to the edge, and yet… Tears sprang to her eyes as she fought against swirling emotions of fear, need, and desire, for a moment unsure to which she should succumb.

Krissik’s hot lips kissed away the first tear that dripped down her cheek, and his hands turned her face toward him.

“Do not cry,” he said, his voice guttural and forced as he stood, as if it pained him even to speak. He kissed her gently on the cheek. “We can stop.”

For a brief moment, her heart surged toward Krissik’s kindness, and she wrapped her arms around him and leaned against his chest
, ignoring the fact they both stood naked.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I can’t.”

His arms tightened around her, and he rested his chin on her head. “Do not be. It has been a rough day with Krissik, and I have been neglecting you.”

He reached behind them and turned off the water. He stepped out and fetched two towels, and wrapped one around Samantha’s shoulders before tying the second around his waist.

“I need to get back to work.” He smiled apologetically. “But I will be home for dinner. Will you eat with me?”

Samantha nodded.

He smiled and gave her a slow, gentle kiss on the cheek. “I just want to see you happy, Samn-tha.”

Samantha forced a smile, knowing his heart was genuine. “I know.”

He sent her one last look before excusing himself to get dressed. Samantha stood dripping in the bathroom, listening to him move about in the apartment before hearing the front door close and lock behind him.

Rikist woke with a start when a
glass of cold water splashed his face. He gasped and sputtered, struggling to sit up. He coughed and wiped at his face and dripping hair, searching the room until his eyes fell of Samantha beside him.

“Sam… What the hell?”

She threw the cup at him, and it bounced off his chest. “What the hell is right! Do you mind elaborating what you told me before you passed out?”

Rikist looked at her blankly. He shrugged
, lost. “I don’t… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“
We were attacked by three men outside your apartment building, and they said it was because you were a traitor.” Samantha crawled onto the bed and kneeled beside him. “After we got back and I cleaned you up, you said you
were
a traitor, and—”

Rikist’s face went stoic. “I am a captain
fighting directly against—”

“Oh
, cut the crap,” she snapped. “I know what you said this morning. I’ve also been watching the news for the past two hours, and it seems they’re investigating the cause of the explosion on your ship. They don’t think the amount of damage could have been accomplished from one missile.”

He pointed to his leg.
“I was there, I should know what kind of damage a missile can do.”

“
There are the rumors that it was an inside job, to kill off those that were biggest threats to the uprising in one sweep.” She leaned closer. “What did you do, Rikist?”

Rikist stared at her, and his nostrils flared. His cheeks reddened and he narrowed his eyes. He pushed her back, and not gently. He grunted and pushed himself to
a sitting position.

“I can’t speak to you when I can smell my brother all over you.” His jaw clenched. “Go clean up.”

Samantha balked at him. “Isn’t this what you wanted? For me to screw your precious little brother?” she shouted and punched the mattress. “I don’t give a damn if you’re uncomfortable right now. I am uncomfortable every freaking minute of the day spent here and I just want to go home!”

Rikist frowned, and then reached out to touch her arm. Samantha slapped his hand away and pressed the heels of her hands ag
ainst her eyes. She sucked in a ragged breath, and then looked to the ceiling.

“A physician came by today
see you,” she said softly. She closed her eyes when his face paled. “I called him.”

“Why would you do that?” Anger flooded his face. “Samantha, why would you do that to me?”

“Because you’re sick!”

“You had no right—”

“You took too many pills, and you started breathing funny and your temperature shot up, and your leg… God, your leg looks horrible…”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t tried to run away!”

“I wouldn’t have had to run away if your brother hadn’t kidnapped me!”

“You probably ruined my career.”

“Well, screw you and your brother.” She fought the urge to grab his leg brace and just shake the hell out of it. “You’ve both managed to ruin my life.”

Samantha couldn’t remember when she’d started crying, only that she had to wipe away the wetness on her cheeks. She sniffed, and shook her head.
She met his eyes, and nearly lost her composure at the hint of pity amidst the smoldering anger. She searched his face, remembering Lindsey’s smiling blue eyes, and the lust in her attacker’s eyes back at the hotel and in the alley. Her heart ached with fear and uncertainty, and her hands shook as she edged further away on the bed.