Authors: Cara Crescent
Griffin’s head lolled to the side and he jolted upright as if waking up, a slurred, “Fuck you,” sliding between swollen lips.
A ticker ran along the bottom of the hologram with a picture of Prudence off to one side:
This is what happens to traitors. If you have seen this woman, contact spaceport authorities. Harboring this woman is an act of treason. This is what happens to traitors. If you . . . .
Merrick squeezed his hand and leaned down. “The background.”
Lucan jerked his attention back to the hologram, this time he watched the background as the holo-camera panned around his brother. He didn’t recognize the cement floor. The walls were plain white, and could be from anywhere. But when the camera panned across the door, he saw what he needed—the moldings and the door handle—they were unique. The compound had band moldings around the doors with decorative corner blocks and the door handles were silver with marble grips. The compound was the only place in Asteria with fancy Earth decorations.
“I’ve seen enough.”
God, he’d never been so grateful for Merrick’s strength as he led the way through the crowd. A few neighbors they were close to, who knew Griffin was his brother, reached out to touch him as they passed, their eyes full of compassion. When they passed Grady, the tall, thin man gave them a nod, slipping a piece of paper into Lucan’s palm.
Lucan unfolded it in his hand and glanced down to read the short note:
Let us know when. We’re ready.
Taking a deep breath, he blinked, trying to alleviate the sting behind his eyes. They had friends. Good friends. They’d help get Griffin back.
Jesus, that was his brother he’d seen. That bloody, mangled mess was Griffin. The Blue Helmets had been merciless. When Griffin had been in prison, he’d guessed that they’d abused him, but they had to be careful so the Earthers watching the trial wouldn’t know.
The Blue Helmets had no such qualms here on Asteria.
Merrick bowed his head closer as they walked. “Was that the compound?”
“Yeah.”
They turned off Main and Merrick pulled him into the alley next to their place. He wrapped him in a warm embrace.
“Ah, God, that was Griffin.” He pressed his face to Merrick’s chest. “What the fuck did they do to him?”
“They’re desperate to get their hands on Angelica.”
“Who the fuck is she?”
“Your brother’s lover.” Merrick tipped his face back and stared into his eyes. “Do we need to know more than that?”
“No. Griffin’s protecting her with his life, and so will we.”
Merrick tightened his arms around Lucan. “I’ll get him back, babe.”
“I’m going with you.”
Merrick framed Lucan’s face in his big hands. “You haven’t been trained.”
Lucan snorted. “You trained me. You mean to say I’m not experienced, but I will be after tonight.”
The set of Merrick’s jaw said his lover wasn’t giving up. “I’ve got plenty of men ready to go. As soon as they realized who they were looking at on the hologram they started letting me know they wanted to go after him.”
“Grady gave me this.” He lifted the note.
Merrick smiled. “See, you don’t need to worry about this. I know you’re angry with Griffin because you hate that he puts himself at risk, but you’re brother has earned his place in their hearts. He was the only one brave enough to try and change things.”
Sometimes Merrick irritated the hell out of him. While he tended to be the more affectionate of the two, he also had a streak of dominating masculinity. Most of the time, Lucan enjoyed it; today, not so much. “I just got him back, Mer. I’m going, because if he doesn’t make it . . . .” Lucan looked away while he tried to compose himself. “I’m not throwing away the possibility of having a chance to talk to him again. He’s my brother.”
“All right.” Merrick pressed his lips to the corner of Lucan’s mouth. “Fine. What do you want to tell Angelica?”
Lucan shook his head. “Nothing. We’ll head out tonight as soon as she’s in bed. I’ll tell her we’re going to do another round in case he’s been holed up somewhere all day.”
“Come on, babe. Do you think that’s fair?”
“No.” He sighed. “She’s carrying our nephew.”
A range of emotions ran over Merrick’s features, surprise, joy, and sadness before they merged into the determined set of his jaw. He looked mean as hell now. “We’ll get him back. I swear to God, we will get him back.”
Lucan didn’t have a doubt in his mind. His concern was whether Griffin would still be alive by the time they got him.
Prudence finished the last of the dishes and wiped her hands on the dishcloth.
Something had happened. Both Lucan and Merrick were jumpy. They’d remained quiet throughout dinner. And when they thought she wasn’t around they spoke in hushed, urgent tones. Whatever had happened, neither of them seemed inclined to share the details, which meant she’d have to find out on her own.
“I’m going to bed.”
Both men turned to stare at her, but remained silent.
“You’ll wake me if you hear anything?”
“Of course,” Lucan said.
“Right away.” Merrick nodded.
Neither of them managed to look her in the eyes while they lied.
She went to her room, locked the door and went straight to the window. Below, the front awning of the store front stuck out several feet. She climbed out onto the low roof.
Goddess, keep me safe.
Lying on her stomach, she shimmied over the edge feet-first until she hung by her arms, then she let herself fall the last couple of feet.
Only waves and wind dared brake the silence of the town. She didn’t recall Diamond Fjord being this quiet last night. She had no idea where she meant to go, but she couldn’t imagine Griffin had gone too far without his weapons. She walked down to the corner and turned onto Main Street. All the shops had closed for the evening. A few people milled about farther down the street, but the evening had a strange, somber quality. As she approached the square, she noticed a bunch of candles flickering in the breeze.
Had someone passed away?
The thought brought her to a halt. The few people still in the square all faced to the left, looking at something she couldn’t see. A child wept in his mother’s arms.
She crept forward.
Half a dozen Blue Helmets stood at the base of a mega holo-projector. On the hologram, a severely beaten man had been tied to a metal frame and below that, a small picture of her sat next to a ticker:
If you have seen this woman, contact spaceport authorities. Harboring this woman is an act of treason. This is what happens to traitors. If you see this woman, contact—
With a cry of alarm, her gaze shot back to the man. Her hand flew to her mouth as the holo-camera panned, bringing his swollen face into view.
Griffin.
Bronsen, the Parnell’s head of security, strode onto the hologram, holding a long, thin stick. “Requests for Payne’s release have been coming in all day, but as of yet, I have received no news of the woman. Here is my offer, I’ll trade him for her. In six hours, I’ll hang him.”
He strode off the hologram and the view resumed panning around Griffin.
Did Merrick and Lucan know? They must. Merrick had been out here most of the day and he’d brought Lucan out earlier this evening. Why weren’t they doing anything?
And what would they do?
Griffin would never forgive them for trading you for him.
She couldn’t let Griffin suffer for her. She didn’t want to go back, but Randolph wouldn’t dare damage her to such an extent. He thought he needed her.
Bronsen strode back onto the hologram repeating his message. Goddess preserve them, it was a recording. How long had this been playing? Two hours? Five?
Panic welled up inside her.
“Hey!” She walked into the square right in front of the Blue Helmets. “You heard him, he’ll trade Chief Payne for the woman. Here I am.”
The Blue Helmets stared at her for a heartbeat as if she were mad. She must be. Never had she imagined she’d ever go back to Randolph. But she’d escaped once, she’d find a way to do so again. Once they got over their surprise, the men surrounded her and took her into custody. They led her to a nearby hover-car and as they drove off, she looked out the window to see Lucan and Merrick staring back.
Prudence whipped her head around to stare out the back window. Why in the world were they wearing Blue Helmet uniforms?
*****
The compound they took her to was within two hundred yards of the spaceport. As she expected, no one abused her in any way on the trip. They brought her into the front entry of the building and had her wait with a couple guards. The entry was a large room that led to long hallways to both the right and left, but straight ahead the room opened up into a massive recreational space for the Blue Helmets who were not on duty. She’d never seen so many in one place before.
This building appeared far more Earth-like than any of the others she’d seen. The walls were plaster and there were real light bulbs lighting the space instead of glow stones.
A man cleared his throat and Prudence turned to see Bronsen. “Prudence, I’m so pleased to see you’re safe. Randolph has been very worried.”
She gave him a thin smile. “I’m sure.”
“I’m not sure if you remember, my name’s Bronsen. I’m your fiancé’s head of security.”
On the surface, he seemed polite, nice even. She’d never dealt much with Bronsen, though she’d seen him with Alfred and Randolph often. She wasn’t quite sure what to think. “Bronsen, I’d like to see Chief Payne.”
He smiled and motioned her down the hall. “Of course. This way.”
They walked in silence for several minutes while she took his measure. She’d never been too good a judge of character. Humans were far too good at subterfuge to be able to take anyone at face value. They turned into another long, narrow hallway and Prudence coughed to clear her throat. “Everyone in Diamond Fjord knows you have me now. They’re expecting you to be a man of honor and release Chief Payne.”
“He means a lot to you?”
Prudence worded her response carefully. She didn’t want to bring any added attention to Griffin. “I don’t know him well. But he’s the people’s soldier and you and I both know there will be needless bloodshed unless he’s released.”
Nodding in acknowledgment, he seemed to accept her answer. “He will be released.”
Prudence tried not to allow her relief to show, but felt lightheaded from it.
Bronsen’s hand slid onto her back as he opened a door and ushered her in.
Griffin.
She needed every ounce of control not to run to him. He looked even worse in person. Not an inch of his body had been spared. The walls, ceilings and floor were speckled with his blood.
Since she’d last seen him on the hologram, the holo-camera had been removed and an odd-looking table with restraints had been brought in. Several buckets of water were lined against the wall.
Oh, goddess help her, he planned to dry drown her. Her bravery evaporating, she tried to back out of the room, but someone stood right behind her.
She looked up, right into Randolph’s eyes.
They were releasing him.
Griffin glanced around through swollen eyes. There wasn’t a part of his body that didn’t feel as if his flesh were on fire. Tears squeezed through his lids, burning trails down his ruined face.
Blue Helmets held him up on either side while they unshackled his hands. Good thing, too, or he would’ve fallen on his face. He was fucked-up bad. He was pretty sure both his nose and jaw were broken. Maybe his right ankle and a couple ribs, too. Every breath was painful. Beating him with the cane hadn’t been enough for good old Bronsen. The fucker had let his soldiers take turns using him as a punching bag whenever his arm got tired.
The two Blue Helmets turned, giving him a front-center view of the most horrific thing he’d ever seen.
Randolph and Bronsen with Prudence held tight between them.
Lavender tears streamed down her face and a little hiccup escaped her lips. “Chief Payne, the Blue Helmets are going to release you to the citizens of Diamond Fjord now.”
Christ. “You turned yourself in?” He didn’t think any of them understood what he said, which was good. Last thing he needed was for them to realize how much they meant to each other. The bastards would no doubt use that information in twisted and unscrupulous ways.
Randolph’s gaze slid over him, stopping somewhere below his face and narrowing. He staggered in his haste to get closer to Griffin and without warning, he swiped his hand over his stomach.
Griffin winced. He didn’t think Brosnen had left an inch of his skin unharmed.
Randolph shook his hand to the side, splattering excess blood and sweat. His eye twitched. A furious blush crept up his cheeks and returned to Prudence. “You gave your gift to
him
?” He pulled his arm back and slapped her across the face, sending her reeling into the wall and to the floor.
Griffin struggled to get free, growling low in his throat.
Bronsen kept Randolph’s hand from closing around Prudence’s throat. “You need her.”
The two men’s gazes wrestled for a moment, before Randolph backed off. He turned to a Blue Helmet standing by the door and said something in a low voice. The Blue Helmet left.
Prudence staggered to her feet.
Griffin didn’t like the defiant expression on her face at all. The woman looked pissed as a wet hornet. His attention stayed on her, trying without words to warn her against spouting off. Her expression didn’t change. He wasn’t sure if she didn’t understand, or didn’t give a shit. Christ, he had so many questions he wanted to ask her, but once again, he couldn’t talk. He wanted to know why the fuck she'd come here. Where were Lucan and Merrick? Was there a plan to get them out of here?
Randolph paced the small confines of the room. What had Bronsen said, he had some sort of nervous condition? He was twitchy as hell that was for sure, his eyes blinking in rapid-fire tics. He didn’t look good at all. Tired. Thinner than what he remembered. Christ, he hoped to hell Bronsen kept his pet under control.
When the Blue Helmet returned, Randolph took something from the young soldier and sent him away again. Randolph walked over to a low restraint table. His attention snapped to Griffin’s. “When we were at the Outpost, I heard all about the items you stole.” He held up a salt shaker in one hand and a bottle of liquor in the other. “The men were quite indignant over your theft.”
Prudence’s voice shook. “You told the people you’d release Chief Payne to their custody if you had me. They’ll revolt if you renege on your word.”
Randolph’s head jerked to the side. “He’ll be released as soon as he finishes answering my questions.”
Her jaw dropped. “What do you mean? Much more and he’ll die.”
Christ. If she didn’t stop, she’d draw Randolph’s wrath again. The man seemed to barely able to hold himself together, twitching and blinking as if he had no control over his body.
“Doesn’t matter.” Lifting his arm, Randolph pressed his eyes to the crook of his elbow for a few seconds. “They said they wanted him released. No one mentioned he had to be alive.” A broad smile spread on Randolph’s face and he emptied the salt over the slanted table. The little grains slid and caught in the grooves of the slip-proof surface.
Griffin’s gut rolled.
“Lay him down.” Randolph motioned to the table.
The Blue Helmets half-walked, half-dragged him to the table. He was so weak he couldn’t resist. And as his raw flesh came in contact with the salt-covered surface, he experienced a whole new kind of agony. He came flying off the table and the Blue Helmets rammed him back down. This time, they clamped his wrists and ankles to the table’s restraints.
“Stop it. Leave him alone. He’s had enough,” Prudence wept.
“Get out.”
Griffin wasn’t sure who Randolph ordered out, but the door opened and closed while he still writhed in agony on the table.
“Randy, I don’t think—”
“You, too. I want a moment alone with my fiancée.”
Shit. There would be no one to keep Randolph from hurting Prudence. He forced his eyes open in time to see Bronsen leave, closing the door behind him.
“What good are you to me now, Prudence?” Randolph returned to Griffin’s side and held the bottle of liquor over his body. “Why should I give you what you want?”
Griffin turned his face toward her, willing her not to say to anything.
She choked on a sob. “There is no more need for bloodshed. This goes against everything Alfred believed. What would he think of this? He’d be ashamed of you.”
“This isn’t my fault. You gave my gift to someone else. The only way to get it back is for him to die. This is your fault.” Randolph strode toward her. “And the only way I see to ensure you don’t spread those skinny legs for anyone else is show you what happens to traitors.”
She shook her head. “You don’t have to kill him. I—I can take it back from him. There’s no need for this.”
“There’s every need. If I let you go unpunished, you’ll go fuck around at the first opportunity. You’re too stupid to care for your own life. You’ve never learned any of your lessons when I’ve punished you. So this time, you’ll watch.”
Randolph strode back to the table and upturned the liquor bottle, pouring the contents over Griffin’s raw skin.
The liquor scorched his wounds like molten lava. A shout tore from his lips, his body bowing off the table only to sink down over the salt in a new position.
Randolph threw the bottle across the room, shattering it against the wall. “Speaking of Alfred, why don’t you tell me how you and Chief Payne met?”
She shook her head. “We met for the first time on the ship to Asteria.”
“You expect me to believe you happened to run into your husband’s assassin while you were fleeing Earth by happy coincidence?”
“Yes.”
“If you didn’t have anything to do with Alfred’s death, why run at the first opportunity?”
Prudence showed Randolph the stubborn tilt of her chin.
Oh, Christ, no.
She was going to get herself killed.
“Maybe because I grew tired of being used, abused, and raped. Maybe because I wanted to find out what a real man was like.”
The back of Randolph’s hand slapped across her face hard enough to send her into the wall.
She straightened herself, the tip of her tongue darting out to touch the corner of her mouth which had begun to swell. She must’ve tasted the blood beading on her lip, because she lifted her hand to swipe it away.
Griffin’s heart went into overdrive. “Stop it, Pru.”
Neither Randolph nor Prudence heard him.
Prudence shrugged. “I can’t help it if you don’t have the equipment to do the job right.”
Randolph struck her again.
“No!”
What in God’s name was she doing?
Prudence glanced his way as she pulled herself off the floor, one hand on the wall to steady herself.
Christ, she was going to keep taunting him. Keep drawing Randolph’s ire from him.
Griffin shook his head.
Don’t do it, Angel. Quit poking the bear.
She turned to look Randolph square in the eye. “Even Alfred was a better fuck than you.”
Randolph let out a war cry and tackled Prudence to the floor.
Frantic, Griffin strained against his bindings. He couldn’t see them, but could hear them struggling on the floor.
The door flew open. Bronsen paused, taking in the scene before launching himself on Randolph. “You need her. Don’t kill her. Save your wrath for Payne.” Bronsen wrestled Randolph off Prudence and threw him against the wall. “What are you thinking? She’s the reason we’re here. You want to kill something, kill him.” He waved his hand toward Griffin.
Griffin tensed as Randolph’s attention focused on him.
“Where’s the hood?”
Bronsen pulled the black material out of his pocket and slipped the hood over Griffin’s face. A drawstring pulled the hood closed around his neck, securing it in place.
This was it. He was going to die, and suddenly, he didn’t want to. Who would tease Prudence and make her laugh? Who would make her scream in pleasure? Who would hold her during the night?
He wanted to be that person. He wanted to love her. He wanted to marry her and get a cramped little apartment like Lucan’s. He wanted to do something other than kill for a living. He wanted to see Prudence grow fat with his babies. He wanted to irritate her by playing poker and smoking with friends.
Damn it, he wanted to live.
Cold water splashed onto his chest. His breath hitched as the table lowered on one end so his head and torso lay lower than his feet. His heart thrummed in his ears and a burst of adrenaline released into his body.
Prudence screamed. She struggled with someone, their feet scuffing on the floor. “No, don’t!”
Water soaked through the hood, streaming up his nose and flooding his sinus cavity. It burned and his body reacted as if he were drowning. Panic flared, making it impossible to think straight.
He resorted to his training, forcing his body to relax. Sipping tiny breaths whenever the flow of water allowed him to part his lips. The problem was, Randolph wasn’t stopping. Waterboarding was most often done to scare someone into talking. But Randolph didn’t want him to talk. He wanted him dead. Wanted him to die a slow death while Prudence watched.
With nowhere else to go, the water backed up, dripping through his sinuses into his throat. The urge to cough became more urgent.
Ah, Christ, how big was the fucking bucket?
Prudence’s voice grew hoarse as she sobbed and screamed.
And he realized, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he loved her.
Because as he lay there dying all he wanted to do was find a way to comfort her.
*****
They were killing him.
Bronsen held her from behind, his arms wrapped around her chest, trapping her arms at her side. She kicked, trying to throw him off balance. Forced him to bear all her weight as she arched and bowed over his arms.
But he was far stronger than her.
Tears blured her vision. “Stop it. Stop. You can’t do this. You can’t kill him and still be like Alfred. Stop!”
Randolph picked up another bucket before the first finished and as the last bit of liquid poured over Griffin’s face, Randolph tossed the bucket aside and started with the new one. There’d hadn’t been enough time for Griffin to take a breath, if that was even still possible.
Bitterly, she focused on her birthmark, riding low on his stomach. Whatever gift she had given him had been useless. After all the years of suffering because of her precious gift, whatever she had in her was worthless. Her gift hadn’t helped him at all.
Griffin’s hand, drew her attention. His middle two fingers folded in, leaving his thumb, forefinger and pinky sticking up. Universal sign language.
I love you.
Grief tore through her, bowing her under the weight of what she was losing. Of what her baby was losing. She stared at his hand, dying inside as his fingers relaxed and went still. Randolph released her, letting her slide to the ground. “Ah, goddess.” Terrible sounds wretched from her body, making her stomach roil and her body quake.
The men stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
And maybe she had.
She pinned Randolph with her wrath. “He was going to send you away.”
“What?”
She reached for the closest object, a full bucket, and standing, she hurled it at them. “Tell him.” She motioned to Bronsen. “Tell him how Alfred wanted him gone.” She chased them, grabbing the empties and throwing those, too. Bronsen bolted, opened the door, and pulled Randolph through.
The door slammed and locked, but Randolph’s voice carried through. “You’re staying in there tonight. Be with your dead lover while his body grows cold.”
Prudence pulled the hood from Griffin’s face. His lips were blue and he was so still, but she’d seen people brought back before. Tipping his head to the side, she let the water run out of his mouth and nose. She started CPR, sealing her lips to his and breathing for him. His chest rose and fell under her hand with each of her exhalations and rests. She counted the breaths and the started chest compressions. With each compression she winced, praying he didn’t have any broken ribs, praying she wasn’t making things worse. “Breathe, damn it.”