Chapter Twenty
“Captain! Get to the bridge quick. We’re in trouble.”
Kane rose from half-sleep as JB’s words echoed over the intercom. Before he could respond, the vessel lurched forward. He slid up the bed. Pain shot across his skull and neck as his head crashed against the headboard. Everything on the floor slid from one side of the cabin to the other.
Shit. Tracking beam.
He jumped out of bed and scrambled to put on his pants and boots. “On my way. Brief me.”
JB didn’t waste any time. “A humongous vessel came out of nowhere, scanned us and locked us down in a matter of minutes.”
Shit. Not good. “Get us out of here.”
“I’m trying.”
As fast as he could, Kane made his way to the bridge. On the way there, JB explained that he, Ryan and Jess were working on an escape.
Finally at the bridge, the first thing he saw was the enormous vessel in front of them.
Double shit.
“Where are Kyle and Eli?”
Jess looked up briefly. Her fingers didn’t pause from punching release codes into the vessel’s computer system. “Engine room.”
Kyle’s voice came across the intercom. “How does everyone feel about air? I diverted as much power as I can to the engines. Our only other option would be to go down to fifty percent oxygen, maybe that’ll help.”
“I’ve become very fond of air, Kyle,” JB yelled from his station at the monitors.
“Cut the air in the cabins before you cut ours. Those bitches don’t need to breathe anyway,” Jess snarled.
“Shut up, Jess. I’ll bet those are her people and they’re here because you screwed up and led them right to us,” Kane said.
“No, I didn’t. I made sure to scramble the channel so my message wouldn’t be tracked.”
“You better pray you’re right.”
They had been in sticky situations before but this time felt different. The tension in the room was almost palpable.
“Open up a com-link,” Kane said. He took his seat, preparing to start the negotiations.
“Yes sir. Open,” JB said.
“Greetings,” Kane said, addressing the larger vessel, composed as ever. “How can I assist you?”
After a brief hesitation, someone replied, “You will give us Princess Sa’Mya of Laconia or face certain annihilation.”
Everyone in the room looked at each other. Triple shit.
“And you are certain this Princess Sa’Mya of Laconia is aboard my vessel? We are a merchant ship on our way to pick up goods for resale,” he said, using an old lie.
“We have no time for lies. We received communication from Princess Sa’Mya with this vessel’s signature.”
Jess hadn’t made a mistake. He had. Somehow Princess Sa’Mya had been the one to contact them. And it was his fault. But how the hell had she gotten a communication out?
He exchanged glances with JB and Ryan. Jess uttered death threats under her breath. Yeah, they were in trouble.
“Even if this princess of yours was on my vessel, she could have been dropped off on another planet. I don’t keep track of every stray my crew brings onboard.”
“If that were the case, we would have annihilated your vessel on first contact. Fortunately for you she is still onboard. We matched her heat signature to a female who is located in one of your cabins.”
Kane opened his mouth and snapped it shut. A definite first for a New York attorney, he was left speechless.
Not only had Sa’Mya been able to contact her people, but he and the crew had literally been backed into a corner. He had to shift gears. Preservation versus gold. Preservation won. His main priority now was to ensure the safety of his crew.
“Well it appears you’ve got the upper hand. How about we give her to you unharmed in exchange for safe passage out of this system?”
“You are in no position to negotiate. You will stand down. We will board the vessel and retrieve the princess and her subjects.”
That didn’t sound so bad. Maybe he and his crew would be able to get out of this unscathed after all.
“And for my cooperation?”
“Even though your cooperation is not required, it will be taken into consideration. Instead of death, I will recommend lifetime imprisonment.”
Not exactly what I had in mind. “I’m sure we can come to better terms.”
“Prepare to be boarded.”
Everyone’s jaw dropped as two smaller vessels emerged from the larger one.
Kane jumped from his seat. “JB! Close off communication. Kyle! Ryan! Tell me something good.”
“Sorry, Captain, I’ve been trying to get us out of this mess since they arrived,” Ryan said. “They have completely locked us out of the controls. I can’t move. I can’t control anything. Right now they’re manipulating our oxygen.”
Since the intercom had been left open, Kyle and Eli had both heard the entire exchange. “He’s right. They must have wised up to what I was trying to do. Sorry, but I’m locked out too,” Kyle said.
“They’re coming for us. I’m not going back to a life of slavery. Weapons! Everyone head to the weapons room.”
They all scrambled to a door that did not open.
“Damn! Damn! Damn!” Jess yelled. “I can’t go back to the brothel. I can’t go back to that kind of life.” She cried as she slid down the wall.
JB grabbed her in a bear hug, supporting her weight. She was a fugitive female. The odds of her being sent to a brothel were far greater than being thrown in an alien prison.
* * * * *
As JB explained what was going on over the intercom, Sa’Mya jumped out of bed. She wasn’t sleeping. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since Kane had moved out of his cabin.
Her heart somersaulted over JB’s news. King Taio had finally arrived. She pressed the time-keeper, two more rotations until her birth cycle. King Taio had arrived with almost no time to spare.
Moira helped her dress quickly. Yazmine twisted her hair in a braided bun. Once finished, Sa’Mya waited to receive King Taio. As the door slid open, she stood to greet him.
“Hello, Princess.”
Feeling faint, she eased onto her chair.
Uncle Umar.
“Come now. Don’t I get a proper greeting?” he said. “We haven’t seen each other in so long.”
Her stomach flipped and churned. She wanted to throw up. “Wh…what are you doing here?”
He tsked before grabbing her arm and snatching her to her feet. He brought her nose-to-nose with him. “Don’t ever think you can outsmart me,” he warned.
Moira and Yazmine cowered behind her.
“Grab those other idiots,” he commanded the guards by his side.
Umar’s fingernails punched half-moons in her arm as he walked her out of the cabin and down the hall.
“It’ll be so nice to have you back, Princess. I wasn’t sure we would get to you before you legally became queen.”
She bit back the pain from his tight grasp. “How did you find me?” she asked through clenched teeth.
“Oh, it was easy. Moira had done a good job keeping me informed of your plans and your whereabouts, but when we lost contact with her, I knew it was just a matter of time before you would slip up.” He smiled a toothy grin. “I intercepted the message you sent to King Taio. It’s a good thing I was able to get to you first. My sources tell me he is abroad searching for his human female.”
Sa’Mya inwardly groaned. She had forgotten Taio had left Sonis to search for Eva. If she had imagined there was a remote chance Umar would intercept her message, she wouldn’t have sent it. Not only had she endangered herself but Kane and his crew as well.
She craned her neck to find Moira, whose head hung low. She should feel ashamed, Sa’Mya thought. She had betrayed the crown. “How much did you have to pay for my return?”
“Pay? Silly girl. Why would I pay when I can take?”
“But…the ransom?” she asked.
Umar laughed so hard he coughed and choked.
“Kane? Where are the humans?”
“They will be dealt with later,” he said after he regained his breath. “Those idiots tried to outsmart me. No one outsmarts me.”
Just then, two more of her uncle’s guards joined them with Nebin sandwiched in between.
Nebin focused on her. Surely he knows what to do, she assured herself. Nebin would protect her.
Umar jerked her around hard.
“You have no right to treat me this way!” she screamed. “What do you plan to accomplish? Forging my bonding to your son? Do you actually think you will get away with this?”
“Oh, you see. I plan to get away with this and so much more. Your marriage to Antony is a fraction of a much greater plan.”
“You are crazy. You were always crazy.”
Umar chuckled. “You were certain to catch on. I had actually hoped you might be reasonable and cooperate.” His smile was unpleasant. “But then I had hoped our talk would be under better circumstances.”
She pulled away only to have Umar yank her to his side. Her feet collided with his. Her uncle was drunk on his own power.
“Talk to me about what?” she snarled.
Umar leaned in closer. She angled her neck farther away. “Did you really believe all those deaths, your mother, father, aunt and uncle were accidents? Naive little girl. They were all in my way.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief. “What…what do you mean?”
“Why, that I killed them.”
Overcome with rage, Sa’Mya turned on him. She swung her fist at his head and hit him in the face. Umar pushed her but she pounced back on him. She pulled and scratched wildly.
“You murderer! My parents,” Sa’Mya yelled. Every blow she landed was for all the time she had spent alone. She beat on him for robbing her of her parents. “How could you? She was your sister!”
A scuffle erupted behind her. Nebin growled as he fought the two guards who tried to hold him. Nebin picked up a guard and slammed him hard on the wall. The guard fell in an unconscious heap to the ground. Nebin grabbed the other guard’s neck in his large hand. The guard’s skin became ashen and he sputtered as Nebin continued to squeeze the life out of him.
Umar pulled her by her hair and twisted his fist in it. The pain brought her to her knees, where she stayed, crying, unable to move. The cold muzzle of a blaster pressed against the top of her head. “Release the guard or I’ll kill your precious princess.”
She yelled, “Kill him, Nebin. Kill the guards and Umar.” She didn’t care anymore. As long as this parasite was dead, nothing mattered.
Umar tightened the grip on her hair, pulling some of it out by the roots. Screaming, she clawed at him.
The thump of heavy boots hit the floor. “I’m sorry, Princess. I cannot risk your life,” Nebin said.
She hadn’t expected Nebin to risk her life, but this time she had wished for it. Umar pulled her to her feet by her hair.
“Touch me again and you sign his death warrant, you little bitch.” He indicated Nebin with his blaster.
Sa’Mya closed her eyes and vowed, I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him and anyone who helped him kill my parents.
He dragged her the rest of the distance to the cargo bay. Sa’Mya spotted two transporters docked next to each other. She slowed her pace as she approached the first vessel, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kane.
Her relief at seeing Kane and his crew crammed in the transporter rapidly deteriorated in the face of the cold hatred directed at her. They looked her way as she passed. Jess spat at her.
She had tried to warn him. She hadn’t meant for her uncle to find her. She would make it right. With Nebin’s help, she would free them.
Her uncle pulled her arm, dragging her past them. Kane turned his head as one of the guards shut his transport door.
She had wanted to assure Kane that she and Nebin would do all they could to get everyone out of danger. She had wanted him to assure her as well. But she couldn’t and he probably wouldn’t.
She tore her eyes away from his closed door. She would not let her uncle scare her anymore. She would not cower under him. With Nebin’s help, she would reclaim her kingdom.
Umar stopped her in front of the second transporter and faced her. “No need to take him home with us.”
Umar took his blaster from its side holster. She froze in her tracks.
What is he talking about?
Umar aimed his blaster at Nebin and shot him directly in the face. Moira and Yazmine grabbed each other. Nebin fell dead to the ground.
Hysterical screaming echoed through the cargo bay. She rose her hands to protect her ears. Who? She looked at everyone else. The hysteria came from her.