Katrina and Baldy had left the main area of the marketplace and made their way among several less populated alleys, Katrina dragged ass, walking as slow as she could. She had no idea who this Persima was, but it didn’t really sound like someone Katrina wanted to get acquainted with. Let’s face it, if Baldy is anxious for me to get there, then it can’t possibly bode well for me, can it?

He tugged on her arm. “Stop that.”

She didn’t.

He warned again.

Katrina shouldn’t have been surprised when he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. All she could see now was his broad back way too close to her face. She pounded on his back.

He reached up and delivered a sound slap to the back of her thigh, almost where her ass was. Even more infuriated, she kept punching on his back.

Until her hand struck something hard.

She looked at it. The hilt of the sword. She grabbed it, and, praying it wasn’t too heavy to wield from her position, she heaved mightily.

The sword freed itself from its scabbard and was in her grip. Without pausing to think, she struck at his leg.

Seconds later, she was on the ground, the sword next to her, the breath knocked out of her, a bump bleeding on her forehead, and a very pissed-off Baldy staring down at her.

“You’ll pay for that.” He snatched the sword, housed it in its scabbard, and tied it in place with angry, jerky motions. Then he ripped his shirt off and tied it around his leg above where she’d slashed through the fabric of his pants and his flesh.

Judging from the blood blossoming on his trousers, she’d done a pretty good job. She’d have smiled if she weren’t in so much pain.

Katrina rubbed her hip, wondering if bones were fractured. It hurt to breathe, so maybe she’d broken a rib.

He scowled, his gaze fierce. “Do I carry you? Or will you be walking to Persima’s?”

She glanced around, weighing her options. Wondering how likely it was she could escape.

Then she noticed the shifty-eyed gazes locked on her. They want me to make a move. They’ll kidnap me and…

Would fate with them be worse than Baldy? He hadn’t…

She didn’t know, but the looks in their eyes scared her more than the look in Baldy’s. “I’ll walk, but if you thought I was slow earlier, it had nothing on how slow I’ll be now. I think you broke something.”

His brows drew down on his tanned face. “You are responsible for this. And this.” He pointed to his leg.

He started to walk, limping as he favored his new injury. Katrina struggled to her feet and followed behind, not because she planned to make a mad dash for freedom, but she felt like she’d pass out from the pain of trying to breathe and walking on a hip that punished her every step she took.

It may have seemed like they walked forever, but it probably hadn’t been five minutes. Baldy stopped at a building painted deep scarlet, very different from the other adobe buildings and wooden structures.

Katrina appraised the black door and the windowless building. “What is this place,” she asked between pained, labored breaths.

“Persima’s.”

As though he’d summoned her like a witch would conjure a demon, a dark-haired woman opened the door. Sloe-eyed and dark-skinned, she smiled when she saw Baldy. “Eph.”

What kind of name is Eph? More like Eph off.

The woman held out her arms to greet Baldy—Eph, evidently.

Holy shit.

She had four arms. The woman glanced down, saw the blood, and screamed.

The sound of footfalls came from within the dimly lit room behind the woman. Two men opened the door wider, both carrying weapons Katrina couldn’t identify. They looked a lot like the weapon Caayn had let Smyrna borrow several days ago.

“Eph, damnation, what’s happened to you?”

Eph shook his head and held up a hand for them to stop. “Persima, this is the woman I was telling you about.”

The woman—obviously Persima—nodded. “Come with me.” She gestured for Katrina to follow and half-turned.

“Wait. Where? Why?”

Eph grabbed Katrina by the arm and pulled her face close to his. “You do as you’re told.” He glanced at one of the two men who had come running. “Go with them. Make sure she’s no trouble.” Then he looked at the other man. “I’ll need a medi-kit.”

“You need a doctor,” the man countered.

Eph snatched his collar. “Now.”

The man nodded. “Follow me.”

“Ready?” Persima asked when Eph and the man had gone.

Katrina shrugged. “For what?”

Persima turned to the man who had stayed behind. “Leave us.”

“But Eph said—”

“I’ll deal with Eph.”

The man nodded and headed in the opposite direction Eph had taken.

“Follow me.” Persima made for a long hallway with candlelit sconces. She walked slowly, which allowed Katrina to keep up. “What happened to Eph’s leg?”

Right. Like I’m going to tell you the truth and piss you off, too. “He hurt it.”

“How?” Persima glanced behind her, her almond-shaped eyes gleaming with mirth.

Is she happy he’s hurt? “I hit him with his sword.”

A smile curved Persima’s lips. “Good.”

“You’re not his friend?”

A half shrug and she added, “I’m everyone’s friend.”

Giggling sounds came from some of the closed doors then other doors yielded the sounds of grunting, moaning, and even the steady thump-thump of furniture.

Katrina paused. “Is this a whorehouse?”

Persima tilted her head. “That’s not the term I’d use.”

“Point taken. But it is, right? So are you…? Do you…?” Katrina couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Persima laughed softly. “No. It’s my establishment.” She took a left turn near the hallway’s end, then another a few paces later, then opened the door.

Katrina followed her inside. “I won’t be a whore.”

Persima closed the door. “I know.”

“What do you mean you know? I thought—well, why did Baldy bring me here?”

This time, Persima released a deep laugh straight from the belly. “Did you call him that? To Eph’s face?”

Katrina shook her head. “No. I don’t have a death wish.”

“I’d almost argue that point based on what you did to his leg.”

“I’ve never used a sword. I just wanted him to put me down.” Katrina frowned. She shouldn’t ask. It was rude to ask, but she had to know. “I’m confused. I know the theory that Earth was created from the people on Zama, or something like that. But, I thought all of us were human—” Katrina narrowed her eyes slightly. “I mean, the same— I mean, if we were all—?” Heavens, she was making this worse. “What I’m trying to ask—”

“How did I end up with four arms?”

Katrina nodded. “Not that it wouldn’t be handy.” She thought of all the possibilities for efficiency having four arms would create. Then she grimaced at her pun, a pun she hadn’t meant to make. But there was no way she was going to say, no pun intended.

“My planet was advanced. Very much so. Maybe too much. But, in the end, those advancements proved detrimental. Missiles were dropped. Bombs, you call them. They had weapons in them worse than an instant death for those who survived. Disfigurements, horrific problems. And that was generations ago. We still are plagued by the biochemical weapons our governments used on each other during wars.”

Katrina cringed and thought of her own planet, its past, its future. “How did you end up here?”

“My stepfather sold me.”

“Oh, Christ.” Her heart went out to this woman.

“I was lucky. The one who bought me didn’t—well, let’s say things could have gone much worse. For many others who exhibited our planet’s special genes, it did. Not all are born with an extra set of arms. There are many different types of… I suppose you’d call them abnormalities.”

Katrina didn’t know what to say. She was horrified. “And now you…” She waved her arms around to indicate the building they were in. “This?”

“For now. I have plans.”

“And what about me? That bastard wants me here to be a hooker? To be trained for that? He told me he was waiting for a ransom to be paid for me. Did that fall through?”

“You have so many questions.” Persima dropped to one knee and moved a rug aside.

“Well, duh. Wouldn’t you?” Katrina leaned in to see what the woman was doing and calculated her chances at grabbing the lamp on a table nearby and knocking the woman over the head.

She felt confident she could find her way out. The problem would be if she ran into anyone who knew she shouldn’t be wandering around.

The carpet aside, Persima unlocked a panel in the floor.

“What the hell is this?”

Persima turned her way, a finger across her lips. “I owe Eph, but there is someone I owe far more. My allegiance is to Jeweler.”