Edge came awake to the soft sound of singing. He didn’t recognize the song, but he’d heard it several times through the haze of pain. The words and melody calmed the raging torment tearing him apart.

He kept his eyes closed, listening. He could hear the soft murmur of women’s voices in the background, but it was the sound next to him that held him spellbound, the barely audible singing of his goddess. Her voice mixed with the sound of water as it was poured into a container.

A moment later, he felt a warm cloth slide across his brow and down along his cheek. The process was familiar, as if it had happened numerous times over the past few days. The cloth continued to move down his body.

He focused on each gentle stroke. A delicate hand lifted his arm and the damp cloth was moved over his skin from shoulder to fingers. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever felt anything so sensual. He recognized the gentle touch of the woman caring for him as she replaced his arm on the bed. Once again, he heard the sound of water and knew that she was refreshing the cloth.

Flashes of memory came back to him in slow, uneven waves: dark brown eyes that challenged him, language that seemed too harsh to be coming from someone so feminine – and then he was falling as a never ending fire ripped through him.

The hand and the cloth returned, moving with slow, methodical precision over his other arm and chest. He continued trying to connect the pieces of his memories.

The face of the woman appeared again. Her eyes flashed with a fire that burned as brightly as the one searing through him. Whenever the insects came, she had soothed them away from his flesh and mind, preventing them from eating him alive. Her voice calmed the chaotic thoughts inside his head and made the pounding go away.

He moved his hand with lightning speed when he felt the sheet over his waist begin to slide downward. He forced his fingers to loosen slightly when he felt the fragile bones underneath them. Opening his eyes, he met a pair of intense, amused brown ones.

“I was wondering how far you’d let me get before you’d open your eyes,” she chuckled.

“You knew I was awake?” he asked, looking up at her with a rather droll inquiring expression.

She glanced down his body before turning back to peek at him with a wry grin. He followed the path of her eyes. His own eyes widened when he saw the tented sheet around his crotch. A rueful smile curved his mouth. He dropped his head back against the pillow.

“Yes, I guess that would explain how you knew,” he admitted before he grew silent for a moment. “How long have I been… like this?” he asked.

She leaned over and dropped the cloth in the bucket of water on the crate next to the bed. His eyes followed her when she lifted a hand and tenderly brushed his hair back from his face.

“Good, no fever. You’ve been in and out of it for over a week,” she admitted. “This is the first time since right after we brought you here that you have actually been lucid enough to understand what is going on.”

“The fire…,” he said, running his hand over his flat stomach.

Lina nodded. “That and you kept saying something about insects. That was when your withdrawal symptoms were the worst,” she commented, fingering his hair.

He remembered the fire and the insects—and her touch and voice, nothing else. He noticed that his hand still shook. He clenched his fingers into a fist. His gaze snapped to hers when she reached up and covered his hand.

“Why? Why did you risk your life to help me?” he demanded.

“We want to go home and you are our only hope,” she replied. She released his hand and stood up. “I have some things I need to get done. Bailey will come to sit with you.”

He was surprised by the sudden change in her. It was as if a wall had suddenly gone up between them. He could almost taste her desire to escape.

“Lin… Lina….” He paused, hoping he had correctly remembered her name.

She paused at the curtain and turned back to look at him. “Yes?” she asked.

“Thank… you,” he said.

Her lips twisted into a wry smile. “Don’t thank me yet, big guy. You aren’t out of the woods and neither are we. Until I know we can trust you, you’ll be under guard. Just don’t try anything stupid or….” She stopped and looked at him in silence before she shook her head. “Just don’t try anything stupid. I’ll let Bailey know you’ve made it back to the land of the living.”

Edge watched Lina disappear through the wall of curtains. He flexed his fingers back and forth as he tried to control their trembling. Glancing up at the ceiling, he prayed to the Goddess that the worst of his withdrawal from the drugs was over. He needed to get his strength back as soon as possible. If there was one thing he had learned during his captivity, it was that the Waxian would never give up. Whether the women were aware of it or not, they had started the countdown that would only lead to death and destruction if they didn’t find a way to escape, soon.

* * *

Four days later, Edge watched as Lina quietly chatted with the woman named Gail. He had finally learned all of their names. What normally would have taken a few minutes had taken him two days to achieve.

There were times during those first few days when he felt like pulling his hair out. At other times, he had felt like doing something much worse just to end the agony and find peace. During the first few days, he swore he could feel thousands of small legs climbing over his body. At other times, an unexpected fire would flare up inside his stomach. The fire was hot enough to drive him to his knees.

Then, there was the nausea that kept him over the waste unit throughout the day and halfway through the night. The few moments when he would try to rest, dizzying swirls of uncontrollable thoughts would start. By the end of each episode, he was left weak, shaky, and sure that he was either going crazy or dying.

Yet, during each occurrence, Lina had been there. Talking to him, washing his face, and softly singing the lullaby she had told him helped her when she felt lost or unwell. She never looked down on him as if he were weak or… unworthy.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” she asked, walking over to where he was sitting.

“Stronger,” he replied, coming back to the present.

She chuckled at the stubborn tone in his voice. “That’s good. Andy and I are going to go topside for a bit. We need to see if we can pilfer some more of that miracle water for you. Gail, Bailey, and the others will be here,” she said.

“No,” he immediately responded.

She blinked at him in surprise. “I beg your pardon?” she replied, frowning at him.

Rising from his seat, he clenched his fists against the panic winding its way through him. The thought of her going to the top, where the Waxian could find her, sent a chill through his body.

“I forbid it,” he said.

“You…. Listen up. I don’t take orders from you. If you are going to get your strength back, you need more of that water. We also need to see what is going on up there. The only way to do both is for us to go up top,” she explained.

A muscle ticked in his cheek. Behind Lina, the other women were watching them with a mixture of amusement and fascination. He returned his attention to Lina.

“Let someone else go,” he finally said.

She looked at him with a confused expression. “And why would I do that?” she demanded.

A part of his mind warned him that he was treading on dangerous ground. What kind of warrior offered up a defenseless female to go into a hostile territory? His gaze moved to the locked door that opened to the outer corridor.

“I will go,” he suddenly said.

“Oh, hell no,” Andy commented behind her.

Edge heard the other women murmuring the same sentiment. His jaw tightened. He drew up to his full height and glared back at them.

“I am a warrior…,” he began.

“Exactly, big guy. Not just any warrior, but a Trivator warrior who has escaped from the Waxian and who happens to be hiding under the prick’s arrogant, pathetic nose,” Lina retorted.

Gail shook her head at him. “Talk about a bull in a china shop. We might as well put a target in the center of his forehead if he goes up there,” she remarked.

“He can’t go. We need him to…,” Mechelle started to say before she bit her lip and looked at her sister.

“I say we get Bailey to knock out his ass again,” Mirela replied, straightening and fingering the gun at her side. “Or, I can shoot him in the leg.”

Lina twisted and scowled at Mirela. “We are not shooting him,” she snapped in exasperation before she turned back to glare at him. “But Bailey knocking out your ass if you try to leave sounds like a good plan.”

“I’m ready,” Bailey replied, pulling the injector out of the medical case and twirling it around on her finger.

“Listen, Edge, you’re only just now getting back on your feet. You need time to regain your strength,” Lina said.

Anger flared inside him. He would not live his life hiding in the sewers or behind a group of women, and he would definitely not allow the women to put their lives in jeopardy again because of him.

“I will not allow you to endanger yourselves for me,” he quietly replied.

Andy and Mirela both snorted. “Oh, please,” Mirela said. “Lina could take you down and you’d never even know what hit you.”

“Do you honestly believe that any of you could stop me?” he asked with an incredulous expression.

Andy grinned. “We just need Lina,” she quipped.

“You gals are not helping the situation,” Lina growled, turning to glare at the women behind her.

An idea formed in Edge’s mind. Perhaps if his head were clearer, he might have been faster or thought it through better, but tossing her over his shoulder and perhaps stealing a kiss was an appealing plan.

He bent and wrapped his hands around her waist. The second her feet left the ground, she struck out. The first blow was to his groin. Stars danced in front of his eyes, and the air he had drawn into his lungs exploded outward in a loud hiss.

Edge’s legs began to tremble as the pain in his crotch registered in his mind. He might have stayed on his feet if the second blow to the tip of his nose hadn’t occurred. His hands loosened enough for Lina to slip out of his grasp. She practically rolled over his shoulder onto his back, her arms around his neck and her feet around his waist.

The thought that this would have been much more pleasant if she had been in front of him flashed through his mind before he fell forward. He shot out his hands to keep from hitting the floor with his face.

If he thought she was done, he was sadly mistaken. Lina used the weight of her body, his pain, and a move he had never seen before to flip him. Lying on his back, Edge blinked to try to clear the moisture from his eyes. He wasn’t sure which hurt worse, his aching groin or his tender nose. Her hand tangled in his hair and she pulled his head back far enough to press the blade of her sharp knife to his throat.

“I remember you… doing this… before,” he replied in a hoarse voice. “Thankfully without… the other pain.”

Lina’s eyes glittered with an emotion he didn’t understand. For a second, she looked as if she wanted to cry. Her throat worked up and down and her hands trembled. She was taking short, deep breaths.

“Sometimes you drive me crazy,” she whispered, gazing down at him for a second before she pulled away the knife and pressed her lips against his.

Edge lay stunned when she released him and climbed off his aching body. He rolled sideways and onto his knees. He moved his hand to his aching groin and watched as Lina sheathed the knife at her side and grabbed a pack near the door.

“Don’t let him leave,” she ordered, stepping out of the door when Andy opened it.

Edge bowed his head and breathed deeply. Lifting a hand to his nose, he was surprised that there was no blood. He looked up and rose to his feet when Bailey walked toward him with a chemical ice pack.

“Not sure if you need this more on your nose or your….” She waved at his crotch with a sympathetic smile.

“Where did she learn to fight like that?” he asked, taking the pack from her.

“The same place we all did—on the streets,” Mirela replied, walking toward the kitchen. “Anyone hungry?”

Edge nodded, though he continued to stare at the door. Gail had taken up a position in front of the entrance, and she stared back at him in warning.

“Edge… You have a choice. Mystery package number one or mystery package number two,” Mirela called out.

“God, I just hope they don’t have the dehydrated worms in them this time,” Mechelle groaned.