Chapter Eleven: Sara
The one good thing about being locked up in the bathroom was that Sara could throw up all she wanted, without Tom becoming suspicious about why she was so sick. The only time she saw him was when he brought her food and neither of them talked when that happened.
If he wasn't being such a pig-headed moron, she might have told him she was pregnant. But she wasn't about to share something like that with an idiot who found a tracking device on his ship and decided that she must be the only reason that it was there. For everything he said about Starmates and whatever else, he showed that he had zero trust in her.
And that, in her opinion, was unforgivable. Even if she did tell him that she was pregnant with his child, she doubted that he would believe her.
Sara wasn't sure how long she was stuck in the bathroom when Tom opened the door and gestured for her to come out. A rush of desire washed over her the moment she saw him like it always did these days. Another reason to keep their interactions to a minimum. The bitter scent of his musth filled her nose and she had to fight to keep herself from throwing herself at him. His knuckles were thick with layers of flesh seal, and judging from the dents in the walls, he was having a hard time controlling the aggression that came with musth.
Good. Served him right for not trusting her.
"We're getting visitors," Tom snarled. "Don't make waves, and don't tell them you're human. Actually, just don't do anything at all."
"Who are they?"
"None of your business."
Sara glowered at him. "Then I think I'll tell them that you kidnapped me and that they need to contact the USC right away!"
"I just told you to—" Tom closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His tense shoulders slowly unknit. "The Ruziers Corporation sent a ship. They said it's to check for updates, but there has to be something more going on here. Just… just don't do anything stupid."
"You should tell yourself that," Sara muttered. She glared back as Tom glared at her, but nodded stiffly. "I'll be the most charming, vapid female you could possibly hope for."
If the atmosphere between them was already thick, it only got thicker once Tom's 'visitors' boarded. It was a mix of species, but their leader was a T'shav. This one wore the traditional var'ki skirt and had vivid black tattoos on his chest and arms. Swirls and spikes surrounded skulls, and oddly a flower right over his heart. There had to be some sort of significance to that, but Sara put on her most air-brained smile and tried to ignore the desire to get a gun and fight them off.
"Bond," the T'shav greeted, nodding at him. "Ruziers hears that you ran into a little trouble with the USC."
"Hardly trouble, Rayo," Tom replied, waving a hand airily. "The colonel was an idiot. He already knew about the shipment and thought I wouldn't find the tracking device he planted on my ship when he let me escape. Laughable, really."
"Hmm." Rayo's gaze shifted from Tom and focused on Sara.
His gaze swept down her in a way that had the hair on the back of her neck prickling. She shifted closer to Tom unconsciously. After all that had happened would Tom still defend her from his employer?
Of course he will. We're Starmates. Her heart jumped a little. Where had that thought come from? They weren't Starmates, no matter what Tom thought. The fact that he could so easily mistrust her was only proof of that. Wasn't it? Musth does play with their heads. All those hormones…
"Who's the female?"
"Nelly. I picked her up a while back to help me through my musth," Tom said, though his voice took on a dangerous tone. "She's of no consequence to you, Rayo. Why did the Ruziers Corporation send you? Because of my little run-in with the USC?"
Rayo eyed Sara for a moment. She narrowed her eyes at him, but when Tom's arm tightened around her, she dropped her gaze. Being the meek girl-toy wasn't something that came easily to her. She'd had to play the part a few times over the course of her career, and every time she wanted to claw out somebody's eyes. Right now she wasn't sure if Rayo or Tom was at the top of her list…
No. Tom wasn't even a contender. Her shoulders sagged and she found herself leaning into him. If their roles were reversed when it came to their 'escape', she probably would have thought the same thing he did. She was still angry that he would so readily believe the worst of her, but really, what did she expect? They got away with hardly a fight and then a tracker shows up on the ship. Not exactly brain science to think that the lieutenant is still working with the Corps.
"I asked a question," Tom said, a growl to his voice. "Don't push me right now, Rayo."
The other T'shav shrugged. "I just came to warn you. Somehow Zon found out about the shipment, and he's sending someone to collect it."
Sara's head jerked up. "Zon?"
Everybody knew about the T'shav warrior Zon. He commanded a huge fleet of ships, and in many ways ruled an empire in his own right. There were plenty of people who thought that he was a traitor and criminal, but hundreds of colonies had hired him to protect them, and from what Sara knew, he championed the Human Rights movement.
"So he's sending someone after the shipment?" Tom asked, his voice tense. "Well, that puts a different spin on things. I'm not going up against Zon's people. I'll be turning my ship around and getting out of here."
"We'll accompany you to the shipment site," Rayo interrupted. "Ruziers feels that stealth is no longer an option, and so we're assigned to see you safely there and back. And your retainer has been tripled."
A cold shiver slid down Sara's spine. If the corporation was afraid that Zon was going to steal the humans, and Zon was an advocate for human rights, that meant that they were not planning on setting up the sanctuary that Tom had talked about. So what were they really after?
"I don't get what's so important about a bunch of humans," she said, draping herself over Tom and playing with her hair. She deliberately made her voice bored.
"Don't worry your pretty head about that," Tom started, but Rayo interrupted him.
"What's so important about humans? They're not classified as a sentient species, and they have universal DNA. This shipment is worth more than you can even dream of, honey." Rayo smirked. "The males aren't worth much besides being sold to labs or private collections, but the females can be sold under the population trade act."
Sara ducked her head to hide her fury. The population trade act? It was a thin disguise to make the women sex slaves, treating them like baby making machines. So that was what this was all about. Her rage began bubbling and her hands clenched. She glanced around to find a weapon, but as soon as she moved towards taking Tom's, he twisted her around and pressed a firm kiss on her mouth.
Rage was replaced by desire. Heat rose in her body, making her skin feel tight, and she threw herself into the kiss, pressing Tom's mouth open. His hands were strong on her hips. When he pulled away, she actually whimpered, wanting more.
Tom pushed her towards the bedroom. "I'll just be a minute, sweets."
Dazed, Sara glanced around. Rayo and the others were all smirking, giving her knowing looks. Her anger began rising again, at them and Tom both. She'd probably kill somebody if she stayed out here, so she strode into the bedroom. If the door didn't slide shut automatically, she would have slammed it behind her.
Drawing in a deep breath, Sara leaned against the wall, trying to clear the confusion. He was on a mission to bring back the humans so the corporation could sell them all. This explained so much. Tom's determination not to be discovered, his impatience to get there as quickly as possible. Why he was so ready to believe she had betrayed him. It was because he had already betrayed her. Was everything he told her a lie?
He probably doesn't even think we're Starmates.
For some reason that hurt worst of all. Sara bowed her head, fighting back tears. Well, it didn't matter. The fact was she was stuck with him for now, and if she wanted to get out of this alive, she was going to have to figure out her next move.
There was a gun laying on the nightstand. Clearly, Tom had forgotten about it. Sara stared at it for a moment before she picked it up. Well, at least she wasn't defenseless now.