Chapter 17
Back on Enotia, Jaron demanded Dr. Maku, the Unit medic, give him the fastest check over. Aside from the residual drugs nothing came back to worry over. For added precaution the doctor injected him with several preventatives. Jaron stayed still for the whole process, answering every question asked.
At long last, Maku blew out a breath. “I expect this behavior from the others not you, Jaron.”
How long had it been? Hours. Hours of Sasha possibly back in The Collector’s hands. “Are you done?”
The medic backed away at his sharp tone. “I am done. Later we’ll do a better work up. Right now, I’m sensing you want to get out of here.”
He did. There were plans to be made and he had to convince Torkel of going back right now.
However, it didn’t work out that way. It took three days of messaging and communicating with the Commander to get an answer. In the conference room amongst the three teams, Jaron received the devastating news. The mission was deemed not necessary and without proof or confirmation The Collector was still at the last known location, the request to follow through was denied.
Jaron almost lost his composure. He jumped to his feet and slammed his palms on the table they all sat around. “Fuck this!”
“Sit, Jaron.” If he hadn’t caught the calculating look on Torkel’s face, he would have walked out. “We will go back for her.”
Jaron’s chest drew tight before he exhaled a ragged breath. “Thank you, Torkel.”
His Unit Leader understood. Later that evening in the locker area, Torkel outlined the plan in short succinct order. “Kyele and Arak will accompany you. Fast and hard, Jaron. Then you get out. Nothing more.”
Buckling his protective vest over his shirt, Jaron nodded, his mind firmly on rescuing Sasha. “Affirmative. Fast and hard.”
“This isn’t approved, Jaron. Don’t get caught.”
Jaron understood the risk to Torkel and the others by helping him return for Sasha. “Yes.”
His Unit Leader nodded. “Bring her to Enotia. Dr. Maku can make sure The Collector did nothing long term.”
Jaron swallowed, barely able to acknowledge the directive. Kitten, you better be alright.
Kyele twirled his knife, brows knitted. “The intel we had was unclear. Are we sure The Collector is still there with the female?”
Jaron snapped the last strap and gazed at his friend. Kyele’s scar twitched, but no other expression crossed his face. Even his voice sounded neutral. Not possible. Or shouldn’t be because Kyele had the biggest hard on for Dr. Kirkem. The man had done some very nasty things to Kyele’s Chosen, leaving Joni with nightmares she battled to this day. And Kyele did not like some of the things he saw in Joni’s bad dreams.
“I had Bane help me.” Bane’s sheer comp genius made Jaron look like an amateur. “No trace of a ship departing. Reports are varying after the incursion from the small group of Marenians. We have to work on the assumption they are still there.”
Marenians had been the ones to attack Dr. Kirkem’s site. Seemed Lothar wasn’t partnering with him any time soon.
Arak added extra laser cells to the other weapons on his person. Of all of them, Jaron expected Arak to keep his calm the most during the mission. Other than support, he wasn’t as emotionally vested in this as Jaron and Kyele were.
“Do you want me to stay with the shuttle or assist on the ground, Torkel?”
The initial plan revolved around Arak piloting the shuttle with Kyele and Jaron going in to grab Sasha and run. An easy in and out. Hopefully. Contingency allowed for changes if necessary.
“I want you on the ground, Arak. Keep them in line.” Torkel hiked a thumb in their direction. “And please, no more bodies than necessary.”
He emphasized the last with a brown eyed glare aimed at Kyele, who only smirked and rose to his feet in a slow easy step.
Arak grinned. “Looks like I’m acting Team Leader.”
Since it was so far from the truth, Jaron laughed outright, causing the Argoran to snarl. The familiar sound tore something loose in Jaron’s chest and he rubbed at the ache. Sasha. He needed to focus on Sasha.
“I’m ready.”
Arak and Kyele followed him to the lower level and out the building’s front exit. Outside, a slim woman with a fall of red gold curls leaned against the door of the parked hover-car. She wore a knee skimming dress in black with sheer panels on the sides, revealing a hint of the toned body beneath. Black boots covered her long legs to mid-thigh.
Kyele bumped his shoulder in his haste to get by Jaron. Joni curled a finger at him, her face set in grim lines and gold eyes narrowed. Kyele stopped, leaving several feet between them. “What are you doing, little Earthling?”
Jaron folded his arms over his chest and noticed Arak doing the same. He bet his own expression matched the smug look on Arak’s face. Watching these two always drew a source of amusement.
Casually and with no sign of hurrying, Joni eased the hem of her dress up and slid out one of two Marenian knives from the sheath strapped to her thigh. Though Jaron had no interest in her, he confessed to finding the move hot. Joni tapped the tip of the blade against her pointed chin. “Did you think because you sexed me up, I’d sleep through you leaving?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Kyele jerked, red staining his cheeks. Blushing? Jaron double checked, doubting what his eyes saw. His teammate definitely blushed. “I did not as you say sex you up.”
Joni glared and withdrew the second knife as her stance shifted, no longer relaxing back against the door of the vehicle.
Kyele continued. “You sexed me up.”
Arak snickered and whispered in an aside to Jaron. “I do love the terms the Earthling females use. I will ask Sylvie to sex me up when we return to make sure the translator matches what I think it means.”
No matter how many times, Dr. Maku updated their implanted translators Sylvie, Joni and Faye managed to confuse them daily with their strange use of words and terms. Most of the hardest ones to understand centered around sex sharing.
“You were going to leave without saying goodbye.”
None of them could miss the glimmer of hurt in the accusation. Showing more restraint than Jaron expected, Kyele strode toward his Chosen and swiped the blades from her hands before she could blink. He tucked them in the back waist of his pants and had Joni backed against the car, her arms pinned to her side from one minute to the next.
“There is no goodbye with us.”
Though he lowered his voice the short distance from the entrance to the hover-car allowed for Arak and Jaron to hear everything.
Joni’s mouth puckered as she twisted about, her frustration visible in the rigid lines of her body. “Give me back my knives, Kyele.”
Instead of complying, he slid his hands up her arms and kissed her. Jaron tipped his head to the side to give them a moment of privacy and noticed Arak doing the same. He counted off in his head and reached thirty when Kyele spoke again.
“They’re back in your sheaths.” Kyele released Joni and stepped back.
She patted her upper thigh and grinned suddenly, her short laugh following. “I swear I don’t know how you do that so easily.”
Looking happier than Jaron ever remembered, Kyele chucked her under the chin. “I’m a Jutak warrior.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She pushed at his shoulder then zeroed in on Arak and Jaron. No embarrassment at all. “Hey, guys.”
“Hey.” He and Arak answered together. They all found the strange Earth greeting funny because it made no sense to them at all.
“Make sure you bring him back in the same condition he left in.” Another pointed look at Kyele. “Don’t leave me.”
The warning wasn’t about Kyele going on the mission. It was far deeper and a subtle reference to a time when Kyele had lost his mind and sought vengeance on Joni’s behalf with a brief killing spree.
“Never.” One last touch to her hair and Kyele got in the back seat of the hover-car. Joni entered the building with a slight wave, a calmer look in her eyes along with glowing cheeks and swollen lips from the kiss they’d shared.
Arak beat Jaron to the driver’s seat so Jaron took the front passenger side. Joni’s fear reminded Jaron of his concern about taking a Chosen while he served as a Jutak. How would Sasha feel about it?
***
Day 4
Sasha trembled and wrapped her arms around her folded knees. A saving grace was that she’d stopped climaxing. Tears burned as she fought off the shame and humiliation. Making the situation worse, her skin’s sensitivity remained high.
Air pebbled over her ripe nipples, causing her to choke off a moan. Hunger and desire toyed with her. No one was brave enough to get close to her for the rest of the night.
Or was it still the same day? Her sense of passing time was distilled. This was what Jaron had faced. As bad as it had been, it must have been so much worse for him in front of Dr. Kirkem and whoever else was present.
Trepidation left her quaking. Any more of this and Sasha wasn’t sure she’d survive. Jaron needed to hurry the fuck back or she’d claw his eyes out. She sniffed and swiped her arm over her slick forehead. Chills and hot flashes marked the drugs progress through her system. Fury and vengeance stewed in a cocktail she wanted to unleash on the good doctor.
The door slammed open. “Get up!”
Sasha jerked then lunged to her feet, growling and snarling. The guard dodged the rake of her claws in time. He aimed his weapon at her head. “I don’t care about what The Collector wants. I will kill you.”
She couldn’t see his face due to the helmet, but his savage tone led Sasha to believe him. She’d bid her time. Holding back the urge to kill, she let him lead her to the torture chamber as she decided to dub it.
Dr. Kirkem waved at the chains suspended from the wall. The guard grasped Sasha’s wrists roughly and attached them. She managed to slice at his forearm with a single claw and received a slap to her face. Her head swerved to the side with the blow and a low rumble ruptured from her gut as Sasha tugged on her arms.
Too late. He had the clamps on her ankles and withdrew. She was spread eagle. So much worse than the cells. In this position, she was exposed and bared completely. Her inner thighs bore traces of her earlier orgasms.
He glanced down but didn’t comment on it. “You have caused me unending trouble.”
The Collector spoke quietly as he walked toward her. Sasha kept her gaze on his. Flames of desire continued to lick at her flesh. That didn’t stop her from taunting him. “My work here is done.”
He moved quickly back handing her across the face. Air wooshed from her lungs and if not for the chains, Sasha would have fallen over. Instead, she gasped and blinked back the pain.
“My attempts at muata may have failed.” Spittle dripped from the corner of his mouth. “But there is one thing I can do for certain. Something I’m sure would make any Argoran suffer.”
Inside Sasha’s nerves jumped. Desire flowed through her system and she found herself on the verge of another climax. Face burning, she yelled, “Fuck you!”
Dr. Kirkem shook his head, but she caught the glimpse of rage he managed to blank out. “Let’s see how you feel after you lose one of your senses.”
What? What was he talking about? Sasha leaned back as he drew closer. In his hand he held up a silver tube. “What would you do without your eyesight, hmmm?”
He grabbed her hair with his other hand and yanked her head back. The wall cushioned the force of the blow. He waved the silver device in her face. Near her eyes.
“What are you doing?” She couldn’t help the way her tone trembled.
Dr. Kirkem smiled. His fingers tapped a ribbed button at the base of the silver cylinder. An instant later her left eye burned. His appearance wavered.
“Excellent. Now this one,” he murmured.
Pain from her right eye shot toward her brain. Sasha screamed as the world went black.
“Welcome to the darkness.” Dr. Kirkem laughed. He whispered in her ear. “Enjoy my permanent gift.” His steps paced away. “Targa take her away.”
Sasha jerked her head around. She couldn’t see. Nothing. Everything was mired in darkness.
Rough hands undid her cuffs. “Follow me, suare.”
Targa’s voice. She recognized the female Marenian. Stumbling, she bumped along. Though disoriented, Sasha realized they weren’t heading to the previous room she’d been kept in.
“Why?” she asked through dry lips.
Targa ignored her and Sasha hated herself for the weakness. For the fear that had her leaning against the other woman looking for some sense of the familiar. Targo pulled away on a low chuckle.
The crack and whine of an electric door. Sasha’s ears flicked. What was going on? What else did Dr. Kirkem have planned for her? Before she could voice the question, a hard shove to her back sent Sasha falling.
The weightless sensation startled her, wind rushing past her face until she hit the hard ground. Mildew and wet filtered through her nostrils among other foul scents. Sasha groaned, her body one giant ache. A basement of some sort.
That wasn’t the worst of her concerns. Sasha patted her eyes. The gloom around her wasn’t strictly because of the darkness. He’d done it. He’d really taken her eyesight. Panic smashed into her and all of Sasha’s senses screamed. Her breath wheezed in and out, pulse kicking into overdrive.
What would she do? How was she to survive, be a Bounty Retriever? The sensory deprivation pressed in on her. Sasha dug her claws into the dirt floor beneath her.
“Jaron.” His name fell weakly from her lips. She wasn’t the same. Without her sight, she was less. A choked sob ripped from Sasha and she pounded her fists into the uneven floor.
Footsteps clambered above her head. Sasha scuffled backward, her back hitting a wall. She plowed her fingers through her hair, working to level out her breathing.
“Please, please.” She wasn’t sure what she begged for.
The darkness grew until it suffocated. Sasha let out a low whine and curled her knees up beneath her.
Minutes, hours passed. Sasha wasn’t sure how long she rocked in place, unable to move from her huddled ball. Something had broken through the shell she’d wrapped around herself.
Above her a door slammed open. Boots stomped across the ceiling. Sasha jerked to a crouch, glancing around in confusion. Screams sounded. She backed up until she hit the rough of a cold wall. Harsh voices raised in demand. Then one she’d always recognize.
“Where is Sasha, Kirkem?”
Jaron? Her breathing escalated as Sasha lifted her head, gaze straining pointlessly in the dark hovel. He’d come back for her. So many feelings, too many to pin down or describe at the knowledge he had come back for her. More banging, screams and then weapon fire.
Battling the ebb and flow of arousal she waited, breath suspended in her throat. Above her head, a hinge whined and creaked. Sasha waited, jumping as something large landed near her. She released her claws, her low rumbling growl filling the cavern.
“Sasha! It’s me.” Jaron hauled her close.
Helpless tears spilled over her lids. “Jaron.”
Her arms clenched about his neck. Frantic kisses and a deep seated feeling of being where she needed to be. Buttons and hooks on his shirt brushed her tender nipples, her thighs rubbed together and she groaned, part misery part relief. Jaron’s hold on her loosened.
“Kitten. Shh.” Jaron’s voice soothed even as Sasha tried to climb onto his lap. He seemed to be on his knees beside her.
“My eyes, Jaron. H-hhe took my eyes,” was all she got out before a sob broke free.
“I’m here. Let me help you.”
There was no help for her. Didn’t he understand? Sasha twisted her fingers about his shirt, unable to let go. “Did you hear me?”
“Easy kitten. Damn it.” His fingers fumbled at her temple then her eyes.
Sasha flinched and sought to pull away from his poking fingers. What did he think to do?
“No, Sasha. Trust me one more minute longer.” The rough pad of his fingers probed at her eyes and sudden light filtered in. Grainy but she made out the outline of his robust form, real and live beside her. “He didn’t take your eyes. He put black lenses over them.
As Jaron helped her to her feet, he cupped Sasha’s cheeks and leaned forward. Lips brushed hers. “Prettiest green eyes I ever did see.”
Chest tight, Sasha cried out and threw her arms about his neck. “Fucking Dr. Kirkem.”
Jaron snorted out a laugh and eased back. “We have to get out of here. Your ankle?”
Forcing back another flare of unwanted desire, moisture seeped down her thighs. “It’s healed.”
“Tell me what else he did to you.”
She knew what drove the demand. There was no missing her naked state. Not waiting for her answer, Jaron dropped to a squat, running his hands over her body, checking for signs of injury. Every stroke pushed her toward a reluctant climax.
Sasha shivered and wrapped her arms about her waist. “Nothing. He kept trying to recreate muata.”
Jaron froze. From his position on his knees, he titled his head back to face her. “Did he touch you?”
It was hard not to miss the anger in each word. She brushed the knit mask from his head and buried her fingers in his blond waves, needing to touch him, see him. Worry creased his brows. “No. At first it made me violently ill. Or at least the version he used on you. The second time I think it worked, but he let his fury get the best of him. He wasn’t satisfied with the results and threatened to take away my sight.”
His blue eyes hardened and he stared longer as if wanting to read the truth on her face. Finally, he bowed his head, releasing her from his penetrating gaze.
“Come on.” He stood. “I’m taking you out of here.”
Jaron led her beneath the square opening in the ceiling. “Arak! A little help.”
A long black cable dropped down to swing in front of their faces. Jaron tugged her over and knelt once more, fastening a harness around her shoulders and waist. Sasha tried to remain still but everywhere he touched her body twitched and jerked. She wanted to grind her hips against him but gritted her teeth against the need.
“Sorry, sorry,” Jaron muttered with a brief squeeze to her upper thigh as he rose. The small touch came with its own brand of hurt. “Can you hold me without causing you pain?”
Gladly. Anything to get out of here. “Yes.”
Sasha wrapped her arms about his neck and heard a distinct click. He pulled the mask back down over his face, leaving only steely blue eyes behind. Slowly they rose in the air, Jaron gripping her tight, his hands a warm weight on her lower back. The moment her head broke through the opening in the floor, Sasha’s senses came to life. Blood, fear, anger and a host of other scents.
Their feet hit the planks of the floor at the same time. Jaron eased her away and disconnected the equipment he had placed on her. Another man in all black looped the cable they’d used and tucked it on a pouch on his belt. The third man, another Jutak warrior, held The Collector at gun point.
Both of them wore all black uniforms and masks covered their faces with the exception of their eyes. One set of blue and one set of green. The green gaze worried Sasha because they blazed with unchecked fury.
Dr. Kirkem shot her a hate filled glare from his position on his knees, hands up in surrender. “I should have known this was about you.”
It took every bit of will power she possessed considering her body craved an orgasm, but Sasha straightened her shoulders and held her head high. She let a smirk play about her mouth. “I told you the Jutaks would be back.”
“What are we doing with him?” The green-eyed soldier raised his laser until the end pointed directly at Dr. Kirkem’s forehead.
The dark look in his gaze said he didn’t care either way.
“Cuff him to take back,” Jaron said, not releasing Sasha’s hand. The secure grip reassured.
Shaking, she leaned a little of her weight into his side, wanting the warmth of his closeness even though it spurred the residual desire from the drugs pounding in her veins.
“I’d better do that.” The Jutak with the blue eyes crossed the room with a pair of plasti-cuffs.
Musk. Familiar. Sasha inhaled. “You’re…”
Jaron tensed and with a quick glance over, he shook his head. “Later.”
She realized the reason. She’d almost disclosed aloud that the blue eyed one was Argoran. It made sense they went to great extremes to protect their identities. Not just their names but their origins. Although another sniff confirmed he wasn’t full Argoran. Something else. Jaron leaned toward her.
“Fuck!”
Sasha turned in time to see The Collector leap to his feet to shove the soldier to the side. Retribution glittered in the brown depths as he turned toward her.
“Intruders!” Dr. Kirkem shouted.
Jaron tried to protect Sasha by stepping in front of her, but she dodged the move and leaped for Dr. Kirkem, her only thought of vengeance.
“Sasha, no!”
Two short laser bursts followed. A window shattered behind Sasha as she slammed into Kirkem. He screamed, wind milling his arms backward. Her knees hooked around his hips, one hand clamped around his shoulder as she took him down and pummeled his face.
Blood. She smelled blood, but Sasha didn’t care. Another fist to his arrogant nose and the rich crunch of bone sang to her spirit.
“Get her back, Jaron!” one of the men snapped.
An arm hooked about her waist, dragging her away. Sasha kicked out, the scent and need to kill a compulsion. Jaron lost his grip and Sasha snarled hurling forward only to come up short again. This time by a firm grip about her ankle. She had the evil man in her sights. The drugs, the awful false flames of desire he’d deliberately stoked. She’d kill him.
The Collector laughed, rolling from his prone position to his side and meeting Sasha’s stare. There was so much smug pleasure there she considered if killing him would ever rid her of the horrible memories after what he’d done to her.
Laughter continued in a rising tide, the snickers drilling holes into her mind. She lashed out in a desperate attempt to reach him. Her claws trapped his right leg to the floor. At the same time, Jaron was equally determined to keep her back.
A little closer. All she needed was a few more inches. Sasha raised her other hand to deliver the killing blow.
Jaron grabbed her wrist in an iron-fast hold and wrapped an arm about her middle as he once more pulled her from The Collector. They slid backward across the floor, Sasha fighting the whole way. Jaron held her securely between his thighs. Both arms locked about her waist as he buried his face at the base of her neck.
Laser blasts sounded. The doctor finally stopped laughing. The green eyed Jutak stood over him. “Give me a reason. I want to tear you apart piece by piece and listen to you scream until you go hoarse.”
Sasha gripped the forearm about her chest and realized the harsh cries filling the room came from her ravaged throat. Charged energy from the attack crashed around inside her. Her stomach heaved. Pressure built in her chest until she thought she’d pass out.
“Shh, shh, no more. It is over.” Jaron repeated the litany over and over, arms clamped about her.
“I’m fine,” she lied, her heart drumming a million beats. “I’m fine.”
Jaron leaned his head around to see her face. Whatever he read there must have reassured him because he eased up and stood. Sasha accepted his help to stand beside him.
“Thanks.” Jaron acknowledged the others.
Plasti-cuffs went on Dr. Kirkem without protest this time. The blue eyed one grabbed Dr. Kirkem by the arm. “We should hurry.”
Sasha was more than ready. As her adrenaline cooled, she felt silly standing there in nothing while they gathered.
As if reading her mind, Jaron asked. “Do you want to shift or take my shirt?”
Her cat wanted out but with the drugs in her system and in light of her recent reaction, Sasha didn’t think it a good idea. Her knees were a bit shaky, but that wouldn’t stop her. “Your shirt. Please.”
Being wrapped in his scent would give her something to distract from the way her skin tingled and her loins fired off shots of desire every few seconds. Jaron removed his protective vest then his shirt. Sasha buttoned it from the bottom up as he slid the vest back on. Closing her eyes briefly, she inhaled the comfort of being surrounded by all that was Jaron.
When her lids opened, her gaze followed the glide of his muscles, the flex of his powerful arms holding the laser and the way his black pants hugged his thick thighs.
“Quick introduction then we are out of here.”
Sasha couldn’t agree more with that declaration.