Chapter 4
The next few days didn’t bring with it any new information nor did his Jutak Unit arrive in a hail of laser fire. “Does anyone have an idea of how long they’ve been here?”
Jaron didn’t expect an answer from the females. From his estimation, they were numb with fear. They remained silent, lips pressed tight. The only other male glanced over. Indecision warred in his eyes. “I’m Ari. It’s been several months for me.” He pointed one by one to the females. “They came after. Luna and Minu. The rest are gone.”
The rest? Jaron wondered how many were just gone.
Ari pointed at Sasha. “The Argoran came much later. A little before you but not much.”
Relief shuddered through him to know the spirited female with the sassy grin hadn’t been here long. Crackling over head interrupted further contemplation. Jaron’s gaze shot toward the ceiling, but Sasha’s body eased into a partial fighting stance, the move fluid and telling.
Reevaluating his opinions, he labeled her in a similar profession as his. Something enforcement based. Apparently used to the announcements, the others didn’t bother to look up.
Beeping at the door also seemed to signal the arrival of guards. Sasha shifted on the balls of her feet and backed up. Focused on the litany of phrases from above, he almost missed their entrance, but not her alert status.
Only two guards came in, marching forward, tinted visors keeping their faces hidden. Jaron figured it a good time as any to try and probe. “Why are you holding us here?”
One of the guards jerked as if forgetting the rest of them existed. He jabbed a long, black rod in Jaron’s direction. Shock stick. “No talking. No talking from prisoners.”
Jaron smirked. He’d been shocked before with the short range weapons. Not a pleasant feeling, but one he knew he could endure if necessary. “What happens if we do?”
Ari jumped to his feet and backed up, fear glazed eyes wide. One of the women began to cry while the other wore a look of resignation. Step by step the guards bypassed those cells then slowed and hesitated. Jaron tensed, but they didn’t come for him. All of their fear was reserved for someone else.
They turned in sync to his right and the ball of energy waiting. Surprised, Jaron backed up and adjusted his stance to see what happened next. Sasha never looked away from the men clearly recognizing what they wanted. Deep throated growls rolled up, sending shivers down Jaron’s back and causing the men to stop within touching distance of her cage.
As they neared, she risked a glance in Jaron’s direction and he saw beyond the fighting stance, the menacing sounds and the taut body ready to lunge. In the one quick look, he glimpsed her distress and vulnerability. The dual emotions struck a chord in him. A compulsion to help.
“What do you want?”
This time he didn’t get a warning. The guard shoved the shock stick at him and despite his sharp reflexes, the tip tagged his shoulder with a jolt of electricity and Jaron went down, body twitching on the floor. Unable to move, he gritted his teeth and watched them go for the Argoran female.
***
When the helmeted heads turned in her direction, Sasha knew her time was up. They were here for her.
Panic locked her muscles in place. As much as she’d prepared for this moment nothing compared to the fear racing through her veins. It bolstered her confidence to see they needed two and not the usual one to take her in. They held shock sticks and her inner cat snarled, rage and defiance burning.
Brows drawn, Jaron approached the bars of his cage. Without clothing his body still managed to convey a sense of danger and intimidation. “What do you want?”
It was a hopeless stall, but Sasha appreciated his effort. Certainly no one else here would speak out.
Too bad a wave of the shock stick took him down. Sasha flinched in sympathy as he jerked and twitched on the floor for attempting to interfere. Seeing him in pain and paralyzed from the hit sent renewed anger roaring to the forefront.
Stepping away from the door of her cage, Sasha extended a carefree arm. “Come in.”
“Make it easy, shifter, or go the hard way. It matters not to me.” Mechanical and without any identifying traits the voice pierced her courage.
After watching how they interacted and knowing the process, she waited for them to enter the code for the electronic key pad, then the retinal scan and at last the palm print verification.
As soon as the gate swung open, she launched her attack. “I prefer the hard way.”
Her cat responded instantly and Sasha shifted into her alternate all white four-legged form. The resounding roar shook the metal framework around them. Vision tunneled, becoming muted shades of gray. She leaped through the opening tackling the first guard, her plate sized palms hitting his chest dead center, claws extended. They fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Claws tore through his protective vest to the leather shirt beneath.
Blood filled the air and the scent drove her frenzy higher. She gnashed her teeth, going for his throat, but he threw up an arm to block. Her oversized fangs sunk into the meaty flesh, his scream a victory for her.
“Stop! Get back!” His partner bounced around them attempting to shock her, but Sasha stayed low in close quarters. Her large animal body easily pinned the struggling man beneath her to the floor.
When he tried to roll her off of him, her back claws dug into his flesh, shredding through the tendons of his upper thigh. Another scream ripped from his throat before a jolt of pain struck Sasha. It spiked from her left hip followed by another and another. She leaped back from her prey and tracked her new enemy. The second guard’s hands shook on the shock stick. Sweat and fear laced his scent.
She thirsted for more. Crouching in an attack position, Sasha growled and stalked forward while he backed up until he hit the wall and there was no more room for him to maneuver. Her vision grew hazy, the shocks she’d absorbed finally taking effect. Sasha wanted to finish this even if she knew she’d black out any moment. She lunged for his throat and the world went dark.
***
Paralyzed, Jaron watched in awe as Sasha took on the two guards. If he thought her beautiful before, she blew his mind in her Argoran form. Seeing his team mate Arak as a cat didn’t register on his radar, but this was different. All white fur overlaid the sleek, rippling body which bunched with power the moment she leaped through the open gate of her cell.
Blood spilled and cries rang out. Jaron mentally cheered her on as she brutalized her opponent, wishing he could provide assistance. It went against the core of his nature as an Enotian male and Jutak warrior to see a woman fighting alone. Magnificence defined her fierce attack as she mauled the first. He flinched when the second guard struck her with the shock stick, but she continued to fight.
His heart pounded in concert with the action occurring feet away. Sasha’s cat yowled and snarled and suddenly she staggered. The effect from the shock stick kept him from getting up but Jaron struggled hard, temple pounding in pain as if his force of will alone could keep her upright.
Another jab from the shock stick and she crashed to her front. Spatters of red dotted her fur, but it was nothing compared to the guard who no longer moved.
The remaining guard appeared stunned and unsure. He slapped his palm on the wall unit. “Assistance needed in the section with the new prisoners. The Argoran attacked.”
“Confirmed.”
Visibly trembling, the guard slumped against the wall after hearing the response. The doors slid open and four new uniformed men came in armed with laser powered snipers. No more shock sticks, they meant business.
Jaron wiggled his jaw as his vocal chords released and nerves in his limbs tingled with the return of sensation. He had to bite his tongue as they lifted the dead guard and the other two hauled the bulky cat from the room. Everything in him wanted to call out, to protest them taking Sasha away.
He needed to think like a Jutak. Assess the enemy. Plan. Sit back and wait. Without a doubt, Lothar and The Collector were involved with his abduction. Jaron only hoped his team would be able to find him. He had the feeling his dire circumstances might not end well.