Chapter Five – Jada
The T'shav looked utterly exasperated. Jada narrowed her eyes. Why would he give in to her so easily? She tightened her grip on the knife. This had to be a trick. Sildon stepped forward, and she raised the knife a little higher, aiming it at his heart.
"Put down the knife, Jada."
"No." She shook her head. "You're not going to save the baby at all. You're just waiting for me to drop my guard so you can lock me up and fly away."
"Well, that would certainly be the smart thing to do. But no, that is not what I am going to do. I am going to go get that baby like you want me to." He stepped forward again. Another step and he'd be in the range of her knife. His eyes locked onto Jada's, dark, dangerous and challenging.
She swallowed hard. "How can I believe you? You're nothing but a criminal."
The T'shav darted forward. Jada swung her knife wildly, but he grabbed her wrist and twisted sharply. Pain shot up her arm. She dropped the knife with a cry. Sildon pushed her against the wall. He used his body to pin her in place, his huge hands gripping her wrist. Her heart jumped to her throat, and for a wild, insane moment she wanted him to kiss her.
What is wrong with me?
"You know nothing about me, human," he growled in his deep, gravelly voice. With his body against hers, tingles of heat coursed through her body. Her core tightened, and no amount of telling herself that it was her stomach clenching in fear could erase the truth.
She had to get him off her before she gave herself away; he didn't need to know the kind of effect he was having on her – if he didn't already know. Her arousal at his presence could easily be his musth enticing her in. With a snarl, she threw herself forward. Her teeth locked on his neck and she clamped down hard. Sildon howled in pain and yanked back.
He released her and stumbled back, his hand going over the bite mark. Jada stayed where she was, heart hammering. Sildon's black eyes burned, making him look all the more like a devil. But there was admiration in his gaze as well. Jada held her breath, waiting. Excitement mixed with her fear stunned her.
Who knew I'd be into this kind of thing?
Sildon stepped forward again. "We are going to get the baby. At least, we'll look into its situation. If it was bought by a family, then we back off and leave it there. Anything else, and I'll introduce you to a life of crime."
"Rescuing a baby isn't a crime."
"Stealing slaves is. Now sit down. If this is going to work, we have to have a plan."
Jada hesitated, but she had no choice. She had to trust Sildon at his word. It wasn't like she could fight him off. And there was something telling her that she could trust him. Whether it was hormones or something else, she didn't know. But she did know that he was her only chance to save the baby, or at least satisfy herself that it was going to grow up in a proper life. She might not be a mother, but she wasn't going to ignore her maternal instincts.
She sat down on a stool beside the island. Sildon remained standing on the other side. He frowned at her for a minute.
"Before we start, I want to know how you broke this rail."
"I jumped on it."
The T'shav's brow arched. He grinned at her and nodded. "Smart. We have a chance at this after all. Good. Now, first off, you'll stay on the ship while I find where the baby is."
Jada opened her mouth to protest. How could she trust him to tell the truth if the baby wasn't in a good home?
"After I find it, then I'll take you to see it. Or we'll go to steal it. Either way. But Jada?"
"What?"
"If you are determined to go forward with this, I am not going to risk my life to save yours if you get into trouble."
She scowled at him. "I wouldn't expect anything else."
"Good."
***
Jada's mouth tasted like the fruit she had eaten while Sildon searched for the baby they'd seen sold at the market. He'd tracked down the buyers to find that the baby had been sold to the Planchet Corporation. Jada didn't know a lot about the government outside of the Sanctuary, but she knew enough. The United Species was a collation of various planets. They worked together, policed their states, and worked to create a harmonious existence. And then there were the corporations. They ruled through wealth. They owned their own planets, and even when charges were brought against them by the United Species Corps, they rarely stuck.
Of course, there were also the warlords like Zon, who carved out their own roles in the galaxy through sheer strength and shielding various planets from the big corporations. The Planchet Corporation was one of the largest. They'd suffered a setback when their CEO was killed a few years back, but they were quickly rising again. The Planchets were most well-known for their breeding and sex-trade programs. Jada's blood boiled when she thought about what that would mean for the tiny, helpless infant they had just purchased.
"Stay with me, Jada," Sildon whispered.
She nodded and pushed aside those thoughts, focusing instead on the situation at hand. She and her T'shav kidnapper were both dressed in tight-fitting lavender suits, crouched in the pale purple bushes outside a fairly large house. Security seemed to be light. Sildon thought that the Planchets were betting on a low profile to keep their identities a secret and stop competitors from going at them. The planetary location was fairly safe as well, so close to the Zon Sanctuary and deep in the heart of United Species territory.
"Stick to the plan," Sildon whispered. "Deviate, and I'll—"
"You'll make me pay, I get it already," Jada snapped back.
The T'shav narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, then shook his head, grumbling under his breath. He drew his thin sword from the scabbard on his back and crept towards the house. Jada remained close behind, feeling both sick and excited. Sildon had told her multiple times that this might end in their deaths, but she couldn't just turn her back on a helpless baby.
Sildon led her to the front door. He pressed his ear against it for a moment before he nodded at Jada. Her heart jumped to her throat, but it was too late to turn back now. Sildon reared back and kicked the door open. He charged in, yelling and cursing. Shouts and curses answered him. Soon there were quick blasts from a gun and the clash of metal against metal.
Jada peeked inside. Sildon was at the end of the long corridor, driving through a knot of people. They turned in towards him, their backs to the door. Now it was her job to find the baby. She slipped in silently, turning into the first door. It was a toilet. Not the right room. Across the hall was a kitchen. The third door led down into a basement. She crept down the stairs, listening hard. Her fingers, clutching the blaster Sildon had given her, were sweating.
The baby's cry wafted through the dark basement. Jada fished a penlight from her pocket and switched it on. The huge space was utterly empty. She found the baby soon enough, lying in a nest of blankets with a stuffed toy propped near its head. Or rather, her head. She was utterly naked, tears streaking her little red face.
A shout of pain came from upstairs. Jada hoped that Sildon had skewered one of those monsters. She wrapped the baby up quickly, rocking her to quiet her, and then headed up the stairs. Three bodies lay stretched out of the floor that hadn't been there before, but Jada paid them no mind. With the little T'shav girl tucked in her arms, she ran from the house.
This was the part that Sildon had schooled her on more than anything else. She was meant to get back to the ship. She was not to turn back or stop for any reason. For all his bluster about not putting himself at risk for her or this baby, he had taken on the worse of the danger for himself.
He still made it back to the ship before her.
Jada hadn't expected to feel as much relief as she did when she ran up the gangplank and found him waiting for her. She almost rushed to his arms but stopped herself just in time. Sildon didn't speak to her. He grunted as he raised the gangplank and rushed to the cockpit. The engines roared to life, and the baby started crying again.
Leaving Sildon to his flying, Jada turned her attention back to the baby. She had soiled the blankets, one fist flailing in the air. Given her size, she was probably only about six months old. The dark red of her species was only a rose-pink on her, indicating she was either sick or malnourished. Maybe both. Jada discarded the soiled blanket and retrieved a luxurious robe from her wardrobe, wrapping the baby in that instead.
By the time she was at the kitchen rooting around for something to feed the baby, they were in space, headed away from the planet. She heard Sildon order the autopilot to engage. He stomped over to her, eyes narrowed and mouth drawn thin.
"Thanks to you I'm going to have the Planchets coming after me now. I am not stopping again until we need to refuel, understood?"
Jada chewed her lip. Maybe she should wait until he was calmer to tell him they were going to need different food and clothes for the baby. His eyes narrowed further.
"We're not stopping," he repeated.
Yes, that would definitely wait. She put a hand on his elbow, balancing the baby in one arm. "Thank you. She would have died with them."
Sildon blinked. "Uh… okay. She?"
"Yes. What should we call her? I always liked the name Isabel."
"Call her whatever you want." Sildon glanced at the baby then looked away. "I've got a blaster burn to take care of. Try to get her to stop crying, will you?"
Jada nodded, fighting a smile as he stalked away. She patted Isabel's back, adjusting her again. "He's not as grumpy as he pretends," she whispered. "Now the only trouble is getting him to see that."