“It’s Orchidian rope,” he says. “Made from the finest plants on the planet. Each time you move, they become more constrictive. This means that you could essentially kill yourself just by trying to break free.” I can practically hear the sneer in his words. “You could strangle yourself and I wouldn’t have to lift a hand. It’s the perfect murder.”
“There’s no such thing as the perfect murder, asshole, unless you’re murdering yourself.”
He tsks at me and appears from the trees. He swings down on some sort of rope. I can’t see clearly because my own net is becoming more and more confining. I try to listen to his words and stop wiggling, but it’s nearly impossible. My pack is pressed closer to my body, and my arms are tightened at an angle that’s awkward and inhibits my ability to do anything.
I can’t reach for my bow.
I can’t reach for my knives.
I can’t reach for fucking Dagger.
I’m useless.
And suddenly, I feel like I have failed her as a protector.
I promised I would keep her safe, but I didn’t. I promised her everything would be okay, but it’s not. I promised her I would be there for you, but I’m not.
I’m not anything I said I was, and the realization breaks my heart.
My chest hurts and suddenly, I’m not as peaceful as I should be. Suddenly, I’m not as calm and collected as I usually am. Suddenly, I’m not as prepared for the hunt as I need to be. Suddenly, I lose my cool.
I scream.
There’s no way this fucker is going to take Dagger. I’m not going to let him hurt her or kill her. I’m not going to let him lay a damn hand on her.
“Aw, is your big bad alien upset?” It’s Stremon. I know it is. He steps in front of me and I realize he’s exactly as Dagger described. He’s strong and big, but he’s still a human. He’s still smaller than me, and I can take him.
“Go back to Mars, asshole,” I say. I’m going to break him. I’m going to tear him apart. I’m going to break him limb-from-limb. I’m going to destroy him because he wants to hurt my girl. He wants to hurt her, but I won’t let him.
“What the fuck do you want, Stremon?” Dagger steps coolly from the bushes, and surprisingly, I don’t smell an ounce of fear on her.
“Go hide, Dagger,” I say through gritted teeth. She doesn’t need to see this. She doesn’t need to see me turn feral, wild. She doesn’t need to see me go crazy on this man from her home planet.
She doesn’t need to see this side of me.
“I think you know what I want,” Stremon turns to her with a sneer. He’s a crude, sniveling man and I hate him.
Dagger ignores my instructions to hide and keeps talking to him.
“Hmm, what could you possibly want?” She taps her chin and moves closer to me, slowly. She’s being an idiot. She’s almost within his reach. If he wants to hurt her, he’s going to have an easier time of it now. He could leap for her and choke her, strangle her. He could grab her. He could shoot her. I don’t know what kind of weapons he has, but he definitely has something. He definitely has a plan.
As a bounty hunter, he has to be ready for anything, but he also has to learn how to predict the movements of his prey. It’s how he hunts. It’s how he hunted us. Somehow, he got one step ahead of us and that was all he needed. It’s all he ever needs.
“Let me see,” Dagger moves even closer to me. Her movements are slow and calculated, I realize, and I wonder if this means my girl has a plan. Oh, I’m still completely pissed she’s putting herself in danger, but if she does have a plan, that also sort of makes her a genius. “Could you want to kill me because I hear something I shouldn’t have?”
“Bingo,” Stremon says with a glare. He crosses his arms over his chest. “Now, tell me, would you like me to kill you first, or do you want to watch your lover die before I put you out of your misery?” He jerks his head toward me. “Those ropes are getting more and more restrictive. Soon they’ll choke him and that will be the last of your man.”
“Please,” Dagger suddenly sounds horrified, scared, and I wish I could reach to her and hold her. I wish I could comfort her. “You can’t kill him. He has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me.”
Stremon just shakes his head: a true villain. “He’s involved now and there’s no going back, sweetheart.”
“At least,” Dagger starts sniffling loudly. “At least let me say goodbye to him. Just one hug.”
“As you wish,” Stremon waves his hand at her like he can’t be bothered to stop her. “Just remember, if he moves, he’s going to die faster, so I’d be careful how much you touch him.”
“Of course,” she nods. Dagger drops to her knees beside me. “Oh, Ezra,” she says loudly. “I’m so sorry I brought you into all of this. How can you ever forgive me?” I don’t smell sadness on her, though. I don’t smell the scent of fear.
No, the only emotion I’m getting from Dagger is excitement and anger.