CHAPTER1
Sudden bright lights and the grating sound of his cell door opening caused Rush to sit upright on his cot, covering his eyes as he squinted.
“Let’s go, Serpa.”
Rush took a deep breath as he stared at the large man in the gray uniform. “Go where?” he asked, his voice raspy. He’d been in this cell for three months. He’d never left it a single time.
“You’ve been sold. Now get a move on.” The big guy stepped back, motioning for Rush to exit the cell.
Rush wasn’t in a hurry as he slowly rose to his feet, pretending it was a chore to stand. He’d even managed to master the art of wincing as if every inch of his body was in pain. “Sold?” He didn’t like the sound of that.
It wasn’t unexpected. He wasn’t stupid. He was actually surprised it had taken as long as it had.
The Republic had captured him three months ago while he’d been on a supply run with Stuart from The Wanderers’ home base. The only good news was that he’d learned that Maya, who’d been missing, had been found. At least he hadn’t spent the last three months worrying about her.
He knew her well though. She was probably freaking the fuck out now that she’d found out he’d been captured.
Traveling in this new era was always dangerous. For everyone. Most especially for women. It hadn’t been a surprise when they were ambushed by six soldiers from The Republic. That sort of thing happened from time to time. What was surprising was that they’d taken Rush.
At the time, it has seemed plausible they’d been looking for a doctor. When they found out Rush had medical training, they took him. But that had been three months ago, and Rush had been transported directly to this prison where he’d been held alone in this cell.
As the weeks passed, he’d realized no one had needed a medic. If they had, he would’ve been treating patients somewhere by now. Instead, his talent was being wasted in this prison.
Rush had racked his brain trying to figure out what he was doing here. He’d asked every guard dozens of times, but no one ever said a word to him. Three times a day, someone brought him food and removed the previous dishes. Never did that person answer his questions or speak to him.
He hadn’t been beaten or injured in any way. No one seemed to want information or medical care. What the fuck did they want?
Apparently, he was about to find out because he’d been sold. To whom? For what purpose?
“You heard me. Get the fuck moving,” the guard growled, losing patience.
It wasn’t as if Rush could put up a fight. He had nothing but his own strength to fight anyone with. Strength he’d worked hard to maintain by exercising for hours every night when no one was looking.
He was resourceful. He’d managed to use every item in the cell to his advantage to keep fit. Luckily, he’d been well-fed, giving him the energy to continue training.
Faking like he was withering away had become a habit of his. It had seemed prudent to give his captors the impression he had no strength.
He rose to his feet and exited the cell, his heart racing as he preceded the guard down the long row of cells, taking in the rest of the inhabitants out of his peripheral vision. All of them were men. Most of them in his age range and stature.
When they reached the end of the hall, another guard stood. “Turn around, Serpa.” He held up a set of handcuffs.
There was nothing Rush could do but follow instructions. He couldn’t overtake these two armed men with his strength alone. Besides, then what? He would never make it out of this prison without getting caught, probably killed.
As soon as the guard had his hands secured at his back, he gave a jerk on the cuffs and chuckled. “See ya.”
Would he? Would Rush be back here again? He had no idea, and he didn’t bother asking questions.
“Let’s go, Serpa,” the first guard said as he pointed down another hallway.
Rush didn’t hurry. He had no interest in finding out what awaited him, but after several turns and just as many locked, barred doors, the guard finally opened a steel door.
Stepping outside was shocking. It was nighttime. What the hell was going on? A man slid out of the back seat of a black limousine parked right by the exit. He was stern and, like the guard, larger than Rush. He held up a black hood and yanked it over Rush’s head.
Rush jerked back a few steps, his pulse picking up, fear racing through his veins. What the fuck was going on?
“Help me get him in the car,” the new man growled.
The guard unfastened Rush’s wrists at his back, but two seconds later, he yanked his hands to his front and reattached the cuffs. Yanking on the chain between the two cuffs, he forced Rush to stumble forward toward the vehicle.