Chapter Seven
Ree
His hand clapped over my mouth, waking me from a deep dreamless sleep. I struggled instinctively but he had me in a viselike grip.
“Hush,” he breathed into my ear. “Stay here. Stay silent.”
He slipped away into the night, leaving me trembling. What was it he’d heard? The enemy he said was hunting me—or was it something else? The jungle was home to dangerous predators. Though I’d never caught a glimpse of one, I’d seen the carnage they inflicted. Corpses of animals, some of them huge, torn to shreds and covered with swarms of insects feeding on the bits that were left. Jaden and Zeke had taken turns guarding the mouth of the cave every night, sleeping in shifts.
To my shock, I heard voices outside. Had the alien lied to me? Were my bodyguards alive after all?
A moment later, my hopes were dashed. A squad of armed soldiers stormed into the cave, blinding me with lights. As best I could tell, they were all human. The alien trailed after them.
“Aria DiMello.”
I didn’t recognize the voice of the one in front but I’d heard the tone before when I came up against leaders of the Federation who thought they’d gotten the best of me. A mixture of triumph and grudging respect.
I sat up, covering my naked body as best I could with the animal-skin vest the alien had tossed over me while I slept. “Yes, I’m Aria.”
“We’ve been searching for you for a long time. Lucky for him that meddlesome old fool Andreu is already dead. I planned to kill him slowly and painfully for all the trouble he caused us. Kaal tells me he robbed me of that pleasure.” He gestured to my alien captor.
Kaal. His name was Kaal. Despite the guns trained on me, my mind went to the lust-filled hours we’d spent together. It came as a shock that I’d been thoroughly fucked by this man three times and never learned his name.
“Get her up.” He pointed to the two men nearest me. “She’s coming with us.”
“No!” Kaal stepped forward, put himself between me and the soldiers. “She belongs to me, Nye. I did what I was ordered to do. I tracked down your escaped criminals.” He glanced at me and went on scornfully. “She’s not a warrior. She’s just a female. I need a mate. I’ll take her—instead of the bounty you owe me.”
The man called Nye turned away, addressing the squad of soldiers. “Wait outside. Guard the entrance.”
He waited till they filed out, then whirled on the alien. “Bounty?” he snarled. “You were told to kill them all. Take no prisoners. My troops should never have seen this one alive. Now I have to take her in, maybe even hold a mock trial. Show them the Federation always sees thatjusticeis served.”
Kaal closed in on him menacingly. “We had an agreement. When I told you I found a female with them, you said you wanted me to take you to her so you could question her. You swore you wouldn’t hurt her.”
He stopped suddenly. “You called her by name. You already knew who she was.”
“Yes, I knew. She’s the reason you were sent here. I saidIwouldn’t hurt her and I won’t. But she’s caused the Federation an enormous amount of time and trouble, not to mention the money we spent hunting for her all over the galaxy after she and her bodyguards escaped our raid on the Insurrection’s compound. She’ll be questioned on Zibaru while we’re holding her in maximum security until her trial. The warden there wasn’t party to our agreement.”
“Zibaru? No! You can’t take her there! She’ll never survive in that hellhole.”
Nye shrugged. “One way or another, Aria DiMello is going to die. She’s guilty of treason. That verdict carries a death sentence. If she dies in prison while she’s awaiting trial, so much the better. Then the rebels can’t hold her up as their hero during a long public spectacle.”
“I trusted you! I thought you were my friend!” With a roar, Kaal launched himself at Nye, only to crumple to his knees, clutching at his neck and gasping for breath.
“Relax.” Nye held out a small black device. “You just got a shock from the chip we implanted in you before we sent you on this mission. While you were tracking them, I was tracking you. The effect will wear off soon enough, and then you’ll be able to move again.” He gave Kaal a pitying look. “By the way, to set the record straight, I don’t make friends with primitive species.”
“Davis! Jensen!” He raised his voice. “Get back in here. The alien tried to attack me! We now have two prisoners to prepare for transport.”
* * *
The trip to the transportvehicle was a nightmare. Before we left the cave, two of Nye’s soldiers took great pleasure in manhandling my naked body. They stripped off the vest Kaal had given me, squeezing my breasts painfully, then shoved fingers up my pussy and ass, claiming they were searching me. Thankfully they allowed me to put on my spare uniform and boots before tying my hands behind my back again.
Still unable to move or speak, Kaal lay on the ground and watched, his eyes blazing with anger. When they finished with me they bound his hands too, after removing his belt with all its weapons. One of the soldiers examined the black stone blade, then slipped it in his pocket before tossing the belt into a far corner of the cave.
Once his hands were secured they came back to me and tied my ankles together, leaving just enough play in the rope for me to take halting steps. After doing the same to Kaal, they hauled him up. Though he could barely stand upright, he shoved their hands aside. They prodded me to my feet and led me outside, with soldiers flanking me as though I presented a serious threat. Kaal shuffled along behind us, surrounded by more soldiers.
Haltingly, I made my way through the jungle. With my hands bound, I couldn’t keep branches and vines from tearing my clothes and whipping my body. Before long I had bloody scratches crisscrossing my skin. The two soldiers who trussed me up walked behind me, carrying on a conversation loud enough to make sure I heard every word.
“Did you see those red marks on her ass?”