Caught by Menace (38 page)

“Even back then, I could have said no. I should have

been smart enough to realize that they were using a

homeless kid to do their dirty work because I was

expendable. I was a nobody, a nothing, but I kept teling

myself that I could use the gang right back. I could get

myself off the streets.”

myself off the streets.”

“And you did,” Dankirk confirmed. “You just didn’t

know the whole story. I thought I was protecting you.”

She laughed harshly. “Wel, a load of good that did

me. I’ve got the whole fury and might of the Harcos

forces bearing down on me as we speak. They think I

have an inside line on my gunrunning, terrorist-loving

mama.”

“I’m so sorry I lied to you.”

She reached for his hand. “It’s okay. I would have

done the same thing to spare you any pain.”

Dankirk shook his head. “What are you going to do?”

She shrugged. “What I always do.”

“What? The right thing? The honorable thing?” He

scoffed with irritation. “Naya, just run! Let me cut that

damn chip out of your arm. I’l take you away. They wil

never find you again. You can start over with me. You

can have the life you’ve always deserved.”

Panic seized Menace. What if she said yes? Would he

ever see her again?

“I can’t, Danny.”

Selfish as it was, Menace exhaled in relief. He hadn’t

lost her irrevocably.

lost her irrevocably.

“Why not?”

“There’s no starting over for me. I tried. I got taken to

a whole new culture and lived on a spaceship and you

know what? My past stil bit me in the ass. I can’t outrun

it.” She lifted her chin. “I have to face it.”

“Naya, for once in your damn life, wil you listen to

me? Be a coward.
Run.
”

She shook her head. “You don’t know the man who is

after me. He is not the kind of man who lets loose ends

live. The second I stepped foot on that ship and he

caught a whiff of my misdeeds, I was marked for death.”

“But you’re innocent,” Dankirk insisted. “You had

nothing to do with this terrorist bulshit.”

“Do you think he cares? No, there’s no justice up

there. It’s the same crap we’ve dealt with here.” She

smoothed her hands over her head and straightened her

shoulders. “I won’t put anyone else at risk. If I’m going

to die, I may as wel go out doing something noble.

Look, those weapons are going to get so many innocent

people kiled. They’re going to bring war to The City. I

can’t let that happen.”

“There’s no way you’re getting into the Sixer

“There’s no way you’re getting into the Sixer

stronghold.”

“I have to try. Hel,” she said sourly, “if I do manage

to walk away from this, it’s straight to Kovark for me.

You know what that means.”

Menace knew al right. It meant starvation, beatings

and rape.

Dankirk cleared his throat. “I could record a message

for Jennie, if you want.”

“No,” Naya refused gently. “She’s got her new life.

I’m not about to drag the stinking carcass of our old one

into it.”

“She’s happy. I saw her last week. It was a good

thing you did, helping her escape with Josef.”

“I’m glad.”

Dankirk hesitated. “When I met your man, I thought

he—”

She held up her hand. “I can’t.”

Menace’s chest ached at the pain filing her voice.

“Some things are too good be true, huh?” Dankirk

remarked.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice quavering. “Although, with

my track record of being fucked over by the people I

my track record of being fucked over by the people I

love, I should have seen it coming.”

It took every last bit of strength and control Menace

possessed not to crumple to the ground. She had al but

admitted she loved him in the same breath she caled him

out for betraying and abandoning her.

“I never wanted to be one of the men who let you

down.” Dankirk said the one thing Menace wished he

could say to her.

“I know.” She inhaled a cleansing breath and cleared

her throat. She spun around and hopped onto the bed.

Her determined expression grew larger on the screen

until Menace realized she was nearing the video feed.

The view wobbled as she punched the ceiling and tore

the camera free. Her beautiful tear-stained face filed the

screen. “If you want your guns, come and find me,

Terror. But you better move fast. I’m probably not going

to make it to nightfal.”

The satelite feed turned to static. Beside him, Pierce

franticaly tried to connect with the team on the ground

that was supposed to be watching her. He pushed his

earbud firmly into place and cupped a hand over his

other ear. “What? You’re sure?”

“Pierce.” Terror spoke his felow operative’s name in

“Pierce.” Terror spoke his felow operative’s name in

a growl.

Pierce shook his head. “She’s gone. The team rushed

the room the moment they realized she was going to run,

but they weren’t fast enough. She and her friend went out

a window. They tracked down her ID chip in an aley.

They swabbed the blood spatter on the wal for DNA

but it’s obvious that it’s hers. She got a sixty-second

head start on them and four and a half minutes on us.”

Menace rounded on Terror. “What’s your gut teling

you now, Ter?”

“That I’m going to get back our weapons and

annihilate a gunrunning gang by nightfal,” he responded

matter-of-factly. “Whether she’s guilty or innocent, it

makes no difference to me.”

Menace went numb with the realization that he didn’t

know this man. “No difference? You dropped an

innocent, unarmed woman in a dangerous place and gave

her an impossible assignment.”

“Impossible? Hardly,” Terror scoffed. “You obviously

don’t know your own wife, Menace. Her record and her

history tel me that she’s tenacious. With enough

motivation, she’l accomplish any task.”

motivation, she’l accomplish any task.”

“Motivation?”

“You and Halie?” He gestured to Vicious’ wife.

“You’re Naya’s weaknesses. Al it took was the threat

of putting you in prison and having Halie arrested and

taken away from Vicious to convince Naya to use her

considerable skils to our advantage.”

Halie gasped and Menace gaped at Terror. “What the

hel is
wrong
with you?”

“Wrong with me?” Terror’s voice slashed like a razor.

“What the hel is wrong with
you
? Don’t you realize

we’re at war? Every day, I have to make decisions that

would make the rest of you piss your pants. Unlike you, I

don’t have the luxury of rigid principles. I’m charged with

protecting our people. Whatever the cost.”

Menace was reminded of something Naya once said

to him. “Colateral damage.”

Terror’s hard expression faltered. “I never wanted it

to go down like this, Menace. Hurting you was never

something I wanted, but it was unavoidable. Naya’s ties

to these people, whether she was aware of them or not,

were too rich a resource not to exploit.”

Menace saw red as Terror moved to a console and

picked up a radio and earpiece. As he gave instructions

picked up a radio and earpiece. As he gave instructions

for grid searches, Menace tried to suck air into his

deflated lungs. The viselike grip on his chest convinced

him he was having a heart attack. The knowledge that

he’d been so expertly played by Terror cut deep. The

fear that Naya, his beautiful, stubborn Naya, might not

see tomorrow made him sick.

Pierce approached him. He withdrew something and

extended it to Menace. “We’l get her back.”

Menace’s throat tightened at the sight of the Naya’s

colar in the other man’s hand. He took it from Pierce,

running his finger over the blue leather and silver tag. It

occurred to Menace that they might be successful in

rescuing her, but he would never get her back, not in the

way he’d once had her. She would never forgive him.

“I know The City very wel,” Pierce continued. “I have

some contacts there.”

“You don’t know the people she knows,” Halie

interjected, her gentle voice so out of place in the war

room. “But I do.”

Vicious turned toward her and put both hands on her

shoulders. “No.”

Halie shot him a daring look. “Excuse me?”

Halie shot him a daring look. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not risking you.”

“There’s no risk, Vicious. Just get me on the ground. I

don’t have to go near the danger. I only need to talk to a

handful of people.”

Vicious glanced at Menace. Sympathy flashed in his

pale eyes. “Even if I wanted to let you go, Kitten, it’s

impossible. You heard Orion. He’s grounded al flights.”

Orion shook his head. “I’m not about to rescind that

order. If Naya wasn’t the mole on the ship, there’s stil a

traitorous bastard among us. Someone sent that data

blast that gave away the position and timing of our

weapon shipment. I won’t put my pilots in harm’s way.”

Hope faded within Menace. If he had to, he’d mount a

one-man rescue operation, but without a ship to take him

to the surface it would be impossible.

“I know this is difficult for you, Menace, but my hands

are tied. If the
hazard
were any smaler, I’d be wiling to

look the other way.”

Hope surged within him. Of al the pilots in this end of

the star system, Hazard was the only one balsy enough

to steal a ship and take a covert rescue mission to the

surface while the threat of a Splinter attack loomed. “I

understand, sir.”

understand, sir.”

The admiral nodded and glanced around the room,

silently communicating his permission. His gaze lingered

on Terror. “I’l give you a reprieve until this issue is

resolved. When it’s done, my order stands. I want you

off my ship and out of my sight.”

“Happy to oblige, Admiral.”

Menace couldn’t believe how cool Terror behaved.

The realization that things would never be the same finaly

started to sink into his thick skul. It wasn’t only Naya

who he would lose but Terror as wel. He finaly

understood the kind of pain Naya had known when her

own blood used and abandoned her. It was the same

heart-rending agony that Terror had caused with his

calous treatment of Naya.

Forgiving Terror for what he’d done seemed

impossible to Menace. He could only hope that Naya’s

kind heart wouldn’t shut him out indefinitely. She’d

already proven herself to be a better person than

Menace could ever hope to be. Whether she wanted him

back or not, Menace would do everything in his power

to save her. He’d promised to protect and fight for her.

He intended to keep that promise.

He intended to keep that promise.

“You want me to do
what
?”

Naya ignored Danny’s outburst and continued to rifle

through the box of clothing in the safe house bedroom. “I

want you to go to your communications guy and wait for

a message from Halie.”

“Why the hel would I do that? She’s one of them.”

Naya sat back on her heels and glared at Dankirk.

“She most definitely is not. I’m sure she got my message

by now. I also know that Terror is probably shitting

bricks trying to track me down. She’s his best chance at

finding me. If she thinks she can help me, she’l do it. So

you go back to your com man and wait.”

“For what?” Dankirk grabbed the first-aid kit and sat

down on the edge of the smal bed. “Give me your wrist.

You’re bleeding again.”

“Wel maybe you shouldn’t have jabbed your knife

four inches into my arm!” Her wrist throbbed incessantly.

Her friend’s surgical skils were sorely lacking but he’d

gotten the job done.

gotten the job done.

“I told you I didn’t know what I was doing.” He

unwrapped her arm and applied another wad of thick

gauze on top of the already soaked dressing. Like her,

he’d learned enough first aid to know that removing the

bottom layer of a dressing and dislodging the clotted

blood was a no-no. “We need to get you some

antibiotics.”

“Why? I’m probably going to be dead by sunrise.”

“Don’t say that,” he admonished. “You’re going to

make it out of this.”

“And do what?” She’d been asking herself the same