Choosing Riley: Sarafin Warriors Book 1 (33 page)

The information had almost driven Vox crazy.
The trader was a known sex slave trader, stealing and sampling the
females before he delivered them. The females were always
physically alive when he delivered them but their mental state was
questionable. The information gave graphic detail about his sexual
preferences. He knew his cub would not survive an assault by the
trader. That was the first thing that came to his mind. The trader
liked to use tools on the females to clean them out first before he
sampled them – repeatedly. Lodar and Tor had reviewed the
information as well, becoming quieter the more they read. Lodar
excused himself shortly after the report was finished so he could
prepare a bag with the items he would need to help Riley.

Vox straightened and clenched his fists
tightly when the beady-eyed creature answered the
Shifter’s
hail. “This is Captain Pud Rasp. State your business.”

“Prepare to be boarded,” Vox said
stiffly.

“Why are you boarding me? I am not in the
Sarafin star system. You have no call to board my vessel. I am a
legitimate short-haul freighter,” Pud said nervously.

“We are boarding you. Don’t try to stop us,”
Vox said with a wave of his hand to cut the transmission. “Prepare
the fighters. Take out his engines. I don’t want to take a chance
he has modified them. If he has any weapons, take them out as well
but do not breach the hull. We do not know where he may have hidden
Lady Riley.”

“Raghu, you have the bridge. Do not let that
bastard out of your sight,” Vox ordered to the current first
officer on duty.

“Yes sir,” Raghu responded taking over
command.

“Let’s go get my mate,” Vox bit out to Lodar
and Tor.

*.*.*

Riley worked the cover off the control panel
with the Leatherman she had in her purse. She flipped it around
until it had the pliers showing after she tossed the cover onto the
bed. She was not about to sit around waiting to be rescued. Hell,
she thought, cold, dank, and ugly might decide to test her theory
about ripping his dick off. The thought of touching him was enough
to make her want to vomit.

“That is so not going to happen,” she
muttered as she studied the wires.

With a shrug, she snipped the red wires
crying out in startled pain when she cut the back of her hand on a
sharp edge of the panel when she jumped at the sparks flying out at
her. She cursed and reached over to wipe the blood off on the cover
of the bed before pulling a bandage out of her purse and covering
the cut. When she was done, she quickly snipped the rest of the
wires being more careful as the sparks flew. She breathed a sigh of
relief when she finally heard the click of the door.

“At last,” she sighed impatiently. “Now, to
do the amazing disappearing act. And they thought Houdini was the
only one who could do it,” she giggled. “And now ladies and
gentlemen, the amazing Riley St. Claire-d’Rojah performing her
‘I’m-getting-the-fuck-out-of-here’ act!” She said with a flourish
of waves and smiles for her non-existent audience.

She slipped out the door and moved rapidly
down the corridor. She would hide on a different level. She decided
that to drive the space ship you probably went up so she would go
down. After all, someone had to drive the damn thing, didn’t they?
She reasoned. So, as long as monster man was up top she wanted to
make sure she was as far away from him as possible.

She quickly slipped down the ladder between
levels and kept going. She wound up one corridor and down another.
After half an hour she decided she was so lost that she wouldn’t
even be able to find herself. That must give her some advantage.
She trotted down another corridor, skidding to a stop when she
realized she was in some type of cargo area. There were huge crates
everywhere. She looked up at one group and decided if she could get
to the top of it, she could lay down and no one would be able to
find her. She bit her lip before an excited grin crossed her face
and she shifted.

In her four-legged form, jumping from crate
to crate was easy. She was also warmer with the fur coat she was
wearing. She turned in a circle several times before she laid down
on the top container, exhausted. She opened her mouth in a huge,
sharp-tooth yawn and settled her head down on her front paws.

Nap-thirty,
she thought drowsily.
Escaping and getting lost is hard work.

She rubbed the side of her mouth against her
paw as her mind began to cloud over with sleep. She would just wait
here quietly until Vox came. It shouldn’t take him long and she
would be much more of a help once she was rested.

Baby makes us sleepy too,
her cat
yawned before the exhaustion they were feeling overwhelmed them
both.

*.*.*

Vox stood frozen in frustration. The damn
trader had released some type of fragrance bomb into the
ventilation system. The entire ship smelled of oil and sweat. The
two smells covered any scent he would have had of Riley. On top of
that, the slimy bastard had rubbed the same stuff all over his
clothing.

He turned when the lead of Team Three came
up. The warrior shook his head. “Nothing, sir.”

He turned back to the trader who was shifting
back and forth on his feet between two warriors who were positioned
on either side of him. He took a menacing step toward the sweating
male. His face darkened as Team Two reported they had found nothing
in the lower cabin areas.

“Where is she?” Vox snarled, letting his
right hand shift until his sharp claws were extended. “I won’t ask
you again.”

“I.… I…. I told you,” Pud stuttered. “I’m
just a short-haul cargo freighter. I don’t carry passengers.

Vox roared, letting his teeth drop down and
shifting partially in rage. He could smell the lie on the man, even
over the oil and sweat. He raised his clawed hand and swiped it
down along the trader’s face, ignoring the male’s screams as he
collapsed and gripped his shredded cheek in his palm.

“You dare lie to me,” Vox snarled out in
rage.

“Sir! We’ve found something,” Team One called
out. “There is a cell with the panel disconnected.”

Vox turned dark, thunderous eyes on Pud.
“Bring him. If I find her on this ship, he will die a slow
death.”

He ignored the trader’s pitiful begging. He
moved down the corridors heading down to the level where Team One
waited for him. His heart thundered in his chest as he approached
the door where his men were standing. He stumbled when he saw
Lodar, who was kneeling by the bed, look up at him with a tight,
grief stricken face. Tor stood rigid by the door, the muscle in his
jaw working back and forth.

“Is she in there?” Vox asked hesitantly.

“No,” Tor said looking coldly at the sobbing
trader.

“What?” Vox forced out.

“The blood on the bed matches Riley’s blood,”
Lodar said standing up. “She was held here.”

Vox heard the words ‘Riley’s blood’ over the
thunder in his ears. He spun around grabbing the trader by the
throat and holding him up against the outer wall of the corridor.
He ignored the blood running down the man’s face on to his arm. He
ignored the desperate gasps as the trader tried to draw in air from
where Vox was crushing his throat. He ignored the men surrounding
him as grief and pain unlike anything he had ever experienced
washed through him.

“Where is she?!” He roared so loudly the
walls vibrated with his rage. He pulled the trader back and slammed
him back against the wall again. “Where did you put her body?”

“I…. swear…. I…. swear,” the trader tried to
say. “I…. swear I didn’t hurt her.”

Vox’s face twisted in pain and grief. Pulling
his left hand back, he swiped the trader across his gut, slicing
him almost to his backbone. He dropped the dying male who was
trying to hold his internal organs as they spilled out. Vox stepped
back from the gore with a look of disgust.

“Find her,” he ordered quietly. “I will not
leave her here.”

Tor and Lodar nodded. They left Vox,
spreading out to search the ship thoroughly. Vox stood standing in
the empty corridor watching dispassionately as the slave trader
finally quit jerking. A horrible wave of grief overcame him and he
roared as the pain swept through him in never-ending waves of
agony. Pulling his fist back, he slammed it into the metal wall
over and over, ignoring the pain and blood from the strikes. It was
nothing compared to the pain in his heart and soul.

Riley rolled over onto her side taking the
weight off her expanding belly. She was having the most wonderful
dream. Her and Vox were chasing each other around the meadow near
the ancient city, only this time the guards weren’t looking. She
felt her back leg jerking as if she was running. Suddenly Vox
sprang out from behind a bush, tackling her and rolling her over
and over. She moaned softly in her sleep as she felt him mount her
from behind, his teeth buried in her neck and his cock buried deep
inside her womb. Another low moan escaped her before a noise in the
cargo area disturbed the dream.

Wake up!
Her cat hissed quietly.
I
smell danger.

What?
Riley muttered sleepily.
Tell
it to come back later. Vox and I are getting it on and it is so
amazing.

You are bad as mate! All you think about
is sex,
her cat hissed back in aggravation.
Wake up!

Riley rolled over with a silent grumble.
You’re damn right all I think about is sex. Hell, I was good for
the first twenty-four years, for crying out loud! Double hell, if
you consider I’m a St. Claire and was a good girl. I think I
totally get to think of nothing but sex for the next forty or fifty
years at least!

You have to be alive to have it,
her
cat reminded her with a huff.

Great! Just great! Everything has to have
strings attached. You have to be alive if you want to have sex.
Fine! I’m awake,
Riley growled silently to her cat.
So,
where is this danger?

I not know. I just feel danger,
her
cat replied.
Funny smell makes my nose burn. I not smell
anything right.

Well, don’t stick your big-ass head up
like a target. Just keep quiet, lay still, and wait. That is what
the cats on my world do. Then they pounce when the target gets
close,
Riley responded logically.

I wait,
her cat promised.

Riley kept her head down, letting her ears
flicker back and forth trying to pinpoint where the sound that
disturbed her came from. Everything appeared to be quiet but the
hair on the back of her neck was standing straight up telling her
that she wasn’t alone in the cargo bay any longer. Her ears
flickered again, perking up when the door to the cargo bay suddenly
opened. She froze, barely breathing as she heard the sound of
footsteps entering the room. They seemed to echo overly loud in the
silence.

“This is the last room that hasn’t been
searched,” a deep voice whispered.

Riley shivered as she heard the footsteps
divide before everything became silent again. Whoever was searching
was very light on their feet. Riley curled up into a tight ball,
trying to make herself as small as possible on the top of the
crate. She heard the door open again and the sound of heavy
footsteps echoed through the cargo bay.

“Have you found anything?” A familiar voice
called out harshly. “I want every crate opened and searched
thoroughly.”

Vox! Our mates!
Riley and her cat both
cried out in excitement.

Riley uncurled her huge body and stood up on
shaky legs. Damn, she was a nervous wreck. She was so going to be a
total crybaby when she got Vox’s arms wrapped around her. She shook
her body and moved over to the edge of the crate. At the same time,
a movement between two crates a short distance away caught her
attention. Antrox 157 stepped out raising a laser pistol, pointing
it at Vox’s chest. Riley didn’t even think about what she was
doing. Her horror and fear for her mate overrode all thought.
Leaping from the crate at Vox, she shifted as she fell towards him
screaming for him to look out at the same time as Antrox 157 fired
the laser pistol.

Riley felt her body jerk when she hit Vox in
the chest as he turned toward her scream. They tumbled down,
rolling over and over until Vox lay sprawled over the top of her.
She gripped his shoulders tightly in panic.

“Are you okay?” She asked in a frightened
voice.

“Yes, you….” Vox tried to speak over the
sounds of laser fire.

“I’m good,” she smiled up at him, brushing
her palm against his cheek. “Go get that bastard,” she gasped as
laser fire barely missed them.

“With pleasure,” Vox grinned, showing his
sharp teeth.

Riley lay still as Vox rolled off her and
called out commands to his men to surround the crate where Antrox
157 was hiding. She reached down and touched her side that was
beginning to burn fiercely. Her eyes widened when her fingers came
away covered in blood. From the feel of it, the damn Antrox hadn’t
missed after all. Riley coughed slightly as her throat filled,
beginning to choke her as she tried to breathe in.

We hurt,
her cat hissed frightened.
I feel essence leaving. We hurt bad.

Our baby?
Riley begged.

Our poor baby,
her cat moaned softly.
Our poor baby.

No!
Riley screamed as she struggled to
draw in a breath.
No!
She cried out as darkness blurred her
vision.
No, damn you! I won’t lose them. I love them both too
much.
She whispered, fighting against the pull on her to give
up and let the pain go.
Never!
She thought as she felt the
tug of hands and the cry of despair shattering the sudden quiet of
the cargo bay.