Jerred's Price (13 page)

He wasn’t sleeping—he was dead. Jerred was dead, and deep in her heart she knew it was her fault. She tried to move, tried to scream, tried to do anything, but she was frozen. The meadow faded around her, and then they were alone in space. She saw ice forming on Jerred’s face. He was freezing, and when she tried to wrap her arms around him to keep him warm, they cracked and shattered.

She came out of the dream abruptly, a stillborn scream stuck in her throat.

Jerred lay beside her sleeping peacefully. She could hear his heartbeat beneath her head. He was fine. They were both alive. The cell door slid open, and Jerred came awake with a start. The guard looked down at them sullenly.

“The Captain is ready to see you,” he muttered. “Stand up and turn around.” he added, nodding at Jerred.

Jerred did as he was told, and Giselle watched as they slid yet another set of cuffs around his wrists. She must not have seemed dangerous to them, because when they led him out into the hall, they allowed her to follow, unrestrained. She felt panicky.

Josiah wanted his information and she still didn’t have a plan. She hadn’t even managed to discuss the situation with Jerred. It wasn’t good.

They walked down the hallways slowly to a small room. Josiah sat at a small table.

Something about him looked different. She examined his face, and noticed a bruise across his pale cheekbone. There were several scratches, too. Had he been in a fight?

It didn’t matter.

“I see you and your little friend have been reunited,” Josiah said, his tone acid. He spoke to Jerred; her presence hardly seemed to register with him.

“You’re a smart man, you know I have to kill you,” he continued. “But I don’t have to kill your slut. I can let her go. I’ve decided that maybe you care about her enough to try and save her.”

Jerred didn’t answer, and Giselle’s stomach clenched. There was no good response he could make. If he convinced Josiah he didn’t care about her, her usefulness would be over. On the other hand, if he agreed that he cared, the man would use her against him.

“I need the information,” Josiah said. “I want to know where you got the plans for my station. I’ll make this easy on you. You tell me who the traitor was and I’ll let her live. You don’t tell me and she dies. Slowly.”

Jerred seemed frozen; then he spoke.

“I’ll tell you,” he said. “But I want proof that she’ll be safe.”

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Joanna Wylde

“I can’t give you proof,” Josiah said lightly, shrugging his shoulders. “You’re just going to have to trust me to take care of her.”

“I want her on a ship and out of here before I agree to anything,” Jerred replied through gritted teeth. “A ship that doesn’t belong to you.”

Josiah shook his head slowly.

“You just don’t understand, old friend,” he said, his voice dropping to little more than a whisper. “You don’t have any of the power here. I have the power, and you’re going to do what I tell you. If you do, I’ll let your friend live. If you don’t, I’ll kill you both.”

Jerred stayed silent for a moment, apparently lost in thought.

“No,” he said slowly. “I’m sorry, Giselle, but if I betrayed my secrets he’d probably kill you anyway, and lot more people would die. People every bit as innocent as you.”

She came over to him and knelt beside him. She didn’t want to betray herself by saying anything; she had no doubt that once Josiah realized she wasn’t secretly on his side, he’d have no further use for her. But she understood. Jerred wasn’t a perfect man, but she had to respect his desire to protect his people. Beside that, the deal Josiah offered wasn’t good enough. She didn’t want to go free without Jerred. It was either both of them or nothing.

“Take him back to his cell,” Josiah said finally. “Leave the woman here. I want to talk to her longer.”

The guards came forward, pulling Jerred to his feet. His eyes met Giselle’s, and she could feel them pleading with her for forgiveness. She tried to show some of the love she felt for him in her expression, but she had no idea if he understood. Then he was gone, and she was alone in the room with Josiah and only one guard.

“Wait outside,” Josiah said to the man. She stayed still until he was gone.

“You don’t have any information for me,” Josiah said slowly. “I reviewed the tapes.

I don’t think you’re trying very hard, in all honesty.”

“I haven’t had a chance,” she said, a trace of desperation in her tone. “You need to give me more time.”

“Giselle, don’t play games with me,” he said, sounding weary. “I can tell you aren’t going to do anything for me. In fact, I no longer need your help. I already know who the traitor is and I’m taking care of the situation.”

She froze.

“In fact, I’m not quite sure what to do with you. I hate to kill someone as young a pretty as you are, but you aren’t giving me many options, now are you?”

Her mind blanked, and she realized her time was up. He walked around the table and started slowly pacing the room. He used the silence to intimidate her, but instead it made her angry. Prick. Without pausing to think things through, she leapt at him while his back was turned. She landed on his back, wrapping both arms around his neck and holding on for dear life. If she could just hold on long enough he’d run out of air.

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For endless seconds they thrashed together, fury making her strong. He might be bigger and stronger, but his strength flagged as she cut off his oxygen supply. He slammed her up against the wall several times. Fortunately, the room was built for interrogation and was fully soundproofed. After an eternity, he began to slow down and slumped to the floor. Then he fell unconscious.

She released him, knowing she only had seconds to take action. Behind the table were some storage lockers. She ran toward them, flinging one open and searching through it ruthlessly. She found a pair of the same cuffs they’d used to hold Jerred.

She ran back to him, slapping them on his wrists behind his back.

Smiling, she pulled the blaster from his belt. What a pompous ass. He’d been so sure of her that he hadn’t had her restrained, and he hadn’t even bothered to put his weapon out of reach. Served him right, she though smugly.

She fumbled with the blaster, pressing one of his fingers to the lock so the safety would come off. The display flickered to life, and she noted with satisfaction that it held a full charge. She trained the weapon on his chest, and sat back to wait.

He woke up before long, eyes flickering open to find himself a prisoner.

“Bitch,” he managed to whisper. His voice was rough, and she knew he’d have a sore throat if they managed to survive the next cycle. The thought gave her a savage pleasure; he should have to suffer some of the pain he’d caused them.

“We’re going to go and fetch Jerred now,” she said softly. “I hope that your people like you enough to try and keep you alive.”

His gaze was cold; he didn’t bother to respond.

“Up,” she said. She watched coldly as he struggled to his feet. “Not as graceful now, are you?”

She came up behind him and placed the blaster’s barrel in the center of his back.

“One move and I’ll kill you,” she muttered.

“If you kill me, you’re killing yourself,” he replied softly. “They’ll take you out in an instant.”

“If you’re dead, I’ll die happy,” she muttered, surprised by her own bloodthirstiness. Wisely, he stayed silent. She marched him over to the door, and then popped the hatch. It slid open. The guard outside froze, his hand going to his weapon automatically.

“I want you to take out your blaster and drop it on the floor,” she said. He looked to Josiah, who nodded.

“Do as she says,” he ordered tightly.

The man did.

“Now, step away from it,” she said. “I want you to go down the hallway in front of us. We’re going to get Jerred out of his cell. If anyone tries to stop us, I’ll kill your boss.”

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Joanna Wylde

The guard nodded once more. He turned and moved down the hallway with slow, steady steps, hands held up. This man, at least, wasn’t interested in becoming a martyr.

That was good. They turned a corner and found another guard standing outside Jerred’s cell. He, too, was ordered to drop his gun.

“Open the door,” she muttered, feeling a trickle of sweat beading up on her forehead. It itched, and for a moment she found herself reaching up to wipe it off. Josiah tensed, as if to make a move, and she caught herself.

The door slid open.

“Jerred, I need you out here right now,” she said in a firm voice. He appeared in the door. He must have been surprised, but he didn’t show it. Instead he took in the situation with one quick glance. He reached down, grabbing the blaster off the floor.

“Hold out your hand,” he muttered to the guard. The man did as he was told, and Jerred held the second blaster up to it, deactivating the safety. With a composure that frightened her, he took charge of the situation.

“Guards, in the cell,” he said. They did as they were told. “Giselle, keep your blaster on Josiah. He’s going to be our ticket out of here.”

She nodded, thankful he knew what to do next. He looked up at the ceiling as if searching for something, and then he spoke again.

“I know you’re watching us,” he said slowly and clearly. “So I’m going to say this one time only. We’re taking Josiah and we’re going to return to our ship. I want a shuttle ready and waiting for us. I want all the corridors between us and the hangar cleared. You have one minute.”

With that, he raised his blaster and shot at several small boxes mounted on the walls. She assumed they were sensors, although she hadn’t noticed them before to check.

Jerred turned to her, a smile spreading across his face. “Thank you,” he said, eyes softening. “Giselle, you constantly surprise me. I didn’t think we’d get out of this one.”

“You’re not out yet,” Josiah said dryly. “I think you may want to hold the celebration until
after
you escape. I wish to survive this little escapade of yours, so we should probably begin negotiations.”

“You have nothing to negotiate with,” Giselle said harshly, poking him with the blaster. “You do what we tell you.”

“No, that’s not quite good enough,” Josiah said. “If I believe there’s no way for me to get out of this situation alive, I have no motivation to work with you. Give me a reason to believe I’ll live.”

“We’ll let you go when we get to our ship,” Giselle said quickly. “I promise.”

“No,” Jerred said, leaning back against the wall. “We need to take him with us, at least for a while. Otherwise they’ll just shoot us as soon as we leave.”

“Bring an escape pod,” Josiah said softly. “You can put me in it and jettison it as soon as you’re out of our weapons range. They’ll come and get me.”

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“Are you sure?” Giselle asked, snorting. “If it were me, I think I’d leave you to die.”

“It isn’t you,” Josiah said coolly. “These people need me and they know it. They’ll come and rescue me.”

“It’s a good plan,” Jerred said. “Of course, you have to trust me to let you go.”

“I do trust you,” Josiah said softly. “You need me and we both know it. You won’t kill me.”

“Maybe
he
won’t kill you, but I will,” Giselle said in a menacing voice. “This isn’t just about him, you know. You messed with me, too, and I’d like a little revenge.”

“We’ll spare your life,” Jerred said, holding up one hand to calm her. “We all have something to gain from making this work. Are you with us?”

Josiah nodded his head. “We’ll need to go back to the main corridor so I can give them orders,” he said. “You’ve taken care of all my spy sensors in here.”

“Lead on,” Jerred replied.

* * * * *

Their escape went smoothly. True to Josiah’s promise, his people cooperated.

Nobody met them in the hallways and corridors as they made their way to the hangar.

A shuttle, complete with escape pod, waited for them in one of the cargo holds. In less than half an hour they were headed away from the station as fast as Jerred’s ship could move.

It wasn’t fast enough for Giselle.

She sat in the living room with her blaster trained on Josiah. He watched her with a strange expression on his face, as if amused by her diligence. After all, he was tied up.

Jerred had seen to that immediately. Still, she didn’t trust him not to have some sort of trick up his sleeve.

He didn’t try anything, though, and as soon as they were out of range, Jerred came down from the cockpit and freed him. He marched the man at blaster-point to the cargo hold, where he locked him into the survival pod. Seconds later it had been jettisoned, and they watched as Josiah fired the small navigational jets to turn back toward the station.

Jerred came to her and pulled her into his arms. For the first time in since they’d arrived, she let herself relax. Finally, she was safe again. She drew close to him, wrapping her arms around his back and simply leaning against him. There was a tingle of desire, of course. It seemed impossible to be around him without feeling something.

There was something more, though, something deeper. Being with him felt right.

Maybe it was only temporary, but as long as she had him, she planned to enjoy every minute of it.

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Joanna Wylde

Jenna made a chiming noise and announced an incoming message. Giselle looked to Jerred, confused, and he shook his head.

Holding hands, they made their way up to the bridge to listen to the message.

It was from Josiah.

“I’m hoping you get this, Jerred,” the man said. “I’m in this blasted pod now, and I’m not sure what kind of range the radio has. I just wanted to tell you to jettison those two blasters you took from my station. They’re no good, and I’d hate to have you die in a real fight because they don’t work. I’m assuming I won’t be seeing you for a while, so take care. Give my best to Nicolai, and remind him he owes me twice as much now. Oh, you might also want to tell him to find a new spy on my station. The old one is…