Rescuing Rory (2 page)

“Roger that,” a deep voice replied. “Hurry the fuck up.”

Rory shivered. Whoever the voice belonged to, he did not sound happy.

“Just fire up the engines and be ready for anything.” He picked up his pace. “Not much farther,” he told her. “We’re docked at J portal.”

Rory glanced at the sign on the wall. They’d just passed the H portal. She did her best to keep up with the pace he set but it wasn’t easy. She wasn’t used to having to run for her life.

He stopped suddenly, slammed her body against the wall and threw himself on top of her. She heard the sound of a blaster and then his big body jerked against hers.

Rory screamed. Her rescuer had been shot. She wasn’t going back to the cage. She wasn’t. She scrambled for the blaster in his hand even as the pounding of boots got closer. But when she lunged for the weapon, it was already out of reach.

Her liberator whirled around and returned the guard’s fire, the blaster steady in his hand. She peeked around his shoulder in time to see the two burly guards drop to the deck. “Come on.” He tugged her behind him, practically dragging her. She tripped but managed to stay on her feet.

The J deck came into view. Instead of relaxing, she grew even tenser. She knew better than to think this was over. No woman had ever been taken off the
Exos
. The captain wouldn’t allow it to happen. His reputation was on the line. If one woman was taken, then many would see all of them as fair game. The
Exos
would be constantly under attack. Pleasure ships stayed in business by being utterly ruthless to any who broke their rules and by having impenetrable defenses.

The panel whooshed open and he practically threw her through it. “Get on the ship. Now.”

A fairly large deep-space-class trader was docked on the other side of the portal. The door to the vessel slid open, and a man stood there in full body armor, holding a massive blaster cradled in his arms.

Rory moved closer to her rescuer and clutched the hem of his shirt. He didn’t pay her any attention as he was too busy peering around the panel. “Come on. Come on,” he muttered under his breath. It occurred to her that he must have had an accomplice, someone who had aided him in her escape.

The man with the massive weapon beckoned her forward but she wasn’t going anywhere. Not without the man beside her. She might not know his name but she trusted him more than the unknown man waving her toward the ship. He’d protected her from the guards’ blasters. She’d be dead if he hadn’t.

Boots pounded against the metal floor. “Move it,” yet another unknown man yelled as he ran toward them, head down and legs pumping.

The man beside her startled as if surprised to find her still beside him, grabbed her hand and yanked her through the portal and on to the waiting ship. Honestly, she was getting a little tired of being dragged around as though she were space garbage and he a salvager.

They passed the sentry as they boarded. He didn’t even glance at them. All his attention was on the portal. The other man burst onto the deck, raced through the portal and launched himself onto the ship. The door slid closed and locked behind him. The man with the huge blaster hit the communication pad next to the door. “Go. Go. Go.”

The ship banked sharply and dropped as the captain released from the docking station and took off hard and fast. Rory flew toward the wall but before her body could smash against it, strong arms snatched her out of midair, anchoring her. “I’ve got you.”

She shivered at the sound of his voice. He certainly did have her. His arms were like hot manacles wrapped around her midsection. He slid down the wall, braced himself against it and dug his boots into the floor. The scratchy material of his shirt was rough against her arms and back, making her very aware of her lack of clothing.

With the intensity of their flight, and her need to escape, she’d forgotten she was wearing nothing but a scrap of what couldn’t really be called underwear.

The ship suddenly banked again and she gripped his arm tight. The two other men gripped the bulkhead above them and rode out the wild ride with seeming ease. She envied them their strength.

“They’ll send fighters after you,” she felt compelled to point out. The
Exos
had six fighters in her fleet along with several shuttles for ferrying customers from the surface of whatever planet they were currently orbiting.

The man who’d raced on board behind them grinned at her. “They’ve got to catch us first, babe.”

Then the deep voice came over the intercom once again. “Hitting boosters in three, two, one.”

Rory knew what that meant and wrapped her arms around the man holding her. The ship shimmied and then was whipped forward at a massive rate of speed. This was obviously no ordinary trader ship. Boosters cost huge money and came with an element of danger as well. Flying at such incredible speeds meant it was tough to avoid another ship or a meteor if one crossed your path.

Just who were these men? And what did they want with her?

The longer they sat there, the more comfortable she got, which made her uneasy and confused the hell out of her. She was practically naked and sitting on a man’s lap, a man she didn’t know.

Something hard dug into her side and she knew it wasn’t his blaster—the weapon was much too small to be the foreign object pressing against her. Considering she was sitting in his lap, that left only one possibility. Her rescuer was aroused.

She swallowed hard. Had they brought her on board to service the crew? She began to shiver, fear adding to the chill of the loading bay airlock. She’d fight if she had too. There had to be a safety shuttle somewhere on board. All she had to do was find it.

He pulled her closer and ran his big hand up and down her back, his touch rough but gentle. “We’ll get you some clothes just as soon as we’re out of booster mode.”

That gave Rory pause. It certainly didn’t sound as if he were getting ready to rape her as soon as they leveled out. That had to be a good sign. Right?

She nodded because there really wasn’t anything else she could do or say at the moment. She could feel the two other men watching her and made sure her hair covered her breasts. She didn’t want to give them an eyeful, or at least any more than she already had. Who knew how much of her they’d already seen?

Rory didn’t know how much time had passed before the ship slowed. She knew the moment it went from booster mode into regular flight. She had no idea where she was. Not that it mattered. The only home she’d ever know was gone, stolen by a devious man, someone she’d trusted.

“Let’s get you up and find you something to wear,” her liberator, or captor—at this point she wasn’t quite sure what to call him—said. It was getting tiresome not knowing his name.

“Who are you?” She had to know.

He held out his hand to one of the other men and was dragged to an upright position. He kept one arm around her, taking her with him, and settled her on her feet beside him. “I’m Kal Marks.” He raised an eyebrow when she didn’t say anything. “And you are?”

Shock hit her square between the eyes. “You don’t know who I am?”

He shook his head, causing a lock of hair to fall across his forehead. She fought the urge to brush it away. Honestly, she was losing her mind. “Then why did you kidnap me?”

“Rescue you,” he amended.

“Okay, why did you rescue me?”

He released her wrist. It was the first time since he’d offered her his hand that some part of him wasn’t touching her. She missed it more than she should. She felt bereft, set adrift. Which really didn’t make any sense. She might have a name for him but he was still a stranger.

“Because of this.” Kal reached out and rubbed a finger over the base of her tattoo, tracing the thorny vines before stroking upward over the trail of colorful flowers covering her arm. He started at her forearm, moved up to her elbow and then all the way to her shoulder.

“You took me because of my tattoo?” Had she heard him right?

He nodded. “What’s your name?”

“Aurora Banks. Call me Rory.” Only her father had called her Aurora and only when angry with her. Everyone had called her Rory as far back as she could remember.

Kal nodded. “Well, Rory. Welcome aboard the
Abigail
. These are my brothers Garth and Amos. You might recognize Garth from the
Exos
. The one with the big gun is Amos.”

Now that she was really looking at them, she could see the family resemblance. They were all big men, although Garth was more heavily built than the other two. And they all had black hair with a shock of white in the front. She looked from one to the other. She hadn’t noticed the lock of white in Kal’s hair during their dramatic escape. No wonder. It had taken everything out of her just to run and stay on her feet.

Amos was missing the pinky finger on his left hand. No doubt these were tough men who’d lived a rough and deadly life. She had no idea what they did for a living and wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Since their ship was a trader she wondered if they were legit or mercenaries or smugglers, men who’d run anything if the price was right.

Both of the men nodded at her. They were studying her as if waiting for her to say something. She didn’t exactly know what to say so she nodded back.

Heavy footsteps came toward them, vibrating through the floor. A red light on the wall flashed to green and the door to the loading bay airlock opened. It had been locked from the other side.

Rory might have wondered more about that but she couldn’t take her eyes off the giant of a man standing in the doorway. He was taller than the rest, his black hair buzzed off close to his skull. But she could see the strands of white and knew he was another brother. A black patch covered his right eye and his right hand wasn’t skin and bone but robotic.

“What the fuck are you standing around for? What does she know?”

Chapter Two

Kal felt Rory shiver and stepped in front of her. He knew most folks found Flynn intimidating and they were right to be scared of him. Flynn might be his brother but even Kal walked softly when he was on a tear about something.

“We just got on board. I’ll get some clothes for Rory then we’ll talk.” He met Flynn’s gaze and willed his brother to back down. If they frightened Rory they might not get anything from her. And they needed the information she had. Badly.

They might have a reputation of being the badasses of the known galaxies but they’d never hurt a woman. Which meant they needed her on their side.

He ignored the niggling thought in the back of his brain that wanted to protect Rory from all harm, the impulse that made him want to punch his brother for frightening her. She was shaking, although that might be as much from cold as anything. She was basically naked. And as much as he liked looking at her body, he didn’t like the idea of her being cold.

Kal unbuttoned his shirt and handed it to Rory. She took it and slipped it on, pulling it tight around her.

Flynn dragged his hand over his short hair. “Okay. Get her dressed and fed and bring her to the bridge.”

Kal took her hand and led her toward his brother. “This is Flynn. He’s the captain of this heap of metal and bolts.”

“Bite your tongue, boy.” Flynn sounded gruff but Kal could hear the teasing beneath it. They all loved the
Abigail
. She was their livelihood and their home.

Rory edged as far away from Flynn as she could get. Kal led her past him and into the corridor. There was no doubt where he was taking her. He wanted her in his room where he could protect her. Not that his brothers would harm her but he didn’t like the idea of her being afraid.

She peered up at him. Once again he was struck by the pure blue of her eyes and the thick lushness of her lashes. Her nose was small and pert, her lips plump and full. Her chin was gently curved, much like the rest of her body.

“You’re wearing a battlesuit?” It was said almost as an accusation. He felt the corners of his lips turn up slightly. She might look delicate but she had courage.

“Of course I’m wearing a battlesuit.” He turned right and paused outside the door to his quarters. His shirt hung on her slender frame, the sleeves covering her hands and the hem hitting her mid-thigh. He missed her more skimpy attire.

He placed his hand on the security lock and it slid open when it confirmed his identity. Kal then put his hand on her back and urged her inside.

Rory stopped through the doorway, which automatically triggered the light by his bedside table to come on. She peered around the room and he tried to see it through her eyes. It wasn’t a large space but it was functional and had some amenities. He had his own bathroom, complete with gel cleansing unit.

“Would you like to get cleaned up?” He walked to the sliding door that separated the bathroom and bedroom and pushed it open.

She nibbled on her bottom lip and Kal barely swallowed a groan of lust. It had been months since he’d gotten laid and his dick was more than ready to remedy that problem. The last time he’d had a woman was in the back room at a dingy bar on Ramos 3. The woman had been a professional and it hadn’t taken that long to conduct business. The encounter had left him cold and Kal hadn’t bothered with a woman since. His hand was more personal than a quick fuck with a hooker. Now his libido was roaring back to life, reminding him he was a man and Rory was all woman.

“Okay.” She kept one eye on him as she made her way to the bathroom.

He put his hand on her arm and she stopped. “I’ll be waiting right here.”

She nodded, stepped into the small room and slid the door shut. Kal heaved out a breath and raked his fingers through his hair. He’d get changed while she was busy. He wasn’t a fan of these rough trousers and much preferred a flightsuit. The battlesuit would stay. They all wore them when they weren’t sleeping. They were always ready to meet any threat.

Rory stood in the small space unable to believe what had happened. For the first time in months, she was free. Okay, maybe not technically free but it was the first step.