Rescuing Rory (8 page)

He drew back his fist and drove it into his brother’s face. “You stay the fuck away from her.” Before he could land another punch, Flynn and Amos grabbed him and yanked him off Garth.

Flynn shoved him back. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Kal dragged his fingers though his hair and took a deep breath, trying to rid himself of the surge of rage flooding through him. “Nothing.”

Standing straight, hands on his hips, Flynn glared at Kal with his one good eye. “It’s not nothing. You punched your brother. Yes, Garth can be an idiot at times, but that’s no excuse.”

“Hey,” Garth protested in the background as he lithely rolled to his feet. For a big man, Garth could move quickly when he needed to. “I resent that remark even if it is true.”

Garth’s attempt at a joke fell flat. There was no diverting Flynn’s anger. “We’re on the same side here. I won’t have that woman coming between us.” The finality in Flynn’s voice made Kal’s blood run cold. Flynn wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of Rory if he thought for one second she’d drive a wedge between the brothers. Oh, he wouldn’t kill her, but he’d dump her on the first planet they ran across.

And Kal wasn’t ready to lose her. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Kal glanced at Garth. “Sorry, man. But don’t talk about Rory like that. She’s been through a lot.” And then he hit his brothers where he knew it would hurt the most. “She could be Abigail. What if some other asshole was saying those things about our sister?”

That sobered them all quickly. Garth, who was fast to anger and just as quick to get over it, slapped Kal on the back. “No harm done. I’ll do my best to watch my tongue.” He flicked his tongue in and out like a snake. “But I’m still thinking you laid her.”

Kal made a halfhearted swing at Garth but couldn’t help laughing. “You should have gotten laid at our last stop before the
Exos
. All you can think about is sex.” Garth always attracted women wherever they went but he rarely acknowledged them.

Flynn slid back into his chair. “I don’t care if Kal is fucking her as long as she does what we need her to and doesn’t cause any problems.”

Kal took his brother’s words to heart. He nodded at Flynn to acknowledge that he’d heard the warning and went to work monitoring the radar for any other ships in their vicinity. It wouldn’t do to get lax with security, not when he had such precious cargo on board.

As Kal worked, he couldn’t help but wonder how Rory was doing. He thought about checking on her but decided if he laid eyes on her, even if it was just on screen, his work would suffer. And that couldn’t happen. Not after Flynn’s warning.

Eyes burning and shoulders stiff, Rory pushed out of the chair and groaned when her legs and back protested. She absently rolled her neck and shoulders as she wondered how long she’d been working. After a while, all the men in the photos began to look alike but she forced herself to take her time and study each one carefully.

A woman’s life depended on it.

That’s if Abigail was even still alive. Rory shuddered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms as a chill went through her. She knew all too well just what could happen to a woman on her own. And Abigail had only been a kid when she was taken. But she also wasn’t truly alone. She had four brothers searching the far corners of every known galaxy for her.

And God help the person who snatched their sister when the Marks brothers found them. Rory didn’t think whoever was responsible would live long. And although she didn’t like violence, in this case she was pretty much okay with whatever they did to the person who abducted Abigail. If they’d take a twelve-year-old kid from her family they didn’t deserve lenience.

She rolled her shoulders again as she considered the short list she’d made so far. She still had a few hundred pictures left to look at but needed a break. She could kill two birds with one stone and let Kal and his brothers know what she’d found so far.

It had nothing to do with the fact she missed Kal and wanted to see him. “Stupid,” she muttered under her breath as she approached the door to the room. He probably hadn’t spared her a thought since he’d left her several hours ago.

Rory straightened her shoulders and pressed the release button, slightly surprised when the panel actually slid open. She’d half expected to be locked in Kal’s quarters. She wasn’t exactly a guest on board the ship.

It was easy to retrace her steps to the control deck. The ship was a nice size for a trader but wasn’t massive. Even if Kal wasn’t there, someone would be. The urge to turn around and run back to Kal’s room was strong but there was no safety to be found there. Not really. She didn’t have a place anymore. That had been brutally snatched from her.

She took a calming breath and sucked back the tears that threatened to fall. She wouldn’t cry about her father’s murder. Not now. Now she had to be strong. Her father would not only understand but also approve.

Rory could almost hear his voice in her ear. “Buck up, kid, it can always get worse.” She’d lost count of how many times he’d said that to her when she’d get down about things. Her father had loved her but he’d never coddled her, forcing her to stand on her own two feet and to accept life as it came. Some might think it a harsh lesson to teach a child but it had held her in good stead over the years.

The door to the control deck slid open and Kal stood there with his hands braced against the frame, worry etched across his face. “Everything okay?”

She nodded, not able to speak yet with so many emotions bombarding her. Her father’s memory was overwhelmed by the feelings she had for Kal. They weren’t just sexual either. Rory felt a connection to Kal that went deep. She cared for him and that was dangerous.

“Fine. I’m not done yet but I needed a break and thought I’d give you a report on my progress so far.” That was good. She had to keep things professional and impersonal.

Kal stepped aside and motioned her into the large room. When she passed by him, she could feel the heat of his body and smell his earthy scent. It permeated her senses and made her nipples tighten. She fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest.

As she expected, the rest of his brothers were there. Flynn stood beside his chair, towering over all of them, his hands fisted on his hips. Impatience practically oozed from his pores.

Rory dug deep and found the extra courage necessary to make herself take a step toward the captain of the ship. She spoke quickly, taking control of the conversation before Flynn could. Her father had always taught her it was better to assume command in a tense situation and never to let your opponent see you sweat. While he might not be an opponent, Rory knew Flynn wasn’t exactly her friend. “I created a file on Kal’s computer. I assume you can access it.”

“On it.” Kal slid back into his chair and tapped on the keyboard in front of him. Seconds later, the list popped up on the screen.

“Linegar Jones is the first man on the list.” Rory stepped over the screen, ignoring Kal when he moved to stand beside her. “He was on one of the supply ships the day your sister went missing. He’s a scumbag of the first order. It’s possible he took her but I don’t know how he would have hidden her on the ship. And his captain at the time was a good man who would have reported any stowaway. Still, it’s better not to overlook him.”

Flynn strode closer and studied the picture on the screen. The promise of death gleamed in his eye. Garth also moved closer and Amos was right behind him.

Rory felt hemmed in by all the testosterone. She’d been around rugged, rough-edged men all her life but never had she encountered a group like Kal and his brothers. They all exuded a bone-deep self-confidence, tinged with a large dose of menace and an aura of raw sex appeal. Even Flynn, though he was missing an eye and a hand, radiated a sense of power that couldn’t be denied. She started to move closer to Kal and made herself stop and stand her ground.

“What else do you have?” Flynn demanded.

“Avid Diamond.” She nodded to the next picture on her list. Where Linegar Jones had been old and mean, this man was younger and appeared almost pleasant in the picture. “Don’t let his baby face fool you. He uses his youthful, harmless appearance to his advantage and has a history of luring women.”

“Son of a bitch,” Garth swore.

“He’s that and more,” she readily agreed. “While no one has ever been able to pin anything on him, there have been rumors of women going missing.” She paused and added her personal opinion. “But not girls. Avid favors full-figured, full-grown women.”

“So you don’t think he’s the one?” Kal asked.

She glanced at him and shook her head. “I don’t. But I still think he’s worth a look.”

Flynn rubbed his face. “Have you found any that you
do
think might have kidnapped Abigail?”

Rory didn’t want to get their hopes up only to dash them. “I think all the men on the list need to be looked at. I’m not finished going through all the pictures in the file yet and there are six on the list so far. There could be more.”

“Who?” It was the quiet brother who spoke. The tortured expression on Amos’ face made Rory’s heart ache.

“Jasper Freeman.”

Kal leaned forward, tapped a key and pulled up the photo to match the name she’d given him.

Just looking at him gave Rory the shivers. He was a tall, good-looking man with a lanky build and dark hair, but there was something about him, something in his pale-blue eyes that bothered her. Her father had always told her you could read a lot about a man in his eyes.

“I’ve never met the man but I’ve heard plenty.” She glanced at them all one by one, her gaze lingering a bit longer on Kal.

“Well?” Flynn demanded.

“Jasper Freeman was there the day your sister was taken. He’d stopped to buy supplies and to spread the word.”

“What word?” Garth asked. He leaned forward to get a better look at the picture.

“Jasper is one of those hell-and-damnation preachers. He believes everything that’s wrong in the Alliance galaxies is because of how we live. He preaches simple living and communal responsibility.” Rory rubbed her hands up and down her arms and took a few steps away from them. She needed to move but there really wasn’t anywhere to go.

“Rory.” Kal’s strong arms reached around her from behind and he pulled her back against his chest. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. God she was so tired. She hadn’t slept well since her father’s death. First out of grief and then because she’d been too damn scared to close her eyes.

“It all sounds good,” she continued, her voice brisk. “But there have been a lot of rumors about Jasper and his merry band of followers.”

Even though she wanted to stay in his arms forever,
because
she wanted to stay there, Rory forced herself to pull away from Kal’s embrace. His grip tightened briefly before he released her. She swallowed back her disappointment, a part of her wishing he’d never let her go.

“They call themselves Simplistics. They grow their own food, make their own clothing and use as few electronic and mechanical items as possible. At least that’s what the followers do. Jasper has his own personal ship and security detail complete with the latest weapons.”

She gave them all a cynical smile. “For his security. Or that’s the story. Anyway,” she continued after a quick glance at Flynn confirmed his growing impatience. “I don’t know much more about them.”

“Then why is he on your list?” Amos frowned and studied the picture. “What’s the connection?”

Rory tapped the screen with her finger. “Jasper demands complete obedience from his followers. He also thinks it’s his mission in life to save lost souls. He especially likes to save young girls. Or that’s the rumor.”

It made Rory’s stomach burn to imagine this crazy preacher scooping up some innocent young girl and stealing her from her family simply because he didn’t like the way she was living.

“Jasper is a big believer in the family unit being made up of a father and mother. It’s possible he didn’t think it was right or proper having a young girl live with four older men even if they were her brothers.”

“I’ll kill him.” Flynn’s voice was low but there was no mistaking the deadly promise. This was no empty threat but a vow.

“If he’s the one you’re looking for,” Rory felt compelled to add. “It could be one of the others. Or it could be someone in the files I haven’t checked yet.

Flynn shook his head. “Look at him, Kal,” he prompted his brother.

Kal studied the picture. “What am I looking for?” he asked Flynn.

“He came to the house.” All eyes turned to Amos when he spoke. “I remember him now. He asked if we had any extra vegetables to sell from our garden.”

“Garden?” Rory asked.

“Abigail was responsible for a small garden in the back of our house,” Kal told her. “Our mother started it and we kept it going over the years. It didn’t produce much but every bit of food helped us survive. Quaros is a harsh place to hack a living and there were five kids to feed.”

“But he didn’t visit on the day Abigail disappeared,” Flynn continued. “It was on an earlier trip months before that. And he seemed harmless enough. Hell, he didn’t even look at Abigail while he was there. When I told him we had nothing to sell, he politely thanked me and left.” Agitated, Flynn began to pace. His tension was palpable and it seemed to Rory he was sucking all the air out of the room.

“We spent our time searching for any man who ever looked at Abigail, not those who ignored her. Hell, I passed over this guy’s picture.” Flynn stopped and glared at her. Rory swallowed hard and reminded herself it wasn’t her he was angry with. “I remember him being on the planet but he seemed to be with a group of women and men. Harmless.”

He threw himself into his seat and buried his face in his hands. “Fuck me. We’ve been looking in the wrong direction all these years.”

Garth went to his older brother and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Flynn.”

He raised his head. “It is my fault. It was my job to protect her. To protect all of you.” His features hardened. “And I’m about to rectify that mistake.” He turned to Kal. “Find out where the preacher is. We’re going to have a talk with Jasper Freeman.”