Bracing his hands on his knees, Nazerel fought to catch his breath after the powerful release he’d just enjoyed. That crafty little vixen had not only taken control of his game, she’d turned it back on him. He’d challenged Morgan to make his head spin. Well, she’d done that and a whole lot more. Still, he didn’t dare leave her unsupervised. She’d left the bathroom without grabbing her T-shirt, but there was still an outfit in the backpack. Luckily, her boots were locked in the wardrobe.
He quickly washed then turned off the water and stepped out of the bathtub. He wrapped the remaining towel around his hips as he opened the bathroom door. Morgan had borrowed his T-shirt again and stood at the window carefully peeking out between the blinds.
“If you keep stealing my clothes, I’ll have no choice but to go around naked.”
She turned from the window with a sigh. “You just like being naked. It has nothing to do with me.”
“I enjoy being naked, but it has everything to do with you.”
She rolled her eyes then motioned toward the window. “It’s starting to get dark outside. Any chance we can go for a walk? I’m going stir-crazy in here.”
He smiled, amused by her transparent ploy. As long as she stayed bound and contained within this room, her chances of escape were basically nonexistent. “I might be persuaded to change our surroundings.” The longer they lingered in one place, the greater the chances were that Varrik would stumble upon some clue to their location.
Without explaining what he had in mind, Nazerel dressed. He put on the T-shirt he’d intended for the following morning, not wanting to fight with her about the one she was wearing. Then he unlocked the wardrobe and tossed Morgan the rest of her clothes. She dressed without argument while he packed up the rest of the room.
He held up the cuffs and motioned her over.
“Is that really necessary?” she grumbled.
“You tell me? If you could put me back in the collar, would you?”
Her gaze narrowed and she tilted her head. “Do you still have it?”
He laughed. “It wasn’t hard to figure out you’d triggered some sort of homing signal. I threw it in a lake about fifty miles from the campsite.” A sudden gleam in her eyes revealed that she’d tucked the fact away for future use. “Do you ever stop strategizing?”
She arched her brow in silent challenge then whispered, “Do you?”
Rather than fuel their budding argument, he crossed the room and buckled her into the cuffs. He attacked the locks as well, but allowed her the relative freedom of the connecting chain. Finally, he pulled the bedding off the bed.
“Why do we need blankets? Aren’t we just going for a walk?”
“You’ll see.” He draped the bedding around her shoulders and put on the backpack. On impulse, he grabbed the half-full bottle of cola and tucked it into the limited space remaining in the backpack. Then he pulled her into a firm embrace and teleported out of the hotel room. She gasped and clutched his shoulders, clinging to his body as well as the cuffs allowed. He wasn’t sure where he was going, so he scanned far ahead. He needed something secluded, yet not so inhospitable that it would make their night miserable.
It was easier to travel along familiar paths, so he found himself in the Toiyabe National Forest, the same general area as the campsite. Though this location was much more secluded. There were no hiking trails or dirt roads, just trees, mountains and the sky. He materialized and continued to hold her as she acclimated to their new setting.
Her arms relaxed and her hands slid down from his shoulders to his chest. She looked around, eyes wide, legs still shaking. “Where are we?”
Ignoring the question, he motioned toward the western sky. “I thought we’d watch the sun go down. Nothing cures stir-craziness faster than fresh mountain air.”
She seemed almost reluctant to let go of him and her hesitancy made him want to pull her back into his arms. Rather than satisfying his passions, what she’d done in the shower only made him want to continue their sexual exploration. No other female had inflamed his senses so fast or so well.
As if sensing the direction of his thoughts, she stepped back and turned around. “Wow. Now that’s what I call a view.”
He agreed wholeheartedly. The mountain on which they stood rested at one end of a broad valley. Other peaks and canyons undulated off into the distance, creating a jagged foreground for the expansive sky. The sun hovered on the horizon, stubbornly fighting for its last few minutes of supremacy.
Morgan shook out the bedspread then sat down, wrapping the blanket and the sheet around her shoulders. She hadn’t offered him the protection of the bedding, but at least she’d left room for him on the bedspread. He slipped off the backpack and sat down beside her.
She watched the sunset and he watched her. How could such strength and such fragility reside in the same person? She was so tiny compared to him and yet she was fierce and unafraid. “What happened to your mate?”
He didn’t realize he spoke the question out loud until she turned her head and looked at him. But the pain in her gaze confirmed his suspicions. She hadn’t been ignored by the men of Earth. She’d been claimed and then lost her mate.
“I thought we already established that there isn’t a man in my life.” She turned back around and gazed out across the serene valley.
“But there once was. What happened to him?”
She drew her legs up and flipped the chain over her knees so she could wrap her arms around her legs. The blankets slipped off her shoulders, but she made no move to retrieve them. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
He scooted closer and wrapped the bedding around them both. “Is he still alive?”
“Yes. At least, I presume he’s still alive. We haven’t had contact since he left the taskforce.”
A certain catch in her tone sent protective anger rushing to the surface. “Was he your mentor? Did this man take advantage of you?”
“What part of ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ was unclear?”
He wanted to wrap his arm around her, or better yet pull her onto his lap, but he did neither. He sat beside her, acutely aware of her small warm body so close to his. He turned his face toward the horizon and silently watched the sunset. Gold gave way to orange then the bottoms of the clouds turned bright pink.
When he’d offered her glimpses into his past, she’d reciprocated. If the strategy had worked once, perhaps it would work again. “As I said, I’ve never had a female who was mine and mine alone. But there was this one pleasure giver who was special to me.”
“What was her name?” Morgan’s voice was barely above a whisper and she didn’t turn her head.
“Rinatta. Her father sold her to the elders so he could feed his other six children. She was young and terrified, so my father gave her to me.”
Morgan did look at him then and disapproval shadowed her confusion. “Why would your father give you a girl who was utterly terrified?”
“Because I was patient and willing to—”
“Break her in very slowly?”
She was echoing the taunt he’d used when he first met her, hoping to make him feel guilty. Rather than backing down from her displeasure, he pressed onward. “The elders had very different means of motivating people to do their will. Starvation, isolation, cold, and pain were my father’s favorite strategies. I saw 300 and it made me curious about the Spartans. Their training methods were similar to ours. Like Sparta, there was no place for weakness or cowardice in the world below. If you didn’t grow hard and ruthless, you died.”
“So you made Rinatta hard and ruthless?”
He sighed. If she insisted on twisting each word he uttered, he would do better to remain silent. Reaching back, he pulled the backpack to him and retrieved the two-litter bottle. He took a swig, wishing it were something a whole lot stronger than cola.
She lightly touched his arm, drawing his attention. “I’m sorry. My world is very different from yours. It’s hard to accept that things like you describe happened in this day and age. You mentioned the Spartans, and I understand the similarities. But the Spartans existed hundreds of years ago.”
He handed her the bottle and watched as her lips pressed against the place where his had been moments before. “This land enjoys a freedom that I have yet to experience. I understand that. But such is not the case all over your world. There are still many nations who are barbarous and warlike. Some even kidnap women—and children—to sell for the pleasure of others.”
“You’re right.” She looked into his eyes as she added, “And those humans are just as wrong as the Shadow Assassins.”
They lapsed into silence as they passed the bottle back and forth. The sunset faded and the temperature dropped with staggering speed. He eased closer to her and she didn’t object, so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“Tell me about Rinatta. I promise I won’t interrupt.”
Her request surprised and pleased him. He’d thought the opportunity lost. Choosing his words carefully, he spun his tale. “First of all, I want you to know that I wanted to free her.”
She tucked her shoulder into his armpit and pressed against his side. “Why didn’t you?”
All he could see was the top of her head, but her willingness to touch him was more important anyway. “If she’d belonged to my father alone, I would have. But she belonged to all four of the elders. They’d shared equally in her cost.”
“Why did that make a difference?”
“They would have demanded my life if I released her without their permission and they made sure Rinatta knew it.”
She tensed, her head shaking back and forth. “That’s wrong on so many levels. I don’t know where to start my objections.”
“The elders were master manipulators. On that Varrik and I agree.”
“I don’t think the elders were the only ones,” she muttered under her breath as she set the empty bottle aside. “I know I’m going to regret this, but continue the story. I’d like to know what happened to the poor girl.”
“I’ll spare you the details of her training, but—”
She pushed back and her gaze locked with his. “She wasn’t the first one you’d ‘trained’ was she? That’s why your father gave her to you. You didn’t just teach the men how to deal with reluctant females. You also taught females how to submit to… No wonder I was putty in your hands. You’ve been doing this for years, maybe decades.”
He couldn’t deny her charge. He’d been the primary trainer for all things sexual and Rinatta had played an active role in that development. Still, the story was more provocative to her than he’d realized. “I think we should change the subject.”
“Not a chance. I’m curious now. Why did you think your seduction of a virgin would appeal to me?”
Her sharp tone rekindled his determination. She had drawn so many false assumptions about the world below. He felt obligated to enlighten her. “Once Rinatta realized there was no possibility of her returning to the world above, she not only accepted her new life, she reveled in it.”
“She was to be the sexual play thing for four old men. How could she possibly have any other reaction?” She pulled her side of the blanket closer about her and averted her gaze.
“You obviously never met Rinatta. She was shrewd and intensely determined to control her own destiny.” Morgan reminded him of the feisty little pleasure giver, but Nazerel wisely kept the observation to himself. “She told me that she wanted to be so captivating, so passionate and so skilled that the first man who actually took her would kill to keep her from the others.”
“You never actually…” She glanced at him then away. “Then how did you teach her… Never mind. I really don’t want to hear the specifics.”
Hadn’t their interaction in the tent taught her how many pleasures could be found without actual penetration? Perhaps she needed another demonstration. Desire wrapped around him, speeding his heart and hardening his cock. They still had all night to kill and nothing much to do.
“So did it work? Was she so desirable that the first elder who took her fought off the others?”
Fine. So they’d talk for a little while longer. “Tribe North was prime, so Elder North was Rinatta’s first lover.”
“Why was Tribe North prime and what exactly did that mean?”
“Vade, the founder was the original Elder North so his vote basically counted as two. That practice kept many votes from ending in a tie, so every Elder North that followed was considered slightly above the other elders.”
“Okay, got it. Now back to Rinatta. Did her plan work?” She sounded impatient, as if she wanted the conversation over so they could move on to more important things. Like giving each other pleasure?
Well, he might be projecting his desires just a bit, but she did sound anxious. “North paid off the other elders, but the result was the same. She was North’s consort for seven years and many whispered that she was responsible for many of his decisions. She also made sure the other pleasure givers were not abused and did her best to help the mates accept their fate.”
“You already know how I feel about that subject, so I’ll spare you another tirade. I’m still curious about one thing though.”
“Only one?” He nudged her with his shoulder, hoping to lighten her mood.
“You said Rinatta was special to you. You brought her up hoping I would tell you about my serious relationship.”
He was afraid the circumstances of Rinatta’s arrival had eclipsed that fact. “North was the first male to share her bed, but he never touched her heart. I was her true lover.”
“Couldn’t North smell you on her? You’ve made a big deal about how easy it is to smell other males.”
“We have a device similar to your condom. I made damn sure my scent never touched her in any way.”
After a long pause, she asked, “What would have happened…I guess a better question is, did Elder North ever find out?”
“We risked death each time we touched, but it didn’t seem to matter. And, no, he never found out.”
She finally looked at him, her gaze luminous in the gathering moonlight. “Then what happened to her? I presume you’d be with her still if that were an option.”
He thought about that for a moment. Would he be with Rinatta if they had both been liberated from the Shadow Maze? “I’m not sure. My affection for her changed over time, but it broke my heart when North set her free.”
“Why did North let her go?”
“According to the Sacred Customs pleasure givers had to be offered their freedom after one season cycle had passed. Some stayed much longer, but the offer had to be made each year.”
“So why did Rinatta choose to leave you? Had her love burned out?”
He shook his head and gazed off into the night. “Just the opposite actually. We had a close call, a really close call. It forced us both to admit that we might not be so lucky the next time. Besides, North had grown bored with her. Staying would have meant she made herself available to the other elders. Neither of us wanted that. So I encouraged her to accept her freedom and asked Varrik to cleanse her mind of every memory we’d created.”
“Why? If she truly loved you, she would have wanted to remember.”
“Varrik agreed with you. Rinatta begged him to leave her memory intact, except for the specifics of her captivity of course. I checked on her two or three times a year to make sure she was doing well. The last time I saw her, she was holding an infant and her heart was filled with love. I accepted her happiness and never went back.” He glanced at her and was shocked to see tears shimmering in her eyes. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m not.” She stubbornly swiped her cheek with the back of her hand and looked away from him.
“So back to the beginning of this rambling conversation. When I asked about your mate, I saw something familiar in your eyes. It made me wonder if your love might have been forbidden like Rinatta’s and mine. That’s why I asked if he was your mentor.”
“He wasn’t my mentor, but he was quite a bit older than me.” She didn’t look at him, so he remained quiet, hoping she’d say more. “We both knew better. Fraternizing with other agents was against the rules. We weren’t risking death, but it definitely made the relationship more interesting.” She glanced at him with a wistful smile. “Don’t we always want what we can’t have?”
“How long were you together?” He risked the question after she slipped into silence for several minutes.
“We were lovers, off and on, for three years.”
Another long pause followed, so he prompted her again. “Why did you stop seeing him?”
“I received a promotion he thought he deserved and things got ugly fast. He started the rumor that I’d slept with our boss to secure the promotion.”
“And you couldn’t defend yourself against the allegation without admitting why he was being so vindictive?”
“Exactly. Those who knew me well knew the rumor was bullshit, but it made things extremely awkward. I’m a staunch supporter of the no office romance policy now.”
“I’m sure you are, but knowing your lover valued his occupation more than your affection had to have caused you pain.” He shouldn’t care about the specifics. Why did he keep asking about her past?
“I think it bruised my ego more than my heart. It had been obvious from the start that he was superficial and self-absorbed. That’s why I never put more energy into the relationship. It was a flirtation, nothing more.”
“How long ago did he leave the taskforce?”
“He applied for a transfer three days after my promotion was announced. That was seven, no, eight years ago.”
“And there has been no one special in the past eight years?” How was that possible? Morgan was intelligent, confidant, not to mention the most desirable woman he’d ever seen. Human males should be trampling each other in their haste to claim her.
“It’s not like I’ve gone out of my way to avoid relationships. The taskforce keeps me extremely busy and I move around a lot. The people I interact with on a regular basis are all coworkers, most are my subordinates. I’m rather isolated.”
“I understand isolation better than most.”
She looked at him and smiled, yet sadness still shadowed her gaze. “I suppose you do.”
For a long tense moment they just stared at each other. He wanted to touch her, wanted to find the subject or phrase that would shatter her misconceptions and make her receptive to the attraction pulsing between them. His blunder in the shower was infuriating. Yes he recognized her scent and even more so her taste, but she was worlds away from ready to accept what he sensed. They were enemies. How could they possibly be mates?
“Why did you come to Earth?” She whispered the question as if she were afraid of breaking the spell.
“You know why.”
“I know what the report says, what Lor and the others have told me. I want to hear it from you. What brought you to Earth? What were you hoping to accomplish?”
He sighed and dragged his gaze away from hers. He’d told her enough already and there was so much he was forbidden to say. If she didn’t believe that he was trying to find a new start for his men, then no amount of detail would change her mind.
Her small, cold hand touched his arm and he shivered. “I really want to know. What made you put your trust in Sevrin?”
“I never trusted Sevrin,” he snapped then clenched his teeth. “The Overlord reluctantly took us into the ranks of his soldiers, but most of us are part Rodyte. Ontarians will never trust Rodytes, never really accept them.”
“Go on. What did you do?”
“I started looking for somewhere else to take my tribe, somewhere we could really call home.”
“What’s wrong with Rodymia? You said most of your men are at least part Rodyte.”
“At the moment Rodymia is ruled by Sevrin’s kin. Need I say more?”
“I suppose not.”
“If that changes, I might reconsider. Rodymia is the obvious choice in many ways.”
He would be happy to share his thoughts and explain his actions if her interest were real. But others were protected by the secrets he kept and he couldn’t help thinking she was playing an angle, trying to manipulate him in some way. Still, he was tired of lies, so he told her a stripped-down version of the truth constructed around several significant omissions. “Sevrin’s promises were wild and wonderful. I knew Rodytes had been manipulating DNA for centuries, so I needed to find out how much of what she told us was true. I warned the other alpha hunters not to trust her and to verify everything she said.”
“They didn’t listen to your warnings?”
“They wanted it to be real badly enough that they turned a blind eye to everything else. It didn’t matter that we were Sevrin’s prisoners and that their females were dying.”
“Why didn’t you stop it?” She kept accusation from showing on her face, but it sharpened her tone. “If you knew about the victims, why let it go on?”
“I was gathering evidence against her just like Lor. I was about to turn everything over to him when Sevrin announced we were moving.”
“That would have been a good time to turn yourself in,” she pointed out.
“No it wasn’t. I’d convinced Flynn to spy on her for me.” He scoffed then shook his head. “Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who took advantage of Flynn’s weaknesses.”
“None of that explains why you didn’t shut her down.”
“I wasn’t in a position to ‘shut her down’, but I was determined to get myself into that position. I pissed her off hoping she’d punish my entire team. I needed them not to hunt, but I couldn’t explain why my attitude had suddenly changed or it would have made Sevrin even more suspicious.”
“Did it work? Did she forbid your team from hunting?”
She was firing off questions like a seasoned interrogator, not giving him time to concoct lies. “Yes. And during the move no one hunted, so no one was in danger. The lull gave me time to try to find her new headquarters.”
“Did you find it?” Now her tone was tinged with challenge.
“No. Which was why I didn’t turn myself in. We were your only link to Sevrin. If the Mystic Militia rounded up all the Shadow Assassins, Lor would have abolished any hope he had of finding Sevrin. And Sevrin was the real villain whether anyone on Ontariese wants to admit it or not.”
“They’re not as oblivious as you presume. But it doesn’t change the fact that Shadow Assassins kidnapped human females and those females ended up dead.”
“I agree. Those particular hunters must be punished, but none of them are on my team.”
“No one on Team South hunted the entire time you were here on Earth?” Her disbelief was obvious.
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me. This was a waste of breath.”
Morgan stared at Nazerel’s stubborn profile, not sure what he expected her to say. She wanted to believe him. God knew his story was compelling, but it also seemed a bit convenient. He didn’t trust people in authority, for obvious reasons. If half of what Varrik reported about the elders was true, it was a wonder Nazerel trusted anyone. So it wasn’t farfetched to believe that he’d try to go after Sevrin himself. The events supported his claim. Or his claim had been carefully crafted around the chain of events.
She sighed and drew her legs up closer to her chest. “Are we staying here all night? It’s already pretty cold?”
His gaze narrowed, the expression part glare, part speculation. “Do not move.”
She felt the terrifying weight settle over her muscles and then he flashed out of sight. Each breath was a tremendous effort and she couldn’t even blink her eyes. Suddenly, the sensation passed and strength flowed back into her body.
Holy shit. This was her chance to escape, meager though it might be. She scrambled to her feet and threw off the blanket—and Nazerel returned.
“I must really be tired if the compulsion wore off that quickly.” He moved the blankets out of the way and spread one of the sleeping bags he had bundled in his arms.
“You went to the campsite?”
He just smiled and continued to make their bed. He spread the sheet, the blanket, and finally the second sleeping bag. “This should keep us warm and snugly until morning.”
She was too cold and too frustrated to argue with him. Sitting on the edge of the makeshift bed, she pulled off her boots then crawled between the layers.
A few minutes later he crawled in behind her and pressed himself against her back. One of his arms slipped beneath her neck and the other encircled her waist. “Would you like me to put you to sleep? It could be a long night.”
“No,” she stressed. “Stay out of my head.”
He buried his face in her hair and inhaled.
I sense things, smell things, taste things no human can understand. The memory made her shiver and sent restless longing ricocheting through her body. Surely he hadn’t meant what it sounded like he meant.
“Cold?” He pulled her tighter against him, amplifying the heat coming off his big body.
“What did you mean?” She hadn’t meant to ask, but the question just slipped out.
He chuckled. “You’ll have to be a little more specific.”
“In the shower.” Anxiety tightened her throat and kept her from blurting anything else.
“You know what I meant.” He brushed her hair back and kissed the side of her neck. “I think you might even suspect I’m right. You’re just not ready to admit it.”
She rolled to her back and stared up at him, but the angle of the moon cast his face into deep shadow. All she could see was a faint blue glow coming from his eyes. “I’m attracted to you. As ridiculous as that is, I admit it. But that doesn’t mean—”
He pressed his index finger to her lips, stemming her flow of words. “You’re not ready. I accept that. You don’t need to say any more.”
She turned her head, dislodging his finger. “I will never be ready. Do you accept that?”
“I accept that you believe that at this point in time.”
“You’re impossible.” She rolled back to her side and tried to ignore him. It was the only viable option when he was in this mood.
“There are significant advantages for a human when they bond with a Rodyte, especially a Shadow Assassin.”
His tone was so light, so conversational that it made her smile. “Is that so?”
“Would you like to hear what they are?”
“Do I have a choice?”
He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “You can ignore me.”
She chuckled, amazed by how easily he changed gears. “We both know how well I do that.”
“Once the female’s physiology transforms, making her more compatible with the male, she also becomes compatible with his nanites.”
“How does that transformation take place? Does it happen with all Rodytes or just Shadow Assassins?” He’d piqued her curiosity. That was for sure. They were talking about the elusive ability that had originally drawn Sevrin’s attention.
“The transformation is more dramatic with us, but it happens with every Rodyte.”
“But how? What triggers the transformation?”
“Can’t you guess?” He rocked his hips, subtlety rubbing against her. “Each time the couple mates, they become more compatible, more unified.”
His lips brushed her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She swallowed hard and tried not to squirm. “And the nanites? What would they allow the females to do?”
“Nanites are what heals my injuries and eradicates illness. They would make you stronger and faster, healthier than—”
“We’re not talking about me,” she pointed out in a breathy rush. “We’re speaking in generalities.”
His arm slid up under her breasts, but he ignored her reminder. “You would live much longer than an ordinary human, as would our children.”
Their children? She wanted to laugh, but the image formed, clear and tempting within her mind. Sweet round faces with auburn hair and blue-ringed eyes. Why was it so easy to picture a future at his side?
Because he was a master seducer! He literally taught others how to wear down the emotional defenses of their captive mates. Her mind tripped over the last phrase as she waited for a rush of righteous indignation. The thought once filled her with disgust and sympathy for the victims, yet all she felt now was discontent. She wanted, needed, something she refused to name.
“I’m not going to mate with you just so I can live for two hundred years.”
“I wasn’t suggesting you should. I just thought you should know.”
She didn’t respond, had no idea what he wanted her to say. Instead, she shoved the troubling thoughts to the back of her mind and closed her eyes. She tried to relax. A cold breeze caressed her cheek, but her body was cocooned in warmth. Their bed was surprisingly comfortable and his strong arms held her securely. The rest of the world had never felt so far away. It was just her and Nazerel, no conflict, no danger. She felt safe—which was utterly irrational!
Her eyes flew open and she stared into the darkness. How in God’s creation could her enemy make her feel safe?
His tall form contoured to her back from neck to knees. He was just lying there, his breath teasing her hair. He wasn’t touching her or trying to arouse her and yet her body ached for his. She pressed her bound wrists against her chest, as her nipples tingled for no apparent reason. She wanted him to kiss her, to hold her down and make her feel all the things she’d felt in the tent. But that was even more irrational than feeling safe in his arms.
She was the queen of hopeless relationships. That was all this was. In the back of her mind she knew nothing meaningful could come from this, so her body went haywire.
“Your pulse is erratic.” His breath was warm on her neck and the arm at her waist slid up until it encountered her elbows. “What’s the matter?”
“You’re making me crazy and you know it.”
“I’m just lying here holding you.”
He was right. She was the one who couldn’t stop wiggling, rubbing against him and… “Are you doing this intentionally?”
“Doing what?”
She pressed her lips together, refusing to speak the words.
“Do you ache, sweet Morgan?” He moved his arm down to her hips and realigned their bodies so she could feel how hard he’d gotten. “I’m not ashamed to say it. I need you. I want to be inside you more than anything.”
She shook her head and tried to wiggle away as her body responded with a painful clench. “I can’t.”
“I know it’s too soon for what I want, but there is no reason for you to be miserable. Let me touch you. I’ll ease the ache. If you relax, then I’ll be able to relax as well.”
“No.” She glared at him over her shoulder. “I don’t need you to touch me. I need to be away from you.” She even managed to sound determined rather than desperate, and still he chuckled.
“If you say so.”
“Take me home. No one will expect that. I can’t tell them where you’re going because I don’t know.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“I can’t take any more of this,” she cried. “Just let me go.”
His arm tightened around her and his breath escaped in a long sigh. “I can’t, morautu. You know I can’t.”
“Why?” She tried to turn back around, but his arm tightened, keeping her in place. “I don’t understand why you’re being so stubborn.”
“Yes you do.” He pressed another kiss to the side of her neck.
If he meant to take her off-world, she was doomed. She could not allow that to happen. “Once you get your ‘insurance policy’ from Phil, you won’t need a hostage anymore. I am your hostage, Nazerel. That’s all I am.”
“Go to sleep.” A hint of impatience crept into his tone.
She lay perfectly still, afraid to provoke him, yet not even close to falling asleep. How had she ended up in this hopeless situation? She reviewed each decision, each move she’d made, trying to figure out what she’d done wrong. There were no glaring errors. She was simply outmatched and she’d been out maneuvered every step of the way.
Maybe if he fell asleep, she could slip away and and…and what? She didn’t have a flashlight much less a vehicle and Nazerel could hear her heartbeat. Tears of frustration gathered in her eyes and she furiously blinked them away. She couldn’t give up. She would not give up. There had to be something she could do, some tactic she’d yet to try.
His hand stroked up her arm and then his lips brushed against her ear. “Go to sleep.” When he whispered the words this time they were laced with gentle compulsion.
Phil was waiting for them in his tiny storefront bright and early the following morning. Disguised as a gritty pawn shop, the store was really just a cover for his interstellar trading, which had made him an extremely wealthy man. “This was not easy to come by, especially in the timeframe you gave me to do it.”
“But you have what I need?” Nazerel asked hopefully.
“I do.” He took a deep breath then blurted, “But my fee has doubled. I took significant risks and—”
“Done.” He triggered the transfer with his comlink.
Phil confirmed the transfer then handed him a memory stick. “This contains everything you requested. I also transmitted the information directly to your device. Please verify it before you leave. I always strive for complete satisfaction.”
Nazerel’s comlink chimed and he navigated to the file that had just downloaded. He scrolled through the lengthy report, stopping every so often to verify the content, then nodded. “It looks good. Did you keep a copy?”
“No. I want no part in any of that.” He sounded sincere, but Nazerel wasn’t sure he believed him. This information was extremely valuable and Phil was first and foremost a businessman. But any threat at this point would be bluster. Nazerel wasn’t sticking around long enough to enforce anything other than goodbye.
“As usual, it has been nice doing business with you.”
“Likewise.” For the first time since they met, Phil looked uncomfortable.
“I require a bit of privacy. May we exit through the back?”
“Of course.”
He grasped Morgan’s upper arm and dragged her through the shop. They emerged through the rear exit and found themselves in a tiny parking lot nestled between several buildings. Complete seclusion would have been better, but Nazerel was still regaining his strength after attempting to burn through the collar. This would have to do.
“Don’t do this.” She twisted her arm as she jerked against his hold. “There is no reason for you to take me with you. It makes no sense.”
He yanked her to him, her back pressed against his chest as he pulled energy into his body with his other hand. The ground vibrated and clouds rolled across the sky, making the area dark and hazy. Morgan went wild, thrashing and kicking like a trapped animal. He tightened his arm around her waist, but otherwise ignored her. Ontarian Mystics called this Summoning the Storm. He didn’t care what it was called as long as it brought him to his destination.
Multiple streaks of lightning flashed at exactly the same time. Wind gusted, rocking them forward then back. He raised his free hand and a slit formed directly in front of him. The opening widened as if someone were peeling back layers of space, creating a void in between the twin distortions. Inside the void bursts of color and light danced and darted against the darkness.
Morgan screamed, clawing at his forearm as her body trembled.
“Time to go,” he shouted over the roaring wind. Then he wrapped both arms around her and leapt into the interdimensional portal.