The Healer (The Order of Intergalactic Peace #1) - Kelly Lucille Page 0,42

that shared their home. So she usually had the jungle to herself, except for the beasts that came to check her out. And, of course, the hunter who occasionally followed her as if she couldn’t sense him lurking.

She had no idea why he bothered. It wasn’t as if they couldn’t find her when they wanted her.

Every few days a ship would limp into port and she would get a buzz from the shackle at her wrist calling her back to medical to treat whatever injured they sent to her. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was locked in her small room off the infirmary every night, she might consider it a step up in circumstances.

Or she might if they didn’t have her shackled by a pain inducing wrist manacle. If they called her and she ignored the buzz of the call too long or walked too far outside her programmed parameters the buzz would turn painful, and finally force her back. That she could do without.

Serenity had to shake her head at her own ridiculous self-delusion. The truth was she missed Meg and Marte, even quiet Brin. She missed meals with Jas and the Phoenix soldiers. And as ridiculous as it was to admit she missed Mal Ryn. She couldn’t even say why the man drew her thoughts and more often than naught her dreams, but she hadn’t had a good night sleep since she woke up on a rebel moon.

She refused to name why she missed him. It wasn’t as if they were close before she was taken, but there was no denying that she did miss him.

She needed to get off this moon and return to Earth and her father, where things made sense. Yearning for a man who was nothing but trouble for her did her no good. Unfortunately, no one seemed willing to let her be. The cuff on her wrist was proof enough of that.

Of course her new captors didn’t take into consideration that her abilities would protect her if she chose to work through the pain. They assumed that between the locator shackle to keep her in line, and the animals that roamed the jungle they had her contained. Foolish on their part, the animals held no danger for her, and the shackles would be forced off easily enough when she figured out the real problem with attempting escape. She couldn’t pilot a ship, even if she had one.

Though if it became an issue she could disappear into the jungle and they would never locate her. But that was a last-ditch plan in case of emergency. For now, they expected nothing from her but healing the occasional injured and no one had mistreated her otherwise. She had no reason to disappear, and a better chance of finding her way home from the outpost, where there were at least ships and pilots coming through regularly.

For now, she was forced to play a waiting game, again. Eventually everyone would stop watching her so closely, and some chance would present itself and she would be gone.

She was contemplating just that in the cafeteria tent almost six weeks after her forced “change of allegiance,’ when a food tray was dropped across from her and Ryker sat down. She glared at him but taking his usual seat directly across from her, which she never encouraged, he was not deterred.

Serenity sighed. She tended to eat earlier than the rest of the people that came and went regularly at each meal so there were a lot of empty benches scattered among the cafeteria tables. Ryker always ignored the others and had an unerring ability to gauge her timing.

“You look a million miles away,” he said with his signature charming smile. “Thinking about anything in particular?”

She ignored his attempts at conversation, as she had been doing for weeks. Still he waited expectantly while she dismissed him with a look.

He huffed, finally letting a little of his frustration show. “Were you this unfriendly with the Order soldiers when they tried to make friends?” he asked, his jaw a hard line from the way he ground his teeth.

“What makes you think they tried to be friendly. I wasn’t exactly there voluntarily.” She raised a brow at him while she dipped her spoon into her soup again. “And please stop pretending you care.”

“A whole fleet of soldiers, at least half of them men,” he said drily, looking her over with clear appreciation and his signature charming smile. She had no idea why; she