So fucking sorry." I swallowed and wrapped my arms around his neck. "We can't stay here but another minute. I think they have someone following me."
"Why is Cavil doing this? Didn't you have an alliance with Ethros? Dormas would have shared the cure. He didn't have to go to such extremes." I rested my head on his shoulder and settled deeper into his lap, surprised to feel his hard length pressing against me. I gasped as he grabbed my ass and positioned me so that it was pressing against my core. His dark eyes filled with amusement. He wanted there to be no question about what he’d rather be doing.
"Cavil has always hated Lackley. I think they’re distant cousins? Cavil isolates his people. He controls the signals coming in and out. Their code is too complex. We can’t even send out a call for help. Lackley might have come into power by developing X, but Cavil brainwashed his people into some twisted codependency. I’m not sure what’s worse. They worship him here. I need you to be brave for me, okay?" I squeezed Cyler tighter.
"Can you come here tonight? Every noise I hear I think is Webb or Blan. I always feel safe with you. "
Cyler grabbed my face and kissed me. This was the Cyler I knew and loved. Demanding. In control. He took what he wanted, and he wanted me . Once again, he anchored his hands to my hips then began grinding against me. He pulled at my bottom lip with his teeth and moaned.
"You have no idea how much I want to spend the night here making you feel safe, but I can't. I need to keep an eye on Jules and help Kemper figure out a way to remove these fucking fetters." Cyler traced a finger over my wrist where the fetter was proudly anchored. "I'll send Patrick or Hux," he finally said before kissing me again. "I should have kissed you in my treehouse," he whispered. "It would've been a better first kiss than this."
I leaned back and looked into his dark eyes while smiling. "There are still many firsts to be had, Cyler Black," I said with a wink, and Cyler looked like he wanted to flee the room before he did something reckless, like kiss me and forget all the problems plaguing the empire.
With stormy eyes, he leaned closer and trailed his tongue along my neck. Cy sucked on a tender spot below my earlobe before whispering.
"Many firsts indeed."
The prison was a small two-room building a short walk from Commodore Cavil's home. It was dark inside, the only sounds were wheezing and dripping water. Cyler held my hand as my eyes adjusted to the dark, and I gasped when I saw Josiah's deformed and slumped-over form chained to a brick wall behind thick bars. Blan's towering figure was standing over him.
"You've got another visitor, Governor," he said in a chipper tone while wiping Josiah's blood from his knuckles and backing away. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't know why Cavil sent a Walker to do a soldier's job. You won't get anything out of him that I haven't already," Blan said. It was dark, but I sensed a lightheartedness in his voice—he enjoyed the torture.
Josiah's eyes were swollen shut, and black bruises covered his face. Pools of blood collected on the concrete floor where he sat.
I tried to keep my voice steady as I gripped Cyler's hand. "M-Master Stonewell?" I called softly. My voice made Josiah stiffen, and he slowly sat up taller.
"Ash? Is that you?" he coughed out as more blood started dripping out of his mouth.
"It's me, Jo," I let go of Cyler's hand and opened the barred door to join him and Blan inside the cell. I knelt down near him so that we were eye level, ignoring Blan's menacing smile.
"Ash, are you okay? What happened after you left Lackley's lab?" he asked, his voice gradually becoming more animated, despite the swelling and injuries.
"I'm fine," I lied. "Jo, you look terrible. If you know anything, you have to tell them." Tears welled up in my eyes as I took in his broken appearance. How did we get here?
"I can't," he growled before hunching over.
"You can't or you won't?" I replied. There was still so much I didn't understand. How did he get stuck under Lackley's thumb? Why did he kill his father? Who was Josiah Stonewell?
"Both."
I stood and turned to Blan.