Captive - Cheryl Brooks Page 0,71

the outer door a tiny crack and peered out. “I don’t see anyone.”

Nexbit slipped in behind him, then nodded in agreement. “I’ll go first. They may not think I’m Pelarus, but they’ll probably know you don’t have any Vessonian pals.”

Moe grimaced. “If I didn’t have a Vessonian ‘pal,’ we wouldn’t be in this fix to begin with.”

Klara had all but forgotten about Moe’s pilot. Clearly, he hadn’t.

Once outside, Nexbit motioned for the others to follow, standing guard until they had all exited the dwelling. Klara glanced back at the Haedusian woman. Would they ever see her again? Alive?

Silently mouthing her thanks, she sped off in Temfilk’s wake, leaving Moe to bring up the rear, which had been her standard position in previous getaways. For once, she conceded that honor to Moe.

After all, she had unborn children to protect.

And so did he.

Surprisingly, the street was completely deserted, which was odd considering the din coming from the streets to the north. Nevertheless, they darted behind the house next door to Velkma’s to crouch beside a low shed.

Nexbit nodded in the direction of the shouts. “Must be some party going on over there.”

Temfilk shook his head. “Sounds more like a riot to me.”

“I’m guessing that’s Yirland’s way of slowing down the pursuit,” Moe suggested.

Klara agreed. “I just hope it keeps them busy for a while. Let’s move on.”

They skirted the next house and the next without being challenged. The crossroad ran on the other side of the third house. Nexbit hesitated before crossing the dusty road. “Third house beyond the crossroad, right?”

“Right.” Klara gazed on ahead and saw that the rear door of the third house was slightly ajar. “I see it. Follow me!”

They’d just passed the second house when Branethan Pelarus stepped out of the open doorway of the third building, flanked by eight Nedwuts bristling with pulse weapons.

“Welcome, my dear Klara,” Pelarus said in a pleasant yet menacing tone. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

Chapter 19

When Moe came to his senses, he found himself lying on a rough stone floor. His neck and shoulders were a bit stiff, but he was otherwise unhurt, unless he’d been out long enough for his Zetithian healing powers to have kicked in to repair whatever damage his body had incurred. The current assault, however, was on his acute olfactory sense. The stench of unwashed bodies, sickness, and stale urine nearly caused him to add his own vomit to the cacophony of odors. A few shallow breaths enabled him to control his reaction as he sifted through his most recent memories.

He’d managed to get off at least one shot that took down three of the Nedwuts. The others must’ve fired a second later, although it was possible he’d been stunned from behind. Either way, he had been correct in suspecting that someone had betrayed them.

You can’t trust anyone on this damned planet.

A quick visual sweep of the dim cell revealed none of the other members of their gang—or anyone else for that matter. He’d been imprisoned alone, the reason for which was perfectly clear: his plan to convince the other prisoners to play dead when they met in the arena had also been revealed by someone… Unless Velkma’s house had been bugged.

He hadn’t checked for that. Surveillance would have been a simple precaution for a man like Pelarus, especially if he’d known of Velkma’s revolutionary tendencies. Unfortunately, if that were true, he would also know that Klara was pregnant.

And with her as his prisoner, the first thing he would do would be to terminate the pregnancy, probably before Klara even regained consciousness. A chill stabbed his heart as he realized that their worst fears had likely already come to pass.

Our poor babies…

They would never know the joy of living. He would never see their faces or hold them in his arms.

I can’t think about that. I have to believe they’re still alive.

If Velkma’s house wasn’t bugged and someone else had betrayed them, they wouldn’t know the truth. Only Velkma knew.

A medical scan would’ve shown that Klara had conceived. That is, if anyone had bothered to check. Perhaps they were still safe. Klara had undoubtedly been stunned just as he had been, but Pelarus wouldn’t have caused her any further harm. Even the wanted posters had specified that she was wanted alive and unharmed.

Then again, while scans might not lie, the person reporting the results might. If the women were organized to that degree, there was still some hope there, too.

One thing for sure, even if the worst