one, only one, and passed out. That had never happened before, not even when I was fourteen and had my—argh! So then, when I woke up, I was . . . I was . . .” She drew her arms around her middle. “I was soon sold to Jecis.”
There was a lot she wasn’t telling him.
“What happened between waking up and being sold? I need to know.”
Red suffused her cheeks, and her gaze darted to the other captives to see if they had awakened. They had, and they were listening unabashedly. “Why? It’s not like you can help me,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Were you beaten? Raped?” Solo asked softly. They’d needed code to discuss a potential rescue, not to discuss events that had happened in the past. Events that could help Solo profile Star, figure out his motives, his means, and his agenda.
“No, but I was . . .” Again she stumbled over her words. “It doesn’t matter.” A groan. She closed her eyes. “Please. It doesn’t matter.”
“All right,” he said, taking pity on her. Immediately she relaxed, unaware that the conversation would resume when everyone fell asleep tonight. “Do you know a man by the name of Gregory Star?” He described the looks of the human he’d seen in the photo. “Do any of you?”
All but the Targon jolted into action, pretending to be too engrossed in counting specks of dirt to listen. The Targon blew him a kiss.
Kitten’s brow furrowed as she ran the image through her mind. “No. I don’t, and no one else has ever mentioned him. Why? Was he the one that . . . that arranged for me to be taken?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
He nodded. To the Targon, he said, “What’s your name?”
“Kaamil-Alize. Why?”
“I was tired of referring to you as the Targon, but I think I’ll stick with that.”
“Aw, how cute. You have a crush on me and can’t get me out of your mind. I’d love to say I’m surprised, but I’ll just say I’m not interested and leave it at that, ’k?”
Solo rolled his eyes. Were all Targons as irreverent as this one? “How were you captured?”
Amber eyes lit with amusement. “As if anyone could capture me. I handed myself over.”
Hardly. “Why?”
“I thought it’d be fun. Turns out, I was right.” But a hard gleam had entered his eyes, draining the amusement.
No, he hadn’t thought it would be fun. That gleam said he was here for a reason. But what? “I don’t believe you.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Kitten said. “I was here when he arrived. Most of the others Jecis brought in himself after someone else brought them in and sold them. From what I’ve been able to gather, that someone has been different each time.”
He wasn’t sure what to make of that.
“So why would this Star person abduct me?” she demanded. A moment later, she added, “Unless . . .”
Solo pounced, insisting, “Unless?”
“I woke up and . . . someone was in my house. Someone I’d hurt a long time ago. After she . . . finished with me, I was drugged and later woke up while some strange guy negotiated my sell to Jecis.”
Details, and he hadn’t had to wait. Details that actually helped him. Michael had mentioned the symbol of revenge, but had assumed it was a means to throw them off. What if Michael had been wrong? What if people . . . what? Took their revenge, then hired Star to do clean up? Or maybe Star actually arranged everything. “Thank you.”
Again, shame colored her cheeks but she nodded. “Which of my coworkers do you know?”
“Dallas.” During their meeting, Michael had only mentioned one name in association with this girl’s unit, and that was it. He only hoped the two knew each other.
She grinned with relish, saying, “Dallas. Things are gonna get ugly. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to close my eyes and dream of all the pain he’ll cause.”
As she lay down, he picked up a few of the rocks on his cage floor and tossed them in the air and caught them, tossed and caught. Time to think. To plan.
“Be careful with those.” As beautiful as a spring morning, the Cortaz leaned against the side of her cage. “You might need them later.”
Or not.
“To hurt Vika?” he found himself snipping.
She flinched at the harshness of his tone. Afraid of him?
She should be.
Steady. Calm. He still blamed her for her too-harsh treatment of Vika, yes, but he also needed her on his side. In a