auction. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. Then we were transported here, and I don’t understand how. Whatever it was, I’m worried it could affect me physically.”
Lexi’s meaning is clear, and I’m quick to reassure her. “I don’t think it hurt you or else you’d be feeling the effects, and you’re not, right?”
She slowly shakes her head. “I’m still a little dizzy from it, but it’s going away.”
“Me too. I’m glad you’re feeling all right.”
We fall silent, and I mentally assess my body, specifically my shoulder. It hurt so badly when I crashed into the wall, but like Lexi, my wound felt better rather quickly. Strange. But not more so than whatever joyride we took to get here. It’s like I blinked and we were gone from the auction. I don’t pretend to understand alien technology, but that was some high-tech shit.
Jocelyn walks up to us with her hands on her hips. “This is such bullshit.”
A smile works its way onto my lips, and I nod in agreement. “I’ve been abducted three times now, so you’re preaching to the choir, soldier.”
She blinks at me once, disbelief clear on her face, and Lexi inhales sharply beside me.
“I thought twice was bad enough, but three is a bit much,” Jocelyn says.
“Yeah. I don’t think this will be the end of it though.” I purse my lips in irritation. “You heard what the auctioneer said about us being valuable. Now there will be other people besides the G.C. hunting us. It makes me want to chuck myself out the nearest air lock.”
Lexi’s mouth falls open. She shakes her head in shock or because she thinks I’m being ridiculous. Little does she know I’d have no problem taking my life before I’d offer it up to someone else. I’d rather die free than live enslaved. However, I will fight until the last possible second as long as there’s a tiny thread of hope.
That bitch might be a needle in a haystack, but at least it’s there.
Jocelyn releases a long breath, but her features do not relax. If anything, she looks more pissed off. “I’m going to see if that big-ass Smurf over there can give us some answers.”
“Be careful,” Lexi whispers.
My lips twitch from suppressed laughter, and I wave a hand in dismissal. “We’re valuable, so there’s no need to worry. They wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of stealing us only to injure us.”
Jocelyn gives me a nod. “Agreed.”
She does an about-face that would’ve made me face-plant and all but marches up to the alien. She stops right in front of him, the tips of her boots touching his.
“Do you speak English?” she asks, her tone very no-nonsense.
The male quirks a dark brow in her direction.
Jocelyn visibly stiffens, her spine going ramrod straight, and I lean forward. Unsure of whether I should watch or intervene, I remain seated, praying I’m correct in my theory about us being assets. When the alien doesn’t outright attack her, I’m able to loose the breath I’m holding.
The floor shudders under my feet, and I grip the mattress, anticipating the possibility of being thrown to the ground. And the lurching of the ship comes a second later. I grab the metal railing that’s bolted to the ground, and Lexi does the same. The woman with light-brown hair throws out her arm to keep Zerina from falling, while still holding on to the bed frame. Jocelyn pitches forward, and the alien catches her, keeping her at arm’s length. Like a fire has been lit within, his golden eyes flare.
I squint at them, remembering the exact same thing happened with the alien that brought me here. And it makes me wonder if that reaction is triggered by anger, because the male holding Jocelyn looks beyond pissed right now. He retracts his arms so quickly they’re a blur, and then he’s yelling into the communication device on his wrist. As before, it’s in his language, not mine.
“Another attack,” I mutter, still clinging to the post with both hands. “It’s probably the damn G.C. wanting to reclaim its stolen property.”
Lexi’s bottom lip quivers, and I know it’s not because of the tremors running through the ship every so often. “I’d rather stay with these blue guys than go back with the G.C. You have no idea what they did to the Terran Colony.” She shudders, and that action is more telling to me than her actual words.
“One traumatic, life-altering dilemma at a time,” I say with a wry