starting to feel responsible to look after her, which is stupid because I can’t help myself. For the most part, my standoffish behavior has prevented me from experiencing a life filled with pain. Well, of the emotional variety.
Physical pain cannot always be avoided.
I exhale, pushing the air past my lips in a steady stream. “I’ll make you a deal, Lexi. If by some miracle we end up in the same place, we can be friends, but for now we are nothing except fellow passengers.”
“Or suitemates,” she says with a smirk.
Despite my best efforts, the side of my mouth tilts up. “That works too.”
Giselle
Not more than a second later, the spacecraft lurches with such violence that both Lexi and I fall to the floor only to slide across the room and slam against the opposite wall. My shoulder throbs when it makes contact with the unforgiving metal, and agony radiates down my arm as well as down my back. I lie there stunned for a moment, but once the alarm sounds, I know I can’t remain still. After taking a fortifying breath, I grit my teeth and struggle into a sitting position. My vision fills with bursts of color, and I blink them away in order to locate Lexi.
Her face is turned away from me, and I can’t determine whether she’s breathing. Willing myself not to assume the worst, I crawl to her and press my fingertips to her neck. The steady pulse gives me relief, but the patch of red above her temple has my stomach plummeting.
“Lexi?”
I brush back the loose strands of her hair and gingerly prod the swelling that’s already present. The cut isn’t deep, but head wounds should never be taken lightly. Without a medical kit, there’s little I can do to help her, so I get to my feet and make my way to the force field that acts as a door. I peer down the hall while trying to block out the repetitive blare of the alarm, which grows louder. The Enforcer who monitored us is gone, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed. Several other women are also standing by their cells’ entrances with expressions that range from frightened to pensive.
“Do you see anything?” I shout.
A raven-haired woman three units down shakes her head, and so does a brunette further on. As one we go wide-eyed when the alarm silences, and I know my apprehension is being added to theirs. This could mean we are back to the status quo of being prisoners.
Or something worse is about to happen.
The first scream is easily heard, despite being muffled by the energy barrier. My heart lurches in my chest when the set of tarnished boots hits the stairs. That type of gear is not issued to the Enforcers that work for the Galactic Court, who prefers its military to be pristine in appearance. The alien, from a species known as Wrox, finishes his descent, and the brightness in his gaze intensifies as he views us. With his two sets of eyes, blacker than tar, he takes in the occupants of the cells, and by the time he’s finished with his assessment, the Wrox shakes his head in disbelief.
“That bastard was right,” the male says, his voice scratchy like the dress I’m wearing. “A ship full of universal breeders just waiting to be delivered.”
“Did you find them?”
A second male appears, and he is of a species I’m not familiar with. And that bothers me. If I don’t know anything about his kind, then I have no idea what to expect. But more importantly, I have no knowledge of his weaknesses. Everyone, no matter where they come from, has at least one, and I’ve been storing that type of information in my mind for years.
The Wrox male sweeps out his arm to indicate the row of cells. “See for yourself.”
“Well, I’ll be a black hole.”
“Yeah, a rich one. Come on, let’s get them onto our ship before another Enforcer vessel answers the distress call.”
Within seconds the Wrox has the nearest energy barrier disabled, and there’s a series of protests from the other human women as they are taken from the cell and escorted up the stairs. I spin away from the doorway and race to Lexi’s side. The laceration on her head appears as if it’s stopped bleeding, but I can’t take comfort in that right now.
“Lexi, can you hear me?” I lightly slap her cheeks in hopes it will rouse her. “Lexi, I know the darkness