Trapped (The Condemned Series #1) - Alison Aimes Page 0,66

taking heart from the steady rise and fall of his chest. “Winthrop, you are the highest ranking officer here. You can decide what happens next.” Reaching him was her only hope. “Not because you’re Council, but because you’re a good man who knows what’s right. Just because we’re on Dragath25 doesn’t mean we do away with order and justice.”

“I’m in charge now,” roared Pogue. “Not him. Not the Council. Me!”

“Winthrop,” she pleaded, “don’t let this happen. It’s not right. You came here to save humanity. You risked your life for what you thought was right. Don’t tarnish that now. Don’t let us become nothing more than beasts.”

Winthrop took a defiant step toward Pogue. Then Winthrop’s gaze landed on the hard stares of the other soldiers, and he took an instinctual shuffle step back, curling into himself, adrift without the mantle of Council entitlement. He held out his hands, palms up in a placating gesture that had bile rising in the back of Bella’s throat. “I don’t…this—this is silly.” His gaze met neither hers nor Pogue’s. “We all need to just take a deep breath and think things through. Bella can come with me while you question the prisoner. We’re all just trying to do the right thing here.”

Disappointment slammed through her. Winthrop was burying his head in the sand again. “I’m not leaving Caine.”

“For once, she’s right.” Pogue stalked toward Caine’s pack “You’re not leaving here with her,” he told Winthrop, “and I don’t need more time.” He ripped open the pack and rummaged around inside.

Dread twisted Bella’s stomach.

“Surprise, surprise.” Pogue pulled out a heap of twisted wires and wreckage. “A weapon.” He held it toward Winthrop, shaking it in his grasp, sending wires flailing. “He wants to kill us all, and she’s trying to protect him.”

“No,” she protested. “He built that to help us. I told you before our shuttle was brought down by a prison gang. They intend to do the same thing to the rescue shuttle. Caine built that to jam their weapon and save those people. Save us.”

“Bullshit,” snarled Pogue, but the rest of his words died as a roar sounded overheard. Way up high and off to the left, a tiny metallic disc flashed in the otherwise black sky.

“Holy shit. It’s the rescue shuttle.” Pogue dropped Caine’s jammer into the dirt. “We’re saved.”

Bella’s heart leapt—and then took a shuddering dive. Her gaze shot to the jumble of wires by Pogue’s boots. “We need to use Caine’s machine. Otherwise, those people are going to die.”

Unfortunately, no one was listening. Everyone was too busy shouting and pointing toward the growing flickering lights overhead.

Seizing her chance, she kicked out, sending the distracted soldier holding her legs stumbling back. Knocked off kilter, Mitchell released her with a curse.

She landed hard on her ass. Scrambling forward, she dodged her captor’s grasp and crawled to Caine, rolling him over. Her chest loosened as she took in the rise and fall of his chest.

“Caine?” She fumbled frantically for the catch that would release his restraints, “Can you hear me, baby? We need to—”

A rough arm lifted her up and away before she could complete her task.

“I don’t think so.” Pogue’s hot breath rasped against her ear. “Time to say goodbye to your boyfriend, Cadet West. You want a good fucking once we’re back in space, I’ll be glad to show you what a real man can do.”

Before she could take a swing, he hitched her higher in his arms, squeezing so hard black dots danced in front of her eyes. She dug her nails into his skin, but it had little impact. Without breath, she couldn’t even scream, much less fight.

He pitched his voice to be heard by his men over the growing roar. “We need to get back to the clearing so the shuttle can land. Let’s get the fuck off this hellhole.”

“No, we…need that…machine. We need…Caine.” Wheezing, flailing, she thrashed in Pogue’s hold while her gaze locked with Winthrop’s. “Otherwise, those people…are going to die…and…it will be…our fault.”

Winthrop paled. Pogue ignored her.

She sucked down a desperate breath. “You can’t…just leave him here.”

As if she weighed no more than a child, Pogue threw her over his shoulder. “He’s a fucking scumbag criminal. You’ll be thanking us soon enough for saving you. He was never going to do anything but die here on this planet anyway.”

Kicking, clawing, she fought for release, but it was no good. Against some of the other men, she might have had a chance. But not Pogue.

“Caine!” She