Lindsey's Rescue: A World Beyond Book 3 (19 page)

Chapter 28

“I’m afraid I can’t let you take the woman.”

Lindsey perked up at the words that sounded a near match to English. Too bad there wasn’t much she could do from the tiny cage her new owners placed her.

“We bought. She go to Tulu. Service men.”

His words spoken with a staccato speech pulled Lindsey closer to awareness. Crawling forward, she mustered the strength to grasp the bars of her cage and peered through them. A figure cloaked in a dark hood stood amongst the five in ragged clothing.

“How much?”

The man with the pale features made a slashing motion with his hand toward the hooded guy. “No price. Service men.”

Lindsey’s stomach rolled at the repeated statement. Then one of her new owners reached inside the cage and ran a hand over her dirty hair.

“Pretty. Soft.”

His skin held the same pale cast. All of them looked as if they’d been kept from the sun for months at a time. Another stroked through her hair and Lindsey pulled back sharply.

“Off of me!” Her order would have sounded better if it didn’t come out weak and raspy from her sore throat.

“I guess I can’t take her off your hands.” The man tugged at his hood, keeping his head down and turned.

Heavy footfalls pounded away as he left. In desperation, Lindsey called out, “Don’t leave me.”

Not that she wanted to be owned by anyone. The stranger kept going and Lindsey slumped back on her haunches.

The man who’d jumped on the stage first pushed back his thinning hair and squatted next to the cage. “Tulu for you.” His smile revealed blackened teeth. “Miners like a lot.”

“Not interested, buddy,” she spit out and coughed uncontrollably.

When she caught her breath, he touched her cheek with blunt fingers stained with black tips. “Fun and soft. Lots of fun.”

Then the entire group left her alone, closing her in what appeared to be a storage room. Lindsey leaned against the bars and blinked back a tear. She hadn’t cried yet and didn’t plan to start. Rocking back and forth, she hummed. Occasionally, she mumbled one request. “I miss you Zadal and Baruk. Please find me.”

She wasn’t sure how long she spent in the cramped corner of her cage but the door to the room opened with a creak. A hazy image approached. The figure was huge with broad shoulders and wearing a hooded cloak. Why did he come back?

The stranger who’d tried to buy her kneeled on the floor and gripped the bars. Moments later the lock twisted.

“Come out, quickly,” he whispered.

Lindsey didn’t take a moment to consider, she lunged forward but her body gave out and she sprawled before reaching the thick hands stretched out toward her. He cursed and climbed in half-way to gather her close.

Lindsey’s head fell against him.

“Earthling, wake up. Are you Torkel’s Chosen?”

Lindsey tried to focus on the whispered words. Everything was muddled. Something about a Chosen. Her friend Faye had called her husband by the term. She wet her lips and whispered, “Jutak warrior.”

A sharp inhale. “Yes. Are you Faye?”

Lindsey shook her head, her mind swirling with Faye’s stories. What had Faye said in their late night tales? Her husband was like the military SEALS from Earth. Maybe they’d finally arrived. Her lips formed a smile. “Torkel kicks ass.”

Laughter reached her ears. “My little brother has chosen wisely. Hang on. I’m getting you out of here.”

Lindsey was lifted into strong arms. She wavered in and out of consciousness, hearing bits and pieces of the conversation around her. Were they all speaking English?

“Leave with her now. Get her away from Arlo.” The deep voice resonated with urgency.

“I can’t be seen with an escaped slave.” Nervous laughter. “Come on, you know my reputation.”

The person holding her stiffened. “I know if you don’t take her with you, I’ll just kill you now.”

“Right. Right. No need to be hasty.”

She shifted and smaller, thinner arms came around her, jostling her injuries. Lindsey moaned and curled into the chest beneath her in an attempt to get warm. Fingers trailed over her face and a voice whispered close to her ear, “You’re going to be fine, Faye.”

“Son of a targot. She’s practically dead,” the owner of the voice holding her exclaimed.

Lindsey had wondered herself. Was she dead? She didn’t want to be dead.

Apparently her rescuer felt strongly about the possibility as well. “She belongs to my brother. If anything happens to her, I’ll personally rip your spine out through your stomach.”

“Maybe tell me who your brother is and I can drop her off. You know, as a sign of good faith?”

“Don’t worry about that part. You’ll know who she belongs to soon enough. Until then, I hold you responsible for her life, Smiki. Don’t disappoint me.”

***

Smiki stared at the message from his spies and cursed. When that didn’t ease his frustration, he kicked a chair. Faye Alonson was with her Chosen, the head of the Jutak warriors based on Enotia. A raid occurred on the same night he received his urgent message. Smiki glanced at the woman in the med bed. Her vitals continued to be tracked. She’d been in bad shape. Twice she’d almost died, sending his heart straight to his throat as he remembered the stern warning from the man who’d handed her over.

Apparently his contact had been mistaken about her identity. It was good to know the man he feared wasn’t completely infallible. Smiki’s problem now was what to do with his unwanted guest. He’d reluctantly cleaned her up and received a pleasant surprise. Blonde hair curled around exquisite features. She’d opened her eyes a few times, revealing a blue gaze.

She’d fetch a lot of credits in a private auction. He even considered sending out test forays to get an idea of what he could make. Only the threat of being disemboweled held him back. The man who’d handed her over wasn’t someone to trifle with. He’d never clearly seen his face in all their dealings which meant anyone could sneak up on him and end his life if he failed in this task.

Smiki turned away from the sleeping Earth woman. One thing was clear. He couldn’t turn her over to the Jutak Unit leader without being questioned. And if she wasn’t who he thought she was then he needed to figure out who exactly shared his ship with him.

***

The first thing Lindsey noticed when she woke was the absence of pain in her chest. Her lids fluttered as she blinked her eyes open. White. A sea of white. She turned her head and came face to face with a man peering down at her. She screamed.

He jumped and his skin flashed from a sickening yellow to green before settling on a pale lavender. “Don’t scream. Please don’t scream.”

His hands moved up and down in a shooing motion as the lavender faded to tan.

Lindsey glanced around her, taking in the medical equipment and screamed again for good measure. This time the Chamele placed his hands over his ears and frowned in her direction. Lindsey grimaced and pushed her elbows beneath her to sit up. No dizziness, no lingering signs of pain. “What happened?”

“You were held in a Marenian sex auction. After a few tricky moments, you’ve recovered.”

“Oh.” Lindsey pushed her legs to the side of the bed as a thought hit her. “I understand you!”

She smacked her hands over her ears. “Oh no. Did you give me a translator? I’m allergic.”

Was she about to die again after surviving the worse experience of her life?

“No translator,” the Chamele said and she slumped in relief. “I’m using Standard. Don’t have a spare translator onboard.”

Onboard? Lindsey would get to that detail later as another thought sent her surging to her feet. “How long was I out?”

“A week. The diagnostic reported a lot of things and your health required rest.”

She didn’t remember anything except being kept in her cell, paraded for sale in front of aliens and wasting away. Lindsey frowned. She’d been bought and placed in a tiny cage too. “Faye! My friend. Do you know if my friend was rescued?”

Her alien savior squinted. “I thought
you
were Faye.”

“What? No.” Lindsey swayed. “Faye’s my friend, we were held together with those Marenians.”

She braced a palm on the bed as her stomach growled. “Who are you anyway?”

“Smiki at your service.” He inclined his head in a gracious gesture.

With the way his skin changed, Lindsey knew he was a Chamele. She’d seen a few in the cells as prisoners and in the audiences of the auctions as customers. Easing carefully to the side of the room, she backed up from this Smiki. “Did you buy me?”

He was out of luck if he did. She definitely remembered being sold during those last hazy moments. Lindsey had no intention of being a concubine for anyone. Did they call them concubines?

Smiki’s skin darkened and his brown eyes widened. “No! You were given to me.”

Lindsey threw a glass jar at him from the table by the bed she’d lain in. “I’m not an item to be given.”

As soon as Smiki ducked, Lindsey darted passed him and through the door. Outside the corridor she glanced left than right. In her head she ran through the phrase left loose right tight ran through, which meant nothing, so she turned right and kept going. The short gown whipped around her thighs, sending sharp burst of air up her bare butt.

The Chamele yelled behind her as he gave chase. Lindsey had no idea where she was going and came to an abrupt halt when she reached a dead end.

Smiki, as he called himself, stopped and bent over gasping for breath. His skin shifted to lavender again. “Why would you run?”

Back to the wall Lindsey snorted. “I’m being held as your sex slave.”

He straightened and his skin grew chalky. “My sex slave? I don’t want to have sex with you.”

The outraged statement had Lindsey drawing in a shaky breath. “Okay. That’s good. But why did you buy a sex slave if you didn’t want one?”

“For the last time,” he snapped. “I didn’t buy you. I’m helping a friend.”

Lindsey brightened. “Faye?”

The Chamele ran a hand over his head and mumbled under his breath. She didn’t understand the musical notes and mutterings.

“I don’t know your Faye. I thought
you
were Faye.” He switched back to what he called Standard and she understood every word.

“I’m not. I’m Lindsey.”

“Which tells me nothing,” he snapped.

Lindsey glanced around the corridor as a sudden thought occurred to her. What if this was a trick of some sort?

“Why don’t you tell me who you are and I’ll drop you off and be on my way.”

Lindsey bit her lip. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I don’t know you and after being kidnapped, I’m not open to telling a stranger everything about me.”

Smiki struggled to speak, his skin turning three different colors this time before settling on green. “At least come back to the medi-center on my ship. There’s a pair of pants and a shirt you should be able to fit.”

“Ship,” Lindsey’s fingers clenched on the short gown she currently wore. “We’re on a ship?”

He nodded.

“But you’re not selling me?”

He shook his head again.

“Alright. I’ll get dressed.”

And then she’d figure out how to contact her husbands for an express ride home.

Chapter 29

Lindsey spent the next three days holed up in the small room with its medical equipment as she searched for the best way to return to Garulax. Smiki, if that was really his name, banged on the door every few hours but she’d barred it with a chair and by ripping out the electronic panel next to the frame. After searching the room, she made do with packets of food in sealed containers. It was as good as having pizza to her mind after the slop she’d been fed.

 Nibbling her thumb nail, Lindsey plotted and planned but circled back around to the same answers. If the alien holding her lied, he could return her to the Marenians. But that didn’t seem likely since she vaguely recalled being taken away from the Marenians. Worry about making the wrong choice kept her frazzled. Finally she decided the only option left was to trust the Chamele who eyed her through the window of the door as if she was a bomb about to go off.

“Smiki?” She pressed the button on the side of the bed to page him as he’d instructed.

“Yes, Earth woman.”

Despite her situation, his aggrieved tone brought out a smile. “I’m ready to tell you who I am. Hopefully you can get me home.”

“It is my fondest wish,” he muttered. “I’m on my way.”

Moments later, she moved the chair and unlatched the door manually to let in her rescuer slash pseudo-kidnapper. “Who are you?”

“Lindsey Laars-Gatar.” She returned to the bed and sat on the edge.

Smiki sat in the chair beside her bed and whipped out a handheld device not unlike the data pads Baruk and Zadal used but with more lights and buttons. “Where are you from, Lindsey?”

“Earth.”

He glared.

“Well, recently Garulax. I’m married and settled on Garulax thanks to the Singles Program.”

Smiki’s brown eyes widened. “Garulax? Are you married to the Senator Leaders there?”

She nodded, wondering why it would cause him to suddenly blanch and curse.

“You might want to look at something I found first. I’m thinking going home is no longer an option for you.”

Lindsey didn’t like the dire prediction in his words. Saying no more, Smiki swiped across his screen with a stubby finger and turned it toward Lindsey. It looked like a message board of some sort. Not unlike the ones she’d used to research planets to go to. “What is it?”

“Underground jobs for anyone interested in getting extra credits without asking questions.” His normally tan skin held a tinge of pink. “I use it if I’m short on funds for quick and easy jobs.”

She read the Garulaxan words twice before they sunk in. Five hundred thousand
likos
to take care of Lindsey Laars-Gatar. “What does this mean?”

His brown gaze dipped with sympathy. “It’s an open call bounty.”

Smiki pointed at another symbol. “This means the bounty was accepted and about six weeks ago someone collected and declared the objective complete. Basically you needed to be gone and it was done.”

“Is there a way to see who posted the request?” Why would someone pay half a million to get rid of her? She didn’t do anything to anyone.

Smiki tapped his screen and groaned. “Your luck is as bad as mine.”

Lindsey glanced down at the name lit up in red letters.
Zadal Gatar
. Her heart lurched. “That can’t be right.”

“Lady, open bounties are never wrong and this one’s paid in full. Looks like your fancy husband wanted to make a problem go away.”

Pain clogged her heart then formed a pit in her stomach. No. No, this wasn’t possible. She refused to believe Zadal didn’t want her. Not after their time together, their kisses, their quiet evenings where she sat on his lap in his office and he held her.

“Could there be a mistake?” Lindsey pressed her palms together between her legs to still the nervous tremors.

“The people who post on here don’t make mistakes. I don’t think someone would pretend to be your husband and spend this much money unless they were serious.”

Lindsey couldn’t deny the truth in what Smiki said. This meant she couldn’t return to Garulax. She fought back tears. Fought back the anguish rising in her gut at the whole farce. Was Baruk aware of this? She didn’t want to think he’d be a party of selling her to be auctioned as a sex slave. Or were they both in on it? Where else would Zadal have been able to get his hands on a half a million
likos?

Lindsey knew men could be unscrupulous and use women. Her father was the poster man for it but now as she looked at the screen and the lines Smiki pointed out it hit hard. Zadal, her not so loving husband, had paid someone a large sum of money to get rid of her. Lindsey’s fingers curled into fists.

Damn Zadal Gatar and his false kisses. “I…I need to think.”

Smiki cleared his throat. “Maybe you could go with that other Earth woman. The one living with the Jutaks.”

“No.” She couldn’t drag Faye into her mess. What if Zadal discovered her whereabouts and put another hit on her? The possibility sent her reeling. As her circumstances set in, Lindsey’s pulse raced and sweat beaded her upper lip. Smiki’s pity increased her trepidation.

“There’s more,” he volunteered.

Lindsey didn’t think she could take any more. “It’s not enough that my husbands paid someone to-”, her voice choked but she spit out, “sell me.”

Instead of answering, he plugged his handheld into the side of the port beside her bed with a thin cord. Once more he placed the screen side toward her. Not knowing what to expect she stared at the black square as a grainy blob appeared. Two more blobs swirled around.

She didn’t take the device. “What is this?”

“While you recovered, the scanner records the condition of the patient. Old injuries and new are catalogued for reference.”

She still didn’t understand. Leaning closer, Lindsey poked at a blob. “Is this a broken bone?”

He looked at her as if she’d grown a second head. “You don’t know what this is?”

Lindsey didn’t like his expression. Heart pounding, she shook her head. “Tell me.”

“You’re pregnant.”

Lindsey almost tipped over on the bed. Her hand flew to her flat belly. “What! I can’t be pregnant.”

Well, she could but with everything she’d gone through, it seemed like the worst sort of joke. This would have been wonderful news at one time. Before being sold. Before finding out her husbands didn’t want her.

Determination snapped her spine straight. Zadal could kick rocks for all she cared. Without knowing what else to do, Lindsey asked, “Smiki, can I stay with you?”

She faced the Chamele, who’d become an unlikely companion, though she’d kept herself closeted in his medical space. There was no one else to count on and no way to get back to Earth. Lindsey could really use a friend right now. But not pulling Faye into this was the best she could do.

Smiki muttered and grumbled, his skin shifting to a dark green and finally said, “Sure. Why not.” He threw his hands in the air. “It’s not like I’m not already wanted on over ten planets. Let’s make it an even galaxy. Universe. Whatever.”

Overwhelming relief caused Lindsey to giggle as she leaned over to rub his bald head.

He turned bright pink. “Stop that infernal touching.”

“Sorry.” But she wasn’t. “What should we do next?”

His brown eyes bugged. “Did you see the scan? There’s…” He swallowed gaze skittering to the side as he whispered, “There’s three of them growing in you.”

Her stomach churned at the reminder. “I know”

***

It was the most disgusting thing he’d ever witnessed. Smiki hit the switch, dispelling the scary images of the three moving shadow blobs. What sort of primitive race found enjoyment in carrying young inside their body? A Chamele fertilized externally and new life was birthed externally. He wasn’t cut out for this. Then he glimpsed her downcast eyes and the sadness tugging at her lips.

He sighed and met her gaze evenly as he lied. “You’ll be fine. I like babies.”

Smiki didn’t even flinch when she hugged him this time. Being a confirmed criminal had its upside. The Earthling had no idea how appalled he truly was.

“Great.” She beamed a smile.

Smiki stayed with her until she fell asleep that night and pulled the thin cover over her. This did not bode well.

For either of them.