Rage to Adore (12 page)

Phenex’s fighter crashed to the ground next to Tani, his
eyes flicked over her unflinching as the leader stamped on him again and strode
off, signaling his men to load up the trucks. Tani stared at the man who had
protected her, locking her eyes on to his as he was dragged away by two guards,
she mouthed words of thanks.

“Don’t thank me, bitch,” he spat at her. “You’re no good to
me broken.”

Captivity

Tani sat back, confused. Jaro had protected her from Belial’s
men at risk to himself and the next moment had looked at her as if he wanted to
kill her. And what did he mean; she was useless to him broken? She realized his
actions had lulled her into a false sense of security where he was concerned.
She had forgotten his past, why he was a slave. He was a double rapist, a man already
condemned for atrocious acts toward women. He was not to be relied on. Whatever
his motives for helping her, he was part of the evil that shrouded this planet.
If she could use him, she would—in order to escape, but no matter how much pity
she had felt for him in the arena and had even admired his courageous defiance,
he was not a man she could trust. If he got in her way, she would kill him.

Two guards came back for her, hauling her up unceremoniously
and she found herself dumped into the back of a truck next to Jaro. Anger
pulsed around him. She could feel it vibrating in the air, caught in the static
tension as it built inside him and she knew he was waiting for another chance
to lash out. Who it was directed toward, she wasn’t sure, her or the guards?
Jaro’s expression was a frozen blank. It was hard enough to read him, his face
covered as it still was with bruises and blood, the flesh around his eyes and
jaw still swollen and raw.

He suddenly stilled, his brow drawing together in definite
anger, and before Tani realized what was happening, she was appalled to find
herself shackled to him, one of the guards clamping a metal chain around her
shin, the other to her erstwhile protector. “Seeing as you like her so much!”
The man laughed at Jaro, then leered at her salaciously while running his hands
up her thigh. She thrust his sweaty hands off by kicking her leg up at him, but
not before Jaro had hissed at him and growled a warning, baring his teeth,
reminding Tani again of a feral dog guarding its prey. The guard backed away.
Even in chains and with a body bruised from beatings, Phenex’s fighter was
intimidating.

“Down, boy,” she said when they were alone and the trucks
were moving. “I don’t need your interference. I can handle them.”

“Doesn’t look that way to me, Red.” He raised an eyebrow
skeptically. “Didn’t look like you were handling much earlier when they were
just about to fuck your brains out.” She flinched at the thought of what they
might have done to her. She squared up to him. “That’s because you poked your
muzzle in before I’d had a chance to respond,” she said.

His brow furrowed again and she watched, fascinated, as his
mouth appeared to twitch slightly upward at the corners. It was hard to tell
with the swelling around his lips. Was he amused or annoyed? That thought threw
her.

“Did you say muzzle?” he asked, a slight vibration in his
tone that could have been laughter. “Are you comparing me to a dog, Red?”

Tani harrumphed in annoyance. “Well, you do growl a lot,”
she muttered. The truck lurched on a bend and Tani found herself slamming into
the brick wall of his chest. He was hot. The sudden heat of him seared through
her flesh and Tani almost gave in to the temptation to melt into the wall of
muscle before being thrust back by two large hands as if he couldn’t bear for
her to touch him.

“Keep away!” he rasped, thick fury coating the inside of the
truck. Her shoulder blades hit the metal at the back of the moving vehicle but
not too hard. She scowled at him, angry both at her reaction and his. “Now you’re
barking,” she commented coldly, not wanting to allow him the knowledge of how
his heat had affected her. “Guess you must be a canine. And don’t worry, Jaro,
or whatever your name is, I’ve no intention of being anywhere near you for
long.”

“What the hell were you doing in the bazaar unprotected
anyway, Red?” His anger was palpable and there was an underlying edge to his
question she couldn’t quite understand. She could almost believe he was
concerned for her safety. But that couldn’t be right. More than likely it was
irritation that he’d been caught up in this situation.

“Why is that any of your business? And don’t call me Red. My
name is Tani.”

“Because I made it my business. And your hair is red, Red.”

“Well, you can just unmake it and pretend to be colorblind.”

“Can’t do that, Red,” he said. “You’re stuck with me whether
you like it or not.” He rattled the chains in her face. “And even a blind man
could see the color of your hair.”

Her brows creased in confusion and she decided to ignore his
comments on her hair color. It seemed too personal. “Why exactly are you
helping me anyway, particularly as you seem to hate me so much?”

“You are now Phenex’s property and as such I am bound to
protect and deliver you back to him.”

Tani’s jaw dropped. What the hell? “Phenex’s property! What
are you on about? No one owns me!”

His laugh was sour. “Betrayal’s a bitch, Red. Your friend,”
he drawled the word with ironic emphasis. “Your friend sold you to him.”

“What?” Tani was shocked. Morana had sold her to Phenex? Why
would she do such a thing? Her ties to the Eunomi would be forfeit—they would
never trust her again. Although when Tani considered the scrawlings she had
found in that hidden room that pointed to the possibility Morana might have Ziad,
it looked very probable that Morana was playing some double game. If so, her
association with the Eunomi was over. The Discordants must have paid her well,
Tani thought bitterly. She had tried to give her the benefit of the doubt
because at times Tani had felt there was more to Morana than the obvious. Now
it appeared she had been wrong.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent with Tani
studiously ignoring Jaro. She tried to detach the weight of his presence by
focusing on the puzzle thrown up by the discovery she had made at Morana’s
house, and planning ways that might lead to a possible escape. Antares would be
worried and she was sure the Eunomi would try to track her, but with the
dampening spell subduing her Esseni aura that would be difficult.

Jaro closed his eyes and tried to pretend he was alone. He
was having a hard time controlling his anger at their predicament and the
circumstances that had led to it. If he hadn’t been sent to collect her from
Lorcan’s apartment and Morana D’Ath hadn’t allowed her to wander the streets of
the bazaar unattended, then he at least wouldn’t be here. Why Morana had
allowed her to go there he couldn’t understand. She knew that it was dangerous
for females to walk those alleyways alone. But then, he just hated to imagine
what would have befallen the little spitfire if he hadn’t been in the bazaar at
that time. Fate was surely having fun with him. The last female he wanted to be
anywhere near and she had practically fallen into his lap!

The redhead’s presence so close to him was a temptation he
could to without. Something about her energy licked tongues of fire over his
skin, tendrils of flame that encircled him, the heat settling in his gut and sparking
emotions he didn’t want to feel. Urging him to act in ways he’d sworn never to
act again. Yes, he gave of his time and material things to those he called
friends. But he would never again sacrifice himself. Only now, with the redhead
so close, he could feel himself falling into the traps of the past.

He had been noble. Once. He had sacrificed himself for
others innocently believing they would do the same for him. They had not. He
had been betrayed, outcast by those who should have stood at his back and
protected him. That was the worst cut of all. He bled while they enjoyed the
fruits of his sacrifice, lived in wealth and privilege on the strength of his
blood. He had nothing left to give. All honor had fled once he realized that
betrayal and backstabbing were all that he could expect.

But today he had found himself being noble for her,
protecting her even knowing that Belial’s men could have ripped him to shreds.
A woman to whom he meant nothing. Why was the urge to protect her so strong?
Yes, she set his blood on fire, but that was no reason for him to throw all
sense of self-preservation out the window. He wasn’t even sure he would die for
Liana or even Sami if it came down to it. Maybe he would for Sami, he was an
innocent. But this woman, his brother’s latest lover? He was honor bound by his
duty to Phenex to protect her. Phenex had bought her, paid his brother good
money for her. This had nothing to do with him being noble. It was just the
compulsion to obey; he was a slave and had to follow Phenex’s orders. He knew
it was a futile argument. He’d flouted Phenex many times before. He would
survive this just as he survived everything. He would survive her. Because
survival meant revenge.

The truck suddenly swayed violently sideways. Jaro, jerked
from his brooding, was propelled backwards into the hard metal shell. The force
of the swaying sent the truck careening over onto its side and skidding flush
along the ground. Soft flesh slammed into his chest. The redhead twisted her
head back to avoid landing on him but he caught her startled expression before
her forehead collided with a loud crack against cold metal. She went limp, her
head whipping back violently and falling across his chest. The chains that
shackled them landed heavily across his legs, making it impossible to move, his
hands still tied behind his back. Jaro cursed. His heart sped up as a rivulet
of crimson bled from her temple, the tiny trickle weeping onto his skin,
pooling in the center of his sternum.

The weight of her head pressing into his chest, the soft
tickle of silky red strands that fanned across his shoulder and the scent of
her, fresh strawberries and summer sun, pierced his anger, penetrating the
shield of fury that surrounded his heart. An emotion he didn’t understand and
didn’t want washed over him, flowing from the stabbing slicing pain in his
chest. She had better not be hurt.

A shallow breath. A whisper of sweet air from her lips
floated over the pores of his skin, caressing his flesh, calming the beast from
his fury. His heart slowed down. Relief flooded over him as her heat seeped
into his, merging, the energy calming his fear and fury.

Sounds of commotion penetrated the crumpled space. The door
was wrenched open in a shrieking howl of protest and the redhead was hauled
away from him. Jaro cursed violently as he was dragged out after her. Not from
the heavy-handedness of the guards but from the sudden lack of contact. The
witch was under his skin. There was no doubt about it. He would have to channel
his rage, direct it at her. Otherwise she would be the death of him. Damn him
for getting too attached! He fought to erect the wall of rage that had
successfully shielded him during the long years of slavery. The foundations
were shaky. One touch from her and they were crumbling. The sooner he was free
of her, the better.

Tani woke from what felt like a comfortable sleep, a wall of
heat at her back. Memory flooded back as she recalled the twisting, violent
motion of the truck, how she had smashed her head and landed on Phenex’s
fighter…again. She felt like a boomerang. She had a brief recollection of his
startled expression and then…nothing. Her head throbbed, a dull ache at her
temple. She must have blacked out. She shivered at the thought that she had
slept, again powerless against anything Belial’s men may have done. But
then—this man at her back—Jaro. It felt as if he had formed a wall around her.
An island he wouldn’t let them penetrate.

It was still dark. She must have been out for a good few
hours, she realized, noting the flickering embers from the campfire dying down
and three streaks of light sliding across the sky heralding the arrival of the
three Ophiuchi suns. She had in fact slept through the night. A large body
planted itself in front of her.

“Well, well.” The large body spoke, the toe of a boot poking
at her arm. “Your highness awakes.”

She turned her face upward to see the rough features of the
one Jaro had called Halvin. He kicked her again, trying to get a reaction. Tani
remained still. He bent toward her, his foul breath souring the air, the stench
of alcohol ripe as he exhaled. “Everyone’s asleep, your highness.” His words
were slurred and she realized that if he was drunk it was probable the rest of
the men were too.

She started to move her lips to protest at the invasion when
his hands came around her head, forcing a gag into her mouth. There was nothing
she could do, her hands still bound behind her back. Before she knew it, he had
unlocked the steel cuffs, pulling them away from the chain that attached her to
Jaro. She felt the loss as if he were an anchor and she was now adrift on a
stormy sea. Had she come to rely on him that much in such a short space of time?
She was about to resist being manhandled when he drew out a knife. “I will gut
him like a pig unless you do as I say.” Her heart pounded in response to Halvin’s
threat and she nodded her acquiescence.

No matter that she didn’t like Jaro. It was not in her nature
to let Halvin murder a defenseless man. He pulled her up, tossing her over a
shoulder and carried her unsteadily to the far side of the clearing.

They were camped by the side of the dirt road. Tani could
see the truck that had jackknifed and was still disabled. The other two were parked
nearby. Halvin dragged her to the jackknifed vehicle. “We’re going to play,
your highness,” he slurred. “Stay still. I don’t want to bruise your pretty
flesh.”