I desperately wanted this bastard dead. He was evil incarnate, and he deserved to die. I felt as if I’d been waiting forever, and now it seemed I had to wait even longer. Technology allowed for many things, but we still couldn’t assassinate a man through a television. Damn this, and damn me!
Lucius and I were now at a major disadvantage. If either of us acted, we wouldn’t get EenLi and we’d blow our covers and most likely be killed in the ensuing crossfire. And there would be crossfire. Guards were posted all through the house; the moment they heard gunshots or screaming, they’d rush inside this room. If Lucius and I were killed, the women below would be sentenced to a life of rape, humiliation, and servitude. I couldn’t let that happen.
I exhaled a breath, fighting past my disappointment, not knowing what to do at this point.
I cast my gaze at the men sitting on the couch, noticing little details I’d missed before. Each man held a cigar and a glass of Scotch. How quaint. A real bonding moment for them.
“You,” I said to Lucius, trying to act shocked and horrified when the image of him gave me my only sense of peace. If EenLi knew I was an agent, I didn’t want him to suspect who I was really working with. I leveled a faux pleading gaze on Parker, even tried to rush to him before Balls grabbed my arm and stopped me. “Jonathan, you have to help me. I’ve been abducted, and—”
“I know, darling.” He sipped at his Scotch as cigar smoke curled in front of his face. “You shouldn’t have been such a naughty girl.”
I uttered an I’m-so-scared gasp while I mentally pictured his demise. Rot in hell, you son of a bitch.
“Touch my property again,” Lucius ground out, his dark, slitted gaze shooting blazes of fire at Cologne and Balls, “and I’ll cut off your hands.” He slammed his glass and cigar onto the table, causing a loud boom.
Both guards instantly jumped away from me. I really, really liked it when Lucius went all commando.
From the screen, EenLi laughed. The sound of his voice echoed from nearby speakers. “Patience, human,” he said. His skin pinkened further. “She’s not yours yet.” With a simple wave of his fingers, he commanded the guards to return to me. “Keep her still.”
Hesitantly, the men gripped my forearms and held me in place. As I stood there, those on the couch surveyed me. “I want to know who struck her,” Lucius demanded. “She was to be brought here unharmed.”
Beside me, Balls trembled. There was only silence.
“Who struck you?” Lucius repeated, an edge of danger in his tone I’d never heard before.
“We did ask that she be unharmed,” Jonathan reiterated with a frown.
“I demand reparation.” Lucius.
EenLi lost his grin. “Answer us, girl. Who struck you?”
I motioned to Balls with an accusing tilt of my chin. “He did.”
“Bitch!” Balls screeched, nearly jerking my arm from its socket. He gazed imploringly at EenLi. “She’s lying. I swear she’s lying.”
“She speaks the truth,” Cologne interjected firmly.
“No, no, I didn’t touch her. I—”
“I saw him do it.” Cologne again.
Realizing he could not continue to refute the charges, Balls changed his tactics. “I’m so sorry, Wayne.” He released me and dropped to his knees. Tears streamed down his eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt her, I swear. She tripped and ran into my hand. That’s all that happened. Please don’t hurt me. Give me another chance.”
Unconcerned, EenLi nodded to Cologne. Amid Balls’s cries for mercy, my guard withdrew an electro-gun from the back waist of his slacks. Shock thundered inside me as I realized what I was looking at. My mouth dropped open. The body of the gun was clear, making the flashes of electricity visible inside. This type of gun was not on the market yet because Michael, who was its creator, had yet to perfect it.
Even I had yet to use one.
Was there a traitor in our midst? The idea turned my blood to ice because it raised another, more terrible question. Did EenLi know Lucius was an agent? No, I assured myself. However he’d gotten the electro-gun, I didn’t think he knew who Lucius was. He would have killed my partner immediately.
Balls began sobbing. Eyes bright with resignation, Cologne unhesitatingly placed the barrel at the other man’s temple and pulled the trigger. To us, it appeared nothing happened. No flash of light. No emission of sound. Balls’s body shook and shuddered as electricity poured through him. His nostrils soon rimmed with black, and steam rose from his ears. Then he collapsed face-first on the carpet.
Colgone holstered the gun. EenLi and Jonathan nodded in satisfaction. Lucius’s expression was blank as he crossed his arms over his chest, discreetly putting his fingers within reaching distance of his weapons.
What the hell had we gotten ourselves into?
Chapter 22
No one bothered to move the body.
The scent of charred human flesh blended with the odor of cigar smoke and expensive Scotch as the meeting continued. Cologne took up residence behind me and gripped my shoulders to once more hold me in place. I didn’t protest.
I was ready to get this “purchase” over with.
“Jonathan, Hunter, Devyn,” EenLi said with another evil grin. “Let the bidding begin.”
At his words, I didn’t panic. So they were having a bidding war for me. Lucius and I had suspected that might happen. My gaze traveled to his. Yes, he was supposed to buy me, then purchase our way to another planet for “legal” reasons. Once we had that information, we were to kill EenLi. Now, there was a very good chance someone else would purchase me.
Lucius appeared relaxed, totally calm, as if he knew exactly what to do. Good. I knew he’d do everything in his power to win me, and if he didn’t, he’d do what needed to be done. As would I. I trusted him. Fully and completely, I realized. And I was pretty sure he trusted me.
“Turn around,” EenLi commanded me in an imperious tone.
My cheeks reddened at being treated like one of his “cattle.” Every man present was watching me, studying me, looking for flaws. The Targon rubbed his jaw, his expression blank, as his gaze raked over me.
Cologne’s grip on me tightened. “Do it.”
If I didn’t turn for them, I would be forced. And there would be no more reprieves for me under the guise of keeping me un-bruised. I saw that knowledge in EenLi’s now glowing red eyes. You want to get the sale over with, remember?
I lifted my chin and turned. Slowly. Giving them all a chance to look their fill at my sheer, pink-clad curves. I felt the heat of their gazes touching me everywhere, stripping me.
How many times had the other women endured this? How many times had they been forced to display their bodies for men they despised? My hands shook with the force of my humiliation. And beneath it all, a new sense of respect and admiration for the five women locked below grew within me. They were survivors.
Yes, I would save them; my determination increased all the more. No matter what was required of me.
When I faced the men again, EenLi was smiling happily from the screen, his ugly face stretched into a toothy monstrosity. Red faded to pink. “I’m almost tempted to keep the little agent for myself,” he said. “She’s powerful under all that delicacy.”
So. He did know that I was an agent. It was probably why he was here on the holoscreen and not in person. I was only surprised he wasn’t gloating about capturing me.
“Whatever your price,” Lucius said, his rough, gravelly voice claiming me, “I’ll pay.”
“And I’ll double that.” Jonathan.