Damage Control (Valiant Knox) (21 page)

“You know, we’re lucky that this stream is keeping us apart,” Leigh said, his voice pitched low. “Because I definitely would have tried to kiss you by now, even though we’re meant to be keeping things under wraps. But if you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to decide wet clothes and the possibility of getting caught aren’t enough to stop me.”

“Looking at you like what?” She could have slapped herself as the words practically oozed out, all husky and definitely asking for more than the simple question she’d voice.

Leigh pushed up from the tree and walked to stand at the very edge of the opposite bank. “Like you’re remembering how you stripped me naked and took me on one hell of a ride in that jet. Like maybe you’re thinking about doing it again.”

Well, she hadn’t been until he’d said it, but she sure was now. Oh God, temptation had never looked so good—in clothes or out. Even though she’d vowed she wouldn’t put Leigh’s career at risk, the idea of wading across the stream and giving into the desire swelling through her, like a jet-propulsion system heating up, was about to overtake all of her resolve. Fine tingles ran over her skin, leaving a rippling warmth that pooled in her stomach. Delicious anticipation made her muscles tighten with hunger for him, to experience again the rapture of having him inside her, of the way he could satisfy her deeper and more profoundly than she’d ever thought possible.

Leigh slowly reached up and unzipped his flight jacket. “We both know the risks, and we both know exactly what happens when we’re together. Just say the word and I’ll be over there and all over you before the sound has even finished leaving your lips.”

The jacket open, he reached up and started on the fastenings of his shirt. Her throat seized, the back of her mouth going dry. She wanted to,
God
, how she just wanted to yell,
Yes!,
and strip out of her own clothes, maybe meet him halfway and let the water cool her oversensitized skin, even as he set fire to her from the inside out.

But the word had gotten trapped somewhere between her brain and her tongue, no doubt blocked by the small kernel of sense trying to tell her that if one of the other recruits came looking for her and instead found her naked and rolling around with the CAFF…yeah, that scenario was the stuff of nightmares.

Except her traitorous body didn’t want to listen to cool logic. Before she’d even realized what she was doing, she’d reached up and unzipped her own jacket. Leigh stopped working on his own shirt to stare at her, his gaze very definitely dropping down to her chest. In this post-sunset gray twilight, it was hard to see much, and very soon, neither of them would be able to see anything at all.

“Your turn. Unfasten your shirt.” His voice came out with a rough edge and a very definite tone of command. Maybe she would have been annoyed about any other guy ordering her around, but she’d already come to terms with the fact that Leigh being high-handed only turned her on.

Her fingers weren’t exactly steady as they caught the clasps, but in a few moments she’d undone every fastener.

“Show me.” This time his words were low, almost inaudible, but a shiver raked down her spine, as though he stood right next to her and had whispered in her ear. She parted her shirt, revealing nothing but the singlet she usually wore underneath. He made a frustrated noise, but it turned into a groan as she tugged the singlet up before he told her to do so. He went down on his knees in the grass, gaze raking over her with an intensity that left her aching, but gave her a rushing thrill at the simple power she held over him.

“I want you naked. I want to see every bare inch of you.”

A short laugh escaped her, both because of the way his words washed through her, leaving tingles and the absurdity of their situation.

“And how do I explain needing to activate my beacon in order to be evaced out of here from exposure?” She tugged her singlet back down.

Leigh frowned at her, a definite thwarted gleam in his gaze. “It’s not that cold. And I could be persuaded to come over and warm you up—for medical reasons only.”

“Wolfe! You better not be lost because I’m totally not coming to find you.” Granger’s voice carried on the rising wind, and she glanced over her shoulder. It was so dark now the barn was little more than a hulking form in the field, and she couldn’t make out where Granger was.

When she looked back at Leigh, he’d risen to his feet and started refastening his shirt. “Good night, Mia, remember to stay alert and stay strong. Whatever tomorrow brings, I won’t be far away.”

Before she could reply, he’d shifted back from the bank and slipped around the tree, disappearing into the night shadows.

She blew out a long uneven breath, wishing she could dispel the tension from her limbs just as easily. Leigh had her all wound up—though to be fair, it was half her own fault. She didn’t have to play along with the game he’d started.

With hasty movements, she righted her clothes, the stray raindrops forming a drizzle. She scooped up the net with the fish, where she’d dropped it on the bank earlier, and hurried back toward the barn. As she walked in, she found the rest of the recruits crowded around Granger, who was arranging two skinned rabboons over the fire.

“I hope you’re also an expert at preparing fish, Granger, because I wouldn’t have the first clue where to begin on these.” She walked over and set the net down next to where he crouched in front of the fire.

“Good job, Wolfe.” Granger turned to flip the net open, then glanced up at her with a grin. “I can teach you, if you want.”

An automatic refusal sprang to her lips, because like Kayla had said, while she might enjoy eating fish, the idea of actually cutting them up and cooking them made her squeamish. But while she didn’t ever plan on finding herself in the situation where she would need to catch and cook her own food, it would be a good skill to have.

She nodded and Granger’s grin widened. “Knew you’d be up for it.”

By the time they had the fish cooking on the fire and smelling delicious, the clouds had opened a steady downpour, drumming above them in a lulling rhythm.

Everyone ate, and at Granger’s insistence she even tried some of the rabboon. It didn’t taste bad, but it definitely didn’t taste like chicken; it was much gamier.

They organized a couple of recruits to take turns keeping watch, and after so many late nights working on the FP profiling, she was glad no one asked her to volunteer. After that, people began dozing off.

Mia moved to sit next to Kayla, getting her thermo sheet out as a definite chill chased away the last of the day’s warmth. Where was Leigh right now? He hadn’t said anything about finding shelter for himself. She hoped he wasn’t stuck out in this downpour like the rest of the recruits apparently were.

As she closed her eyes, her mind filled with him and the last words he’d spoken to her—that he would be nearby if she needed him. For half a second, she felt a little guilty. That Leigh was looking out for her, even at a distance, made the notion that she had another full day’s walk ahead of her tomorrow that much easier to endure.

Chapter Twenty-Two

M
ia gasped awake as someone kicked her in the thigh, sending pain shooting into her hip. She half rolled, only to come face-to-face with the barrel of an old-fashioned assault rifle. Shifting her gaze beyond the gun, she found herself staring up at a dark-robed soldier, patch announcing his allegiance to the CSS pinned to the middle of his chest. He had a hood pulled up over his head and material obscuring the lower half of his face, but she could see his eyes, and they glared down at her with malice.

“Get up,” he growled, kicking at her again.

The last time she’d faced a hooded attacker in the ready room on board the
Knox
whammed her from nowhere, stealing her breath as disorientating dizziness cut through her. Around her, Kayla and the eight other recruits were also being dragged from their sleep and thrust onto their knees in a tight group in the middle of the barn, including the guy who should have been on watch. So much for having a guard. Though, considering the number of CS Soldiers surrounding them, a lookout who’d actually stayed awake wouldn’t have made much difference.

She’d tried to stay awake most of the night herself, but eventually exhaustion had gotten the better of her.

Her captor stepped forward, grabbing her shoulder and half of her ponytail, which he yanked painfully. He jerked her up and propelled her over to the rest of the recruits. She landed on her shoulder awkwardly, but she’d barely gone down before he roughly pulled her up to kneel.

He stepped back with the others to form a circle around them.

“In the name of his holiness, Pontifex Ronald Martin Benedictus, you are being detained for the crime of trespassing on the sacred lands of Ilari,” one of the robed men spoke up. “You will be sent to the nearest Enlightening Camp for reeducation. At any time, you may choose to repent and join our holy war to rid our system of those who perpetrate and extol the evil seductress that is technology.”

The man gave a single nod. The rest of the robed figures stepped forward, grabbing up recruits and hustling them toward the door.

As two sets of hands clamped onto Mia, wild disbelief washed through her in a numbing wave.
No
. This couldn’t be happening. They weren’t in CSS territory; they were only a few miles from the UEF base. How could such a large group of CSS be here and have found them?

But the answer was obvious, the move she’d been terrified of since yesterday. The traitor didn’t need to reveal himself or get his hands dirty to get rid of her. All he had to do was tell his people where she was and the rest took care of itself. No one would realize that a group of captured recruits resulted from the sole intent of eliminating her. Oh God, every one here was going to be tortured and possibly killed, and it was all her fault.

Leigh had said he’d be nearby. Surely he must have seen them, even now be getting reinforcements— A slice of heart-spasming cold sliced through her. Unless this patrol had found Leigh and—

She couldn’t finish the thought, her stomach cramping and legs giving out as they reached the barn doorway. Her captors didn’t give her a second to find her feet, just kept dragging her until she scrambled and got some footing.

Outside, the early morning sunlight blinded her, the rain and clouds from the night before blowing away to leave the world all sparkling and too bright. After blinking her eyes a few times, her gaze came into focus on an ancient, clunking shuttle set down in the field a little way off from the barn. The ship had to be at least three hundred years old, some of the earliest tech of its type. It looked like it belonged in a museum, not actively used in a war.

Ahead of her, there was a commotion. Granger had broken free of his captors and gotten his hands on a gun. His actions spurred two other nearby recruits who started fighting harder to pull free.

Granger brought the gun up to aim at the nearest CS Soldier, but the leader came up behind him, pulling a sidearm from beneath his robes.

“Granger!” She yanked against the soldiers holding her and one of them clipped her in the side of the head, sending her mind lurching as a shot rang out. By the time everything stopped spinning and she could focus again, Granger was lying on the ground and everyone had frozen in place.

“Resistance is a sin, and you will be punished for it,” the leader announced over the silence, then returned the assault rifle to its owner.

Two CS Soldiers hefted Granger between them. From here, she couldn’t tell if he was dead or unconscious, but he definitely wasn’t moving.

No one else struggled or made even the slightest noise as they were marched over to the shuttle. Mia couldn’t draw a full breath, her heart thrumming too hard and too fast. She couldn’t decide if she was closer to throwing up or passing out. Either way, fear was beginning to get the better of her.

The CSS Enlightening Camps were the stuff of horrific nightmare. Built, fortified, and guarded so well the UEF found it impossible to send in rescue teams. The few times they’d tried, both the rescuers and rescuees had ended up dead. That Commander Yang had survived and escaped, after eighteen months in prison, had given him near-god status.

Once they were inside those walls, no one would be coming to get them. They would either die there or endure what would probably amount to months of torture while the UEF negotiated their release. She didn’t know how she’d hold up under those conditions. What she could tell was the enemy had the power to bring down the entire
Valiant Knox
. This was exactly what Leigh had been worried would happen if she ended up on the front lines and got captured. Another wave of pulse-pounding wooziness assaulted her, tipping her farther toward losing her grip on things and passing out.

The wide rear hatchway of the shuttle stood open. They were led inside, then forced to their knees and chained to the bulkheads, five on one side and four on the other. The metal grate flooring bit into her, the plexi-cuffs chafed her wrists. She’d ended up across from Nicka. Despite a few stray tears trickling down her cheeks, Nicka looked more angry than afraid.

The soldiers carrying Granger came in last and dumped him face down in the middle of the aisle. Mia leaned forward, casting a careful look over him. When the rise and fall of his back registered, the relief that surged through her was acute. He wasn’t dead, just unconscious. However, he still might not survive if he didn’t get medical attention. Unfortunately she couldn’t see his wound, couldn’t even tell where or how much he might be bleeding.

The leader strolled in, hands clasped behind his back. “Before we take off, I’d like to give you all one final opportunity. Give me some valuable information about the UEF, the
Valiant Knox
and its inner workings, swear allegiance to his holiness and you will be free of your restraints to join us right now.”

No one said a word as the leader paced up and down the line, most people keeping their heads bowed or gazes averted.

“Remember, it’s not your lives you are risking, it’s your eternal souls.” The leader turned on his heel and walked back along the aisle, stopping in front of Nicka who stared at him with blatant loathing.

“How about you, my child? Would you like to absolve yourself of your sins?”

“
My sins
?” Nicka all but spat. “What about
your
sins? You bastards killed my brother! I will never join you, but when I get my wings, I will drop a few bombs on your house, you psychopathic son of a—”

The leader backhanded her, sending her crashing into the bulkhead. But it didn’t put her down. She straightened and spat blood on his too-shiny boots.

With a nod and an outstretched hand, someone gave the leader a dark bag.

He leaned down over Nicka. “I see we have our first candidate for reprogramming when we arrive at camp.”

Opening the bag, he dragged it over Nicka’s head, despite the way she cursed and fought him the whole time. Several other soldiers stepped forward, and the rest of the recruits were subjected to the same treatment.

When one of the soldiers stopped in front of her, Mia couldn’t look any higher than his shins. She closed her eyes and gasped through her rapidly tightening throat. The rough material of the bag settled over her head and face, scratchy and dusty-smelling. It drew taut around her neck and for a terrifying second, she imagined it tightening until her air was cut off and she was strangled. But then the soldier moved away from her, leaving it secured so it wouldn’t come free easily, but not so tight that it affected her breathing.

Panic had scrambled her mind. What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to deal with this situation? No answer came to her, no instinct to follow or recall of instructions from classes in the past few weeks, just blind, numb terror that she was probably going to die. Worse than death itself, she would almost certainly be tortured first. The fear of betraying the UEF, the
Valiant Knox,
and Leigh pushed down on her with suffocating intensity. She would do everything in her power to keep the information to herself, but she didn’t know how much torture it would take to break her.

Though shock had initially frozen her, it was starting to melt away, allowing too many sharp emotions to cut into her. Tears began trickling from the corners of her eyes, wetting her face and the bag covering her head.

Somewhere inside her she had to find the strength to endure, to face whatever came next. It would be easy to give up. If it was only her life on the line, maybe she could have. But it wasn’t just about her; it was about the safety of Leigh and everyone else on board the
Valiant Knox
.

The notion that he might have been captured, or
worse
, crept into her thoughts, but she pushed it away. The only thing that would get her through this was the small kernel of hope that Leigh had avoided the patrol and gone for help. That he and the rest of the FP squadron would intercept this shuttle before they got to the Enlightening Camp.

Fortifying her mind, she blocked out everything else, concentrating on the chance that help would find them. In the dark, under the thick hessian bag, hope was the only thing keeping her together.