Desperate Measures (23 page)

wouldn‟t look for it until they were gone.

Connal stood in the shuttle bay and waited for Raine and the other women to get there.

He knew they weren‟t deliberately delaying. Earlier in the day, Deanne had told him that it could

be as little as a few hours but it could be in the middle of the night before she had all the

addresses for him. He‟d had a team on standby and been ready to leave at a moment‟s notice.

They just hadn‟t been as prepared for it as he and the men had. Even with the rush, he was

certain Raine and her friends wouldn‟t forget anything important. Especially not the identity

they‟d said they‟d use to get Tricia back to the ship.

He might be tempted to go down to the planet on his own, but he‟d promised Raine that

he wouldn‟t leave without them and he suspected that she was right about them needing someone

to hold them back especially whichever group found Tricia. As they walked through the door he

smiled. All the women wore black shirts and pants with their hair fastened at the back of their

necks. That was until he saw the bag Raine held.

“What‟s that? I told you—” Connal took a step forward.

“It‟s not a clothing bag. It‟s equipment. I don‟t know exactly what you have, but I

thought we might need a few things to get into some of these places. These aren‟t unprotected

and usually have fairly good security.” Raine cut him off and shook her head at him. “I know

why you don‟t want to let us leave here and even if I don‟t completely agree with you, I‟m not

going to argue about it.”

He relaxed a little at her words. In a way, he‟d expected her to flout his order. He really

didn‟t expect her to agree with him about the safety of leaving them on the planet right now. The

situation was a huge unknown for him and his crew. He didn‟t know what kind of tools she had

in that bag, but they‟d take whatever help they could get. He didn‟t want to warn the people of

their presence before they could gain access. He didn‟t want to give them a chance to hurt any of

the women.

“We‟ll use them. We have some of our own tools, but really don‟t know what kind of

systems to expect when breaking into someone‟s home.” Connal shrugged and waited until she

drew even with him.

“We shouldn‟t have too much problem getting in, but these will make it a little easier,”

Raine said.

He wanted to put his arm around her and pull her close, but he resisted the urge. This

mission was too important and he didn‟t want any distractions. “When we get down there, I want

you and the others in the middle of the group you‟re in. If you need to step in and stop one of us

from killing or seriously hurting the men, then do it, but I don‟t want any of you involved in the

fight if there is one. Raine, you‟ll be with me.”

Raine sent him a sharp look, but she nodded.

They flew down to the planet and disembarked. Connal was a little concerned about

Raine getting that bag through security, but they had no problem with it. Once out of the space

port, they split into their groups and took rented vehicles to the area around the buyers‟ homes.

The extra supplies they needed were waiting in the vehicles as they‟d arranged. Masks and

weapons were passed around to everyone, although everyone kept them off as they piloted out of

the city.

Night was falling fast and they would need its concealing cloak to help them. All the

houses were isolated, well outside the city and surrounded by large walls. Connal had chosen to

go to the closest one and they had to wait for the other groups to get to their houses before they

could approach the estate.

They kept to the shadows and Connal noticed that Raine was every bit as good at staying

in cover and not drawing attention as he and his men were. She stayed to the middle until they

needed to neutralize the system connected to the wall and then she came forward to check and

see what kind of tools they had for dealing with the security. She nodded then and let them

handle the wall, but at the house, she once again stepped forward to see what they were doing.

This time, she took over without a word. She pulled a few things out of the bag and bypassed the

security. Once she‟d finished, she moved back into the middle of the group as they entered the

home.

Everything seemed to be extravagantly lavish in this house. Most of the walls were either

white or a deep gray and gilded. The furniture was polished to a high shine and obviously

expensive. Connal had to wonder if anything here was ever used. It looked like a showroom.

They moved through the house slowly, not wanting to miss any hidden crevice.

Connal felt a slight buzz on his leg and pulled out the small communications device. He

knew what it was even before he looked. There was only one reason that a message would be

sent. He read it and signaled to the others. Tricia had been found and she was safe. He exhaled

slowly. That took some weight off his mind, but they had to get the woman from this home and

do what was necessary to see that all those they knew of paid for their crimes.

They began searching the house for secret rooms, not expecting to find the woman in an

easily accessible room. At first, they found nothing, but then they found a concealed door and a

set of stairs. Connal inhaled and felt a rush of anger roll through him. He smelled blood and not

just a slight hint of it. It hung heavy in the air.

Going down the stairs, he heard a faint sound. He couldn‟t quite decide what that low

whine was. It roused his suspicions and he slowed down as he neared the bottom step. He

stopped at the door and let Raine come forward. When she found an alarm and disabled it, he

was glad that he‟d taken the moment to make sure. He didn‟t want to give the man inside any

warning.

The door slid open and they rushed into the room. Connal almost couldn‟t believe what

he saw. The room had a tiny cell in the corner and various devices hung on the walls and from

the ceiling. Every one of them was designed to inflict pain. Raine had warned him and it wasn‟t

that he hadn‟t believed her. Even with the prior knowledge, he hadn‟t expected to see a room like

this.

Connal ran straight for the man where he stood near a table. He knew his men would get

the woman who cowered in the tiny cage. Grabbing the man by his shirt, he spun him around and

punched him. Before he could get in another good hit, a ray flashed from beside him and the man

fell to the ground. He turned his head, more than ready to growl at the man who‟d interfered. His

eyes clashed with Raine‟s glaring gaze as she lowered the stunner.

“What part of not letting him become the victim didn‟t you understand?” She holstered

the weapon and then folded her arms across her chest.

“It was only one punch.” Connal shook his head. He‟d admit that he had wanted to do

more, but he would have restrained himself before beating the man senseless.

“You were going to hit him again.” She met his eyes and from her look, he knew she

didn‟t believe he would have stopped.

“Yes, once. I wasn‟t going to leave him too broken, but I was going to make sure he

didn‟t get up again while we were here.” Connal scowled.

“He‟s down and he‟s not getting up while we‟re here. Mission accomplished.” She turned

away from him and walked over to the woman.

Connal wanted to haul her back and make her listen, but didn‟t. This wasn‟t the time to

point out that he had some control. Aside from that, now that she had reached the woman, he

could see that she was helping to calm her. They still had to plant the evidence and couldn‟t

linger here long, but they were on schedule. Even though Raine wore a mask, the woman seemed

to respond to the fact that she was female.

Raine was talking softly to the woman as she led her to the door and up the stairs. Connal

was a little concerned because the woman hadn‟t reacted yet. Not really. There had been a little

stunned amazement and initial fear of the masked people around her, but even that had been too

muted. This woman‟s trauma went deep. He hoped that Tricia hadn‟t suffered anything like this

and he really wished that Raine hadn‟t stopped him from getting his hands on the man again.

That man deserved to pay for all of the pain and fear he‟d caused. Connal resisted the urge to

give the man a few swift kicks in the ribs and followed Raine up the stairs.

He saw Raine urge the woman out of the house. Connal knew she would be back. She

had the program to insert the information that would tie him to the other two as well as people

known to traffic in slaves together. She returned shortly and went to work. Her fingers flew

across her small handheld and she hooked it up to one of the ports on the man‟s comp. It didn‟t

take her long before she looked up and nodded.

“I‟m ready.” She glanced his way before heading back out the door.

She‟d been a little withdrawn today. He hoped it was a sign that she didn‟t want to go as

much as he didn‟t want to let her leave, but he would let her walk away from him. He‟d keep his

promise and leave them in a safe place where they‟d do their best to vanish, but he wasn‟t

prepared to let her disappear. Not when he suspected she was his mate. The pull was too strong

to ignore, so he wasn‟t going to let her leave without making sure she remembered him until he

caught up to her.

After they left the woman in a safe place where she could contact the authorities, they

returned to the space port. The other two groups were already there and they didn‟t waste any

time returning to the ship. The women had provided an identity for Tricia so that she could get

up to the ship without drawing notice. It worked just as they‟d promised.

Connal‟s emotions were mixed. He was happy to finally get Tricia back and that she

hadn‟t been too traumatized by her experience, but that also meant that Raine would be leaving

him. That thought sent his spirits crashing. The woman made a business of being whoever she

wanted and disappearing like smoke. He was going to have a hard time tracking her down if she

didn‟t want to be found.

As they walked from the shuttle, Connal took Raine‟s hand. “Are you hungry?”

She shook her head and licked her lips. “No, not right now.”

“Good. Come with me.” He tugged her to the lift and headed straight for his quarters.

He wasn‟t going to waste a moment of his time with her. Eating would come later. He

wanted to get his hands on her and their clothes off. It seemed to take forever to reach his door.

When he finally got her inside the room, he pushed her up against the nearest wall and slanted

his mouth across hers. He was desperate to taste her, to touch her. Her hands tugged at his shirt

and she kissed him back with even more hunger. Sharp teeth nipped at his lips and the savage

little move sent a surge of lust shooting through him.

He wanted her. Now. She pushed at his shirt and gave a frustrated growl when it hung.

The primal sound fueled his hunger. It was the first time she‟d let the wilder animal side show

and he answered with a growl of his own. He wanted her naked and against the wall, but he

didn‟t want to let her go long enough to get rid her clothes. He heard a rip and didn‟t know if her

shirt had given way or his until he felt her hands on his chest.

He dropped kisses along her jaw. “Lift your arms.”

She raised her arms and he pulled her shirt off over her head. Her hair tumbled wildly

around her face and she shook it back. He took off her bra and cupped her breasts. He loved the

way her nipples hardened at the slight brush of his fingers over the tips. Her back arched and she

hummed softly. Her leg lifted and hooked at his hip. She strained to get closer. He rocked his

hips into her, but knew this couldn‟t go on. The friction felt too good against his sensitive cock

as it strained against the confinement. He had to get her out of those pants because he wasn‟t

coming in his pants. He‟d be deep in her when he found release.

“Need to have you.” The words rolled from him as he pressed kisses to her neck.

“Yes,” she groaned and her head tipped to give him better access.

He gripped her waist and lifted her off her feet. He carried her over to the bed and put her

down on her feet. His hands went to the fastenings at her waist and in moments he had her pants

around her ankles. She sat up and began tugging at her shoes and he used the time to strip out of

his own clothing.

She barely waited for him to get out of his pants before she jumped at him. Her arms

curved around his neck as her body arched against his. Her teeth nibbled at his neck and her nails

scraped down his back. She wasn‟t waiting and she didn‟t seem to be in the mood for the soft

bed.

Actually, neither was he. He wanted her against the wall or over the back of the couch.

The bed was a little too tame for him right now. He looked around and spotted the table. That

would do and luckily there wasn‟t anything on it. His hands tightened on her buttocks, lifting her

off her feet as he carried her over to it.

As he put her on the tabletop, his hands swept in lingering arcs over her hips and butt. He

didn‟t want to let her go even for a moment. Her skin was so warm and soft and her heated

response to him only fueled his desire to feel her pussy clenching around his cock. His body