Taurus (Galactic Cage Fighters (Book Three)) (11 page)

She shrugged. “Okay. Thanks for talking to me. You aren’t exactly as I had imagined you would be.”

He gave her a smirk. “I am devastatingly handsome and all the females want me.”

She kissed his cheek. “You are gentle, sweet, and care deeply for your friends.”

“To bed with you, female. You will have my reputation ruined with all this gentle and sweet talk.”

Maya giggled as she made her way to her bedroom. “Goodnight, Zen.”

“Goodnight, beautiful.”

Zen picked up Maya’s wine glass and finished it up along with his own. He waited a few minutes then went to the suite door. He opened it and exited the suite closing the door behind him as he waited in the hallway. He checked his watch.
Any time now
.

The elevator doors opened down the hallway and Zen watched as Taurus came stomping out heading in his direction. “Having a rough night, friend?”

Taurus stopped in front on Zen glaring at him and then glancing at the door behind him. “Move out of my way, Zen.”

Zen shook his head. “Not going to happen. You need to get your emotions under control.”

Taurus reached out a hand and wrapped it around Zen’s neck. But he didn’t squeeze. “Stay out of my way, Zen.”

“Not happening, friend. If you want to fight, let’s take this down to the training center.” Zen didn’t try to pull out of Taurus’s grasp.

“I don’t want to fight you. I just want to see Maya.”

“Not tonight. She’s upset right now.”

“Why is she upset? She walked out on me.”

“What should she have done after you told Gypsy, a recent lover, that Maya was just a temporary situation.”

“Damn it! She wasn’t supposed to hear that.” Taurus released Zen and ran his hand through his short hair.

“So you didn’t mean it then.”

“No, yes, I don’t know! We barely know each other. How am I supposed to know if there’s more? Then she just ups and leaves like it was nothing.”

“You’re an idiot,” Zen said, surprising Taurus silent. “That girl was completely innocent. I could smell that the first day at the auditions. She has no experience with men. It was clear to me the way she watched you all the time that she had a huge crush on you. I’m sure it didn’t take much more than a few kisses to seduce her into your bed. Then you make her sound like she was nothing when your favorite sex partner shows up at your door wanting in your bed. Yet here you are, daring to get angry at her for being upset?”

It sounded pretty bad the way Zen was saying it. He felt deflated. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Exactly why you are not seeing her tonight. You need to figure out what you want from her before you approach her again. She deserves better.”

“She must hate me.” Taurus stared at the closed door with longing.

“She doesn’t hate you. I explained a few things to her. She needs a little time to process it before she’ll be ready to listen to you.”

“What things did you explain?”

“The orphanages and how we were fostered out to the corporations.”

“You told her about me?” Taurus looked angry.

“Not really. Kind of hard to tell her about you when you have never shared any of that with me or any of your other friends. You are a tiny bit anti-social.”

Taurus felt like he had been slapped in the face. “I’m just…not big on sharing personal stuff.”

Zen held his hands up in the air. “Don’t get upset okay. Let’s go do some training and work out that aggression you have bottled up in you.”

“I’m not anti-social,” Taurus grumbled.

“If you say so.”

*****

“Do you want to talk about it?” Coco asked as they finished their breakfast and headed to wardrobe.

“Talk about what?”

“Why you are giving Taurus the silent treatment.”

“I’m not.”
Was she?
That was so grade school.
Damn it!
She was a grown female. She could handle it if a male didn’t want her.

“Yeah you are. Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

Maya sighed. Zen would probably tell Coco anyway. “We were together for part of the night last night. Then Gypsy showed up wanting to share his bed.” She went on to tell her about the fight they had and how she walked out on him. “So, it’s over.”

Coco laughed. “Honey, it is not over by a long shot. That male could not keep his lustful eyes off you.”

Maya blushed. “He made it clear last night that I wasn’t anything to him.”

“He’s an idiot.”

“That’s what Zen said when I came home last night.”

“Is that what you and Zen were talking about? I thought you two were having a little quickie so I went back to bed.”

“What? I would never…he’s with you. I would never be with a friend’s guy. Plus, he’s friends with Taurus. That would be awkward.”

“Hey, no worries. I would be cool if you and Zen had banged. I know that Zen is just passing his time with me like I am with him. We have no hold on each other. In fact, we often include others in our escapades.”

“Stop! Please for the love of all that is holy. Do not tell me anymore.”

“Too much, huh?”

“Way too much.”

Coco giggled as she pushed Maya to continue on their way. “Come on, we have a lot to do. Wardrobe, makeup, hair and then some personal appearances at the local hot spots around the new spaceport city.”

“Personal appearances?”

“We go with a few of the fighters to local broadcasting stations and give interviews. The fighters will go to the opening of new hospitals and orphanages. We’ll be at the events to pose for pictures and to hang off the arms of the male fighters to make them look sexier. It’s a bunch of publicity nonsense but it’s part of the job.”

“If it gets us off the ship for a while, it sounds like fun.”

“You say that now, but after twelve grueling hours, you’ll start to hate it like the rest of us.”

*****

It took only four grueling hours. Maya was so ready to go back to the GCFA ship. She hated having to smile constantly and pretend to laugh at ridiculous jokes and insulting comments. She enjoyed the openings the most though. She got to visit hospitals and participate in games that brought smiles to people’s faces. That was worth it.

Her group included her and Coco. A couple of the female fighters, Zara the Amazon, Sersan, and Gana who wouldn’t speak to Maya at all. Rachel came as part of the security detail, which meant that Rage was with her there. The other male fighters that came were Hammer and Zen. She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that Taurus wasn’t there, too. But Zen said that he had attended the last personal appearances and that all the fighters had to take their turn.

Her favorite appearance event was at the orphanage. She loved seeing the children. The fighters came to these to show their support though many of them had unpleasant experiences. She couldn’t help but be suspicious herself. The directors of the orphanage assured them that there was nothing shady going on there. They were allowed to roam freely and speak with the children.

Since Rachel used to work for the IDJ, Maya had pulled her aside to question her about the situation with the orphanages. She was assured that not all orphanages fostered out the halfsies to the corporations and the IDJ placed heavy fines and restrictions on the orphanages.

Maya was still doubtful. So were the other halfsies. They took advantage of the open invitation and went to each room. She couldn’t see anything out of place. She followed the others on tours throughout the orphanage. She looked around and realized that Zara was missing. No one was paying attention to her so she backtracked to see if she could find the missing female.

She heard a child’s giggle and a female’s voice down the hall. She stopped just outside the door and peered inside. She wasn’t prepared for what she saw.

Zara the Amazon sat on the floor with three halfsie girls sitting beside her. She was handing each girl a wrapped present. The little girls tore into the wrapping squealing at the new dolls that were revealed.

“Thank you, Zara!” The little girls hugged her.

“You are welcome. Does the orphanage treat you well?”

“Oh, yes. Everyone here is so nice.” They reassured her.

Maya watched as one little girl held her doll tightly against her chest but didn’t answer Zara like the rest of the other girls. She smiled and nodded her head. Something inside Maya was telling her that things were not as perfect as the little girls were telling them.

“Can we show you our rooms?” one of the other little girls asked Zara.

“Sure.” She stood and towered over the little girls. But she gave them a gentle smile reassuring them that she would not hurt them. They led her down the hall.

Maya ducked back so no one saw her. She noticed the one shy little girl remained behind with her doll. This was her chance. She walked into the room making noises as she came so the little girl wasn’t startled.

“Hi,” Maya greeted the little girl with a big smile.

“Hi.” The little girl went back to playing with her doll.

Maya sat down beside her. “My name’s Maya.”

“I’m Lucy.”

“Nice to meet you, Lucy.”

The little girl just nodded her head but didn’t say anything.

“What are you going to name your doll?”

“Well, I would name her after my brother, Luke, but it’s a girl doll so I probably shouldn’t.”

“It’s nice that you think of your brother. Where is he?”

The little girl grew sad. “He was adopted last year.”

“Oh. Why didn’t they adopt you, too?”

“The family said that they had already adopted several girls. They wanted a boy.”

“Well, I’m sorry that you are missing your brother. Aren’t you glad that he is adopted into a big loving family.”

“The Sampsons aren’t very loving.”

Maya got that strange feeling again that said something wasn’t right. “The Sampsons are the ones that adopted your brother?”

“Yes. But Luke didn’t want to be adopted. He even fought with them as they took him out of the orphanage.”

“He was probably upset because he wanted to stay here with you.”

She nodded her head. “He promised he would take care of me. Now, he’s gone and I haven’t heard anything from him in a year.” She wiped away a few tears.

“I would assume that there would be an adjustment period to allow him to get acquainted with his new family,” Maya wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Luke and I were just brought here a few months before he was adopted. Some of the other kids that have been here a while say the Sampsons come almost every two years and adopt. The kids they pick are never given the choice to refuse the adoption and always have to go. Maybe when they come back next year to adopt, they will pick me. I wouldn’t fight them because I want to be wherever Luke is.”

“Maybe so. How about you name your doll, Luca?”

“Luca?”

“Yes. After your brother but with a feminine twist to it.”

“Luca…I love it! Can I go tell my friends my doll’s new name?”

“Go on, honey.” Maya waved her off.

“You’re good with kids,” Zara said from the other side of the room.

Maya pulled herself up to her feet. “I have always loved kids.  I used to pretend to be a mama to all my dolls when I was growing up. I always knew I would want a lot of kids of my own one day. I noticed that you’re good with them, too. I like the dolls you brought them. That was sweet of you.”

Zara laughed. “I have never been called sweet before. They’re actually action figures, of me. I had some extras hanging around so I thought I’d dump them here.”

Maya smiled. “Of course.”

Zara walked over to the window to watch the kids playing outside. “I hate the personal appearances, but I always come when it’s an orphanage involved.”

Maya nodded her head knowing Zara wouldn’t see her. “Zen told me a little about the atrocities with the orphanages and the illegal fostering.”

“That’s only part of the reason that I come to check things out. The other part is…I can’t stop looking for her.”

“Her?”

“My daughter.”

Chapter Thirteen

“You have a daughter?” Maya was stunned.

“Did you think those breeding facilities existed for years without producing children?”

Fuck.
Maya really was naïve. “I’m sorry. This is the first time I heard about all this. When did you have your baby?”

“I got pregnant five times but miscarried each of those before I was finally able to carry a baby to term. I had Angel when I was sixteen. She was so tiny and beautiful. I loved her immediately.”

“Did they let you keep her with you?”

“For the first two years. So many of the children born in captivity died in the first year or two. They thought if they allowed them to stay with their mothers for the first few years, it would ensure their survival.”

“What happened to her?”

“As soon as Angel turned two, they moved her in a different part of the facility where the other children were kept. When the first wave of IDJ agents swept through freeing us, they would not let me go back inside for Angel. They had to restrain me with a tranquilizer because they thought that I was suffering some kind of hostage syndrome.”

“Did the IDJ agents not find her?”

“When I finally came out of the sedation they had me under, it had been two days past when they made the raid. The IDJ agents told me that all the children had been taken to orphanages throughout the galaxy. None of them remembered seeing Angel specifically.”

“Didn’t they record her name?”

“No. The children were so many that their names were not recorded, just ID numbers were used.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Zara shrugged and looked back out the window. “I can’t help but visit every orphanage I can. It’s been eight years but a part of me still holds a sliver of hope that I’ll find my Angel.”

Maya wanted to desperately reach out to Zara, but she doubted the proud female would welcome her touch. “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you search.”

“I need some time alone. Could you go check to see if the others are ready to leave?”

“Sure, no problem.” Maya headed out of the room.