“No loss is acceptable,” Cathian stated emotionally.
“Agreed.” Cavas hesitated before looking at Nara. “Can you help her find something suitable to wear and replicate the collar she once wore? I’ll dress to fit the part. The drones have taken images of the wealthy slavers getting off those private shuttles. We’ll meet in half an hour in front of the cargo bay. Since some of them have recently arrived, a fight must be taking place soon. We need to get down there as quickly as possible.” He turned to Cathian. “I’ll do my best to bring our littermate and Jill back safely.”
Jill walked quickly toward the door, assuming Nara would follow. She just wanted out of that room and away from all those emotions. Including her own. She’d lost her mind to volunteer, but it did make the most sense. She owed these people her life. They could have left her in that cell. She’d have died there, or faced a horrible future at the hands of another slave owner if she’d recovered from her injuries.
“Wait up. Where are you going?”
She turned to force a smile for Nara. “Sorry.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I do.”
“You literally just got free today! No one would expect you to go back down there like this. It was brave and gutsy. Hell, I’m impressed, but I should be the one to go. I’m responsible for the humans on this ship.”
“I’m doing this, Nara.”
Nara stepped closer, peering deeply into her eyes. “But you’re scared.”
“I’d be an idiot if I weren’t.”
That caused the woman to smile. “True.” Then she sobered. “Are you sure about this?”
“No, but I’m still going to do it.”
Nara studied her silently.
“Do you want to know what I saw in that room?”
Her question seemed to surprise Nara. “What?”
“Guys who actually love their women. They weren’t grabbing hold of you and being abusive when you were arguing. I saw real fear in their eyes. You have something here that I never thought I’d see in my lifetime.”
“What’s that?”
“Real love between couples. Five years ago, there was an outbreak of a coughing disease. We didn’t have the money for treatments. My mom, three of her sisters, and my two female cousins got sick. They were all the blood family I had. My aunt was married, and so was one of her daughters. And the government was passing out antibiotic shots for free—to men. My uncle and my cousin’s husband, like me, were spared catching the cough. I would have given my shots up in a heartbeat to save their lives, if I’d had any. But those bastards? They hid their shots just in case they needed them. They watched them die, doing nothing, until it was too late. I lost my entire family because those assholes were too fucking selfish to share drugs they didn’t even need.”
Nara appeared horrified. “I’m so sorry.”
“Me too. It was a common story in the city that summer. Men weren’t giving up their precious supply of antibiotics to save their wives, or even their own daughters. I wanted to kill my uncle, but men are protected on Earth.”
“I remember it being that way,” Nara admitted.
“The alien men on this ship honestly love their wives. The love you’ve found here, it’s better than what’s on Earth. I’m not going to let you lose that if I can help it. This ship is your home. As long as your husband manages to deal with his shitty dad and get his missing brother back, you get to keep this ship, right?”
“Yes,” Nara sighed.
“Then I’m all in. You were willing to go down there. So am I. Is it terrifying? Yes. But now I have something to risk my life for—I want to be a part of this crew. I’ve got nothing left on Earth. Let me pull my weight.”
Nara nodded. “Thank you.”
Jill changed the subject. “The slaves down there don’t wear much. Where do we go to get me a skimpy outfit?”
“We have a replicator. Cathian learned every known thing about Flax before they went down there, to find out how the locals dress. Let’s go pull up the information, you can pick something you think will work, and then we’ll have it made. It only takes a few minutes.”
“Sounds good.”
Jill pushed her fear back. The one thing the women in her family had taught her besides how to love was to always have the back of the people you care about most. She didn’t know the crew, but they’d taken her in. They were the only home she had left. She’d fight to keep it. The alternative wasn’t an option.
*
Cavas hated the outfit he wore. The fact that Cathian stood smirking at him made it worse. “I look like a pompous, wealthy shaft-head.”
His brother laughed. “You’ll fit right in.”
Cavas ran his hand down the open front slit of the lacy shirt, hating how much skin was exposed. The pants weren’t much better. They reminded him more of fancy sleeping wear for the arrogant rich. The thick jeweled chains around his neck were irritating, along with the ones on each wrist.
Dovis approached, looking him up and down. He chuckled.
“Don’t say a word,” Cavas warned.
York approached next and whistled. “You look just like a successful slaver.”
“Where is Jill? We need to leave.” Cavas wanted to get to the surface of the planet and end the mission as quickly as possible.
“Right here.”
He turned at the sound of her voice—and his eyes widened in shock.
Jill came around the corner of the corridor into the shuttle bay holding a long chain with a handle in her hands. The thin chain had about six feet of length and was attached to a collar around her delicate neck.
That wasn’t what stunned him. Jill was breathtakingly beautiful. She also had a very appealing body. Most of it was on display. She was thin but had nice curves. Ones his fingers itched to stroke. The attraction he felt toward her made him angry. He’d saved her life. That made her off limits to his way of thinking. He shouldn’t be having sexual thoughts about her.
“Where is the rest of your clothing? You wore more than that when I found you. Much more.”
She paused, staring at him. “Remember when I said the guards decided to sell me to the planet owner? They made me wear my original outfit from Earth, thinking they’d get a better price if I seemed like I was fresh merchandise. This is more like what I wore while waiting for my first buyer to come home from his business trip. Cia and the other slaves dressed like this, too.”
Cavas tried hard not to gawk, but it was difficult. The top she wore was little more than a tight strip of narrow material over her breasts. It hugged the bottom of her soft tempting breast mounds, but the tops of them were almost spilling out. And there was just a loose layer of thin material wrapped around her hips, attached by a useless string at the hip. It barely covered her sex in the front or her ass in the back.
“You’re almost completely bared.” He tried not to stare at her legs. They were small but shapely…and he could see so much of them. The only other thing she wore were little sandal-like shoes on her feet. Even those appeared delicate.
Humans were a fragile-looking race. He forced his gaze to her pale green eyes. They would haunt him if he wasn’t able to keep her safe on their mission. He also noted that they were a beautiful color, reminding him of soft grass on his home world that grew on the cliffs by one of the Veller homes near the ocean.
She cocked her head. “Um, I’m pretending to be a slave.” She walked up to him and held out the leash. “This is what they wear. I went with the non-sheer option. Some of the slaves in the house wore materials so thin that you could see everything. At least my important lady bits are covered in this.” She glanced down at her chest. “Mostly. No nipples.” She looked up at him. “Are we doing this or not?”
He ignored the leash handle. “I’ll keep you safe.” He turned, staring at his brother. “Be prepared for us to come back with possible enemy shuttles on our tail.”