Chapter One

Chapter One

ReBOrB

The door opened, letting in a sliver of light. Two men stood on the threshold. They didn't come into the room. Just stood there peering down at the woman on the bed. One man was Siloth, and the other appeared to be a Viant noble. He dressed in long, multi-colored robes. Not completely purple, so he wasn't a pleasure master. These robes denoted nobility. Responsibility. They silently announced… that he was in charge.

The hood fell back and revealed an Andaran.

Reb inched back, away from the end of the bed. He didn't want to be seen. Or have the large-headed, dark-skinned Andaran discover him with a bit of the race's psychic ability.

For a handful of days he'd stayed underneath the bed, shrouded from sight by the bed skirts. During daylight, Reb rested by the foot, peering through the white cover. He spent his time monitoring the door and listening to snippets of conversation. The floor was uncomfortable, and the liquids used to clean the room left behind a caustic residue that burned his nose and eyes. He worried his sense of smell would never recover.

At night or when they took the female out of the room for therapy, he'd crawl out to use her private restroom, and go check in with his two brothers. They waited outside in the bushes. Like him, observing everything.

He'd been lucky that fabric surrounded the medical facility beds. Reb decided the skirt was intended to hide all the cords and tubes leading from the patient to the machines. Most of those who sought medical attention at this facility were wealthy. The administration hung curtains to hide the walls and monitors. And they installed a short skirt around the bed. They did both to give the impression their patients were in a luxury hotel instead of a room designed for the deathly ill. The skirts and curtains provided the perfect cover for him.

ReBOrB knew from the captain's report that it was an Andaran who planned to collect BrOdByc's woman from the pleasure house. Andaran's were nobly born, just not from this planet. They often used their psychic skills against those around them. Forcing compliance, instigating action that ran contrary to a person's belief system, and more. All actions forbidden by the Galactic Alliance. Andarans rarely paid attention to Galactic law, and they were often found running illegal activities wherever they lived.

Reb doubted there were two Andarans on this planet vying for the Earthers' attention. There were rarely more than one in an area at a time.

He listened to the males discuss the Earth women… although it was clear neither man knew their names. When they spoke about the first one disappearing, he knew they meant Casey. The Andaran couldn't figure out how she got out of the compliance pool. But he was sure it had something to do with the explosion. "She had to have help. The female wouldn't know where to go and she couldn't run. Someone is hiding her. I need this second woman."

They lowered their voices. ReBOrB strained to hear what they said. He caught a few words. It became clear that the Andaran wanted to take the female in the bed and use her as bait to draw out the woman who escaped him. The Siloth warned she would die and refused to hand her over. Before the argument could escalate, a man dressed in medical robes joined them.

Ushering both the Siloth and Andaran male into the room and out of the hallway, the one in medical robes closed the door and looked through the window, as if to make sure no one was close enough to hear them. He then turned on the lights and went to check on Cameron. Once he was satisfied, he turned and faced the Andaran. The doctor got right to the point. "If you remove the Earth female from this facility, she won't last more than a few hours. We've healed the worst of the bleeding in her brain that resulted from the Siloth beating. But at some point, an Iceactic spider bit her. The tiny creature's venom is deadly. Her internal organs began to shut down. We reversed most of the damage, but without another treatment, she will die."

ReBOrB held his breath, not wanting to miss this explanation. He'd been hiding in this room for days, trying to discover why the female didn't wake. Wondering why they kept taking her for some type of radiation treatment, in addition to performing surgery to drain the blood on her brain. Now he finally had an answer.

Reb slowly sucked in air. He hadn't seen the venom. Not with his secondary sight. That ability normally allowed him to diagnose illness and injury with a detailed scan. He hadn't been able to do a complete study while worried someone would enter the room when he was vulnerable. Turning on the light, having it shine through the window on the door and into the hallway, would be a dead giveaway she wasn't alone.

Not to mention that if she woke and saw him bent over her… she'd scream.

So Reb spent most of the time in this room… under her bed or hidden behind the curtain on the wall. Near enough to use some psychic healing ability to speed her recovery from the brain bleed. Yet unable to complete a full scan and diagnose the secondary issue. Now he understood why it took so long for her to heal. His abilities could give her a boost, but couldn't heal the damage. She needed the machines for that.

"How in Siluthien Hell did she come in contact with an Iceactic spider?" The Andaran swung toward the tall, red-furred male.

Believing the question was addressed to him, the doctor explained, "The spider is microscopic and rare. It isn't from her planet. Nor are there any on Viant. Our atmosphere is too warm to support them for more than a few days. It took a great deal of time to figure out what was wrong with her. When the blood tests came back with signs of the venom—we took precautions and burned the clothing she wore, washed her body with an agent that would kill any other spiders, and shaved her head. We needed to do that to prep for surgery to drain the blood from her skull, anyway."

The Siloth shrugged under the noble's gaze. "We were on Iceataland several months ago. The spiders don't bother us. But I suppose they could have infested the ship."

The dark Andaran bit back a curse. " The ship that is in my transport bay? " Whipping out a communicator, the man barked in the order to fumigate the Siloth ship and anything near it. "I don't care if the damn tiny creatures won't live more than a few days. I want them killed. Then search all the ships for the missing woman. If you find any sign of her, make it known I have her sister. If we don't find her by tomorrow—we'll begin searching every building in the kacking city!"

ReBOrB reached out to his brothers. Using his mental connection to warn them all about the fumigation detail, along with the order given to search all spacecraft at the docking station for Casey. An inspection of all buildings in the city would follow that search. They needed to move the ship before that happened or someone might discover Casey, BrOdByc's mate. The captain and the brothers with him needed to be careful as well.

He also imparted the news that the Andaran referred to the transport bay as his… and that he had the authority to order it fumigated and the ships docked there—searched. The last time the brothers visited Viant, the planet was governed by committee.

When the Andaran turned back to the doctor, the medical man volunteered, "The female requires at least one more treatment. Without it, she'll die within a single day. With it, she will survive the venom without issue. The brain injury requires more care. Any head trauma could restart her brain bleed, proving fatal. This female requires plenty of rest, decent food, and minimal stress in order to heal completely."

The dark-skinned male frowned and shook his head. His heavy brows met in the middle of his enormous face. "Get the treatment done tonight. I'll pick her up first thing in the morning." He walked out of the room, rambling about how he planned to flush out the first female if they didn't find her in the search.

Reb sighed. The Andaran didn't care if she healed or not. He just needed her to be healthy enough to act as bait. He paid for Casey—not Cameron. He'd use this woman up to recover what he considered his. The Siloth wanted her to live just long enough he could sell her as a breeder. The doctor was fooling himself if he believed the woman would live more than a few days under their care.

Long after they left, he stayed under the bed and created a mental list of items he would need if he planned to get the female out of the medical center tonight. No matter what, he had to move her before the Andaran came back.

Cameron

The last thing Cam remembered—was the blowout fight with her boyfriend and going to bed in Casey's guest room. Cam's cheek throbbed. Reminding her that the man she thought was the love of her life… had slapped her. Hard.

She got up to take something for the pain when she saw several strange-looking men inside her twin sister's apartment.

Bits and pieces of fractured nightmares played in her mind as she struggled to open her eyes. Those men were covered in red fur. So many hands reached out to touch her. Another fist collided with her cheekbone, and her head exploded.

Her eyelids fluttered when a man whispered in her ear. His deep, slightly raspy voice tempted. "Cameron. You need to wake up. Casey is waiting for you. We have to escape before morning. Come on Malibu Barbie … you need to wake up and move that ass." His voice wasn't impatient, it was…worried.

Damn it. Her body hurt. Starting from the top of her head to the soles of her feet—she ached. She had no intention of going anywhere. Why was this man trying to convince her she needed to wake up and escape? Escape what?

His voice and his scent—lured her awake.

Cam opened her eyes just the tiniest bit. The room was dark, with the barest hint of light coming from the hallway through a window in the door. She saw what looked like a luxury hotel. A hotel room with all sorts of futuristic monitors. It was then she caught a scent she was very familiar with. This wasn't a hotel… it was a hospital. Her body aches and pains made more sense.

The man bending over her had amazingly thick, dark hair. She couldn't stop herself from reaching up to feel if it was as silky as it looked. His eyes were also dark. And his skin was sky-blue.

"My name is Reb. You need to trust me when I say we have to leave. Now. I promise I'll take you to Casey."

He wanted her to trust him. To come with him to find Cas. He quickly explained her sister was on a spaceship orbiting the planet, waiting for Reb to rescue Cam. She heard the words and understood what they meant, but it didn't make sense. A spaceship. Really? She would have laughed at the blue man if it weren't for one thing—Reb knew that Malibu Barbie was the safe word the sisters had used since they could talk.

Those two words guaranteed Cameron would follow him anywhere without argument —and hope she didn't regret it!