Chapter Five

Chapter Five

BaOBy

"What does that mean, they bought you to be her legs?" he asked. BaOBy watched the expressions flitter across her face in the weak moonlight. He glanced up, judging the time. They still had several hours left before the second, larger moon filled the sky. Cat would need to leave him before then. The added light would make it more difficult for her to return to the house across the street.

He dropped his gaze back to her face. Judging by her smile, he'd say the old woman hadn't been unkind to the child she'd been. But it still broke his heart that his mate had been taken from her family to become a slave from the time she was so young.

"Navid bought me, then transported me to Viant for his mother. Naomi had been in some type of accident and couldn't walk without a lot of pain. I would get her food and drink, help her to the bathroom, and fetch her books… or a sweater if she were cold. Her legs didn't work, and mine did. So, I took care of her. As I got older, I learned how to clean her home and cook her meals. In return, she taught me how to read and cipher. I started balancing her credits and dealing with her accounts. She even taught me how to drive the small hover, so I could take her to doctor appointments and the market. Naomi was kind, kept me fed and dressed, and shared everything she knew. It was not a terrible life."

Bao kept his thoughts to himself. He could read between the lines. At the time they purchased her, Viant didn't have a slave market. So, this Navid had traveled to a planet that dealt in slaves and bought Cat for his mother. She didn't think her life had been hard up to this point, but it still shouldn't have happened. Cat had been kidnapped as a small child and sold. She was currently being held prisoner. She'd been a slave almost her entire life. "What happened to Naomi?"

"She died of complications from her accident when I was about—I don't know—seventeen? I've always guessed my age. I lived with Naomi for almost ten years. At some point, we estimated I was between seven and nine years old when her son brought me to live with her. So, when she died, I figured I was about seventeen/eighteen-ish. Her son owned a couple of farms and a store in the town nearby. Navid knew I had taken over his mother's accounts several years before. When she died, he said he could take me off Viant and sell me—or I could work for him and learn how to do his accounts." She took a sip of water and studied her hands as if looking for ink and reliving some of that time.

"You didn't leave Viant." His statement was obvious—she was sitting right here. So, she worked for Navid.

"No, I stayed. Viant was all I ever knew, and I liked bookkeeping. I was good at it. Naomi had told Navid that I had a hard time sleeping at night. When she slept, I worked on her books. Then during the day, I napped when she did. Because Navid knew this, he provided me with a small room of my own. It had a desk and a lamp, so I could work at night. He also gave me a tiny allowance to purchase clothing or things I needed. I always had freedom. If I completed my work, I could go to the market, take a walk, or read in my room. Since reading Naomi's books had been a big part of my life with the woman, she left them to me when she died. Each day, Navid gave me free time to do what I wished."

He studied the look on her face. "What do you mean when you say you were good at bookkeeping?"

She smiled with her teeth this time. "Over the years, I increased Navid's properties and credit holdings. I learned quickly, eventually taking over the work of all five bookkeepers that Navid employed. I figured out where he should invest his money, and every year I got a bigger room, and my allowance increased. If I had a choice, I would have worked for Navid for the rest of my life… and been happy."

Bao felt her anxiety grow. She didn't want to share this with him. Cat didn't want to think about this part of her life. Once again, he prodded her. In order for him to help her, he needed to know it all. "If you were happy with Navid, why did you leave? I can't imagine that with the success you had, Navid would let you go." Bao frowned. He reached out and squeezed Cat's hand in support. Pouring her some more water. The varying expressions on her face enthralled him. Pride, sadness, fear.

Cat took a deep breath. "About five years ago, when I was twenty-two, the Andaran came to Viant. Things began to change, and they weren't good changes. Jacanas, the Andaran, heard about me from someone. I never found out who mentioned me. He was told I had a magnificent ability for business. For numbers. He befriended Navid. Every chance he got—he watched me. Asked for proof of my worthiness. Navid bragged and provided proof. Eventually, the Andaran forced the Nadhuk male to sell him all his holdings, which included me. I'm pretty sure Jacanas either threatened Navid or blackmailed him. Navid no longer lives on Viant."

"I've never heard the Andaran's name. Why does no one use it? It is Jacanas?"

She nodded. "Yes. When he first came to Viant, he would introduce himself that way. We all knew it. Over the years, he became THE Andaran. The only one. The important one. He refused to let anyone use his name and told all who would listen, that saying his name would attract attention to the one who did. Superstitions like that made it seem he was indestructible."

Bao didn't know what to make of that. The Father would know if there was some history of Andarans not using their names. Something to check out later.

"I was twenty-three when I went to work for the Andaran. He knew my preference for working late at night and believed it to be a benefit. In the beginning, nothing changed for me. Except I worked more, wasn't paid anything, and never had free time. In fact, he restricted me to my room and the office complex. The Andaran had more money and more properties. He kept me busier and took away all my freedom."

"He kept you locked up?" Bao was horrified. "How old are you now?" He lost track. Had that been four or five years ago? Bao had so many questions. He tried to keep them relevant and let her tell the story in her own way. Hating to interrupt. But these three things were important to him. Her age? How long she'd been his slave? And why did no one use the Andaran's name?

His mating bands were going crazy. Moving. Shifting toward her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, go skin to skin, and let the bands convince her to let him rescue her from the hell her life had become.

Cat stretched, turned to look at the larger moon just peeking over the horizon. "I need to leave soon. So, I'll hurry through some of the rest. I'm somewhere around twenty-seven years old. I worked for the Andaran for four years. He gave me the title of assistant, but I was his slave. The bags you liberated from his compound contain evidence of how he systematically destroyed the fifteen men who made up Viant's Ruling Committee. I literally know where he buried the bodies, and who he threatened with the deaths of their families. I also know what he uses to blackmail the five remaining committee members, so they keep the Galactic Alliance from realizing anything has changed on this planet."

"Do you want me to give that information to my creator Father? He would take care of the Andaran. He has the authority to do so." Bao wanted Cat to know that there would be people on her side. That she was no longer alone.

"I'll send one bag with you to read and use for that purpose. I'll hide the smaller one and you know later where it is… Just in case something happens to me before you need the information. You can't arrest him—Jacanas would influence the investigators and get a lighter sentence. You'll need to kill him. I'd be happy to help with that."

Bao knew the Andarans had psychic powers. But the Galactic Alliance knew that as well. They would take precautions. He would need to help her believe that the man wouldn't get away. But first, he needed to understand why Cat had been imprisoned. "What made the Andaran remove you from his compound and imprison you?"

Catalina started to stand—she smiled at Bao when he helped her up. They both walked over to the roof's edge and looked down. Everything on the street below was quiet.

"Jacanas ‘gifted' me with a re-breather. He did it so the drugged air he created didn't affect the way I managed his money. Because he didn't drug me, I remembered things. Like where all the bodies were buried and where he keeps his money stashed. Moreover, I know exactly how he made that money. Three months ago, something happened, and he realized not only how much I knew, but just how much of a threat I would be. That is when he sentenced me to death."

Bao frowned at that. Why would the Andaran lock her up if she was so dangerous to him? Why not just kill her? And how did she become pregnant and by who if he locked her up all the time? The story made little sense to him. "I'll get the information to Father. He will have us arrest him immediately. My brothers and I will guard him until the Alliance sends an investigation team. The Galactic Alliance will handle this from now on. The Andaran's crimes would need to be pretty horrific to warrant an immediate death sentence."

Cat shook her head. She reached for his hand. "You can't arrest him. You might think that is a good option. But let me finish my story. The Andaran didn't lock me up out of spite, and he isn't just waiting for me to die. First, he wanted my womb."

His heart sank, and his body flooded with hatred. " He raped you ," Bao said flatly.