Chapter Nine

Zaya

We were just cleaning up after lunch when Bruno's barking alerted us to a presence in our yard.

"It's a delivery," said Steele. "I've been expecting it." He went outside to collect it while I finished putting away the dishes. He was back in less than two minutes carrying a long case. It took me a moment to realize that it was similar to the case of his ion rifle.

"Another weapon?" I asked.

"Yes, it's for you. I know you don't like them, but I think it's important for you to learn to use them. I want you to be able to protect yourself when I'm not here. Eventually, I must go back to work." Steele said as he started to open the case to show me.

There was also a laser pistol to go with it. "I'll show you how to work them, and then we will go outside for you to try it."

I gave him a skeptical look. We had an old shotgun passed down through generations, but it hadn't worked in my lifetime. We had no bullets for it, so I had never actually handled a weapon of any kind. However, I couldn't help thinking that had I had such a weapon when those men came to take me, I could have stopped them. So, I clenched my jaw to stop myself from voicing my fears and nodded.

Steele went through the safety features and the parts of both the rifle and laser pistol, explaining what each part did. I paid close attention because I wanted to learn to do this both for him and myself. When I asked questions, he went back over everything in detail so that I would understand. He showed me how to hold the rifle and how to aim it.

We went outside, where Steele had set up rows of firewood standing on end for me to shoot at. The first time, I only hit one out of seven. We repeated the process until I finally hit every one of them.

I helped Steele set up another row of firewood for target practice with the laser pistol. I managed to hit half of them. We were about to try again when Steele received a message. "Lieutenant Shadow Hawk asked if he could bring his mate Jenny over to meet you."

"I'd like that," I smiled. I didn't have any female friends. Actually, I didn't really have any friends, living an isolated life on my ranch. I hadn't had many friends growing up, either. As a child, I'd wished for a brother or sister, but that had never happened.

"That's good. They'll be here in ten minutes."

"Then I'd guess we better put the guns away and make some tea."

The couple arrived almost exactly ten minutes later. Steele and I went outside to meet them in the front yard. Jenny was an attractive blond woman approximately my age, and her mate, Shadow, was a big cyborg as handsome as Steele. The couple was dressed in the same standard-issue clothing as Steele and I.

Jenny approached me with a big smile and offered her hands in greeting. "Hello, Zaya. I am so pleased to meet you finally. I saw you in passing when Steele rescued you, but we were all in a hurry to get out of there before the place blew up. You look well. How do you feel?"

"I'm feeling good," I told her honestly as she released my hands. "Come on inside, where we can sit down and get acquainted. I've made some tea."

"You two go ahead. I want to show Lieutenant Hawk around," said Steele.

I rather expected that, so I just nodded and waved as Jenny and I headed inside.

"This is a nice place you have here," Jenny remarked as she gazed around our large eat-in kitchen."

"It's even better now since Steele surprised me with a new cooker to replace my wood cook stove. I mean, we didn't get rid of it, but I don't use it much since we got this."

"That definitely makes things easier, although I am not much one for cooking. My Sister Raya is the cook in our family. I guess you'd call me the black sheep. Before I met Shadow, I was a bodyguard to a crime boss back in Kansas."

"Kansas? How did you wind up here?" I asked.

"I was visiting my sister, and she was kidnapped. Her cyborg mate, Falcon, went to get her back, but he called Shadow to check on me, so he flew down from Gretchen. It turned out to be a shocking experience for both of us as we never expected to be genetic mates. I have to admit, I wasn't ready to be anyone's mate at the time, but you know those pheromones," she chuckled, and so did I.

I gestured for Jenny to sit down at the table while I got out two mugs and poured some homemade herbal tea, adding a teaspoon of honey to each.

"Oh, don't I know it? Despite everything I'd been through, I felt it as soon as Steele picked me up in his arms to carry me out of there."

"Are you doing okay now mentally? Did the nanites gene therapy ease the painful memories?"

"It did." I carried the mugs to the table, set one in front of Jenny, and took a seat across from her. "I didn't forget. Now, it seems like it happened years ago, although it's still not a pleasant memory."

"I understand better than you know. When I was younger, I ran away from home with my boyfriend, and we went to a city called Washokan. We got jumped by five guys. They raped me and made him watch. Then they killed him in front of me. That was over ten years ago. Their second mistake was that they didn't kill me. When I recovered, I hunted them down and killed every one of them. I'm not sorry, but it didn't take away the pain."

"Jenny, I'm so sorry for what you went through."

"And I am sorry for what you went through, Zaya. I've been worried about you since we rescued you from that bastard Saark. I wanted to let you know I understand and that I'm here for you, and I hope we can be friends."

"Thank you, I'd like that," I smiled, and she smiled, too. "The closest thing I had to a friend my whole life was my mom. In the last few years, I've only been to town once or twice a year. Before Steele, I'd been living here alone with Bruno and the animals."

"Of course, you've fallen in love with him."

We laughed together. "How could I not?"

It was so good to have the company of another woman who seemed to understand what it was like to be a female on her own and to be mated to a cyborg. We'd been talking about shooting and weapons, a fresh new topic for me. I thoroughly enjoyed her company and looked forward to spending time with Jenny again, even before she left.

Steele

Bruno came trotting up as Shadow and I walked toward the barn. I squatted down to pet him as we had become friends since I arrived. "Zaya is very fond of her dog, and I have come to enjoy his company. Somehow, he kept himself and all her animals alive for almost three months while she was gone."

"Well, I'd say that's pretty impressive."

"After what I saw that Saark had done to her—I shouldn't have waited to come to find her. She might never have been taken." I stood shaking my head.

"How would you know? We had no Intel to indicate a Saark base that large in our region."

"I just wasn't ready," I admitted.

Shadow laughed softly. "I don't know that many of us are. Even though it's the most sought-after thing in our lives, it can be unsettling. I know I wasn't ready on the day I met Jenny. I was completely blindsided and awed at the same time."

"I'm glad you and Jenny came over. Zaya lived here for years alone before she was kidnapped. All she had was her dog and not even a horse for transportation. She's got to be one strong woman to have survived on her own all this time. She hasn't said much, but I know she was lonely, and a woman needs female friends."

"They seem to be getting along pretty well," said Shadow.

Despite the fact that we were outside the ranch house, we could both hear their conversation quite easily with our enhanced cyborg hearing. Giving the lieutenant the tour of the farmyard was merely a ruse to give the two women time to get acquainted and bond without us hovering over them.

"Today, I spent the day preparing Zaya for my return to work when the time comes. She has weapons now to defend herself, and she knows how to use them, but I am not yet ready to leave her on her own. I feel like I need to make up for my hesitation to enter this relationship until the choice was no longer mine to make. I need more time to make sure she will be safe when I am away on the job," I said, meeting his gaze.

"No need to explain, Steele. When I told you to take the time you need, I meant it. So far, there haven't been any more incidents since we cleared out the Saark base where we found your mate. I think you will know when it's time to return to your job. In the meantime, if you need to talk, let me know."