4. Valmore

4

Valmore

Several days had passed, and Hazel and I fell into a routine of heading to the mess hall three times a day. While I only needed to eat once a day, I'd always have a little something so Hazel didn't feel uncomfortable. And for some damn reason, I kept telling her more and more about my past and my people, as I had our first meal together.

I wondered why I felt compelled to tell her about my people and our plight. Maybe it was because she was the first person to seem genuinely concerned about it. But she couldn't help me even if she wanted to. The IPA looked out for themselves and no one else.

And that was why I had to go through with this mission. As much as it pained me to put her through the trauma, in the end, I'd make sure she made it back to the station safely. She might get a little shaken up, and maybe she'd even develop some mild trust issues after this, but she'd be safe. And she was strong, anyway. I knew she'd grow stronger from it.

Her door suddenly opened, and I jerked back, realizing that enough time had passed for her to get a full night's sleep. I forced myself to act naturally. "Good morning."

Hazel noticed something was up immediately. "Is anything wrong?"

"Not at all," I lied. "Nothing's wrong."

She started off down the corridor toward the mess hall. "Did you have a good night?"

"It was very quiet—as it should be."

She smiled up at me. Fortunately, she kept walking, so I didn't have to smile back at her. I didn't think I could manage that—not today.

So long as we were on course, the plan would be carried out today.

I scanned every intersection on the way to the mess hall, but none of the crew showed themselves. I checked the clock when we entered the mess hall. 0907 hours. How much longer until Zol gave the signal? I would be on edge for the rest of the day before he found an opening .

Nearly every member of the crew occupied the tables. A few looked up when we entered, but most went on with their business. If they knew something I didn't, they kept it hidden.

I accompanied Hazel to the serving counter, and we both got our food. I didn't feel like eating, but I had to choke the meal down, so Hazel didn't suspect anything. The closer we came to the moment of truth, the more tense I got. I hadn't seen or heard anything that bothered me since we left Elysium, but I liked this mission less and less with every passing day.

The minute we turned away from the counter, that dipshit Jesse vaulted to his feet and waved both arms. "Hazel! Over here! Come sit with us."

He made room for Hazel to sit down next to him. He had spent the last three days cozying up to her any time they were in the same room together, and I had to wonder why, given our plans.

I kicked one of the other crewmen out of the way so I could fit on Hazel's other side. If anyone expected me to drop my bodyguard act at this point, they were sorely mistaken.

Jesse laughed way too loud. If anything would make Hazel suspect something, his moronic behavior would do it.

"Can you believe him?" Jesse murmured to Hazel, as though I couldn't hear. "We can assign you a different bodyguard if you can't stand him. I'd be happy to go everywhere with you day and night."

"Valmore is a good bodyguard," she replied. "I don't want anyone else."

I shot Jesse a deadly glare over her shoulder, but the chump merely grinned even broader.

"Just be careful around him. You know what they say about Kavians."

"No," she replied. "What do they say about Kavians?"

Jesse perked up at Hazel, taking his bait. "They say Kavians can double their strength in battle. They also say that Kavians mate for life. If anyone threatens their mate, their strength and aggression increases tenfold. They can survive anything short of beheading."

She glanced over at me and her eyebrows lifted. "Is that true?"

"Let's not find out." I shot another glare at Jesse.

He laughed even more idiotically. "You see, Hazel? He's already so protective of you. I wonder if he thinks there's some deeper connection between you two."

A surge of rage made my hackles rise. What did he think he was trying to do? This entire project hinged on her trusting me so I could secure her when the tables turned. Jesse would have no reason to turn her against me except to screw me, and this mission, over.

That would be a big mistake.

I cast another glance around the mess hall. Nearly every male in the place watched Jesse whispering his poison into Hazel's ear and then laughing like a moron. At least Hazel seemed to not be falling for it. The few times Jesse looked away, she'd glance at me and shake her head in exasperation at him.

At least she had good judgment. Still, adrenaline poured into my veins at the thought of what would happen soon. Was Jesse right that I was feeling a… connection? Was that why I was so protective of her? Was that why I wanted to rip his arms out of their sockets for sitting next to her?

Before I could do anything, Captain Zol slumped into the mess hall. I froze.

He slumped over to our table, and four crewmen scuttled out of the way to make a place for him to sit down. He sat down right across from me and Hazel.

"Well, Officer Simmons," he began. "How are you enjoying your journey so far?"

"Oh, it's been… comfortable. Thank you." Hazel smiled, the ever polite woman that she was. I half wish she'd tell them all to fuck off.

Zol then nodded, stood, and wobbled around behind her, pretending he was heading for the serving table. Instead, he raised one tentacle and pointed at her with another.

I stared at him. The signal! The attack was about to start. My fingers tightened around my blade handle, and my gaze skimmed the mess hall one more time. Twenty men sat at the benches around us. They all inched their hands toward their weapons.

If this was just an act as we had all planned, then they would point their unloaded weapons at the both of us, and I'd surrender, telling Hazel that we were outgunned and needed to cooperate.

But if this wasn't just an act—if this ended up being something else, like my instincts were telling me—I'd have my work cut out for me.

I felt no hesitance, though. Somehow, deep down, I knew that no one would get near her as long as I had a drop of blood left in my veins.

I became aware of Zol talking to me, but I didn't hear what he said. I kept sizing up the crew. Just then, Hazel nudged me. "Valmore."

She got my attention. I looked over at her for a split second, and at that moment, the crew made their move. They jumped off their benches and aimed their weapons at the both of us.

I sprung to my feet so fast I knocked the bench over with Hazel still sitting on it. She started to fall, but I grabbed her and pushed her behind me. I then slung my cannons forward and swept them to both sides to defend her.

Hazel screamed, and my fingers instinctively tightened to fire. The next second, Zol's voice broke the tension. "Valmore—don't!"

I realized then that perhaps I was overreacting. Perhaps the plan was moving along as we had all agreed, and they were just playing their part. As convincing as they were, none of them actually had their fingers on their triggers. When I realized this, I lowered my cannons.

"Do something, Valmore!" Hazel cried in my ear.

I drew in a shaky breath. I had to summon all my resolve to relax my fingers. "We can't—I can't. We have to cooperate. We can't win. We would both end up dead, and I promised to protect you."

Jesse laughed even louder. "You promised to protect her and look where it got her."

Everyone ignored him, but Hazel's gasp of disappointment cut me to the core. "No! We can't just give in."

I took a step closer and lowered my voice. "We'll find a way out of this. I promise. We can't do that if we're dead. Look at ‘em." I jerked my chin over my shoulder. "They have laser rifles and they outnumber us ten to one. No one can beat those odds."

"Not even you, big boy!" Jesse clamped his arm around my shoulders in a mock hug. Then he yelled to the rest of the crew. "Tie them up!"

I tensed all over, but I stopped myself from resisting. Rough hands tore my guns out of my grasp, then the crew got busy tying me up.

They used steel cable one inch thick, as if they knew rope wouldn't hold me. They wound it around my arms and chest, lashed it around my wrists, then bound my legs together. They did a good job too. They cinched it so tight I started to lose sensation in my fingers.

Seemed like a bit much, honestly. Sure, I'd be keeping up the bodyguard act until we secured the ransom and could send her home, but they didn't have to go this far.

They shoved me to one side as I noticed Zol had disappeared. He was probably off contacting the IPA. The sooner we got this over with, the better, so I wasn't about to complain.

I then watched them closely as they approached Hazel with a bundle of rope. She looked at me, and I nodded reassuringly.

"Stop!" Jesse barked.

Everyone looked at him, including me and Hazel. Now what?

He sauntered over to her, biting his lip in a sadistic leer. He nodded at Kasik, a mercenary I'd done a couple of jobs with in the past. "Hold her arms behind her back."

Kasik dropped the rope and grabbed her. I lunged to intervene, but I couldn't move.

Jesse inched closer and hooked his fingers under Hazel's shirt. He started to lift it and revealed her bare stomach.

She jerked away, but Kasik held her still. Jesse slipped his hands under her shirt. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this. I had my eye on you from the minute you came on board."

"Don't touch me, you bastard!" she shrieked.

Her voice set off the chain reaction that threatened to blow me apart since we first walked into this mess hall. "Get the hell away from her!" I bellowed.

If anyone heard me, they paid no attention. Both crewmen standing at Hazel's sides grabbed her shirt at the same moment. They yanked, and the shirt ripped down the middle. It pulled away to reveal her bare chest covered only by her bra.

She screamed again, and the last chain inside my head snapped. "Don't you dare touch her!"

"Or what?" Jesse leered over his shoulder at me. Right in front of my eyes, he placed both hands on her breasts and squeezed. "What are you gonna do to stop me?"

She shrieked again and twisted out of his grasp, but she couldn't break Kasik's grip. I struggled against the cable holding me, but it didn't give—not yet. A few more seconds and I would spin out of control. Then nothing would stop me.

Jesse tried to grab Hazel again, but she dodged and spat in his face. "You son of a bitch!"

He laughed out loud and went for her waist next. He slid his hands around both sides of her waist and pawed around to her ass, pinning her against Kasik so she couldn't wriggle free.

"You can't touch her!" I yelled. I barely held myself back from reminding them that they weren't supposed to hurt her. Part of me didn't want to reveal to her that I was in on this, even though she would find out eventually.

Jesse tried to kiss her, but she whipped her head sideways so he ended up kissing her hair. He compensated by gripping her ass and grinding his crotch between her legs. "As long as we keep you alive, we'll still get our money. No one cares what condition you're in, and we can have some fun with you in the meantime."

He straightened up and stuck his hand between her legs. He crushed her mound in one hand while he hissed in her face. She screamed again, and all of my restraint evaporated.

"I said…" I bellowed even louder. "I said you can't touch her! "

"I can't? Why not?" Jesse barely whispered these words. He muffled her screams with one of his hands. He was really going to do this right here in front of me. I couldn't let that happen.

I took a deep breath to make sure every one of these roughnecks heard exactly what I said. "Because… She's my mate."

Silence descended over the mess hall. Everyone froze. Jesse stopped what he was doing and turned around. He stared at me, floored. "Bullshit."

I gritted my teeth, holding back every desire to murder every man on the ship. Was it a lie? I didn't know. But I knew that it'd stop them dead in their tracks. As relatively unknown as my species was, these guys knew not to fuck with a Kavian's mate.

"If you lay a finger on her, you'll pay for it." I never meant any words more in my life.

A few of the crew exchanged glances. Kasik let go of Hazel. She dove for the tatters of her shirt and covered her chest with it.

Jesse blinked at me for a second. Then he guffawed in my face. "You are so full of shit, man! If she was your mate, you would prove it right here and now."

"You want me to prove it? I'll tear your fucking head off. Then everyone will see."

"No," Jesse interrupted. "No. I have a better idea. Fuck her. Fuck her right now and prove it. If she's your mate, then there's no reason why you can't fuck her, right?"

Someone gasped. For a second, I thought it was Hazel. Then, before I could say anything, she stormed around Jesse and barged over to me. "Yeah, Valmore. Let's do it. Let's show ‘em."