Page 13 of Claimed (The Captain’s Captive #2)

Several days after watching Marek punish Laura, Jordan dropped Trish off at the couple’s apartment while he went to run “an errand” for the Wolf. Trish had almost asked him what errand, but then she’d kept her mouth shut. It wasn’t her business. Shouldn’t be her business.

She shouldn’t care what was taking him away from her.

The lines between them were becoming more and more blurred, and Trish didn’t know what to do about it.

She had become comfortable with Jordan, in a way.

Subconsciously, she trusted him. It was the only explanation Trish had for the way she cuddled up to Jordan in her sleep; the way her hands had a mind of their own whenever he fucked her, now.

More than once, he’d left her hands free, although he’d hold her down by one wrist, or by her throat, hoping she’d touch him of her own, free will, again.

It was hard to constantly be on alert against leaning on him, against snuggling in when he cuddled her, against touching him when he pleasured her. Hard and exhausting.

The only times it was truly easy were after he spanked her and she felt resentful, but Trish could only take so many spankings.

Especially when spanking her aroused him, and then she was subjected to intensely pleasurable orgasms as the pain in her bottom melded with the pleasure of his skillful fucking, followed by feelings of shame for provoking him and for enjoying the aftermath of her punishment so much.

She was going a little crazy.

Some part of her did care that he was out “running an errand.” Some part of her felt strangely … pouty … about being left out of whatever he was doing. About being left behind.

Some part of her didn’t like it.

Trish didn’t know what to do about that part.

At least spending time with Laura provided a distraction. The woman still felt guilty over gossiping about Trish and Jordan, and was willing to answer any question Trish asked as long as it didn’t have to do with anyone’s personal lives.

Laura also didn’t judge Trish for wanting to know what errand Jordan had gone on, although she was confused with Trish not having asked Jordan before he’d left. How could Trish explain wanting to pretend she didn’t care where he’d gone? But Laura didn’t ask, and Trish didn’t have to.

“I heard the Wolf wants some new Moonies to play with,” Laura said eagerly, happy to be able to answer Trish’s question. “Jordan’s always the one who recruits them. He’s got a knack for picking out exactly the right kind of people to bring back.”

“New Moonies?” Trish asked, as both hope and alarm rose within her. She tried to focus on the hope—perhaps she’d be back to her old life soon?—rather than the alarm at the same prospect. She wanted to go home. Right? “To replace Alex and Bella?”

“Oh, I doubt that.” Laura shook her head and readjusted her position on the couch so she faced Trish more fully, and crossed her legs in a comfortable position.

“But the Wolf gets bored easily. Bringing new people in for a day or two is part of how he amuses himself. Plus, then he can release the day- captives and everyone knows his current toys are okay and still alive. Keeps the Moon officials off our backs.”

It also let the captives’ families know they were alive and still following the Wolf’s normal procedure—a kind of reassurance most kidnapped victims wouldn’t have. Trish was struck again by the strange combination of compassion, efficiency, and brutality the Wolf displayed.

Returning the victims eventually also kept the Moon officials out of the Wolf’s business.

For the most part, the officials insisted on waiting, since no one knew where the Wolf held his captives or how many soldiers he had.

Raiding a base filled with soldiers for two people who would eventually be released … It wasn’t a good investment.

But was that the real reason? Or did the Wolf giving his victims back have something to do with the memory drug?

All the little pieces of information Trish had picked up over the weeks were niggling in her brain and starting to make a more cohesive picture.

It didn’t paint the Wolf as any better than he was but it made the Moon look a lot worse.

“It doesn’t bother you?” Trish asked hesitantly.

Laura snorted. “Why should it? The little assholes are always just looking for their fifteen minutes of fame. They’re thrilled to be part of it.

And if they’re not, well, then they got a taste of what it was like to live on Earth after their families deserted it and left us here to struggle.

They know what they’re risking just by coming here, but they keep doing it anyway, don’t they? ”

Seeing the look on Trish’s face, Laura leaned over and patted her hand.

“You’re different though, obviously. You’re not like them.

They’re all spoiled brats who want a little thrill, and maybe they get more than they thought they would, but that’s their own fault.

Ugh, you should have seen the last two: whining and wailing the whole time, but then they went straight to the news vids, bragging for as long as people would pay attention to them and then making shit up when they started to lose the spotlight. Why, the girl …”

As Laura continued, Trish couldn’t help but think about how she was viewed as different than the other Moonies who came to Earth for pleasure jaunts or adventure.

She’d heard a lot of them joking about being taken by the Wolf.

The jokes had always been made with a kind of excited disbelief, as though the Moonies were secure in the knowledge it wouldn’t happen to them, but they liked to scare themselves with the idea it might.

Trish hadn’t been excited by the idea, but she’d come to Earth with that same disbelief; that same naive security that nothing bad would happen to her as long as she kept her head down and didn’t try to draw attention.

Trish had known of the risk. She just hadn’t thought it had applied to her.

Had that been naivety or hubris?

The majority attitude among older Moonies was that the younger generations who chose to vacation on Earth and were taken by the Wolf got what they deserved.

After all, it wasn’t as though everyone didn’t know what might happen.

Earth was a desired location for the younger generations because of its supposed savageness and unpredictability.

Of course, reality was very different for the majority of visitors, but most of them liked the little taste of danger; the tiny thrill of risk.

Did that mean Trish deserved this? Did she deserve everything that had happened to her?

There were a lot of people on the Moon who would say ‘yes.’ They wouldn’t care that she’d been taken, but if Trish did garner any notice, they’d have the same attitude they did about all the Wolf’s victims: they were idiots who had made a shitty decision and were paying for it.

Plenty of people scoffed at the idea of the victims even being victims and said they should have fought back or escaped or tried to assassinate the Wolf while they were down there.

Those were people who thought they’d manage to do something heroic.

, Trish couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of Alex’s early attempts at just such maneuvers.

There hadn’t been a moment, since reaching the compound, that she, Alex, and Bella hadn’t been under guard—and Alex had still tried to fight.

For his efforts, he’d been shock-collared, tortured, and starved.

She admired his bravery and stubbornness even though he’d been an idiot to persist in such a futile endeavor.

Who was smarter: the person who fought impossible odds or the person who waited for their chance at good ones?

And what was there to be done when the odds were all stacked against them?

She should have felt buried under defeat, but Trish had trouble mustering that emotion anymore.

Her life here was, in many ways, better than it had ever been. Or did she only feel that way because, otherwise, she’d be utterly crushed by the hopelessness of her situation? Sometimes she wondered.

If Trish could continue getting her education—in a structured class schedule, not the little bits of information she read during the few times Jordan left her alone with computer access—she might be some semblance of happy.

There had never been a time in Trish’s life when she’d been happy.

She’d never had friends. Sometimes Laura said things Trish didn’t like, but now that she knew Laura’s backstory, she at least understood why Laura felt the way she did.

Laura felt like her friend. The other soldiers and civilians at the compound knew who Trish was and they looked out for her in a way she’d never experienced until now.

Trish wasn’t a nobody here.

She was Jordan’s girl.

And she might not know how she felt about being Jordan’s girl, but it was obvious how everyone around her felt about it.

The coffee shop was the same one where Jordan had first seen Trish. He was drawn back to it whenever he was in the area.

People chattered and moved around him in a steady stream, secure in their place in the world.

There was a reason Jordan always came back to the tourist areas to hunt for new Moonies to bring to the Wolf: not only were they easy pickings who thought themselves safe here, but they were often the most pampered, as well.

The coffee shop offered discounts to the college students but made everyone else pay through the nose for the kind of frou-frou drinks the Moonies thought were essential to their lives.

The light color of Trish’s hair had caught his attention, along with her quiet beauty and the earnest expression on her face as she’d read the book she’d brought with her. She’d been so alone.

When Jordan had heard a couple talking about the girl with the “weird, white hair,” he’d been drawn into their conversation.

They’d been snickering at her. Mocking her efforts to “better herself” when she was a “nobody,” laughing at her useless efforts and her belief that she could change things for herself.

They’d stopped laughing by the time they were introduced to the Wolf, but they’d made perfect day-captives, despite all their whining. They’d made up some of the more outrageous stories Jordan had heard from day-captives after their release in an attempt to keep their momentary celebrity status.

It was unfortunate he’d also realized a lot of what they’d said was true.

Trish wouldn’t be given the opportunity to advance herself on the Moon.

She’d had no powerful friends or allies, and her interests had immersed her in Earth history and culture, something the Moon had very little use for, to their detriment.

It amused Jordan that Trish now had all the powerful contacts she could possibly need, and that made her far more powerful than the two brats who had entertained themselves by mocking her.

He should make sure she had the opportunity to go back to school if she wanted to.

Once he’d stopped working for the Wolf. Right now, things were in too much turmoil.

It was unlikely anyone would connect Trish with Jordan and therefore the Wolf outside the compound, but even the smallest risk was too large, in his opinion.

“Oooooo, look, they’re showing it again!

” An excited voice, trying to stay quiet, caught Jordan’s attention.

A slim young man with lean muscles and dark-blond hair leaned toward a pretty, little redhead—well, what passed for red hair these days, which was usually reddish-brown, unlike Cora’s brilliant locks.

Jordan followed their gazes to a vid screen where the Moon had actors resembling Bella and Alex playing out the reporters’ theories of what was happening to the real Alex and Bella.

Despite the blurred-out anatomy, the portrayal remained graphic, and several occupants of the coffee shop had their eyes glued to the vid screen.

Pathetic.

He supposed this was some new gimmick on the part of the news station to draw attention away from their competitors. The campy acting and over-exaggerated looks of reluctant pleasure on the actors’ faces nearly made Jordan laugh aloud.

“Do you think that’s really what it’s like?” the redhead whispered loudly, like she was trying to be overheard, leaning into the blond, her hand on his thigh. It was obvious the two of them were aroused by the supposition.

Jordan hid his disdain and sat down in a chair at their table.

The pair jumped upright, wide-eyed and slightly annoyed at being interrupted—although they both blinked, and their expressions smoothed out a bit when they got a good look at him.

Jordan hid his smirk at their decision not to try to take him on when he was taller and stronger than either of them.

At least they had some survival instincts.

“Do you want to know what’s really happening to them?” he asked in a low voice, letting his eyes slide to the left and right as if checking to make sure no one was listening while he let them in on some special secret.

They both leaned forward, drawn in despite the wary skepticism evident on their faces.

“How do you know?” the redhead asked, trying, unsuccessfully, to keep the eagerness from her voice.

He let a secretive little smile spread on his lips. “I happen to have an in. I can even take you to them.”

The blond frowned, his doubts rising, although the redhead looked more excited. “You can take us to them, seriously?”

Jordan shrugged. “You’ve heard about people visiting the Wolf’s captives, right? I can get you in. But it’s up to you.”

He didn’t always play things this way, but, despite his immediate dislike of the couple, they weren’t any different from the others in the cafe.

Sometimes, if he felt someone deserved it, he would just take them.

Like those two assholes who had mocked his Trish.

Other times, he’d set the bait; see if they took it. So far, he’d only been wrong once.

Jordan stood and gave them a smile. The blond still looked skeptical, but the redhead clung to him and bit her lip. She wanted to believe Jordan.

“I’m headed there now. You can come if you want.” He dropped the bait and turned to head for the door.

Jordan was surprised when he made it out onto the street. They’d seemed the type to take the risk, especially since it was well known they’d be back home by tomorrow morning. It made him dislike them a tiny bit less.

Just as he was about to walk away from the coffee shop and find a new hunting ground, the door behind him opened.

“Wait!”

Internally, he shook his head. Maybe he’d overestimated their survival instincts.