Page 209 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

This wasn’t the mansion we’d just exited.

We’d traveled underground for some distance and come up in one of the towers that ringed the property.

This one was right next to a stretch of tarmac where half a dozen ships had landed.

Space-worthy ships. Most were smaller vessels, probably meant to take a person up to a ship in orbit around the planet.

Two of them were much bigger, including a ship I spotted in the distance that I’d seen parked on the landing strip next to the Jihari Resort the entire time I’d been there: the Dragon’s ship.

“Got you,” a male voice declared just as I was yanked out of the open doorway by my arm.

The momentum swung me around, and I hit the side of the tower with a bang, my elbow striking it hard enough that my arm went numb.

A hard body pressed against my back, pinning me to the wall so I couldn’t go in any direction.

“Why are you following me, slave?” the voice growled in my ear.

I recognized it now, that voice, the arm next to my head with the glowing yellow lines.

It was the Kertinal I’d been following. Damn it!

I fought the urge to fight, to reach for the knife and stab him in the belly; I wasn’t sure how fatal or disabling that would be for his species.

I made my body go lax in his grip instead. “I thought you wanted to hook up?”

He went still against my back, his breathing going ragged as he contemplated what I’d said.

I didn’t need Luka’s empathic gift to know what he was feeling; the evidence of it was starting to poke me right in the back, making my skin crawl.

I had to make myself stay relaxed and force myself not to react to it in any way.

If he caught on to how disgusted I was by this act, he wouldn’t hesitate to drag me back into that mansion, and he’d flick the switch on my pain collar while he was at it.

“Hmm” was all he said, pulling back from me so that I could finally turn around.

I wasn’t sure if looking the sadistic bastard in the eye was any kind of improvement, but I was sure going to enjoy sticking that knife into his back when I had the chance.

I just needed him to take me aboard one of these ships.

Come to think of it, why was he even out here?

He didn’t say anything, and I could tell from his distrustful look that he hadn’t really bought what I’d said. At the same time, he felt confident that I wasn’t any kind of threat to him, so why not play along? Worked for me, he was going to find out soon enough that I was made of sterner stuff.

We headed down a slight incline away from the tower, weaving in and out between a few of the smaller parked shuttles that had brought guests to the party.

We reached the biggest ship landed here, a silvery-gray one with a darkened nose and streaks in an undulating pattern down the sides.

I had never seen this ship before, so it was a surprise to notice that a palm print from my escort opened the hatch.

“Why do you have access to this ship? This isn’t Madam Nerizana’s ship, is it?

” I asked as I followed the male into the softly lit interior.

He cast a dark look over his shoulder, whipping out the gun from the holster on his hip as he walked.

Oh, I see, this was a secret mission. He wasn’t supposed to be on this ship, he was infiltrating it.

Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure it was smart to be near him while he was doing this.

I couldn’t care less if he got hurt, but what if I got caught in the crossfire?

Except the ship appeared empty as we traversed the richly appointed corridors, thick black carpet cushioning our steps the entire way.

The place was all done up in gold and black; it was rather tacky, in my opinion—kind of like I was walking into some old lady’s boudoir—but I wasn’t going to say that out loud.

I had no clue who this ship belonged to, but it had to be someone important if he’d been allowed to land it on the planet.

So far, there was no sign of anyone. Had they all left? Were they attending the party along with the owner of this ship? I couldn’t imagine a rich asshole wanting to rub elbows with his staff; they had to be somewhere.

“Stay put. Make a sound, and I shoot you too,” my Kertinal escort growled out.

He pressed me by the shoulder against the nearest wall, then pressed his back against the wall across from me.

We were at a closed door, and I was willing to bet my escort expected people on the other side of it.

I did as he told me, freezing in place, my hand sliding into the big pocket in my apron so I could hold onto my knife.

The Kertinal was silent as a wraith as he slammed his hand on the door panel and leaped inside.

All I heard was the discharge of the laser pistol, once, twice, three times.

Then there was a solid thud and a scream that rent the air; it ended on a gurgle that did not sound good.

I flinched, not wanting to look inside, but forcing myself to lean in and check the outcome of that little fight.

Maybe I was lucky, and they’d all shot each other.

The Dragon’s top goon stood at the piloting console on the small bridge of the ship, his back to me as his hands rapidly scrolled through the ship’s systems. He was searching for some kind of data, his focus entirely on the screen.

At his feet were two bodies, both clearly dead.

I thought they were Krektar, an ugly, wart-covered species with tusks and a blunt snout.

They were the slavers and mercenaries of this system, but I, thankfully, hadn’t had any interactions with them myself.

The other girls at the Resort had described them to me.

“Whoa, what did you just do?” I asked as I stepped inside.

My feet made soft noises as the carpet gave way to metal flooring on the bridge; nice and practical in a place where the owner never came, I suspected.

“Did you just kill those guys?” I added a high-pitched whine to my voice.

Possibly playing a clueless idiot might actually make him spill his plan.

I was intrigued now. Was this part of Madam Nerizana’s rise to power, or was he making his own play?

He spun around, his yellow eyes glowing as he narrowed them at me in a glare.

“Would you shut up? Want me to punch you in the mouth again? Remind you who’s the boss here?

” He threateningly waved his fist my way, but I found it reassuring; he didn’t have control of my pain collar, or he’d threaten me with that.

I sat down in the captain's chair, draping a leg over the side and shrugging a shoulder. “If it gets you off, you can do that, as long as you get me out of here, big boy,” I drawled. When he continued to glare, but his attention remained riveted on me, I added, “You can do that, right? I’ll be your plaything, and you make sure I never have to mop another floor again?”

Now, he threw back his head and started laughing, one hand clasping his belly as if he were trying to hold it all in.

“I can’t tell if you’re an idiot or really, really clever.

I think I’ll enjoy finding out.” He settled down, propping his ass against the console behind him and crossing his arms over his chest while he looked me over again.

“Nah, I guess I won’t mess up that pretty face.

I have other means of silencing that sassy mouth. Come here.”

A shiver of apprehension shot up my spine at the command.

Was this the moment of truth? He had avoided answering all my questions, I still knew nothing.

I got up slowly, straightened my skirt, and pulled down the top of my blouse so more cleavage was visible.

I was stalling, but those were also the actions of a woman preening for her guy.

I made sure my walk was as seductive as I knew how to make it when I approached him, gratified to see the avid look of interest on his face.

“I’m soon going to be a very, very powerful male.

So yes, if I wanted to, I could make sure you never have to clean another day in your life,” he said.

His eyes glowing as I reached him, he swirled a finger toward the ground, and though this meant I had to kneel right next to the corpse of one of those two dead guys, I went down anyway.

Kneeling at his feet, I tilted my chin and looked up, trying to give him the impression that he had my full attention.

“Is that so?” I purred at him. Maybe he’d like to continue bragging about what he was up to in here. Maybe that would keep him distracted enough for me to pull out my knife and stab this guy. I was already imagining a dozen different places I’d like to sink that blade.

“Yeah, this is Drameil’s ship, in case you didn’t realize.

While Nerizana staged her coup of Tiam in there, I’m taking out the head of the council himself.

Soon, everyone will know the name Jo’qaul,” he bragged, just like I hoped he would, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he laid out his plan, or dream, rather.

I couldn’t see how boarding Drameil’s ship and taking out his guards meant he was now head of the Crimelord council.

Thankfully, he didn’t expect me to respond, and he gestured at the ship console behind him.

“I’m taking all his data. Soon, I’ll have everything on his operations, the locations of all his bases.

I’ll have his entire organization laid bare.

” He tapped a small device he had dangling from the console by a small string. “It’s almost done.”

Then he moved his hands to his belt, and I knew where this was going, no thanks.

But I waited until he’d opened up those pants, until he’d pulled out his cock and reached to fist a hand into my hair and pull me close.

Nobody ever mounted a proper defense with their damn pants around their ankles.

I had the knife in my hand, and, as I gave him a cheeky grin, I sliced the blade straight across the inner surface of his thigh.

I made sure that the cut went deep and was rewarded by the thick, wet gush of blood spurting all over me.

He didn’t make a single sound as he slid off the console and collapsed.

His eyes went from shocked to dull as they rolled into the back of his head.

I wasn’t sure if that meant he was dead or just going to be dead very soon, but I didn’t spare him another thought.

I rushed for the console he’d just been leaning against and scanned the unfamiliar symbols and buttons with some despair.

The tiny device he’d hooked up bleeped and blinked green; I took that to mean it had done whatever it was meant to do.

Pulling free the cable, I tucked the small metal rectangle into my cleavage and searched for anything that resembled a com on this damn bridge.

I had to call for help, maybe I could signal the Aderian authorities or something.

Or, if I could manage to fly this ship a little, I could fly away, blow this joint.

The words reminded me of Luka; he’d said that as we’d escaped the Resort.

Damn it, I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt, wasn’t I?

I loved that guy. How had that happened?

I couldn’t leave without him. Eyeing the ship controls a little more calmly, I concluded that I really didn’t know anything about how to fly something like this.

I turned to the Kertinal on the floor. “Sorry, Jo, you don’t look so powerful now,” I said, and with a curled lip, I dug my hand into his pants pocket and fished out his com device.

Perfect. I could use that one; it wasn’t that different from the types of coms commonly used in the UAR.

Figuring out how to hail the common frequency—a sort of SOS message—took me a minute, but once I found the right setting, it went through smoothly.

“This is Noa from Earth. I am being held as a slave along with many others at the Nerizana mansion by Madam Nerizana. She has several known criminals on her property. Please send immediate help!” I said, then set the message and the coordinates of this com to broadcast on repeat.

Taking Jo’qual’s laser pistol, I aimed it at the piloting console and blasted it several times, repeating the procedure for several other important-looking systems along the bridge.

Satisfied that this ship wasn’t going to be able to fly away, I hurried out of the vessel.

I had a guy to rescue, I wasn’t going to sit on my ass and wait for someone else to do it.