Page 351 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Meena

Everything had gone to hell in a handbasket in a matter of moments.

I’d been elated that a friend of Jakar’s had rescued us.

When Jakar started moving on his own, I felt relieved and fully convinced that we were about to get out of this place.

Now, we were standing in some pompously decked-out lounge, and the man I loved was about to fight that Kertinal giant for a third time.

They said that the third time was the charm, but I couldn’t see the silver lining right now.

I was stuck on the sidelines, my arms gripped by guards, while I watched Jakar circle Dar’kol, opposite him.

That alien, Fierce, was on the ground at my feet.

He was bleeding from several cuts on his body, his blue face covered with blood and purple blemishes, and one arm twisted at a terrible angle.

Jakar wasn’t limping, but I could tell he was moving slowly.

Each time his arms moved, the skin pulled tight along the long, diagonal burn on his back.

He might not act like it hurt, but I sure felt sympathy pains for him.

At least his opponent didn’t look much better this time; he’d definitely received a few good hits from Jakar.

His nose was crooked, a horn chipped off at the tip, and he was definitely limping.

My money was on my guy. I knew he’d take care of this, just like he had the last three times, and this time, Dar’kol wasn’t getting up again.

I was fine with that. I was starting to think that in this galaxy—this strange alien world I’d ended up in—that kind of thinking was alright.

Some people were just bad, like the guy who’d bought me, like this rich asshole, and like the Kertinal Jakar was currently fighting.

They deserved what was coming to them, and I shouldn’t feel bad about doing what I’d done to get through it.

I didn’t think Jakar needed to feel bad about it, so why should I?

When the fighting started, I cheered him on as loudly as I could.

I still had my knife; if I had an opening, I would take it.

I loved this guy, how he was always so full of optimism.

I could see it in him, even now. He didn’t think all was lost, so I could do nothing less.

We’d keep on fighting, and we’d freaking win in the end.

I didn’t even wince when Jakar dealt his opponent the final blow.

Just cheered, awed by the amazing spinning kick he’d used to do it.

He was so athletic, my very own Tarzan. I wasn’t the only one impressed by his skills.

The guards were in awe too, some clapping and cheering just like me.

The elf-like asshole standing over the fight from his raised platform was grinning greedily.

Yeah, he was seeing the dollar signs right there.

He knew it would be wasteful to kill Jakar when he could make money off him in the arena.

It pissed me off so much to know that he thought he could subject a good man like Jakar to more slavery. To another pain collar around his proud neck. No, when I got the chance, I was stabbing that bastard just like I had the last one. Wouldn’t even matter whether rescue was here yet or not.

I wasn’t listening to the eager pronouncements the rich guy was uttering—something about making a name with Jakar, maybe with Fierce, too.

They were urging me closer until I was right below the dais.

Then he reached out and used a long-fingered, be-ringed hand to tilt my chin until I had no choice but to look at him.

“Yeah, you’re not the beauty I was after, but you’ll do,” he said with a malicious grin.

“You’re going to do as I say, gladiator, or your mate dies.

And every day, you get to live with the knowledge that she’s in my bed.

But if you fight well, maybe you get a night with her—if I feel like it. That’s how it’s going to be.”

Over your dead body, I thought, just as an alarm started to blare.

“Proximity alert: asteroid incoming. Activating automatic meteor defense system.” The ship shook and trembled, and I saw my opening.

Shaking out of the hold on me, I yanked my knife free and, with a single leap, was up on the dais.

I wasn’t nearly as tall as the elf-like dude, but that didn’t matter.

I jabbed the tip of my knife into his side, hard enough to actually cut, but not yet kill.

“Tell ‘em to back the hell off right now, or I’ll take great pleasure fucking you up.”

The guy yelped like a girl, whimpering, and I made sure to grab the gun off his hip and toss it to Jakar.

He was on his feet, towering over his downed opponent, and he was the only one not swaying back and forth like he was on a seesaw.

The ship was going through some heavy turbulence, which I hadn’t thought could exist in space.

Somehow, I doubted it was an actual meteor.

It was all done in seconds. With weapons in our hands and their master as a hostage, none of the guards knew how to respond.

It didn’t help that their leader had been killed after their boss had discarded him.

With their boss under our control, Jakar told the guards to allow the Vagabond to board so they could retrieve us.

With his life on the line, that little shit was yelling at them to obey in a high-pitched whine.

Not even ten minutes later, Jakar and I were standing in the airlock.

Surrounded by the many aliens from the Vagabond, our hostage was still with us.

We didn’t trust him to let us go without a fight the moment we released him.

Fierce was already off to the med bay while we’d retrieved our things from the ship.

I’d seen the red-headed pilot of the Vagabond gleefully cart several valuables with him, too.

At the last moment, Jakar pushed that stupid Sir Firxyrran out of the airlock, and my heartbeat shot up in expectation.

He raised the pistol we’d confiscated from him and, with a whine, the laser exploded from the small barrel, lighting up the entire hallway with the blast. I didn’t see the aftermath; Jakar had tackled me into the airlock, and someone else slammed the hatch closed behind us.

I panted in shock, curled up in Jakar’s many arms. Had that tiny pistol really caused such a giant explosion? That was more than just taking out that rich guy—it had torn apart the entire corridor. Good; that meant he couldn’t go around buying other slaves. One less evil in the universe.

*

Jakar

My mate had insisted that I go to the Doc to get checked out, and I only protested a little—just because I liked it when she got all insistent.

She cared; she said she loved me. I was going to make her so damn happy she never wanted to leave, and I knew she’d do the same for me.

She’d been magnificent when she’d taken Sir Firxyrran hostage like that, beautifully executed.

I snorted in laughter at my thought, considering I’d executed the bastard afterward.

Doc Luka’s eyebrow went up as he worked on me, but he didn’t say anything, just kept working on the burn on my shoulder.

It was the last one he was treating; I already had several layers of plas bandages on my back and hip.

Whatever salve he was coating me with had eased away the last of my pain.

Meena was sitting next to me on the cot, clinging to one of my arms, her head on my shoulder.

She was tired. Her hair was a wild mess of black locks that she’d exclaimed over when she saw her reflection.

I liked it, though; it looked like sex hair, and it looked like she’d been in a fight. Both were hot.

I’d insisted on letting Luka check her over first, and she’d frowned at me before caving. Maybe she knew it would be quicker to just give in on that one. Whatever, I was glad that she did, and that she’d turned out to be in good health.

When the Doc had removed the remains of the broken pain collar from around my neck, I’d fought down the urge to vomit.

So many feelings were tied to that thing.

I hated it, and it felt weird not to have it around my neck.

I was simply so used to wearing one. Never again.

I would have the rest of my life with my mate to get used to having my neck bare.

One after the other, my brothers visited us to say hi, and their mates were in tow each time, eagerly hugging Meena and me.

I loved that. I loved how warm and welcoming it was here—how much this was family.

Tapping my fist to my heart in a gladiator greeting, I glowed each time my brothers returned the gesture.

I was home, and I finally had my mate. We’d been through a lot, but it was all worth it in the end.

Nothing could be more perfect than proudly leading her to my own room on the ship so we could rest. Letting everyone know that I had, in fact, won the girl, as Camila would put it. She was staying with me.

Everyone was safe. Fierce was going to be fine. Yeah, this was the start of the rest of my life, and it was going to be awesome.