Page 174 of Pets in Space 10

Kari’s lids fluttered before opening. She blinked and glanced around her.

“Ahh, finally you join us, Lieutenant Kari Ma’are.”

Kari stilled as the room came into focus. Several things hit her at once. She was tied to a chair, hands behind her and ankles to each chair leg. Three men in dark clothing stood a few feet in front of her and off to the right stood the man from the bar and another, watching her.

Five against one. Not the greatest odds. Her eyes narrowed as recollection of events returned. “You drugged me!”

He didn’t speak but one of the other three chuckled. She looked back toward the group and didn’t recognize any of them. The taller one in the middle smiled but his eyes were dead.

A shiver of foreboding worked its way down her spine. If she wasn’t careful this wouldn’t end well. Sitting up as much as her restraints allowed, she met the dark glare head on. “Why am I here?”

Dead eyes spoke as the others looked on and smirked. Except her abductor. He and the man standing next to him remained quiet, expressions neutral.

“Let’s say you’re about to help me get what I want.” Dead eyes held up her personal communicator. “I need you to call the Admiral and tell him my demands.”

She didn’t need him to specify which admiral. Of course this was about her father. Did this man know their connection?

Then again, why else would he have snatched her if he wasn’t aware of her identity.

She and her father went out of the way to hide their relationship.

She even used her mother’s last name to disguise their connection.

Despite their efforts, a number of military personnel knew exactly who her father was.

With more bravado than she felt in the situation, she snorted. “The admirals of the USF are separated by sectors. I’d need to know which one you wanted. More importantly, what makes you think they’d take a comm call from a simple soldier?”

A slow grin spread over his thick lips, drawing attention to the slight curvature of his fangs. She risked a quick glance at the man who’d drugged her. He’d had fangs too or did she misremember?

“Come now. Let’s dispense with games,” he chastised.

Swallowing past the fear trying to take hold, she said, “I have no idea what you mean.”

“It looks like you want to do this the hard way. It’s a shame. For you.” He followed his statement with a laugh and the buffoons with him joined in.

She sneered and parted her lips to respond to the threat. Pain exploded in her cheek. Her head snapped in the other direction. She cried out from the unexpected blow on the right side of her face.

Before she could recover, her hair was gripped in a tight hold and yanked back. Her neck strained as those dead eyes leered. “When I’m finished, I think you’ll change your mind.”

He released her hair and she drew in a quick breath. He punched her directly in the face. Stars burst across her vision and her eyes watered.

“Will you contact Admiral Culvin for me?” he asked calmly.

Joma Culvin. Her father. Breath coming in short pants, she muttered, “I don’t know him.”

This time an open palm smack rocked her in the chair. She slumped over in the seat and managed to hold back a hoarse groan. She’d endured worse in training.

“I’m out of here, Gubu,” her kidnapper spoke up. “Zair’s debt to you is wiped.”

Gubu. Dead eyes’ name was Gubu. She filed it away.

“It’s wiped when I say it’s wiped, Luka. Your brother—”

“My brother,” Luka cut in sharply, “is done and so am I.”

The atmosphere in the room took a dark turn. Both moved to leave and Kari tensed in her seat. She didn’t care what their disagreement was about, relieved the blows had stopped. Her face burned and blood trickled from the corner of her split lip.

Something flashed in Gubu’s eyes. Fear or anger, she couldn’t discern. He masked it with a lip curl. “If you don’t have the stomach for this, say that.”

Luka, as he’d called him, shot her a look, his green eyes blank.

There was no sign of the flirtatious stranger from the bar.

He shrugged and returned his attention to Gubu.

Hard to believe she’d found him attractive earlier.

Any man who stood for a woman being struck while doing nothing was ugly to the bone.

“I’m not interested in watching you abuse a woman. I’m sure you understand why I wouldn’t want to be a part of that.”

Sharp gasps filled the room. Even the man with Luka, his brother she assumed, jerked. There was hidden subtext to the words she had no means of understanding, but the others apparently did.

Gubu shook out his fist, flexing his fingers and snickered. “I’d forgotten. In that case, consider the debt cleared.”

A muscle in Luka’s cheek ticked. “And, you agree, this has nothing to do with our other relationship.”

Another statement she didn’t understand. Gubu paused then inclined his head. “This time.”

Luka and his brother headed for the door and she fought the urge to beg them not to leave her. The door closed quietly and any chance at being saved faded.

Smiling in her direction, Gubu propped his hands on his hips. “Now, where were we?”

She stiffened her resolve. Whatever he wanted, she couldn’t give in to him. “You were about to make a big mistake.”

There was no time to brace. He swung and plowed his fist at her midsection. She sucked in a breath from the impact and arched over. Stars! That hurt. Only the bindings strapped to her chest held her upright.

Blinking back tears, she struggled to hold her head up. Gubu pushed the comm in her face. “Call Admiral Culvin. If you do what I ask, the beating stops. I only need to speak with him. That’s all you have to do and then I’ll ensure my men see you out of here.”

He must think her a fool. None of them wore a mask. She could identify them if questioned. “I don’t have access to comm an admiral.”

Her father wasn’t listed in her contacts. His assistant was in there as an alias but she could get to her father through him.

Gubu sighed and passed the comm to the man on his right. “This shouldn’t take long.”

Her last sight was of his large fist flying toward her face.