Page 31

CHAPTER 31

O utside, the sun was sinking lower in the sky, stretching long shadows from the western hills and the crooked roofs of the surrounding hovels.

The streets were quiet.

Everyone was inside the Common Hall.

Everyone except Rona and her three Mercs.

They walked as they had the first time Rona had seen them, in a triangular formation with Aeron at the front and the other two walking side by side a few paces behind him.

The only difference was that now Rona was walking in the middle of them.

It felt good being surrounded by such large and deadly men.

It made her feel safe, protected.

But there was a problem.

Thus far, none of them had talked about the days to come, aside from a few vague references about reporting to the nearest chapterhouse of the Mercenaries Guild.

There had been no discussion regarding what would become of Rona or the child she was now incubating in her womb.

The last time that topic had come up had been three days ago in the holding cell with Aeron, when he had laid the whole situation out for her.

And that shit simply wasn’t going to fly.

Rona stopped walking and pressed her fists against her hips.

She expected the Mercs to stop after a few paces, but they didn’t.

They continued on ahead of her, not once breaking their stride.

Rona waited until they had traveled about ten yards before calling out to them.

“Hey!”

The Mercs halted and turned around to look at her.

They were quite a sight in the late afternoon sun.

Three massive soldiers with broad shoulders and bare, muscled arms, their augmetically enhanced eyes glowing redly within the shadows of their hoods.

“Yes?” Aeron asked.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Aeron jerked his head back in the direction of the Talionis

“To the ship,” he said.

“Where else? Job’s over. Time to go home.”

“What about me?”

The Mercs didn’t answer.

They just glanced back and forth at one another for a moment, then they fixed their eyes on Rona again.

Their expressions gave nothing away.

Rona’s throat felt tight all of a sudden.

Her eyes ached with unshed tears.

Tears of sadness. Tears of rage.

It was only through a supreme effort of her will that she managed to hold them back.

“Alright, listen up,” she said, jabbing a finger in the direction of the three massive men.

“And listen good: I don’t give a shit how other Mercs do things. I’m coming with you guys, and that’s fucking final.”

Aeron started to say something, but Rona cut him off.

“Shut up!” she said.

“I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear any excuses. I don’t want to hear any bullshit about how the Mercenaries Guild operates. I don’t want to hear any of that crap. You’re gonna take me with you in your spaceship, because if you don’t, I’m gonna raise so much goddamn hell, you’re gonna have to come back and put my ass in line. And then I’m gonna keep raising hell, and keep raising hell, until you stupid, thickheaded sons of bitches get the fucking picture. Do I make myself clear?”

When she was finished, Rona stood there panting and glaring at the three Mercs.

The men exchanged another series of glances, then all three of them started to chuckle.

After a few seconds, the chuckles became full-on laughter.

Rona could not hold back her tears any longer.

They ran down her face as she shook with rage.

“Stop laughing at me!” she shouted.

“I’m not fucking kidding around!”

The Mercs stopped laughing.

Aeron came toward her, his expression suddenly solemn.

He took Rona’s face in both of his hands and thumbed the tears from her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, little one,” he said.

“We didn’t mean to make you cry. We know you aren’t kidding, and we weren’t laughing at you. Not really.”

“What were you laughing at then?” Rona asked.

“Come here. Let me show you…”

Aeron took her by the hand and led her toward the ship, but he didn’t take her to the boarding ramp.

Instead, he took her around the eastern facing side of the vessel.

The side which was shaded from the westering sun.

“Zeth,” he said.

Rona watched as Zeth took out the device he had used inside the Common Hall a few minutes before.

He aimed the device at the side of the ship and activated it.

The matte black finish of the hull did not make for the best projector screen, but it was good enough for Rona to understand what she was looking at.

It was an image of the cockpit of the Talionis , seen through Aeron’s eyes.

Murdok was sitting in the copilot’s seat, naked and sweating.

Rona could hear herself moaning in the background.

This was last night, after Aeron returned from his recon mission.

His recorded voice spoke.

“There’s one more thing we need to discuss: Rona.”

The video image of Murdok raised his scarred eyebrows.

“Yeah?”

“I’ve decided we’re taking her with us. I realize it goes against Guild protocol, and it will make our lives infinitely more complicated, but I don’t care. There’s no way I’m gonna leave her behind. No way.”

Video Murdok grinned.

“Hell,” he said. “I’ve never been one to stand on protocol. Have you talked to Zeth about this?”

“Don’t need to. I’m certain he feels the same way about it as we do.”

Murdok nodded, then quirked one brow.

“What about Rona? What if she doesn’t want to come with us?”

“I don’t give a shit,” Aeron said.

“She’s coming whether she wants to or not. I’ll kidnap her if I have to. Then I’ll spank her ass into submission.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Murdok chuckled.

The video cut off.

For a long moment, Rona just stood there, swaying lightly on her feet.

Her heart was going crazy in her chest. She turned and looked at each of her three Mercs in turn, handsome Aeron, pretty Zeth, and ugly Murdok.

She gave a tentative smile.

“Do you mean it?” she asked.

“You’re really gonna take me with you?”

“Woman,” said Aeron, taking a step closer.

“Do I look like I’m fucking kidding?”

He did not.

He most certainly did not.

Before Rona even knew what was happening, the Merc leader had literally swept her off her feet and flung her over his broad shoulder like a conqueror collecting the spoils of war.

Without a word, he carried her around to the boarding ramp and up into the belly of the ship.

The other two Mercs followed them in, undressing as they went.

Rona could feel the weight of the knife in her pocket.

The one she had used to stab Zeth when the Mercs had first brought her aboard their ship.

She did not try to draw it this time.

Nobody would be getting stabbed today.

Not by a knife anyway.