Page 52 of Stealing Mercury (Arena Dogs #1)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Everything hurt. It was the first thought Samantha had. Her head ached like a herd of cattle had trampled across it. And she couldn’t remember where she was.

“I want her on her feet and ready for the arena in an hour.” She recognized that voice. Drake. She forced her eyes open to see a woman with ice-blue eyes and short blonde hair leaning over her. She wore a white med-coat.

Samantha was in a med-bed, but she didn’t remember how she’d gotten there. As she tried to bring it back, grief swamped her.

“Mercury. Lo.” The words cut free of her chest and across her lips like blades cutting through a fleshy scabbard.

“They’re fine.” The woman spoke with confidence. “They were sedated using dart rifles. They’re being taken to the arena staging area,” the woman explained.

Relief surged up and nearly took Samantha back under. Something pricked her arm. Gentle hands applied something cool to her cheek and temple. Across her lips. Slowly she became aware of distant cheers and low thuds from above. They must be directly under the arena.

She tried to speak and nothing came out. She swallowed and tried again. “What will happen to them?”

“You should be more concerned about your situation at the moment,” answered the medic.

“Please.”

The woman shot her a sympathetic look. “Owens is slating them into the arena schedule tonight. He wants them back in the arena one last time so that everyone can see they’re back where they belong.”

“Then what?”

“Oh, I don’t expect there’ll be a then anything. Owens doesn’t like to lose an opportunity to make profit, but he wants them dead and there’s no way he’ll risk anything going wrong again.”

“He wants you there.” The man attached to the voice came into view. Short cropped hair and a med-coat. Another medic. “He’ll want you on display for the crowds. To show that no one gets away with stealing from Roma.”

“Abel,” said the woman. “Don’t upset her.”

“She’ll find out soon enough,” said Abel.

Yes, she needed to know as much as possible, if she was going to find a way to stop it. Never lose hope. That’s what her father had taught her, and she was finally ready to accept she was her father’s daughter.

The medics moved away. Samantha didn’t think they’d gone far, but her head hurt too much to move, so she lay still staring at the ceiling.

“Look at this,” The female medic whispered. She was speaking to Abel though. Not to Samantha.

“Damn. Is that right?”

Samantha decided she’d risk the pain. Slowly, she turned her head until she could see them huddled over a screen.

The pain of moving was every bit as bad as she expected, and she still had no idea what they were looking at.

She glanced toward the door. No guards. Her desire to escape won over her curiosity.

She lifted a leg a centimeter off the med-bed experimentally. She might have the strength to stand.

“This could change everything,” said the medic.

Samantha was working up the energy to roll off the bed when Abel was back by her bedside. “You don’t know that it’s one of theirs.” He was still talking to the other medic.

“She’s been with them long enough.”

Abel huffed. “Let’s stick to things we can do something about.”

Sam made a useless grab for his arm. “What are you talking about?”

He pulled a mender down over her chest. “Hold still now. I’m going to stimulate regen on that broken rib. It shouldn’t hurt. Tell me if it does.”

Samantha felt the tingle in her chest from the mender doing its work. “What could change things?”

“Don’t talk.”

The female medic came around to Samantha’s right side and pressed an injector to her wrist. “This will numb your hand while I work on it. The good news is, this isn’t as bad as it must feel.”

“Answer my question,” Samantha demanded. She was aware as she did that some of the pain in her skull had already started to fade. They must have treated it before she regained consciousness.

The medic tilted her head and studied her like a specimen under a scope. “Have you been intimate with the Dogs?”

“What?” Samantha sputtered at the too personal question.

Abel put a hand on her shoulder. “Be still and quiet or I’ll sedate you.”

Samantha lay in defeated silence while the two medics worked. When they’d done all they could for her injuries, Abel stowed the mender and the other supplies while the woman held her hand.

“You’re a tough woman,” said Abel. “That whip-master needs a beating with his own whip. Why in hell did you go after Hera by yourself?”

Samantha bristled at the implied criticism. “I thought she was pregnant.”

Abel shook his head. “I heard they’d been putting out that rumor, but I can assure you she’s not.”

“I know that now.”

The female medic patted the back of Samantha’s hand. “Her lack of pregnancy is the reason they were so determined to get rid of her mate.”

Samantha thought of the conversation she’d had with Carn back on G-45987 . “Carn thought the match had been rigged.”

“Finding a way to make more Arena Dogs is critical to Owens. If there’s a chance Mercury, Carn, or Lo is the father of your baby we have to get you out of here.”

“What?” Her baby? Shock left her dazed.

“Chelle!” Abel’s shout startled her.

“We can’t hand her over to Owens,” said Chelle. “Not if there’s even a chance. If Owens knew human women can carry their children, there’ll be no stopping him. We have to get her out of here. And we need to do it before Myers and Mallow come on shift.”

Chelle squeezed Samantha’s hand and looked down at her. “You should be feeling a bit better now.”

“Please,” said Samantha. “You’re not making any sense.”

“You didn’t know.” A sad smile ghosted across her face. “Hera isn’t pregnant, but you are.”