Page 36 of Tempting Jupiter (Arena Dogs #2)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Watching Morgan’s men carry Jupiter away was the hardest thing Feeona had ever done.

It was no comfort that she had guarantees he’d be safe and well treated.

There was an empty ache inside her that wouldn’t go away.

Retrieving the kids Toolman had smuggled out of the factory had been bittersweet.

She was glad to see them, alive and whole.

Most were weak and frail, but the life she would deliver them to would help them grow strong.

They’d breathe fresh air and have all the farm fresh food they could eat.

She hadn’t been able to save the girl that had shared her blanket with her during her first winter at the factory.

Or the boy that had kept quiet when he saw her stealing a piece of a ration bar from one of the guards.

She could never lift the weight of their deaths from her soul, but these kids would not add to that burden. They would not be left to die.

Feeona looked over her shoulder to make sure all of the kids were staying close as she led them through the forest to the clearing where she’d landed the Hawley . She’d coached them all using the same rules, almost the same words she’d used every other time.

“Angel.” A small voice whispered.

Feeona held up a fist in the sign for stop and all the little feet came to a halt. Feeona squatted down to the wisp of a girl who’d called to her. It was the first time any of them had spoken without being asked a question. “What is it, sweetheart?”

“I need…” The girl pressed her lips together and shifted her eyes away.

“It’s okay. You won’t get in trouble. You can tell me. You need…” Feeona pushed a sweaty clump of hair from the girl’s face.

The brown haired, brown skinned boy beside her stepped closer. “She needs to piss,” he whispered. “Wouldn’t go when Toolman told us to. She was scared.”

There was no malice in his tone. He was matter of fact.

Practical. It was a good trait for a factory kid and probably accounted for his relatively good health.

He’d probably learned fast to take from the dead—extra layers of clothes or blankets that the dead had no need of.

That’s what had kept her going. She noticed the girl had put her small hand in the boy’s and he’d taken it as if it was a long habit.

“Do you think you can do it in the bushes, honey?”

She nodded.

“Okay. We’ll wait here. Be quick and don’t go far.”

The girl nodded again then ran off into the bushes. Fee squatted down next to the boy. “What’s your name?”

“Toby.”

She liked that he’d given her a real name and not his factory designation.

It was a good sign. Most of the kids lost their identity in that place, but those usually weren’t the ones Toolman brought her.

It might seem cruel to someone else that they only helped the strongest kids, but she couldn’t afford to give a chance to a kid that might never recover from their experiences in the factory.

“Toby, when we get to my ship, I want all of you kids to stay hidden in the underbrush until I have a chance to talk to the man that’s waiting there. Can you keep an eye on them for me? Make sure none of them run off?”

“Sure, I can do that.” Toby’s face scrunched in worry. “Is he a bad man?”

“No. He’s a good man, but he’s going to be upset. He has good reason. And he doesn’t know you all are coming. So, I just need to talk to him before you meet him, understand?”

“Yeah,” Toby acknowledged, but he didn’t look happy about it.

The girl came back looking more relaxed, but she still slipped her hand into Toby’s.

Feeona gave the kids the signal to move forward and follow. She led them to the edge of the clearing where the ship sat and indicated they should huddle down and wait. She winked at Toby then set off across the clearing alone.

The Hawley’s hatch whooshed open and the ramp came down. Seneca was on the ramp looking worried by the time she reached the ship.

“Where’s Jupiter?”

Feeona focused on keeping her breathing steady. “Let’s talk inside, okay?” She didn’t want the kids to see the full wrath of his reaction. It would make it harder for them to trust him.

“If he’s in trouble, we go now.” He was firm and more aggressive than she’d ever seen him.

“Jupiter’s okay. There’s nothing we can do right now. Let’s go inside and I’ll explain.”

Seneca’s attack took her totally by surprise.

He slammed into her, carrying them both to the ground.

Her back smacked hard against the hard packed dirt.

Pain exploded along her shoulder blades and at the base of her spine.

The air rushed from her lungs and before she could get her breath, his hand wrapped tight around her throat. She couldn’t breathe.

“What have you done?” Red rage flushed his cheeks and darkened his eyes.

Her lungs burned. She pounded her fist against his shoulder.

Air rushed in as he loosened his grip. She sucked it in greedily.

“Tell me!” He showed his teeth as he waited for her response.

Her heart pounded loud in her ears. She couldn’t lie, but she wanted to. In that moment, she wanted to do whatever it took to get his hand off her neck, but if she lied now it would be worse when he learned the truth. For all his lazy smiles, she had no doubt he was capable and willing to kill.

She grasped his sides and met his eyes. “We’ll get him back. I swear, we’ll get him back.”

For a handful of heartbeats, he studied her. Hope and rage at war battling in his features. Rage won. “What. Did. You. Do?”

She wanted to scream that she hadn’t had a choice, but that would be a lie. She had chosen. It had been her best option. But how could she make him understand.

He leaned in and growled centimeters from her face. “Your tears won’t save you.”

Was she crying? “You need me to get him back.”

Seneca shook her, tightening his grip on her neck. “Answer. Or I’ll crush your windpipe and leave you to suffocate while I track your scent back until I find him or his scent trail.”

The edges of Feeona’s vision dimmed.

A shrill scream swelled into a shriek. Seneca jerked above her as something hit him from the side. His hold on her throat tightened, but his attention had been temporarily pulled away. It should have been a moment to escape, but shadows crept further into her vision.

“Stop!” The voice seemed small and far away.

Seneca growled.

The boy shrieked again. “He’s killing the Angel,” Toby shouted. “We gotta stop him!”

A cacophony of inhuman noises swirled in her ears.

Seneca jerked again as something thudded against him. And again.

The children. Their small bodies swarmed Seneca like angry ants. Feeona’s heartbeat thundered in her chest. Don’t hurt them. Please, don’t hurt them. Her vision had faded away and she couldn’t move her limbs to fight.

The crushing pressure at her neck lifted. Her lungs filled with robust, planetary air. The shroud of darkness fell aside. Seneca’s weight shifted away. She lay still, just breathing for a moment. The sound of snarling and snapping swelled, drowning out the children’s screeches.

Rough hands gripped her arms and pulled her to her feet. Seneca shook her once. Her eyes blinked open. His face was close. A red splotch surrounded a small gash on his temple. Were the children okay? She couldn’t see anything but his face and she still couldn’t lift her arms.

Her voice shuddered and broke as she spoke. “I had to trade him for the credits to save the kids.”

The growling Seneca pulled her impossibly closer, his breath hot against her face. “If you chose him to sell to Roma, because you thought you’d be safer with me, you’re going to regret it before I let you die.”

She shook her head, her strength returning bit by bit. “Roma doesn’t have him.” She set her jaw. “And WE. WILL. GET. HIM. BACK.”

His grip on her arms tightened to pain. “If not Roma, then who?”

She turned her head enough to see Toby crouching a few meters away.

He held a rock in his hand. His clothes were dirty and rumpled and his hair stuck up in odd places, but she didn’t see any sign of serious injury.

The other children were clustered behind him.

When he noticed her looking at him he stood up, moving slow but steady.

She opened a palm and waved him off with a tiny motion.

Seneca shook her again. “Who?”

“A slaver, but—”

Seneca hissed. “Slaver?” His eyes narrowed. Deep grooves formed in his wrinkled forehead.

“Yes. An independent one. We have a deal.” She reached out and dug her hands into Seneca’s sides.

“He’s keeping Jupiter safe until I can buy him back.

I promise. We’ll get him back. Unharmed.

” She wanted to wrap her arms around him and feel his arms holding her back.

He loved Jupiter as much as she did and that somehow made her feel like he would be the one person to understand both her conviction and her terror.

“Morgan wants a connection with me badly enough to stick to my terms… and he knows I’ll kill him if he breaks his word. ”

“Did Jupiter agree to this?” A new pain had entered his voice. That was a worry she could lift from his heart.

“No. He’d never have left you without telling you. He loves you.” She stepped closer and wrapped her arms tight around him.

Seneca exploded into motion, shoving her away.

She landed on her ass on the ground at his feet. With Jupiter around, Sen had always been the smaller Dog. From her position on the ground, looking up the full length of him, he was a giant.

His face had gone from fiery rage to icy stone. “If I didn’t need you to get him back, you’d be dead.”

She nodded, grief and loneliness weighing down her shoulders and hollowing out her insides.

Fee shifted her gaze to the ground and focused on the mundane reality of the hard packed dirt beneath her.

She sent a silent command to recall Bug from the sky overhead.

Brushing the dirt from her palms, she buried her emotions and shifted her attention to the kids.

She couldn’t give up now, not after she’d sacrificed so much.