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She stepped backwards and shook her head. “Just vouchers.”
“You’re missing out,” Kiefer rubbed his groin. The bulge showed easily. “I’ll give you a special deal. Ten vouchers and a hard bum fuck. Or, twenty with your mouth on my cock.”
She guessed at the meaning of the last word as she didn’t recognize the Vendian slang. “Neither. I’ll give you twenty now and another ten later. You can give me half the medicine.”
Kiefer laughed—a horrible belly laugh. “Silly girl. You don’t get it. The only way you’ll get these drugs is if you take off your clothes and bend over. I’m not interested in vouchers. Everyone has vouchers. In here, it’s your holes I want.”
Her stomach churned, warning her that danger lurked too close. It wasn’t worth it, there had to be another way. She shrugged her shoulders, masking their trembles. “Forget it. I’ll do without them.”
He moved swiftly for his age, and before she knew it, he’d blocked her exit. “Forget it? How can I forget you? You’re in the right place and now that you’re here, I going to give you my half of the deal.”
She gritted her teeth and fisted her hands. The fear she felt had to be boxed away. She needed to focus on a different outcome. She’d been trained in unarmed combat. A just-in-case policy, since spies usually didn’t get embroiled in fights, but now she was about to find out if it would stand up to a beefy man with a mean look on his face. She raised her fists and prayed.
The door burst open behind him and he was knocked flying onto the floor. Through the doorway charged a dozen or so Vendu soldiers, their firearms in their hands and their faces covered with masks.
“Search the whole building,” ordered their leader.
Freya was bundled to one side and held against the wall. The frenzy of activity continued for several minutes, punctuated by shouts and the odd burst of gunfire. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it was about to erupt out of her chest.
The soldiers frog-marched a string of men and a few scantily clad women into a lineup and bound their wrists behind their backs before trooping them outside. Freya had been kept separate.
Through the door entered a man dressed entirely in black garb—Governor Marco. His presence heralded a huge wave of relief. She was safe.
“Well,” he snapped. “What have you found?” He directed his question at the lead soldier.
“Boxes of drugs. Obtained from the prisoner’s infirmary and kept here to be sold on the black market.”
“And?”
“A heap load of vouchers, some look counterfeit.”
“This racket has been going on too long, sergeant. It stops now. I want the League cleaned up. Starting here, today. You will instigate an investigation into how these stockpiles have built up. Where is the inventory in the infirmary? Who has control of it? Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir.” The sergeant snapped his heels. “What about those outside?”
“Solitary confinement for now. The ringleaders will be publicly punished. I don’t care that my predecessor turned a blind eye to the worse excesses of the League; I’ve been brought in to clean up Tagra. The women, you can release them.”
“And this female, sir?” He pointed at the stunned Freya.
“Leave her to me.”
The sergeant saluted and went outside, barking orders at his men.
They were alone. Just Marco and the boxes of medication. She wanted to reach in and filch the antibiotics while she could. Instead, she stood against the wall while the governor paced up and down.
“Fresh off the transporter and within days you nearly get raped. Do you realize what a foolish thing you’ve just done?” Marco waved at the building. “This is a den of the worst kind. How did you get involved in a black market?”
She bit back a retort. “It was a gamble. But that’s what life is about sometimes.”
“Not for me. I take control of situations. I troubleshoot. I weed out the bad guys. That’s my background. This is how I found out you’re involved and in danger.”
Why was she important to him? They’d hardly spoken and his key introduction to her was witnessing her humiliating examination. “How did you know I was here?”
He halted his pacing and tapped his neck. “Remember?” Walking straight up to her, he rested his hands on either side of her head, trapping her in place. “I’ve only been here a few days also, but I can tell you, things are going to change. This is a penal colony. I won’t have anarchy.”
She stared up at him. He’d a commanding presence; not just the physical strength of his body, he exuded something else, something enticing. Was it the piercing gaze of his eyes, which pinned her down, the firm lines of his lips, or the thickened muscles of his neck that mesmerized her? A bead of sweat trickled down his brow. He’d burst into the building as if he had been running, appearing not just angry, but also excited and energized. It was a personal mission to rescue her, which meant he didn’t trust his men to do the job alone. The thought of him dashing out of his protective dome to find her, thrilled her. She licked her trembling lips. However, not everything he said made sense. “You said the prisoners police themselves.”
“Things are much worse than reported. The factions have overrun the police—they will be disbanded. Corruption is rife and there is no incentive to obey the rules. As of tonight, they’ll be stricter curfews and patrols by my men. Now, as for your gamble, that is something I won’t tolerate. I told you to be good. Have you been good?”
