AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Kean,” Ulrek said, not waiting for his friend to greet him. “Gritarr got to Delaney and Tahra. My male is bleeding out at Ship’s Alive. Send someone to retrieve him and lock down all the docks. Ground every ship.”
“Fuck. I’m on it.”
“Tuhror,” Ulrek said. “How fast can you fly this thing?”
Tuhror reached for the ship’s comm. “Everyone, strap your asses down. It’s going to get a little bumpy.”
Chapter 26
Delaney
Delaney tried to disappear into the shadows as Gritarr backhanded the uniformed male who had just told him every port on Vosthea was on lockdown.
She and Tahra sat side by side in a hangar, a guard watching them diligently. They were no longer in a part of Vosthea close to Kean’s compound. Gritarr had stuffed them into a shuttle and flown them to another district.
The last thing Delaney saw as they were dragged out of the warehouse was Gavin on the floor, bleeding from a blaster wound. She had freaked out, and one of the goons had thrown her so hard on the ground that she’d split open her lip. Tahra didn’t look much better. She’d straight up punched one of the assholes, and in return, he’d hit her with the butt of his blaster.
The only thing keeping Delaney going now was the hope that Ulrek would find them, see that she was injured, and murder all of the sons of bitches. Slowly.
Gritarr had just been filming a ransom video telling Ulrek and Tuhror to meet him at Aton Station alone, or else, when an alarm had gone off, messing up his recording. Although it wasn’t just his recording that was messed up now: his whole plan was out the window, what with the ports locked down.
The douche rocket paced the area in front of his ship.
Since Gritarr was Dominion, Delaney had thought his ship would look like a Dominion vessel. But it and the crew all looked…normal, civilian. There were no insignias on their uniforms, and the ship almost reminded her of a merchant’s craft. It reminded her of Jillian and Jakkan, who worked undercover in Dominion space. This was The Dominion’s attempt to go undercover in the outer planets, it seemed.
It would’ve fooled her, too. She wondered if the cover extended to having fake wares on board. Hopefully she’d get rescued and not have time to find out. She wasn’t dumb enough to believe she and Tahra could just up and run away. The place was crawling with armed thugs.
A male wearing a showy yellow and blue outfit stepped into the hangar with four armed guards, two in front and two behind. This must be the governor Kean had installed in the area.
“What is the meaning of this?” Gritarr demanded. “We had a deal.”
“I do apologize. Kean’s orders. All ships are to be grounded, no exceptions.” The governor spread his hands. “If I let you take off now, we’d both be in big trouble. They are watching all movements. Much better to stay quiet. Lie low.”
Gritarr looked like he was about to explode from frustration. “That wasn’t the plan. You promised—”
“Plans change,” the governor growled, baring his fangs. His eyes sparked with a hint of bloodlust. “Let’s not forget I’m the one putting my livelihood on the line for you here. I could’ve refused your craft completely.”
Gritarr clenched his fists at his sides.
“I came to warn you that they are checking all the hangars. According to the records, this ship is supposedly a merchant vessel. You have half a Vosthean hour to make that a little more believable.” The pompous male glared at Tahra and Delaney. “As for those two, they were never part of the deal. Ulrek puts trackers on his crew. Get them out of here and block the signal before they get close enough to track it. If they even suspect me, I will flay you alive, Dominion captain or not.” He turned and stomped out of the hangar.
Gritarr brought out his comm and tapped angrily on the screen. A few minutes later, a male dressed very much like a merchant—complete with a painted face and ridiculous shoes—stepped out from the ship.
“Make this believable, and when we get back, I’ll make sure you’re rolling in credits.”
The male grinned. “Of course, Captain.”
Gritarr snapped his fingers, and two of the guards that had accompanied him to Ship’s Alive were there in an instant and waiting for his command. “Grab the females. We are going to make our own way out.”
Ulrek
Ulrek gritted his teeth at the news that they had checked every hangar and had not found Gritarr or the females. The signal from Tahra’s tracker had gone silent, too.
They were heading full speed back to Vosthea, but now Ulrek worried that was the wrong thing to do, especially if his mate and his medic were already off the planet.
A transmission came through from Kean’s head of interplanetary defense, and Emil answered it. He did not look happy.
“We scoured our records. Shortly after the docks were locked down, a small shuttle managed to slip out here.” A map appeared on the ship’s screen with a location pinpointed. It was on a separate continent from Kean’s compound, nowhere near a port or city. “The shuttle disappeared behind one of the moons. We are sending one of your ships over now, the one closest in orbit.”
