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Even as he complies, they bark more orders, even louder and more commanding.
Within seconds, he’s belly-down on the dirt street as five soldiers in full riot gear lean over him, guns drawn.
Though I was terrified of that wolf, it was nothing compared to this. My pulse hammers at the sight of three soldiers approaching me with the moonlight eerily glinting off their clear face shields. Fear causes me to stagger back into the tiny entryway.
“Are you all right, Miss Reece?”
It’s hard to pay attention to what they’re saying. I’m too focused on what they’re doing to Ty a few feet in front of me.
“Let him up!” I shout as they zip-tie his wrists behind his back, none too gently, although he’s compliant.
“You’re going back to the south barracks, splicer. That might not be punishment enough. Colonel Slater may want to place you in the brig,” Corporal Lennox, the soldier in charge, says.
My heart is drumming in my chest, so I don’t know where I find the courage to push my way between two of the males who have come to my “aid.” I barge into the street and stalk straight to Lennox.
“Untie him right this minute!” I step closer and poke my finger in the middle of his chest for emphasis. “He’s done nothing wrong.”
When it takes a moment for the man to believe me, I look for where he might keep a knife on his utility belt so I can take matters into my own hands to remove Ty’s bonds.
“But he was assaulting you.”
“We were kissing. It was consensual. Cut that off of him right now!”
Lennox asks a few more questions, then reluctantly slices through the zip tie. One of the other soldiers reaches out a hand to help Ty up, but then they form a circle around him to keep us apart.
“This is true?” Lennox asks, his gaze boring into me as he tries to assess the truth.
“Yes.”
“You know the contract you signed expressly prohibits this type of fraternization with the males.”
“The stack was a foot tall. I didn’t have time to read every word.”
“And you, splicer,youknew it was forbidden.” He doesn’t look at Ty and isn’t expecting an answer.
Although the males referred to themselves as splicers, Lennox uttered the word with contempt, making it clear it wasnota term of affection.
“Yes.” There’s more than a hint of defiance in his voice.
“You’re going to the south barracks for this infraction. I’ll inform Colonel Slater tomorrow to see if he wants to administer additional punishment.”
I try to argue with him, but it soon becomes obvious how futile it is to debate with a soldier who is following what he believes to be his orders.
Ty is like a different person, shoulders stooped, head hung low. He hasn’t said a word in his defense. It’s as if he’s traveled in time and is back in the place where he was treated like a caged animal. It gives me the briefest glimpse into what must have been a daily occurrence for his first several decades of life. I’ve heard enough to know things were even worse than what these soldiers are dishing out.
I can’t let this happen. I don’t want him punished, don’t want this male who always seems happy to slip back to the awful place in his mind where he tolerated abuses in order to stay alive. If I have anything to say about it, I won’t let them take him to the other barracks and punish him.
“I want to speak with Colonel Slater. Now!” I say with even more force than when I proclaimed my innocence onFashion Frenemies.
Chapter Eighteen
Olivia
“It’s ten thirty at night, Miss Reece. Waking the Colonel? That’s not going to happen.”
Something races through me. It’s a feeling I’ve never experienced before. It’s hot, then cold, whirling through me, then pooling in my belly. Is this how people feel before they go on a shooting spree? Because I could hurt someone with my bare hands.
“These males have been through enough, Corporal. Wouldn’t you agree?” My voice is raw with emotion.
