Page 15 of A Mate for Vasek
All of those scenarios would also explain his shocked reaction at nuzzling her in the pilot’s chair, and the fact that he didn’t seem worried about forming a mate bond with her. If she had to guess, it was probably because he already had a mate. Was that why he said he couldn’t keep her? Because his mate would be jealous even if she only helped them with his business?
Shit. She didn’t want to be a home-wrecker.
Perhaps it was a good thing for everyone involved that she’d be on her way back to Earth.
She felt a bit guilty as she accessed the escape map on the PPC, the portable personal computer, he’d given her as entertainment. Vasek was trusting her with so much, and he was treating her without asking for payment, and here she was planning to run. But this was her life, damn it! She needed to be on that ship when it left New Rhea.
According to the map, they weren’t too far from port, and with her improved health and new knowledge of which plants to avoid, she might just make it in time. She knew that she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t try.
She wouldn’t be able to bring the map with her, so she would have to memorize the way back to civilization. It wasn’t too difficult. She just needed to head through the forest, angling herself downhill whenever she could, until she reached the river. It was the same river she’d struggled in just days ago, except on the other side of the port city. The river ran through Port Number Two, which meant she could follow it straight to the fence.
As long as she had some water with her and she stayed out of the river and away from any dangerous plants, she’d make it. There were rumors that the wilderness had many dangerous beasts, but she hadn’t seen many the last time she was out here. Just a shit-ton of deadly flora.
The hard part would start once she reached the port. A lone human with no collar denoting ownership was ripe for the picking. There were few humans who could walk around freely at the port, and those who could were usually heavily armed and wearing uniforms from their ships.
There was the notorious crew of theSecond Chance, a band of human mercenaries led by the infamous Trenton Walker. The entire crew was rumored to be ex-convicts and held their own against even the worst of the Tallean pirates. Their ship had been stolen from the Dominion itself, and they flaunted it every chance they got.
Dawn had first bumped into them once when running errands for Kotch. They looked terrifying. She wasn’t sure freedom with them would be any better than a life of servitude under someone like Kotch. Not to mention, the crew of theSecond Chancehad no interest in returning to Earth. That she knew for certain. And Earth was where Dawn needed to go.
Dawn surveyed the mess of tools and equipment that Vasek had pulled out onto the floor. She wasn’t sure what any of it was, but she knew they were not weapons or weapon parts. Kotch had her help assemble those. But she wasn’t looking for a weapon. Her eyes landed on a flexible cord, about half an inch thick in diameter. It was shiny, and from far away looked like metal. She could wrap that around her neck, and if no one looked too carefully, it could serve as a collar.
When she got into the port proper, some of the shopkeepers might recognize her and just think she was on another errand for Kotch… unless news of his murder had gotten out. Curious, she checked the reports and bulletins, but there was no mention of it. She wasn’t surprised. Kotch wasn’t big enough to warrant a port-wide announcement, and shit like this happened all the time here. Those living on the Dominion inner planets didn’t call the outer planets lawless for no reason.
Using Kotch’s credit chip code, Dawn placed an order at the depot consisting of basic supplies, hoping that the payment would go through. It did. Good. She committed the order code to memory; the doors wouldn’t let her in without it. And her order would alert Jason that she was on her way. Once she was inside the depot and hidden in the massive warehouse, she’d be safe.
Yes. This was a good plan. She could do it. Now she just had to get her hands on that cord and make her escape.
Chapter 9
Vasek
Vasek moved through the woods, careful not to brush up against any of the myriad vegetation around him. He recognized some of the plants, but not all of them, and the rule about surviving the New Rhean wilds was to not touch anything you didn’t know. The area around his hideout was familiar enough that he wasn’t too worried, especially since he’d cleared out anything dangerous the last time he’d been here and transplanted a fast-growing and resilient weed in its place.
He realized what had triggered his alarm before he even got to it. The culprits were nearby, feasting on a fresh kill. He’d seen the tiny creatures hunt before and knew that they could take down prey much larger than themselves because they hunted in large packs. Each of the predators was barely the size of his closed fist, but the herbivore they’d brought down was almost the size of a dragus pup. Looking at each one alone, one would never think it possible; that was the advantage of teamwork.
He also knew that the creatures did not attack Talleans, or anything bipedal, for that matter. Mainly because their main predator was a scaled bipedal creature.
They were able to move quickly in the trees, and they must’ve chased the creature right through the perimeter sensor he’d set up in the branches. He’d already figured something similar had happened from the single flash of fur before the camera had fallen. The cameras were triggered by movement and set so that small creatures didn’t set them off, so it hadn’t turned on until the creature being chased was right in front.
Vasek set the sensor back up, securing it more thoroughly this time. Too preoccupied with their meal, the tiny creatures ignored him, squabbling amongst themselves for the choice pieces.
He’d just finished and was heading back to his shuttle when the farthest of the proximity sensors on the other side of his hideout started going off. This one alarmed him much more, because unlike the one he’d just fixed, this one was on the side closest to the port. He quickened his stride, hurrying back to his shuttle where he’d left Dawn.
He checked the video feed as he traveled and cursed. It was Morad and his males. He recognized the gaudy cropped jacket he’d been wearing. The thing must’ve been Kotch’s once because it didn’t fit Morad’s more muscular frame.
That surprised Vasek since he hadn’t gotten any news of Bakum’s demise, at least not before he’d left his shuttle. He’d spent most of the morning researching whether it was possible to form a mate bond even without a scent trigger. His research had confirmed what he’d already known. It couldn’t. He did find several very insistent people who believed it could. But there just wasn’t enough evidence to support it, and Vasek was a man of science.
Then, Vasek had attempted to find another canister of olfactinull; he swore he had more in that mess he called hissupply cabinet. He’d failed miserably. He’d just managed to shove everything back in when he got the first alert from the proximity alarm.
Morad being here before taking care of Bakum was noteworthy. Vasek had learned in his career that things weren’t always as they appeared. Morad had focused on Bakum back at the inn, claiming that the male had something he needed. He hadn’t verified what, so anything Bakum had on him was suspect. Including Dawn. Morad had also asked about her, though the question had been casual and in passing.
Vasek hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that everyone involved was hiding something from him. Now, his suspicions were confirmed.
But what could Morad want with Dawn? His initial thought that it was her valuable dress couldn’t be it, because she didn’t have it anymore. But did Morad know that? If he’d met with Bakum he would, unless Bakum had lost or ditched the dress before he was caught.
A stab of something akin to anger had him gritting his teeth at the thought that Morad could be coveting Dawn for himself. From what he’d gathered, Dawn had been with Kotch for a while. Could Morad have wanted her the whole time?
Vasek wondered if it would be a better idea to just take off and fly over to the planet’s other main port instead of risking an encounter with these guys. He tried to count how many of them were here, but the foliage had filled in since the last time he’d been here, and half the screen was blocked by a wall of green.
