Page 36 of Rebel
“I did my research, that’s how. Every satellite station has a hangar B.”
Tide gnaws on his bottom lip. “So, we overpower the guards, get to the med lab, and take out this Marick.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Vex drawls. “They have guns.”
Tide nods slowly. “But we have Xavier’s bata.”
“What?” Vex looks confused.
I’m lost for a moment, and then Tide catches my eyes and grins, and his idea blooms in my mind.
Bata with a side of sedative.
Now, this could be a plan.
20
Aguard nudged Lore with a gun. He stumbled back, and I saw his hands for the first time. Cuffed.
My chest tightened with dread and despondency. This couldn’t be happening.
Eyes burning in my head, I stared at Marick. “I won’t go back.”
Marick’s smile was razor-sharp. “Oh, you’re not going back to Vesper V. You’re going back to Tradacyh. You see, they’re not done with you yet, and neither am I.”
“What? What more do you fucking want from me?”
“Me?” His eyes brightened with the madness I’d seen before as the monster peeked out from behind the curtain, and then his hands were around my throat. “I want to see you scream.” He tightened his grip, and I bit back a yelp.
“Let her go! Get your hands off—”Thud. Lore went silent.
“What did you do to him?” My voice was a strangled gasp, my vision blurry with tears of pain as he squeezed.
Marick ignored my question. “I want to see you broken.”
I blinked back the tears. “I’ll die before I’ll scream for you. Crazy son of a bitch.”
“Oh, you’ll wish you could die. The things they’ll do to you will have you begging for death, and before I hand you over, we’re going to have some fun of our own.” He released my throat, dropped his hand to my breast, and squeezed hard.
The ache was sudden and sharp, and despite my resolution, a cry of protest slipped from my lips. Rage surged through me, pooling in my fists, but the next time he squeezed, I didn’t make a sound. I kept my gaze on his face, stoic and unresponsive.
He released me with a disgusted curl of his lips. “We’ll have plenty of time to play on the trip to Tradacyh.”
Where were the others? I wanted to ask, but that would be playing into his hands. Looking for Lore would be giving Marick what he wanted. He wanted me to freak out. He wanted me off balance.
“Did you have fun with the Athions and the Trad?” he sneered. “Did they fuck you? Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes, actually. You should ask them for some tips on how to pleasure a woman.”
His hand whipped out, and then my head rocked to the side with the force of the blow. The world went white then dark then white again. I blinked against the burning sting spreading across my face.
“Get her up,” Marick said. “It’s time to finish this.”
A guard approached and whispered something in his ear.
“What? What do you mean they escaped? Find them. Find them and bring them to the quad and reinforce the security on this room.” The guard strode off.
“Now,” Marick said. “What else shall we talk about now that we’re all alone?”
