Born of Fire

He grabbed her by the arm, his gaze branding her with heat. “Well, how do you propose to take care of them from a hole similar to the one you found me in?”


He looked her up and down with that evil grin she was learning to despise. “And believe me, sweetie, they’re a lot harder on a woman than they were on me. The guards don’t normally rape male prisoners. But they would sure get their jollies passing around a little thing like you.”

Her stomach dropped at his words and for a moment, she thought she might vomit.

Syn grimaced as if pain cut through him. “We have to get out of here. Now!”

Rushing toward her nightstand, she pulled out her weapons and module for her fighter. “Let’s go.”

“Just one problem.” He dropped the blanket and stood in her room completely naked. “I need something to wear.”

Once again heat suffused her cheeks. How in the universe could she have forgotten his nudity in such a short time?

Stepping around him, she rummaged through her closet and pulled out some of Caillen’s clothes that he left here for those nights when he stayed over. She handed them to Syn then stepped into her living room and pulled the sheet closed to give him privacy while she waited by the sofa.

“Damn it, Caillen,” Syn growled several minutes later. “You must wear the same size boot as your sisters.”

He gave a fierce groan and she couldn’t help laughing. Poor Caillen.

“If my injuries don’t kill me, these tight boots will.” Just as he opened her makeshift curtain, a knock on her door startled her.

She went cold. “Oh God, they’re here . . .”

Syn grabbed her blaster.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out through the door. “Shay? You home?”

Relief coursed through her at her sister’s voice. Opening the door, she pulled Kasen in. “What is it?”

“I just heard over Caillen’s scanner that the Ritadarion government is sending agents over here to find you. And I was . . .” Her voice trailed off as she looked past Shahara and saw Syn by the sofa.

“Oh,” Kasen mouthed.

“We’ve got to go.” Syn handed the blaster to Shahara. “Have they gone by my place yet?”

Kasen shrugged. “It sounded like they had, but I’m not sure.”

He growled deep in his throat. “I think I know a place where they won’t find us.”

Kasen scowled. “Where are we going?”

Syn gave her a sincere, charming smile. “You, my nosy friend, are going home to wait on Caillen while I take Shahara to a safe zone.”

Kasen let out little puffs of breaths in aggravation. “Where are you two going?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be safe.”

“Yeah, but—”

Syn lost patience with her. “Not enough time to explain. Go home, Kasen. Now.”

Shahara lifted a brow at the fierce voice he used and for the first time in her life, her sister actually obeyed.

Syn jerked her out the door of her condo and around the side of her building.

She tried to break free. “You could loosen your hold on my arm. It’s not like I’m likely to run off anywhere.”

“Sorry.” He released her.

An instant later, the pain returned as he again seized her arm.

“What the—”

“Shh.” He pulled her down beside a group of hedges. “Lean against the wall,” he whispered.

Without question, she obeyed.

Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, she saw the Ritadarion enforcers.

Her heart pounded. They’d found them. And worse, they blocked the entrance to the landing bay she shared with two of her neighbors.

Her throat dry, she wanted to curse.

We’re so caught.





CHAPTER 6


As soon as the enforcers passed their hiding place, Syn pulled her up and in the opposite direction of the bay.

Shahara was aghast. “What are you doing? We need my fighter.”

He looked back over his shoulder to where the men had vanished, then shook his head. “Not today, we don’t.”

“Then how are we going to get out of here?”

The smile he gave her sent a chill down her spine. “We’ll get out of here my way.”

“But what about Kasen? She’s still in my house.” She started back to help her sister, but the grip on her arm was steel.

“Go back and they will make you wish you were treated as well as I was. Kasen can handle herself. Trust me, I’ve seen her get out of much worse situations than this. And I promise I’d never let anyone harm her. Caillen would beat my ass if I did. She’ll be okay. We, on the other hand, are going to be dog meat if they see us.”

Okay, Syn was definitely nuts she decided as he pulled her down the street, away from the landing bay. Otherwise how could he remain so calm while the people who wanted him dead and had beaten him to within an inch of his life were just a few yards away?

How could he even move, for that matter, given the beating he’d received? Granted he was limping, but to the casual observer, he gave almost no indication of how badly they’d hurt him.

“Does anything get to you?”

“Yeah,” he said snidely. “Women who turn me over to my enemies.”