Chapter 4 #3
We moved quickly and before I knew it, Bane had paused in front of another grate.
This one was partway open, probably a result of the crew getting too hot and needing more air to flow into the room beyond.
I glanced out, realizing that we had found the command center of the ship.
I could see the back of Credare’s head—lumpy, green, and disgusting.
There were remarkably few guards in there with him, but there were just enough to cause a problem for only the two of us.
I placed a hand on Bane’s forearm.
“We’ve got to play this smart,” I whispered.
“There’s only one way this is going to play out, my sweet human,” he responded, gazing back at me with an odd mixture of sadness, respect, and pride. What was he thinking? Then, as he turned away, I began to grow uneasy.
“Make me proud, Cara,” he whispered before his feet whipped around and kicked the grate, hard. The piece of metal flew up and he barreled out of the vent like a wild animal. Every single body in the room turned toward the unexpected noise. Once Credare saw who it was, his face twisted with anger.
“How the fuck did you get out of your cell?” Credare roared, his fury palpable.
“I’ve got friends in high places,” Bane responded, cracking his knuckles as he did so.
He walked around the room and the guards moved out of his way, clearly intimidated by his much larger form and the challenging expression that coated his features.
Bane seemed to grow two sizes then as he pulled his shoulders back.
His expression morphed into a rage and the entire room was distracted by it.
Using that moment, Bane’s gaze flicked to mine and he cocked his head quickly in Credare’s direction. He wanted me to go after him.
I pulled my hood back up over my head.
I knew what he wanted me to do.
Now was my time to take back control. Credare had made me his once, stolen years of my life, and forced me to serve the Association by using my family as collateral.
It was time to take my life back. Silently, I climbed down from the vent, but no one noticed.
Not a single one of the guards. Not Credare. None of them.
Bane did though and he winked back at me, encouraging me onward as I slunk down to a crouched position, hidden behind a large control tower. I crawled forward, once step after another as I carefully made my way toward Credare. I used the darkened room to my advantage, hiding in the shadows.
I moved slowly. Methodically. When I was ready, I rose to my feet. I pushed back the hood of my cape, revealing myself as I cleared my throat.
Credare turned abruptly, his jaundiced eyes meeting mine in a fraction of a second. There was a moment of recognition before his face hardened with irritation.
“Cara, I wondered where you had wandered off to,” he murmured, his voice like nails on a chalkboard to my ears.
“It’s been some time since you checked in with your handler, hasn’t it?
Pity that your sisters are going to have to suffer for your transgression.
Maybe next time you’ll learn that I expect complete obedience from my people. ”
I gritted my teeth, standing tall. I wasn’t going to stand for his cruel arrogance any longer. I was no longer going to live under his thumb. I was going to take back my life.
I strode toward him and he didn’t even flinch.
Probably didn’t even think that I was even a threat because I’d let him control me for so long.
Well, he had another think coming. I smiled as I slid my arm behind my hip, my movements concealed with the fabric from the long black cloak.
He wouldn’t know what I was planning until it hit him.
“Come here, my dear. Help me deal with that,” he commanded, pointing over his shoulder in Bane’s direction.
Bane didn’t move from his position and neither did the guards.
Credare’s men were frozen in place, fearful to engage with the massive alien in their midst. Credare really should have thought to employ fewer humans in the Association, especially when men like Bane were so much bigger and stronger than human men.
Idiot.
I sauntered closer, feigning sorrow and fear.
“I’m sorry, Credare. I’ve been kept on Dryac as a prisoner against my will. I hope you can forgive me,” I pleaded, my promises hollow. His eyes creased as he weighed the truth of my words and then he shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s a lesson you’re overdue in learning anyway,” he answered, and I treaded even closer, not even a foot away from him.
“Have mercy,” I begged, straightening my arm behind my back and positioning the knife in my fingers. I was ready.
I took a step forward, purposely catching the satin cloth of my cloak under my foot and fell in his direction.
“Clumsy bitch,” he grunted, stepping to the side and not even trying to catch me. I’d known he’d react that way. He’d rather see me fall on my face than offer any sort of help to someone he viewed as a lesser being.
I caught myself with a single hand, pushed up against the floor and used my forward momentum to roll to the side. I lashed out with the knife, making sure to slice cleanly through the tendon at the back of his right ankle.
The sound of his sinew snapping echoed loudly throughout the room, as did Credare’s very high-pitched scream of pain immediately after.
Quickly, I slashed at the back of his left knee, fully incapacitating him in two blows.
He collapsed, unable to stand. His cries of agony sounded pathetic, but he would receive absolutely zero pity from me.
He didn’t deserve it.
His guards stood transfixed. A fair number of them looked satisfied at that moment, almost as if they were cheering me on but didn’t have the balls to say anything.
“You see, Credare, you don’t rule the galaxies out here. Bane does. What I neglected to tell you was that I’m his captive. His human and because of that, I stopped being yours long ago,” I said, and he just whined pitifully on the floor.
“The Association isn’t welcome here. You crossed the line when you attacked Bane, who had promised to meet with you in good faith.
Now that you’ve disregarded that completely, all bets are off.
You are fair game now,” I added, and he moaned in agony.
I took my knife and pressed it beneath his chin.
I angled the sharpened blade, forcing him to lift his head as I stared down at him.
“Cold-hearted bitch,” he spat.
“You don’t get to talk to me like that anymore,” I growled, and I pushed the blade up, purposely flicking it and cutting him in the process. He whimpered loudly and I almost felt embarrassed for him. Almost.
“I’ll talk to you however I want, you stupid cunt.
Seize her. Fucking kill her already,” he demanded, his voice shrill.
None of the guards moved. None of them even said a word.
Instead, they just stood there, watching me.
Holding the knife steady, I caught the eyes of the guard closest to me, almost daring him to do something, but he didn’t.
He turned his head, nodding just the slightest bit.
I met the eyes of another, and he did the same thing.
“None of your men are going to stop me, Credare,” I snarled, and his eyes flicked back and forth with panic. His hands clutched at his injured legs and he tried to stand, but his body failed him. I’d done irreparable damage to his legs. Not that I was going to let him live anyway.
“Fucking move or I’ll kill you all,” he screamed, terrified.
Still, not a single one of the Association guards moved to obey his command.
“You see, strange things happen when you treat the people beneath you like shit, Credare. Things like them abandoning you in your time of greatest need,” I said nonchalantly, a smirk turning up the corners of my lips.
The green bastard hissed at me.
“It’s time for both you and the Association to come to an end,” I declared, and his face contorted into something like a rabid animal. He tried to push himself forward, tried to use his arms to attack me but I was already in motion.
I twisted and took a step back, quickly avoiding the rancid touch of his fingertips.
I gripped the gun at my waist, pulled it from its holster, and steadied it within my hand.
I pressed my finger against the trigger and pulled, activating the fusion cell within the gun.
It hummed softly and then a bright red bolt shot out of the end of the barrel, aimed straight for the middle of Credare’s forehead.
He didn’t even have time to scream or defend himself.
The man’s head expanded for a moment before it exploded.
I had decided that I was going to free myself and that required his death.
Remnants of his brain matter splashed against the floor and all over my cloak.
Disgusted, I slipped the cape from my shoulders and tossed it onto the floor, covering the sight of Credare’s mangled body at the same time.
Bane stared at me with a look of pride.
“I knew you could do it,” he murmured. My heart swelled. He had believed in me from the start and I dropped my gaze, unable to stop myself from smiling. He cleared his throat and I looked up to meet his eyes. He lifted his arm, beckoning me to his side and I went to him.
I looked around at the guards that were left behind, watching as they looked at me with curiosity.
Slowly, I dropped to my knees beside Bane in a show of both my loyalty and submission to him.
He cleared his throat and placed his palm on my shoulder, squeezing me as I did so, and I leaned into his touch.
Fuck, it felt good just to have his fingers on me again.
“With the death of Credare, I demand the dissolution of the Association. You are welcome to join into the fold of the Syndicate, but in doing so, you pledge to serve me and my partner,” Bane declared.
My brows furrowed in confusion. Partner? What was he talking about?