Chapter Thirty-Five
Savannah slumped on the bunk, body exhausted from lack of sleep, hunger, and dehydration, but mind running at full speed. They want me to flip on Stratos. They’re trying to pin the thefts on him and don’t care if it’s false.
That was why they’d isolated her. Kept the jail cold. Didn’t provide a mattress or a blanket. They knew she wasn’t eating. They want me desperate, so I’ll cave and do anything to get out of here.
Stratos hadn’t stood up for her, but she couldn’t lie to save herself. If he got convicted of selling out the company, he’d never be appointed CEO. He didn’t love her, but he’d loved his father and the company he’d founded.
They’re trying to break me, but I have to stay strong.
But how long could she survive? She hadn’t eaten in a week. Would the authorities let her starve to death? She had one sip of water left. Would they bring more?
A crazy thought lurking in the back of her mind pushed to the forefront. What if Tron and Iono aren’t with law enforcement?
Certain aspects of her arrest didn’t add up. Never having been in trouble with the law before, she couldn’t say for sure, but the place looked nothing like any jail or police station she imagined, even for an alien one.
Dust coated surfaces and walls as if the jail hadn’t been in use for a long time.
There was that huge empty space. It wasn’t just her cell that lacked heat—the corridor and interrogation room had been cold, too.
She could understand turning the heat off in the cells, but wouldn’t they keep their personnel comfortable?
Speaking of which, where were the other personnel?
Shouldn’t there be other law officers, guards, and a support staff?
Where were the other suspects? Why did it appear she was the sole prisoner?
The oddities snapped together into a very clear picture. I’m not a suspect. She pressed a hand to her throat. I’m a hostage. I wasn’t arrested. I was kidnapped. They’re not law enforcement—they’re criminals!
The epiphany propelled her off the bunk. I have to get out of here!
She approached the force field. How strong was it?
If she charged through it, would she receive a mild shock or get electrocuted?
With her lone eating utensil, a spoon, she scraped the contents off a tray, and, standing back, flung the metal pan like a Frisbee.
Sparks shot up like a fireworks show as the tray bounced off the sizzling force field, hit the wall, and fell to the floor.
Okay…that’s not going to work.
She would have to wait until they deactivated it and then disable the thug. I have to be ready the next time somebody comes.
I need a weapon. She couldn’t possibly overpower the bigger, stronger men through brute force.
She eyed the bucket. Hit him with it? Throw it? Toss the contents in his face? That wouldn’t take him out—getting doused with urine and vomit would only enrage him.
But if she could temporarily blind him, she could leap out of the cell, shove him inside, and reactivate the force field.
Her gaze settled on the pile of trays. The spoon! They’d brought the utensil with the very first meal, and they’d never taken it away, further proving this wasn’t a legitimate law enforcement operation. No way would they leave a suspect with anything usable as a weapon.
She smacked the spoon against her palm. The metal was surprisingly heavy and sturdy, with a rounded, handle end. Maybe she could file it to a point?
Outside the cell block, someone shouted. She shoved the spoon into her pocket. What’s happening out there?
“Get down! On the floor! Get down!” She couldn’t make out the rest, but it sounded like there were quite a few people out there. She rubbed her finger over the spoon in her pocket. She couldn’t take on an army with a spoon.
The door to the cellblock slid open.
A man in a police-like uniform strode in. “In here! She’s in here!” He deactivated the crackling force field.
Stratos rushed in. “Savannah!” His agonized cry of relief told her everything she needed to know.
“Oh, god, Stratos.” She flew into his arms.
He grabbed her in a wonderful, rib-cracking hug. “You’re all right. Everything is going to be all right. I’m taking you home.”
“I was afraid nobody would ever find me.”
“I’ve been searching for you since day one. I was never going to give up.” He pulled back to meet her gaze. “I need to explain a lot of things to you, but let’s get you home.”
“We need her statement,” the officer said.
“Can she do it via hologram?” Stratos asked.
“That will work.”
“You know how to reach us,” he said, and, gripping her hand, led her into the corridor.
Four officers—real police—had Tron, Iono, and the other thug in restraints, face down on the floor.
Stratos ushered her out to his waiting vehicle parked among clearly identified police cruisers. The abductors’ vehicle had no identifiers. I was so stupid to believe them.
He helped her inside his transport and pulled her onto his lap. “Home,” he ordered the craft. It took off, and, with a sigh, she relaxed in his safe, strong arms, listening to the soothing beat of his heart. “I need a shower.”
“Whatever you want.”
“Food. Pizza.”
“There’s plenty. A whole bunch of Earth food came while you were gone.”
Her stomach growled.
He smiled against her head.
“I haven’t eaten since they took me.”
He let out a stream of curses, some of which she had no translation for. “I’m so sorry you went through this,” he said.
“It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is. I should have protected you.” He looked into her eyes. “I love you. Not just today or tomorrow, but forever. I never believed for an instant you had anything to do with the thefts. Never.”
Her eyes welled with tears. “I love you, too.”
“I know I appeared not to support you, but I had to find out what so-called evidence my mother had on you. “
“Was Brad really involved?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so.”
“Shit.”
“As soon as I left the meeting, I went to find you, but you weren’t anywhere. I was frantic. I couldn’t figure out where you’d gone. It took me a week to realize you’d been kidnapped.” His face turned grim.
The vehicle landed, and he helped her out.
“This is my flekking sister’s doing. I can’t prove it—but I’m 100 percent certain. She tried to hurt me by hurting you. She tried to convince me you’d gone home to Earth so I’d stop looking for you. She created a fake passenger manifest,” he said as they boarded the propulsion lift.
Savannah sucked in a breath. “Her plan was bigger than that. She had me kidnapped to scare me into implicating you in stealing the designs. Tron and Iona said they’d let me go if I signed a statement to that effect. I wouldn’t do it.”
His grim expression grew even grimmer. “She got what she wanted, and it still wasn’t enough for her!”
“What do you mean?”
The doors opened to the penthouse. “Welcome home, Savannah!” Aaia said.
“Thank you. It’s such a relief to be home.” The penthouse had never looked so good. I can’t believe it’s over. She hugged Stratos. He believed me. Of everything, that meant the most.
“Aaia, food for Savannah, stat!” he ordered.
“What would you like? More pizza? Lasagna, chicken pot pie, macaroni and cheese—” Aaia reeled off an amazing list.
All of it. Her stomach growled. “Lasagna. Let me clean up, first.” She’d never been this hungry in her entire life—or this grungy. “I’ll shower while the robo heats up the food.”
Stratos followed her into the bath.
She dropped her filthy jacket on the floor. “I’m not wearing that ever again!” She gave it a kick and almost fell over. Maybe I should have eaten first.
Not. She’d caught a glimpse of her frightful appearance in the mirror. It was a testament to how much Stratos did love her if he could stand to look at her.
“Easy,” he said. “Let me help you undress.” He unbuttoned her blouse, and she shrugged out of it.
She shimmied, and her pants hit the floor with a little thunk.
He frowned. “What’s that?”
“The spoon I was going to stab the kidnapper in the eye with.”
He tossed his head and laughed. “I love you.”
She grinned. “I love you, too.”
She shed her underwear and stepped into the shower, groaning with pleasure as hot water cascaded over her.
Stratos dumped his clothes and joined her, insisting on shampooing her hair and bathing her.
She enjoyed the pampering and realized touching her was his way of reassuring himself she was all right.
“You lost weight,” he said.
“Some, yeah.”
“Nobody hurt you?” he asked as they got out and toweled off.
“Not physically. I couldn’t eat the food, of course, and they didn’t give me enough water, but nobody laid a hand on me.”
“I’d have to kill them if they had.” He handed her a robe.
“They didn’t.” She didn’t want him to go to prison for murder. She donned the robe and moved to the basin to clean her fuzzy teeth.
“My sister, too.”
“You probably shouldn’t kill your sister,” she mumbled through a mouthful of tooth cleaner.
He slipped on his robe. “Just probably?”
She spit and rinsed. “What did you mean when you said she’d gotten everything she wanted?”
“My mother and Corona presented me with a deal: they wouldn’t have you arrested for theft if I relinquished any claim to the CEO position and stepped down as vice president.”
“No!” she cried. “You didn’t agree, did you?”
“Yes, I did. You’re worth more to me than OberTech.”
“You can’t give up the company because of me. It’s your father’s legacy!”
“I haven’t,” he said. “The company is just a business. I realized I’m my father’s legacy. His love of design and creation lives on in me, and nobody can steal that. He would want me to be happy. You make me happy.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tighter than tight, burying her face against his chest.