Chapter 18
ALLY
“Not exactly? Then why are you here?”
The brother who’d spoken paused, as if selecting his words carefully. Her stomach knotted, knowing that this didn’t bode well for her.
“We’ve come to escort you back to Vartik. Once there, we can discuss the issue and see how best to handle the situation.”
“This isn’t a situation. It’s my sister. And the best way to handle it is to go and get her.”
“One does not simply ride into Dazimin—” said the brother with green eyes.
“Why not?” Ally cut him off. “I heard you’ve already done it. Twice.”
The scarred one let out a bark of laughter. “Not in the way you’re talking about. And even though I was with someone from Team Evil, it wasn’t a walk in the park. Flying in there, even with five heavily armed battle cruisers, is still likely to fail.
“Not if you get your wives and the other Guardians to help. You all have special powers. I’m sure between all of you, you can save one human girl.”
Lyk put his arm around her shoulder, but Ally shrugged it off. “You supposed to be the good guys. What kind of heroes let an innocent girl be carried off by demons and do nothing about it?”
“She’s got a point,” the one with green eyes said.
The big one, the one in charge, growled. “We’re already trying to work out how to rescue Caleb. Are we just supposed to swoop down and rescue some human first? Do you know what Jazmine would do if we tried that?”
The scarred one laughed. “We could call it a test run. See if our plan to get Caleb could work.”
The brother in the military uniform shook his head. “Why not combine both rescues? That makes more sense to me than doing this piecemeal.”
“You never go after multiple targets in an operation,” the green-eyed brother scoffed. “Your chances for fuck-ups quadruple.”
Ally watched them squabble, her hope crumbling. They’re not going to do anything. This is another dead end.
Without saying a word, she turned and walked away. Ignoring the call from Lyk to return, she stalked off the bridge, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. She didn’t know where she was going. All she wanted to do was get away, find a quiet place, and regroup.
Her younger life had been lived without a care for the most part. Sure, her parents didn’t pay much attention to their daughters, but they were well provided for, and they had each other. Now Ally had no one. And Evie was undergoing gods knew what torture.
I have to do this on my own.
It had been a hard lesson to learn after her parents had died, but Ally now accepted that it was not going to change. The only person she could depend on was herself, and if she didn’t go after her sister, no one would.
The ship shifted course as she walked down a corridor, and she moved to the viewing port to see the other ships fall in formation. They were heading to Vartik, it seemed.
Ally was slightly surprised. Lyk had seemed dead set against returning home. She wondered what his brothers had said to change his mind. Watching the stars blur past, Ally considered what had happened just before the Vartik ships had arrived.
Another few moments and Lyk would have taken her virginity.
And she would have let him. Hell, she probably would have been begging him to by then.
There was something about the way that man touched her that set her entire body to flame.
She’d never felt like that, had never had such a powerful experience.
Is that what an orgasm feels like? No wonder everyone loves sex.
Although she’d had plenty of opportunity to have sex before, she’d never let it happen. Ally had seen her peers’ exploits with casual sex and had decided to save herself for someone truly special. Someone she loved.
That, like everything else, had changed now.
I was ready to give up my virginity just at the chance to convince Lyk to help me. Or, even worse, just to distract him so he won’t expect me to jump ship at the first chance I get. Love was so far out of the picture, you’d need a telescope to find it.
Love. Ha.
Lyk’s sister had accused her of being in love with him. That was ridiculous. Sure, he knew how to make her shiver with his kisses, but they had little else in common. Besides, he was a pirate, and from the rumors she heard, he was fairly free with his favors.
Falling in love with a scoundrel was its own punishment, and it was something she would avoid at all cost.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring out the view port, replaying the memory of the way Lyk touched her while at the same time telling herself she was being a fool, but after a time, the scenery changed.
They sailed toward a yawning black, a darkness so pervasive that it made her insides cold. Ally held her breath as the ships disappeared one by one inside the blackness, until Lyk’s own ship pierced the dark.
Ally hugged herself, fighting off goosebumps as the black swallowed them, but then suddenly, the black vanished, resolving itself into multicolored lines that seemed to dance around the ship.
It took her a minute to realize that they only seemed to dance because they were going at incredible speeds.
“The wormhole,” she whispered. “This must be what it looks like to be inside one.” It was a sight few had seen in their lifetimes. Ally stood there in awe, watching as they seemed to float through a tunnel of dancing light.
“There you are.”
She didn’t turn at the sound of Lyk’s voice. She wasn’t ready to engage with him again. Lyk Vartik made her feel too many emotions at once.
“We’re going to Vartik. There, we can decide what the best course of action is.”
“It’s been several hours already. Assuming that demon who can teleport got them back to Hell instantly, my sister has been in the most frightening and terrible place in all the known galaxies for hours. Who knows what they’ve subjected her to by now?”
She could feel his heat as he moved close behind her. Putting his hands on her arms, he gently rubbed them up and down. “I know how you must feel. I understand your impatience.”
“Do you?” she said, whirling around to confront him. “How could you? Has your sister ever been kidnapped and taken to literal Hell by literal demons?”
Lyk shook his head, opening his mouth to respond, but she cut him off. “Then how could you know how I feel? Every second I waste is another second she suffers. She’s probably thinking I abandoned her to this fate, and if you and your brothers had your way, I would abandon her!”
He stepped closer, grabbing her arms and staring intently into her eyes. “You’re not abandoning her. But we’re not about to go off half-cocked when it comes to the Crown Prince of Hell. What good would a failed rescue mission do?”
“At least we would have tried!”
“I know you’re upset, but you have to trust me. We’re going to help you, but we have to do this together.”
“Why would I trust you? You’ve given me no reason to!”
Lyk flinched as if she’d slapped him. His eyes narrowed, and Ally felt a twinge of regret at her words. He hadn’t lied about the necklace. Evie had. And he’d done his best to help them so far.
“You haven’t cornered the market on tragedy, sweetheart,” he said, his voice low and hard.
“I’ve seen men do great and terrible things, things that will make what happened to Rigellus seem like a mercy killing.
One thing I’ve learned in my time as a raider is that if you don’t pick your battles, you lose them.
And if you go off alone, you die alone.”
Ally swallowed. His intensity was getting to her. She stepped back out of his grip and unconsciously hugged herself. “What happens when we get to Vartik?”
“Everyone puts their heads together and we figure out how to make a raid on Dazimin.” His expression said he was conflicted, an interplay of anger and frustration mixing with anxiety. This wasn’t the homecoming Lyk had been expecting—if he’d been expecting one.
“I see.” She turned back to look out the window again. Behind him, she heard Lyk’s breathing, then a curse that was almost too soft to pick up. Then a huff of air and footsteps, heading away from her.
Once they reached Vartik, she’d be trapped.
Stuck in endless meetings debating how best to rescue her sister, maybe even whether to rescue her.
Seven brothers, six wives, and a handful of additional Guardians, all trying to pull together a plan.
How long would it take for that group to come up with a solution?
And Ally would be powerless to do anything. She would watch in despair as the minutes turned into days, until the hope of recovering her sister alive and well dwindled to nothing.
I can’t let that happen.
Ally couldn’t get trapped on Vartik. Which meant she’d have to find a way off this ship before they arrived at Lyk’s home world.
I’ve got to steal a lifeboat and set out on my own.
It was a dangerous plan. First, how would she even manage?
Everything seemed to be locked down and she didn’t have access.
Second, even if she did manage to steal a lifeboat, how would she ever make it to Dazimin when she had no idea where she was?
And if she did make it to the hell planet, how could one woman alone rescue her sister from a horde of demons?
I can’t think about that, or I’ll never act. The only thing I need to worry about is how to get a lifeboat off this ship without Lyk and his crew stopping me.
Ally knew it would be a near impossible task, but she wasn’t going to give up without trying. She had to save Evie. She couldn’t let her sister down.
She’d do whatever she had to. Lie. Cheat. Steal.
Kill.
Even sacrifice whatever connection she felt between herself and the dashing pirate.
Evie was the only thing that mattered.
Ally set off down the corridor, a new purpose in her steps. I can do this.
Somehow.