Beloved Stranger: Gaian Series, Book 5 (28 page)

Sonja held her knife ready to throw. She’d let Roan deal with Wilcan…unless it looked like the other man was going to win.

Wilcan slashed forward with both knives, and while Roan was able to dodge one, the other man put another gash across Roan’s chest. The blood spread quickly across the wet fabric of his shirt. Roan struck back, and a slash appeared on Wilcan’s arm, this time close to where he was holding his second knife. He tried but couldn’t keep hold of it, and it fell to the ground. Now he faced Roan with only the small knife Sonja had thrown.

He glared at Roan. “I’m going to kill you. One way or another. Maybe not today, but eventually you will die at my hands.”

“True Gaians don’t kill, Wilcan.”

“Soft words from a soft people. I never felt I belonged on Gaia, anyway. I get interested in a woman easily, so I’ve never had the limitations.”

“You don’t need attachment to love a woman?”

“Love?” Wilcan laughed nastily. “What does love have to do with sex?”

“You’re just like an Earth person, Wilcan.”

The other man laughed. “You know, that might be the biggest compliment anyone ever paid me.”

“I didn’t mean it as a compliment.”

Wilcan’s eyes shifted, and Sonja realized he was looking at the p-dee still sitting on the ground. In their fight, the big man had managed to position himself near enough to grab it. Sonja lunged and snatched the weapon as she rolled on the ground. She came back to her feet holding it in her hand.

The familiar feel of it made her smile. She aimed at Wilcan’s head. “Roan, tell me not to kill him.”

“Don’t kill him, Sonja.”

“Why not? He threatens you, he threatens me, he chases us all over the mine so I fall out of the boat and nearly drown. He says he intends to kill you, so why shouldn’t I kill him?”

Roan shook his head. “Because Gaians don’t kill.”

“I’m not a Gaian.”

“You are my wife, and I say that makes you one.” She felt his hand on her shoulder. “We don’t have to kill him, so we won’t.”

Sonja slowly lowered the weapon and handed it to Roan. She pulled her hypodart from her pocket and turned the dose to maximum. Before Wilcan could move she stabbed him in the arm, and he went down.

“Is that a sedative?” Roan said.

Sonja busied herself giving the other two men a similar dose. “Yes. Same stuff I gave the man in the bar so we could get his p-tab, although I gave him a lighter dose.”

“Same stuff you gave me.”

“Yes. Same dosage too. With this they’ll be out for a couple of hours.”

She then started stripping their clothes off. “And now for something dry to wear.”

Laughing, Roan joined her. Once they were done, the three men were lying peacefully on the ground dressed only in their underwear.

Only Wilcan’s clothes were big enough to fit Roan, so he’d taken them while Sonja rolled up the sleeves and pant legs of the smallest of the men’s clothes. She remembered to empty her pockets before bundling her wet clothes together with Roan’s, slipping everything into her new pants.

Roan grinned at her. “Well this works out well. We have dry clothes and transportation. I’m sure they left their boat at the base of the ladder. We’ll be at the spaceport in less than half an hour.”

Sonja put her arms around him. “We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

He paused to kiss her. “We sure do.”

They laughed until Sonja remembered that this was the last time she and Roan would likely work together. As her laughter faded so did Roan’s, and soon all they were doing was staring at each other.

I love him.
The realization hit Sonja hard. All this time, what she’d felt and didn’t recognize the emotion. She actually loved Roan, probably had for the past couple days. Maybe even when he’d first kissed her.

Should she tell him now, or wait until they got to the spaceport? This was what he’d been waiting for, her to decide how she felt about him. If she waited, then it might be enough to force the decision to go with her.

Better she wait until the last moment then, when he wouldn’t have time to think about it. She’d tell him, then he’d come with her.

After a long moment, they set off towards the ladder, still arm in arm.

Chapter Twenty-Six

It felt odd piloting Wilcan’s boat through the waterways to the spaceport. It was larger and the engine far louder than Roan’s smaller boat had been. Roan decided he didn’t much like it and resolved to find what was left of his own boat as soon as possible. From what Wilcan had said the damage couldn’t be that bad, but he couldn’t take the time to find it.

He had to get Sonja to the spaceport. Get her there so she could leave him.

Suddenly Roan wanted to slow the boat down or even turn it around. If they weren’t able to get to the spaceport, she would have to stay with him.

But that wasn’t right. It had to be Sonja’s decision. He knew he loved her, but how she felt about him wasn’t clear. Maybe she was falling in love with him, but so far she hadn’t been able to admit to it.

In the lamplight on their borrowed boat, she smiled at him, obviously excited about their imminent arrival.

All too soon they were tying up the boat at the hidden dock attached to the bottom of the long-forgotten elevator up to the landing platforms. It was where he had smuggled goods into the mining colony. Now he was smuggling his wife out.

The boat Allan and the others had taken was there and deserted. Sonja stood opposite him in the elevator cage, watching him. There was an expectant air about her, and he wondered what she was thinking.

I’m in love.
That was her thought. She loved him and wanted him to leave with her. He’d be a fool to stay anyway. A sensible man would understand that there was no future for him here. The authorities would surely know he had orchestrated Suna, Sulla, Tron and Allan’s escape, and once Wilcan started talking they’d know about his other illegal activities. He should leave with her.

And yet Roan showed no sign that he was going to do any such thing. He tied up the boat as if he intended to be right back down for it. He fingered the band he still wore around his wrist as if he intended to take it off, but he didn’t say anything.

Once they were through the maintenance door of the spaceport it didn’t take long to spot the
Bronda
. The squat, ugly freighter was nearly as hard on the eyes as its owner, Denn Fuller, but she was still happy to see it. Now she knew her family would be safe.

Sonja led the way to the ship and pounded on the door. She grinned as the heavyset Fuller opened it. With her monitoring the man’s diet he’d lost close to ten kilos over the past six months, but he was still heavier than any sane man should be.

Fuller greeted her with his usual mix of apprehension and relief. Sonja knew why he was apprehensive. She’d threatened to cut off his balls too many times as punishment for his involvement in the slaving operation he’d been part of for the man to ever completely trust her. But she also knew why he was relieved. Now that she’d shown up, Fuller could take off out of here.

“Everyone else get here?” Roan asked.

“About two hours ago.”

“I’d like to see them.” Sonja’s heart thrilled as she followed Roan onto the ship. Maybe he had decided to leave.

“They’re in the lounge.” Fuller led them along the passageway. “What kept you?” he asked Sonja. “I was beginning to think I’d have to go out and rescue you myself.”

The thought of the fat man leaving his ship, much less trying to rescue her, was ridiculous. Even so, Sonja managed not to laugh. She appreciated that Fuller actually had been worried about her.

“We ran into trouble. One of the prison guards has it in for Roan and me, and we had to disable him.”

“Disable?” Fuller eyed her with surprise. “You mean you left him alive?”

Sonja waved her hand. “Don’t you say anything about it. I know I’m going soft.”

Fuller beamed at Roan. “You must be the man who married Sonja.”

Roan smiled, but his eyes seemed sad. “I’m the lucky man.”

Fuller blinked. “Are you…? Lucky…well that’s interesting. Anyway, I’m happy to have you aboard.”

“I’m sure you are,” Roan said quietly.

Fuller gave him a surprised look but didn’t say anything more as he opened the closed door to the lounge.

Sonja saw the men with weapons, and in that instant she whipped the p-dee she’d taken off Wilcan into her hand. Then she saw her sisters and niece huddled together on the couch and the breath froze in her chest.

Roan stepped into the room. “Roberts, there’s no need for this.”

A tall man with greying hair and a slight smile came forward. He wore a company blue uniform, but it was tailored to fit him and looked expensive. With one hand he waved back the men with guns and then stared at Sonja and her still-raised weapon.

“I suggest we all stand down,” he said quietly.

Roan put his hand on Sonja’s. “It’s all right. No one is going to hurt them.” Slowly, she lowered the weapon and when the rest of them holstered their guns, she reset the safety. Still she kept it in her hand as she turned to watch Roan.

The uniformed man stepped up to Roan and held out his hand. “Roan Duman, I believe?”

Roan took it and gave it a quick shake. “Yes. You’re Don Roberts?”

“The same.”

Both men seemed to be sizing each other up. Sonja watched until the tension in her stretched to her breaking point. “Will someone tell me what’s going on?”

Strangely enough, it was Allan who answered her. “Don Roberts is the head of the company’s special projects division, and it seems he’s here at Roan’s invitation.”

“Special projects?”

Allan sounded unnaturally quiet, and when Sonja looked at him she noticed he was pale. He looked at Roan, and she could swear there was fury in his eyes.

“You know,” Allan continued, “like the marriage meets.”

Sonja whipped her head around to stare at Roberts and Roan standing together, still not talking.

“What have you done, Roan? This man was responsible for all of it. What happened to me and my sisters, and the enslavement of women throughout the galaxy—”

Her husband gave her a glance and shook his head. “Actually, that’s not really true. Roberts set up the need for women by authorizing off-the-books marriage meets for the prisoners. All he did was create the demand. It was the slavers who were responsible for the supply.”

Roberts’s lips twitched. “That is a very generous way to look at it.”

“But it’s the right way, isn’t it?”

The company man shrugged. “Did I know that young women were going to be snatched from their beds to be brought to Ares Five? No, I did not. Am I happy that happened? No, most definitely not.”

“But it still happened, didn’t it?” Sonja broke in. “And you didn’t try to stop it.”

Roberts blinked at her. “You are quite passionate about this, but I suppose you have a right to be. As I understand it, you and your sisters were some of those kidnapped by slavers?”

At her nod, he shook his head grimly. “Unfortunately, I didn’t look very closely at where the women were coming from until our supply chain was broken. Then I had to look into it, and to be honest I was not happy about what I found.”

Suna spoke up. “What about the recycling of the widows?”

He grimaced. “That I did not know about. The paperwork on each one of those ladies showed that they’d volunteered to reenter a marriage meet.”

Suna gasped. “I did not volunteer!”

Roberts nodded again. “So I have since discovered.” He looked over at Roan and Sonja, and then the others on the couch. “Explanations are in order. Perhaps if everyone was seated?”

Sonja sat between Suna and Sulla, leaving no room for Roan. He stared at her for a moment then took a chair facing Roberts.

The man cleared his throat. “Yesterday I received a mail on my private p-tab, an address no one should have known about.” He glanced speculatively at Allan for a moment. “The mail detailed a number of activities, together with evidence showing who was responsible for them.”

“I’d call them crimes, not activities,” Roan said.

Roberts nodded. “So would I.”

Sonja leaned forward. “What kind of crimes?”

“What has already been suggested. Allowing, if not encouraging the use of enslaved women for the marriage meets. What has been called the ‘recycling’ of widows, and similar abuses. Allowing some individuals unlimited access to the meets.” He stared at Roan. “You mentioned someone named Wilcan?”

Roan leaned forward in the chair. “He said he’d had three wives before.”

Anger sparked in Roberts’s eyes. “I checked his history and confirmed that. They all seemed to have died after experiencing a serious fall. Unbelievable that happened without anyone noticing.”

“What about the accidents that kill men with wives but no children?” Sulla broke in.

Roberts’s face darkened. “I didn’t find evidence of that, but I’m going to look into it. I better not find
that
was going on.”