Defiance (13 page)

“How do you feel?” David asked.

“I am not sure,”
Laith
replied wearily. “I feel … empty. I am glad
Julyah
has been avenged, but where do I go from here? I am
no longer a raider. I am nothing.”

“Not true. We’ll become part of
your parents’ movement. Every female we save we’ll do it in
Julyah’s
memory. We aren’t even traitors since you issued an official challenge to Kath.”

“I believe that is why I am suddenly
adrift in indecision. I did not expect to survive this.”

“You can’t deny this was a better
plan.”

“Yes, it did work out well,”
Laith
murmured. “I am glad you insisted we take her instead
of the other female.”

David grinned.
“Me,
too.”

“She was right, you know. My plan
was faulty. Had she not broken that console…
”
He
trailed off and shook his head.

“It was meant to be,” David told
him with a pat on his shoulder. “Perhaps she even saved our lives. When we meet
up with her let’s take her to Earth and find her mother.”

“Agreed.”

“Get some rest. I’m going to get us
off this planet.”

Moments later they were taxied to
the runway, and David smoothly lifted off, setting a heading to the
Partin
System. He knew they couldn’t be that far behind
Jordan
, although
he didn’t know how fast the smuggler, Shen, had traveled.

David stayed in the pilot seat,
letting
Laith
recuperate,
breathing a sigh of relief his blood-kin had been victorious.
Laith
was a force of nature, confident and headstrong. Most
would see
Laith
as the dominant in their
relationship, but David knew just how fragile
Laith
really was. His sister’s death had hit him hard, and for the past year David
had been emotionally carrying
Laith
as he’d tried to
make sense of it all.
Laith
had been a raider, rising
through the ranks, on his way to Commander. Perhaps he might have even achieved
Admiral ranking. But everything had changed the day Kath had taken
Julyah
.
Laith
had spiraled down
into guilt, and it had been David who put the pieces back together.

Now it was his turn to lead, so he
programmed their ship on an intercept course to get Jordan back.

****

Jordan
couldn’t seem to help
staring at the handsome
Alphan
smuggler. He wasn’t at
all like a
Xyran
except in the fact that he was so
alien looking. The shuttle docked inside a larger ship, and then he turned to
look at her. His light golden eyes stared at her steadily.

“This ship will take you to the
rendezvous in the
Partin
System,” he said. “I’ve been
told the child’s parents will meet her there.”

Jordan
nodded.

“My name is Shen,” he said, cocking
his head as he watched her. She shifted nervously in her seat. “I’ve been
smuggling women to safety for some time now, and I can assure you you’re both
safe now.”

“With all due respect, Shen, I
don’t feel like anything is safe out here,” she muttered.

“Perhaps you’re right. But you’re
brave, and bravery is something to be admired. You don’t have to go back to the
Xyran
if you don’t want.”

She raised her chin a fraction. “I
wasn’t planning on going back.”

 
A ghost of a smile played on his lips. “I can
offer you sanctuary on Planet Alpha. Anywhere you’d wish to go you’d have the
respect of the
Alphan
people.”

A sudden thought came over her, and
she bit her lip. “What if I wished to go back to Earth?”

Surprise lit up his features. “Earth
is a dying planet,” he said. “Why would you wish to go back?”

“Because my mother is there and I’m
all she has.”

Shen studied her for a long moment.
“If that truly is what you wish, so be it.”

Jordan
smiled through her breaking
heart and nodded.

“All right,” he said quietly as he
turned back toward his computer. “I shall find you a different ship to
rendezvous with the child’s parents.”

Yes, this was the best thing for
her to do, but damned if she wished she hadn’t fallen for the abductors who’d
kidnapped her heart.

Chapter Fourteen

Rell’s
parents made arrangements to meet the new transport ship when it came in to
dock. For the entire ride the little girl was a bundle of excited nerves,
bouncing in her seat and talking so much about her parents that
Jordan
recognized them immediately when they disembarked. Except for the part where
Rell’s
mother was human.
Rell
hadn’t mentioned that part. No wonder the little girl had trusted her from the
start.

Rell’s
mother fell to her knees and hugged her daughter, tears of joy falling down her
cheeks.
Jordan
didn’t know what do to as she watched two
Alphan
men
join her, their family complete once again. She finally looked down at her feet
in order to give them a moment of privacy.

Several minutes later, two feet
appeared in her line of vision, and she looked up to see
Rell’s
mother standing before her. Without warning, the woman threw her arms around
Jordan
and hugged
her tightly.

“Thank you,” she said in a cultured
English accent. “Thank you so much for bringing my baby home to me.”

Jordan
’s heart softened, and she
returned the hug. “Anyone would have done the same.”

“No, they wouldn’t have. My name is
Sabrina,” she said pulling back to wipe her cheeks. “What’s yours?”

“Jordan
Kuper
.”

“Your
accent … are
you German?”

Jordan
nodded.

“I was British,” Sabrina said. “But
now I am
Alphan
. These are my husbands,
Joff
and Bock, of the House
Tollin
.”

The two tall
Alphans
stepped forward and formally shook her hand. They were all dressed strangely,
as if they’d stepped out of a medieval painting, and
Jordan
couldn’t help be
self conscious
about her ill-fitting clothes.
Joff
was holding
Rell
tightly as
she hugged her father around his neck.

“You are welcome to come live with
us,” Sabrina told her. “We will grant you every courtesy until we find you
mates. It’s the least we can do after you brought our baby back to us.”

“How was she taken?”

“We were returning from Earth when
we were attacked,” Bock said. “When the chaos was over we hadn’t realized that
Rell
was gone. Not until we got a ransom note.”

Sabrina threw her arms around
Joff
and
Rell
, fresh tears
pouring down her cheeks. It brought a lump in
Jordan
’s throat. She cleared it,
swallowing down the rush of emotions.

“Seeing all of you together is
payment enough,”
Jordan
murmured.

Rell
lifted her head and looked at her and she held out her arms.
Jordan
stepped
forward and took the little girl, who hugged her tightly.

“Are you going to live with us?”
she asked.

“No, sweetheart.
I have to go back home.”

Rell
looked at her with golden eyes wise beyond her years. “Alpha could be your
home.”

“Like you, I have a momma I have to
get back to. Maybe one day we’ll meet again. Okay?”

“Okay. I love you, Jordan.”

“Ah, sweetie.
I love you, too.”

Sabrina took her daughter and
regarded her solemnly. “Are you sure you don’t want to live with us? There are no
hidden strings, I promise.”

“It’s not that. I was taken, like
Rell
, and left my mother behind in the
Berlin
camp.”

“That’s one of the older camps,
right? One of the first erected. I’ve heard they’re deplorable.”

Jordan
nodded.
“Pretty
much.
Especially when it rains.
But I have no
choice. I can’t leave her behind.”

“I understand,” Sabrina said
softly. “You will always be welcome in our home, Jordan
Kuper
.
All right?”

“Yes,”
Jordan
said. “Thank you.”

“This ship is going to Earth,” Bock
said, his voice low and deep. “I will secure your passage and make sure someone
escorts you to
Berlin
.”

“Again, thank you,”
Jordan
said.

“However, I insist you take my
clothes,” Sabrina said reaching behind her for her travel bag. “I know it’s
rude to offer hand-me-downs, but there aren’t any shops around and you can’t
wear slave clothes back to Earth.”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that. I
don’t want to take your clothes—”

 
“I insist. It’s the least we could do for the
life of our daughter.”

Jordan
wavered, feeling like she
was imposing on them. But logic won out, so she nodded. “I appreciate it. Good-bye,
Sabrina.”

“Good-bye,
Jordan
. Take
care of yourself.”

****

During her trip back to
Earth
,
Jordan
had a long time for reflection. Were David and
Laith
even
alive? The thought of them dead hurt so much that she bit down on her knuckle
to stem the pain. Even though she was all alone on the transport she didn’t
think it was appropriate to shriek for no apparent reason. Since she was alone,
she finally let the tears have their chance to flow.

Chapter Fifteen

As they came to the rendezvous
point where the ship was supposed to meet them, David saw nothing but empty
space. He double checked the coordinates and frowned. He engaged the intercom
system.

“
Laith
,
get up here.”

A minute later
Laith
limped to his chair. “What is wrong?”

“Shen isn’t here.”

Laith
glanced at his console and read the same information he did. Shen wasn’t there,
which meant
Jordan
wasn’t there.

“I don’t like this,
Laith
,” he muttered.

“Nor do
I
.”

David kept sending out hails to
Shen until he began contemplating doing something really reckless, and then
finally, they got a response. As the connection went through, a haughty
Alphan
stared coldly back.

“We are looking for the human
female named
Jordan
,”
Laith
said by way of a greeting. “Perhaps you—”

“Jordan
Kuper
is no longer your concern,” the
Alphan
stated coldly.

“Excuse me?” David demanded. His
blood ran cold at the thought that something happened to her. He began to doubt
the idea of letting Shen spirit her away.

“As compensation for her brave
return of the
Alphan
child, her request to go back to
Earth has been granted. If you try to follow the ship, you will be gunned
down.”

The
viewscreen
blinked out, leaving David and
Laith
staring at it in
shock.

“What shall we do, David?”

“We’re going to get our mate back,”
he answered with a promise in his voice.

****

Jordan
walked slowly toward the
main gate of the
Berlin
camp. She’d never looked from this side of the fence, and now she noticed how
it had changed over the years. More barbed wire, an additional perimeter fence,
and a reinforced gate, all designed to keep the unlucky in and the unwanted
out. She’d kept her
Alphan
clothes on, knowing that
once inside she was going to have to pack them away. They were too beautiful to
survive for long under the sweat and hot sun, and she wanted to keep them
forever.

They were all she had to remember
that once, she’d been desired. Once she had loved. The memories were going to
have to sustain her for the rest of her life because there would never be
another man, or men, she’d ever want in her heart and bed.

As she got closer to the gate, a
guard came out on the walkway with a shotgun resting in his hands. She raised
her hand in a greeting.

“Let me in, Lonny,” she called up
to him.

He
squinted
his eyes as he assessed how she knew him. She watched the recognition slowly
dawn on his face.

“Jordan
Kuper
?
Why are you wearing a dress? Are you going drag?”

“No, Lonny. I’m a woman.”

“You had a sex change?” he asked,
stupefied.

She sighed. Why bother?
“Yes, Lonny.
I had a sex change in the week I’ve been gone. Now,
can you open the gate for me?”

“Sure,
Jordan
.
Go
through the check-in office, and I’ll have them wave you through. I can’t
believe you’re a girl now. Do you have all your girl parts?”

She flipped him off with her finger
as she entered the office. The other guards blinked at her, staring at her with
wide eyes, but they didn’t say a word as she walked through the door back into
the only life she remembered.