Page 77 of Caught By Menace

With trembling fingers, she reached back and unbuckled the collar. Her eyes closed briefly as the memory of Menace locking it around her neck tormented her. She could almost feel the heat of his adoring gaze on her skin. Swallowing hard, she pulled the collar away from her neck and handed it to Pierce. His jaw twitched as he took it from her.

“I’ll make sure he gets it back,” he promised as he pocketed the collar.

His words gave her hope. “Is he all right?”

Pierce studied her. “Not really. He’s torn up about this. You have to understand that he didn’t want it to go this way, but the evidence against you…”

She found some consolation in the idea that he’d struggled with the decision to give her up. “Are they really going to send him to prison?”

Pierce motioned for her to extend her wrists and started to cuff her. “If they don’t get the weapons or good intel on this Splinter cell on Calyx, he’s got a one-way ticket to Kovark. Terror and Vicious won’t let him go down for treason.” He tightenedthe cuffs around her wrists. “If you’re able to get Terror what he wants, it’s very likely Menace will only get a year or two in prison. He’s strong. He’ll survive it.”

She understood what he was saying. If she really loved Menace, she’d do whatever it took to get that information for Terror. It was the only way to ensure his life would be saved. “I’ll do my best.”

“If you hope to save your life, you’d better.”

Naya took a chance. “You know I’m innocent.”

“What I think doesn’t matter. Terror has made his decision. There’s no going back.” Pierce glanced at his watch. “We have seven minutes until Terror expects us. I can let you record a message if you want.”

She smiled sadly. “My last will and testament, huh?”

He looked uncomfortable. “Something like that.”

“I don’t know what I’d say.” The pain was too raw for her even to contemplate a final message to Menace.

“Maybe you’d like to warn a friend.”

His message came through loud and clear. Hallie!

Pierce retrieved a small recording device from his pocket. “You’ve got two minutes. Make it quick.”

Naya didn’t waste any time. She sat down on the edge of the rack, hit the record button and started to talk into the small screen. She prayed her friend would remember the old codes or at least be able to piece the information together. “Hallie, I’m sorry I missed brunch today. I got some bad news about an uncle of mine. I’m on my way to visit him. I’m hoping Aunt Ruthie isn’t sick too. If I make it back, I guess I’ll have to quarantine myself so I don’t infect anyone else on the ship.” She bit her lower lip before whispering, “Good luck, Hallie.”

“Done?”

She handed him the recorder and stood. “Yes.”

Pierce slipped it into his pocket and opened the hood. A few seconds later, the dark fabric covered her head. “Say goodbye to theValiant, Naya.”

A silent tear dripped down her cheek. Trapped in the darkness, she surrendered totally to Pierce’s control. Her fate was sealed.

Chapter Seventeen

“Why won’t theylet me see her?” Menace paced the length of Vicious’ office. He’d been freed from custody earlier that morning after his court-appointed attorney had poked a million holes in the case against him. “It’s been twenty-six hours since they arrested us. My lawyer says there’s no reason we can’t see each other.”

“I don’t know, Menace.” Looking haggard, Vicious rubbed his face with his hands. Not only was Vicious trying to deal with the fallout of a suspected terrorist living onboard the ship for over a month, but there had been major malfunctions in theValiant’s many systems overnight. “I’m getting stonewalled by Pierce. No one will tell me where Terror is or where he’s put Naya. I’m assuming he has her in one of the segregated cells in the Shadow Force sector. Only Orion has the capability to override the passcodes there but the malfunctions have frozen him out.”

Menace’s gut turned queasy. “I need to see her. I need to get her an attorney.”

“You can’t.” Vicious wouldn’t meet his gaze. “You can’t do anything for her anymore.”

“What?” Cold crept up his neck. “Why not?”

“They severed your bond yesterday afternoon. She’s in legal limbo at the moment. She isn’t one of us and she’s no longer a citizen of Calyx. I don’t even know what rights she has but I’ve got my legal team looking into it. This terrorism charge complicates things even further.”

Menace felt as though he might puke. “Vicious, this isn’t right. How the hell can Terror just railroad us like this? Theevidence he presented to me in that interrogation room looked impressive but my lawyer is right. It’s all circumstantial. They can’t prove Naya has ties to anything criminal.”

“They don’t have to,” Vicious said. “Terror’s position is bolstered by the recent changes to our laws. The Shadow Force can hold suspected enemy combatants for six months without charging them.”

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