Page 12 of Zimon's Bride
Shots were fired, and a few people fell, but most of their hands were up, and they surrendered because they were outgunned. While the team got our adversaries secured, I went looking for Abby.
The shuttle was open, so I went inside, my rifle poised to fire, if necessary, but there were no other people. It was a large shuttle with several rooms on each side of the narrow corridor, some doors were shut, and some were opened. I looked inside the open doorways and saw females strapped to tables, but not Abby.
I knew she was there, or she had been there. I opened four other doors before finally finding her strapped to a table like the others. I felt a little guilty leaving the others where they lay while I searched for my mate. I knew they would be freed soon anyway.
“Abby?” I askedtensely.Her eyes were closed, and she was so still that I had to look closely to be sure that she was breathing.
“Zimon?”
“Yes,meomee, I’m here.” As I came closer, I saw a bruise on her cheek that was also swollen, and it looked like her eye would be blackened as well. “Who hit you?” I demanded through clenched teeth.
“I don’t know. It was the man who shoved me into the car. I tried to get away, and he hit me.”
I shouldered my rifle by its strap and quickly unfastened the bindings on my female. When she was free, I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly with my cheek pressed against her head. I knew it would be unsafe for her to return to work while Dalton Lane was still free. But we would talk about that later.
For the moment, I could only thank the goddess that she was safe and, in my arms, again. Then after a short reunion moment, Abby and I went from room to room, freeing the other women who had been taken before her. They collected near the shuttle entrance while I called our base to send transport for the prisoners as well as the abductees.
About an hour and a half later, as the prisoners and the abductees were moving out, a member of my team flew us back to Abby’s car. I drove us back to the base and took Abby to the medical bay. She had been hit hard enough to knock her out and cause a concussion. They gave her medicine for the pain and to prevent possible brain swelling.
I waited until we returned to our apartment to tell her I couldn’t let her return to work. After her ordeal, she did not argue, but I think that was partly due to her feeling unwell from her concussion.
“We can set you up to work from here. I just can’t have you out in the open like how you say a sitting duck. Dalton Lane seems determined to capture you and send you off-world, and I won’t let that happen.”
“I’m fine with that, Zimon. These last few days, I realized I no longer wanted to be there. Someone else can train the new person. I can use the time to learn to read and write the Narovian language since that’s where we’ll live.”
She smiled at me tenderly, and I felt relieved after the conversation following our hologram tour. I had grown worried that she would be unhappy once we arrived in Narova. It still could happen, although I believed Abby would do her best to assimilate.
Chapter Ten
Abby
Zimon woke me numerous times that night as the medic instructed, holding me in his arms as I slept the rest of the time. He took me to the clinic again in the morning for a recheck.
To say the ordeal left me shaken was an understatement. I’d never been faced with violence before. The first time I was kidnapped, I was grabbed and drugged so fast; I barely had time to be scared.
The second time, I saw it coming. First, there was the strange driver instead of Isnell. He wasn’t a good actor because how he looked at me made me suspicious. That’s when I started to go back to the office, and the other guy grabbed me.
After being awakened numerous times, I was exhausted, so I slept seemingly without dreaming. At least they weren’t dreams I remembered, and when I awoke, I was in Zimon’s arms.
He stayed with me the rest of the day after we returned from the clinic. The earth humans captured at the Tenzari base were to be interrogated. Zimon was not allowed to participate because his mate was one of the victims.
Feline humanoids were very emotional and highly protective of their mates. It would’ve been impossible for Zimon to remain objective in questioning the men who injured and kidnapped me. Zimon was very upset about the whole incident.
We spent most of the day cuddling on our sofa, watching holo-vids, and eating snacks. Because of my condition, we did not make love, and honestly, I don’t believe I was up to it.
I did fine while Zimon spent the day with me, but the following day when he returned to work, I couldn’t stop thinking about my abduction.
I remembered how helpless I felt as I struggled against the man who was so much stronger than me. Then, as I almost escaped, he grabbed me and hit me. I couldn’t forget the feeling of hopelessness when I found myself strapped to the table in that white room. I just screamed long and loud, “No!”
Then I cried, believing I would never see Zimon again, that we would never have the life we planned together…. And I would never see Narova. Feeling utter despair, I was no fearless heroine. I was just an ordinary paralegal from Bentonville, West Virginia. I had never experienced any violence in my life before this happened.
Yet, I couldn’t understand why it hit me so hard. Maybe it was because I could see it coming, and two days later, I kept seeing it over and over. I kept seeing it while knowing I could do nothing to stop it.
Alone in our apartment, I tried to watch holo-vids, but I could not keep my mind on what was happening in the story. I ordered some soup and a sandwich from the food processor that I couldn’t eat. Finally, I went to our bedroom, thinking I would take a nap. Only I laid down in a fetal position and cried myself to sleep. That’s where Zimon found me when he came home early to check on me because I hadn’t answered my phone.
“Meomee?” he called out softly.
His voice woke me, and I was happy and relieved to hear him. He entered the bedroom, sat on the bed, and rested his hand gently on my arm as I lay there on my side.
