Page 67 of Venomous Heart
“Why are you doing this for Knut? He’s the one who enslaved us. The Eoks only want to protect us from others like him.” Maybe she could get through to Ben, convince him to let them go. Show him that Knut was a bigger threat than the Eoks were.
“I know Knut is a monster, if that’s what you’re asking.” Ben nodded, his lips pursing in disgust. “As to why I’m doing this, don’t you already know? For the very same reason you blindly throw yourself into their arms.” He leaned aggressively over his desk, locking gazes with her with an uncharacteristic intensity. “Because I made a promise to someone I care about very much.” His blue eyes shone with resolve. “That I would do whatever it took to earn our freedom. That’s why we didn’t answer the Eoks’ communication signals. That’s why I lost ten good men capturing his reconnaissance teams. And that is why I’m not going to let you leave before Knut gives us what he promised.”
Ava blinked. “You trust him?”
“Trust him? I’m not stupid.” Ben chuckled dryly. “I don’t trust Knut, any more than you should trust these aliens, either, whether you’re mated to one or not. No, I’ve got my own insurance on Knut to make sure he upholds his end of our bargain.”
“And what bargain is that?” Ava swallowed. She didn’t trust Ben further than she could throw him.
“Sorry, darling.” He shook his head. “All you need to know is that when Knut gives us what we agreed on, we’ll disappear so far away, nobody in the Ring will ever hear from us again. But first, you’re going to do something for me.”
He stared at her hard, all semblance of civility gone from his face. He was telling her exactly what they both knew, that she was powerless against him. That she should cower in fear. But all Ava did was lift her chin. She didn’t want to antagonize him but she couldn’t show weakness, either.
“What do you want from me?” That was the question, was it? Ben wanted something from her that Knut or the Eoks couldn’t give.
“There is someone I need you to save.” His expression was no longer so cold. Suddenly, a very real fear shone in his blue eyes as leaned forward once more. Then his eyes slid to the Exo-Heart and Ava knew that Ben was aware of the reason why she’d come all the way to the Vault. “If you can save him, then I offer you your freedom. Your freedom and the Exo-Heart, intact, in time to save the hybrid boy you care so much about.”
Ava held his gaze for what felt like an eternity. He was offering her a chance to save Uril, but at what cost? “What about Arlen?”
“There is nothing you can do to save him now.” Ben shook his head. “Knut wants him, as well as the weapons in the Vault. It’s a condition for his payment.”
How did Knut know about Arlen? It made no sense. Ava stored the information away. Right now, she could focus only on one threat at a time.
“And Uril and me?” Her eyes strayed to the interactive map on the back wall. Red dots were moving through Aveyn’s jungle toward them at a slow, steady pace. “What did Knut say about us?”
Ben made a face, then nodded. He turned to stare at the map, then back at her.
“You’re a smart woman, I’ll give you that.” He chuckled, pointing at her like she’d said something amusing. “He left very specific instructions for your capture. And for the destruction of that heart you risked your life to retrieve.”
Ava’s throat constricted as she understood. This was Knut’s revenge for betraying him. He wanted her to know she’d failed to save Uril.
“But as far as I’m concerned, you didn’t survive the assault. Someone fired an ionic gun and the stray detonation killed poor Doctor Ava.”
Ben paused, looked down at his lap, then sharply back up. There was a wealth of warning in his eyes and his face was intent. “All this, but only if you can save someone very precious to me. If he dies, then I’ll destroy the Exo-Heart, hand you over to Knut, and he will send you to the brothels on Area 45. I bet you’d rather die than go there.”
Ava stared at him, the horror of what he’d said making its way inside her brain. This was the ultimate revenge. Killing whom she loved most after almost allowing her to succeed, then send her to the brothel planet at the edge of the Frontier and leaving her there to be rutted by the most savage males in the Ring. It was so cruel, so full of a perverse love for terror and pain that it twisted her stomach.
“You’re right. I would rather die.”
“Then you don’t have a choice.” Ben’s eyes bored into hers, and she knew there was no mercy to be expected from him. If she couldn’t save whoever he wanted her to save, he would hand her over to Knut for a lifetime of horror, condemn Uril to death, and deliver Arlen to untold torture.
“You have to save my son. A life for a life.”
20
Ava
The small boy was breathing laboriously, his scrawny chest rising in fast, shallow movements. The sickly pallor of his skin was offset by tiny patches of purple bruising on his limbs and torso, like flowering omens of death.
He was around five, maybe no more than seven, with burnt copper skin and big green eyes full of fear and pain, fixed on Ava with a trust that tore at her heart like a rusty blade.
Ava smiled at him, squeezing his tiny, damp hand in hers before lifting her gaze up to the woman hovering on the other side of the narrow bed.
“He’s got pneumonia, but the most pressing concern is septicemia. He could go into shock at any time.” Ava stared as a beautiful, dark-skinned woman held the boy’s hand, her almost black eyes lifting with a despair that echoed somewhere deep inside her soul. “He needs infection nanites, at least five courses of them, and he needs to be submerged in oxy-liquid to protect his lungs. This is not something I can just improvise.”
Ava met the woman’s eyes, red and underscored with dark purple circles. It was clear that she had been crying. Her curly black hair was in disarray and she had the unkempt appearance of one who hadn’t slept enough. Pity tore at Ava despite the fact that she was one of the rebels who was holding Uril’s life hostage to save her son.
She couldn’t blame her, really. She would do the same to save Uril.
