Page 32 of Stealing Mercury
She nodded and said nothing. She chugged the water as if downing a noxious medicine.
“Please,courra. Tell me what’s troubling you.”
“Everything’s changed.” Her lips barely moved as she spoke, soft and low and with none of her usual spark.
The urge to shred something with his hands flared fierce and bright. He didn’t understand what she was trying to tell him, but it rocked him to see her so lost.
“You regret aiding us.”
“No.” She shook her head in short, fast movements as if she couldn’t negate the idea fast enough. “No. It’s just... they know you’re alive now and there’s no way to undo that. I promised to get you off this planet and now I don’t know how...” He watched as she stopped, collecting her thoughts. She reached back and braided her hair as if putting her appearance back together would give her strength. “There’s no way to know who’ll turn up to rescue us and what might happen when they do. Even if we figure that out, now Drake and Resler know that I’m part Cerrillian. My career is over. I know it’s a stupid thing to be worrying about. Stupid and selfish.”
Mercury flexed his shoulders, trying to escape the heat of his brothers’ scrutiny. They all knew what needed doing, but he refused to break his promise. He caught her chin and made her meet his eyes. “It would be as nothing to us to take care of that problem.” The cream she’d wiped across her bruises only made her seem paler. “Think of all they’ve done. All they would have done. It would be just.”
“No.” She spoke clearly, but her voice shook.
He swallowed back the need to demand she free him from the heavy chains of his oath. He hadn’t expected her to agree, but he’d had to raise the option. At least she hadn’t run screaming. He released her chin and pulled her hand up to study it. She’d used the sealer on the deepest scratch.
“Does it hurt?” When she didn’t answer, he sniffed at her palm, then licked a path along the angry red line that ran from the base of her first finger almost to her wrist. He swirled his tongue up to her pulse point and laved her skin. Mercury sighed in satisfaction when heat bloomed under his tongue and the color came back into her cheeks.
Lo edged closer. “If we’re done here, we should go.” Samantha jumped at the sound of his voice, but her spine quickly stiffened. She was still uneasy around Lo, but Mercury knew she wouldn’t give in to her fear. He let hope flicker. There’d been no venom in his brother’s voice and no question of whether they would take her with them.
Samantha would come to trust that Lo was not her enemy. Not now. Not after all that had happened. Lo might still be filled with rage and hate, but his loyalty was unquestionable.
Mercury strode to the edge of the clearing and waited for them to follow.
***
Samantha moved as quickly as she could. She didn’t want to slow them down. The terrain beyond the clearing wasn’t treacherous, but brush crowded beneath the taller canopy of trees. Where the brush thinned, roots gnarled the ground. She wished she had more grace, but her big heavy boots were designed for metal decking. Here they only weighed her down, making it difficult to step over vines and downed branches.
As they moved through the wilderness, she had the time to wonder at the beauty of the three men. They’d all been so sullen during the time she’d visited them on the ship. In motion, all the fluid beauty of their animal natures came to the fore. Alert and watchful, their movements seemed effortlessly coordinated. Despite the danger they faced, they seemed more relaxed than she’d ever seen them. Even Diablo. Lo—that’s what Mercury had called the rage-filled man.
Back onboard the ship, she’d done some research and learned they’d been part of a five “Dog” team that performed together.Performed. What a weak and awful word for what they’d been born and trained to do. They were killers, and she could see the lethal power surging through muscle and sinew as they flowed across the ground like natural predators.
But they hadn’t killed Drake or Resler and they hadn’t hurt her. There was a bond between the men that was as clear as the sky overhead. Despite the disparaging comments Grande Owens had made, their relationship was one of strong, abiding, loyalty—something she valued.
When they stopped by a creek to let her rest, the sun’s light had grown dim, and they could no longer see it overhead through the canopy. They looked as if they could continue indefinitely, but she knew they had to be feeling the strain. She had no idea how far they’d already traveled that day before coming to her rescue.
“My turn to feed you.” Mercury handed over a standard issue emergency ration bar. His lips tilted up on one side in a half smile.
She took the offered food, then dropped a purification tablet into the water pouch she’d found in one of the packs. “How did you find us?”
He took the container from her hand and studied it.
“For water,” Samantha explained.
“Ah.” He dipped it in the stream. “We landed first. We watched the sky,” he said, “and saw your pod blaze overhead.”
She nodded. “Where are we going?” They’d certainly seemed to be moving forward with a purpose.
“Back to the cargo-drop.” Mercury passed the container back to her. “There are more supplies there.”
“Makes sense.” She swished the water in a slow circle to dissolve the tablet, then took a small sip. “We must be close, right? It took you guys less than a day to cover the distance.”
They’d made it to where the escape-pod had landed in plenty of time to save her from Resler. A twist of remembered fear roiled in her belly. If they’d landed too far to get to her in time... She shivered and realized it wasn’t only that terrifying thought. The moisture on her skin ensured she couldn’t ignore the cooler air coming with the sunset.
“At this pace we should make it in more than twice the time it took us to reach you. If we’re able to find it again.” Carn pressed another ration bar in her hand. “You must keep your energy up, Sam.”
She smiled her thanks and offered the water to him.
