Page 9 of Auctioned to the Convicts
Griggs jumped off the dais. The colonists parted and formed a ring around the miner and his challenger.
“From the way Griggs is grinning, I’d say he noticed the guy’s injured.”
“She’s a beauty,” Vaughn said. “Griggs won’t go down easily. He won’t give her up.”
“Jealous, Vaughn?”
Vaughn said nothing. The way the doctor’s eyes followed the woman and ignored the wounded soldier who was her only hope of escaping Griggs said more than enough. Vaughn never turned away from a patient. He often worked on the side, outside of his duties, to treat those who couldn’t afford to pay The Company for his services. The Company only provided medical care for injuries sustained on the job, after all. Colonists had to pay for medicine and a doctor’s time for all else.
If Vaughn weren’t careful, one of these days Dresden would notice the doctor was treating patients outside the med-center without charging patients and without giving The Company its share. Theft of resources. Ren winced. That was a Level 5 offense.
“Not jealous, just. . .”
Vaughn didn’t need to finish. Ren understood the man. They were both lonely, like most of the solitaries on Narkos. The woman’s beauty aside, she was female, one of only five on the planet. Most of the men here would kill to own her, starting with Griggs.
Fortunately, Ren wouldn’t be sticking around long enough to become envious of whoever won her. Once he got those last parts he needed, he’d be leaving this hell-hole and all the vermin behind.
Chapter Four
KY’LI
Going into battle weaponless and injured was certainly not Ky’Li’s preference. This was Narkos, a colony without many options, including the chance to ever have a woman again. He could have her, the green-eyed beauty from the shuttle. Even if she refused his attention, she’d be good company. Then again, she’d attract a lot of trouble. He’d seen only a handful of women in the crowd. She’d be the focus of every man out there, from the guards on down to the maintenance workers—and every one of them could overpower her. She was a tiny slip of a woman, and yet she had risked herself for him, giving him water on that shuttle.
“I’ll fight in her place,” Ky’Li shouted out from the middle of the clearing. Hundreds of men in their prime here, and none had dared challenge the gargantuan who would rape the woman without a second thought. These men had no honor, or they were all cowards. Likely both.
The men around Ky’Li stepped away, as if he’d just announced he was contagious with an air-borne pathogen.
The giant on the dais, Griggs, sneered at him. Ky’Li folded his arms across his chest, trying his best to come across bored. That didn’t require much effort.
The woman dodged Griggs to squeeze between him and Dresden. Her mouth that had trembled with fear only moments ago bloomed into a smile. . . for him, Ky’Li Okaav, third son from a dead house, recon sergeant for Varga Squad, disgraced and dragged from the only family he’d ever known since his parents and brothers’ deaths. He’d lost his first family to a plague. His second family, Varga Squad, had turned on him. He’d never be part of a family again, except one he chose. And he’d chosen her. The moment her eyes caught him, her face lit with a brilliance that put the system’s two suns to shame.
Krike, that sweet smile had him by more than his cock. Injuries be damned, he’d fight for her even if he didn’t already know the type of person she was. He couldn’t wait to see her again, maybe hear her name from her lips, if she chose to honor him thus.
Ignoring the pain in his ribs and lower back the best he could, Ky’Li strode forward the space the surrounding men had cleared. He wouldn’t make the mistake of showing any weakness to his enemy, especially given what—who—was at stake.
It was when Griggs reached out and grabbed the woman by the neck that Ky’Li let his arms drop to his side. “Too afraid to fight a man, Griggs?”
“Hell no,” Griggs said, tossing her to the ground as he charged.
The man moved faster than Ky’Li had expected, but no matter. Ky’Li was fast on his feet, always had been. He side-stepped and grabbed the miner by the back of his shirt, using his own momentum to throw him into the crowd. Ky’Li knocked three men over with the miner. That wasn’t going to win him any friends here, but he wasn’t looking for friends. He just needed the woman, no one else.
Madder than a wounded Illiz, Griggs launched himself at Ky’Li again. Ky’Li had to give him credit for determination. Even so, this was not a challenge he intended to lose. The man finally realized he had height over Ky’Li and started throwing punches. With some fast footwork, Ky’Li dodged the man’s punches, and kicked hard, connecting with Griggs’ gut. The impact drove through to Ky’Li’s ribs and lower back.
His breathing was heavier than it should be, and the pain at his side made him pull his left arm tight to his body. Griggs went down, but the kick had cost Ky-Li. Kriking shuttle guards.
Before he lost the advantage, Ky’Li delivered another kick, sending Grigg’s sprawling in the dirt. The miner was large, but he wasn’t the best fighter.
“Watch out!” the woman screamed. Griggs had pulled himself up, swinging a pole. A damn pole. Where the hell had he gotten that?
With one swing, Griggs slammed into Ky’Li’s bad side, knocking the wind from him. A quick scan of the crowd showed numerous miners, all cheering Griggs. There was nothing like having brothers squad mates to watch one’s back. A twinge of jealousy struck Ky’Li even as he struggled to fill his lungs with air.
Griggs leaned over him, casting him in shadow. One large hand grabbed Ky’Li by the collar and lifted him off the ground while the other used Ky’Li’s face for a punching bag.
“Leave him alone!” the woman yelled.
The fear in her voice, the fact that she had yelled out to warn him, was the motivation Ky’Li needed. He grabbed Griggs’s fist and twisted until he heard the man’s wrist snap. With a curse, Griggs released Ky’Li, who proceeded to punch the crap out of Griggs.
Something hard, like a steel rod or brick, struck the back of his head. Ky’Li went down, hard.
