Page 112 of Auctioned to the Convicts
“Better get you dressed. Temperature’s already dropping.”
It took a few minutes hunting through the underbrush but he finally found her shoes, shirt, bra, panties, pants, and one sock. He’d have to look for the other sock tomorrow, in the daylight. “All right, Princess, time to get dressed.” She rose and swung her hips. “I don’t wanna.”
“Hannah?” Something wasn’t quite right about her. Her eyes glazed over just a bit. Before he could say more, she took off running.
“Hannah, wait!”
Ren chased her. Fortunately, she headed for the house. She palmed the lock, headed through the gate and straight into the house. He arrived only a minute after her, carrying her clothing.
Ky’Li and Sersie were sitting on the sofa when one very naked Hannah jumped onto Sersie’s lap. “You’re next!” she said as she started reaching for Sersie’s fly.
Sersie caught her wrists and looked to Ren. “What the fuck, Ren? She’s high. What did you give her?”
High? No, she wasn’t high. “Nothing. . . I. . . nothing,” he said, stunned as he saw her pawing at Sersie, to the point where the man was having trouble restraining her.
Her eyes were more than glossy, her pupils were dilated even though it was bright inside the house. Fuck, she was high! He’d known something wasn’t right and still he. . . fuck. . . he’d screwed her when she was high and probably didn’t know what she was doing.
A second later, Ky’Li’s hand was around Ren’s throat. Ren had been in this position before, with an impossibly strong hand choking the life out of him, except this time he deserved it. He felt the blood draining from his face even as Ky’Li shoved him against a wall.
Ren heard a crash behind Ky’Li somewhere. It barely registered as Ky’Li’s grip on his throat tightened.
“Ky’Li! Hannah bolted,” Sersie coughed out. “I tried to stop her.”
Ky’Li releases Ren and ran out of the house in pursuit of Hannah. Ren slid to the floor, taking in the scene. Sersie was bleeding from his head, the umla flowers lay crushed on the ground, and the vase. . . The metal vase was missing, along with Hannah.
Ren struggled to his feet and stumbled his way to the open door. The gate was closed, both Hannah and Ky’Li were gone.
* * *
VAUGHN
Vaughn felt lower than low as he followed the turn in the path toward his unit’s house. . . Ren’s house. Fuck. Ren would never forgive him even though Dresden had boxed him in, leaving him no good choice.
“Keep going,” Sersie yelled in the distance.
The hairs on the back of Vaughn’s neck rose. Sersie sounded panicked, and his voice was coming from the right, heading away from the house and West Side. There was nothing in that direction, except for the water treatment plant.
Despite the thick vines carpeting the ground, Vaughn broke into a jog. He could barely make out the path, but there was evidence that someone had been through there recently. Several people, in fact.
Vaughn’s foot snagged against a vine, and he went down at the same time he heard an oomph. He had tripped over Sersie, who was struggling to stand. The man was definitely off-balance, sluggish. Was he using again?
No. Vaughn caught the scent of blood. With a firm hand against Sersie’s shoulder, Vaughn eased Sersie back to the ground.
“It’s you,” Sersie said, his words slurred.
Blood gushed from Sersie’s temple. A nasty gash starting at his right eyebrow disappeared under that cursed long hair on his forehead.
“Sit still,” Vaughn ordered as Sersie fidgeted. Vaughn pushed Sersie’s hair back to examine the wound. He found flecks of onyx, the type Ren used in his artwork, deep in the wound.
“What happened? Who did this?”
“Hannah. She ran from me.”
“Hannah? Why?” Vaughn asked as he dug into his pocket and removed two nanites from the tube.
“Ky’Li. . .Ren chasing her. I got dizzy, lost my balance.”
“Hold still. You have a concussion, perhaps a fracture.” Vaughn inserted the nanites into the gash. “That will start the bone and tissue repair, but I need to do a full examination. Let’s get you to the med-center.”
