Page 54 of Protected By the Convicts
Sersie held her hand, while Vaughn kept his hand on her lower back. As they neared the clearing on the edge of West Side, Vaughn’s hand disappeared from her back, making her feel disconnected again.
“I hate these assemblies,” he said. “Nothing good ever comes of them.”
“That’s where I found the three of you,” Hannah said.
Vaughn raised her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of her hand. “I stand corrected.”
“Taking risks, I see,” she said, not even trying to contain her smile.
Vaughn glanced past her toward the clearing. Already, they could hear the din of men talking. “There are guards around. No one would dare touch you here.”
She followed to where he pointed. Sure enough, guards had been stationed along the trees surrounding the clearing. Those were in addition to the ones on the perimeter of the crowd and a few mingling between units. The guards on Narkos were rarely seen beyond the research labs, the port, Dresden’s offices, and general assemblies.
“We probably received another shipment of colonists,” Sersie said as they stepped off the path onto the edge of the clearing.
“You looking to move on from me, Sersie?” Hannah joked. She loved teasing him, mostly because he was so easy to tease and he generally felt the need to touch her when his confidence waned.
Hurt, with a splash of anger, washed over Sersie’s face. “I’d never do that.”
Hannah let go of Vaughn’s hand and grabbed Sersie’s. “You really think I’d ever leave you? You might have to do the dishes for the next month to make up for that.”
“He can clean the floors too,” Vaughn added.
“When he insults you, you can load him up with chores, but not before,” she half-scolded.
Vaughn shrugged. “I don’t like mopping floors.”
“I rather like mopping,” she said. “It’s relaxing. I can be convinced to do the mopping for you, but you’ll have to be verrrry convincing.”
Vaughn grinned. “Ren is right. You’re a vixen when you want to be.”
Hannah laughed as they entered the clearing. The sight of hundreds of men unnerved her, stealing her good mood. Eyes followed her. She started shaking. Vaughn pulled her to his side and wrapped his arm around her waist. That helped, but she couldn’t stop shaking. There were so many men present. Not enough guards.
On an every-day basis, the colonists were so spread out between the thirty-three mines, port duties, the water treatment facility, waste plant, and research and medical buildings in West Side, that there were never more than a few dozen assembled in an area at a given time.
“So many men,” she said, her voice almost too soft to hear.
“He called a full assembly. Everything shuts down except a few key positions at the water treatment plant.” Sersie explained. “Dresden does this a few times a year to spout off about something, prove his authority.”
Vaughn kept her tight against his side while Sersie stood behind her, guarding her back as they entered the crowd. She felt safe with them, despite the stares from many of the men, miners mostly. There were so many faces she didn’t recognize, men she was sure she’d never seen before. This crowd was twice the size as the one present the day of her auction.
“Where are Ren and Ky’Li?” she asked, straining to hold her head high, to exhibit some confidence, when all she wanted was to bury her head against Vaughn’s chest. She needed Ky’Li. She needed to see Ren, to know they were safe and nearby. Only then would she start to relax.
“This won’t last long,” Vaughn reassured, even as he remained vigilant, watching the crowd.
Dresden held up a hand, silencing the nearly two thousand men. Hannah continued scanning the crowd, searching for her other men. Ky’Li was tall enough that she should have spotted him by now. And Ren’s eyes stood out. Ah, there. . . bright blues caught her. She smiled as best she could, keeping her eyes trained on him as he tried to push his way through the throngs of men. He was on the other side of the clearing.
“You colonists all have a quota. And while many of you perform admirably, others among you think they are above the rules,” Dresden began, his voice booming out above the crowd.
Vaughn stiffened beside her. She placed a hand on his arm. “It will be okay,” she whispered. “Whatever it is, we have each other.”
“When you arrived on Narkos, I warned each and every one of you that when you defy me, there would be consequences. That I would take your greatest asset.” Dresden moved his head, his mud-brown eyes searching the crowd before he called out, “Dr. Vaughn Caster. . .”
The crowd around Vaughn, Hannah, and Sersie parted. Dresden’s gaze followed the break in the sea of men. His focus landed on Vaughn.
Vaughn dropped Hannah’s hand, subtly nudging her behind him, toward Sersie.
Hannah lurched forward to grab Vaughn, but Sersie pulled her back, his hand an iron vise on her arm.
