Page 70 of Freedom Mine
“Diggs.”
“Get him.”
“He’s just getting in from Qasig’s.”
Noise erupted in the courtyard. Kayo barreled out, Jace fast on his heels. Diggs and the rest of his five-man team were catching up with the other men, trading slaps on their backs and horsing around.
In seconds, Kayo shoved his arm against Diggs’ throat as he slammed him against the longhouse. “Where did you get this?” Kayo asked, holding the opened knife up for Diggs to see.
“Don’t know,” Diggs said, eyeing the knife as he struggled to keep Kayo from choking him.
“Last chance, where did you get it?”
“He’s been gone for two days, Kayo. He doesn’t know what’s going on,” Ranth said. “Back away from him, or you’ll have me to deal with.”
“He’s got Alli’s knife,” Kayo replied. “She never goes anywhere without it.”
“That’s Diggs’ knife,” Liet said. “Or maybe Runner’s. Hard to tell the knives apart.”
Kayo eased off Diggs slightly. The man’s face had hardened, his mouth tight and eyes narrowed, but he hadn’t fought back either. And Diggs had the upper body strength to take him.
“I’ve seen Alli with this knife,” Kayo said, over his shoulder while keeping his eyes fixed on Diggs.
“There are a few of them floating around,” Liet said. “Except for scratches on the handle, they all look alike. Same style, color, size.”
Kayo released Diggs. “Who else has a knife like this?”
Seven of the eleven men raised their hands.
“We all got them from Garitt, boss,” Liet said, pulling a knife from his pocket. It looked the same as the one in Kayo’s hand. “At different times, but all from Garitt.”
“Why?”
“To kill you,” Diggs said, his back still against the wall, even though Kayo had stepped toward Liet.
“Why that drekking piece of harkifa dung. . .”
Liet pocketed his knife. “The first time I saw Garitt was when the handler loaded me into the back of the landglider. He slipped me the knife, said to slit your throat the first chance I had after landing and escape to his property. Claimed to do what you do, boss. Free slaves.”
Several of the men were nodding at what Liet said.
“Why didn’t you?” Kayo asked, directing his question at the group.
“We saw something in you that never existed in Garitt,” Ranth said as he took the knife from Kayo, folded it, and tossed it to Diggs. “I was thinking of ways to kill you before we reached your property and my chip activated. Then you jumped into the back of the landglider, mumbling under your breath about the auctioneer’s treatment of me and the others in the pen.
I couldn’t care less about Garitt’s offer to free me, but he had me so worked up and I had the knife he’d slipped into my pants pocket.” Ranth shook his head. “I was focused on killing you, but the utter disgust I saw in your face as you unhooked the energy cuffs made me question myself.
Then you asked me to sit up front in the landglider as if we were equals. That confused the hell out of me. By the time we arrived here, even before your little speech that day, I knew you were one of us.”
Kayo’s brows rose. “You know of my past?”
“Not the details. Jace is tight-lipped,” Diggs added, finally moving from the wall.
“You’re no owner, Kayo,” Ranth said. “If you were, you’d probably had the life choked out of you the second you freed your first slave.”
“A comforting thought. You’re making me think twice about ever picking up another slave alone though.”
“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on already,” Diggs said.
