Page 82 of Freedom Mine
Kayo locked eyes with Jace who quickly whisked her behind to Masher, Liet, and Ranth. The rest of the men closed ranks around her, simultaneously trapping her and hiding her from the First Lead’s view.
Trying to force her way past the wall of muscle was impossible, so she settled for watching through a small gap between Liet and Diggs as Barhan asked who the foreman was. Jace stepped forward, struggling to compose himself as the corporal shoved Kayo into the back of the landglider.
“You are in charge here until the criminal is prosecuted. If he’s found guilty, this land and all its property will be distributed according to Code R23a. I will arrange for all slave tracker information to be under your control until then. Any questions?”
“We have proof that Kayo—”
“Present any relevant evidence to the Magistrate when he returns to town in three days.” Barhan stepped into the landglider. “But we have his fingerprints on the murder weapon and his confession, so this will be an easy one for the Magistrate.”
As soon as Barhan stepped into the landglider, the transport lifted. The high winds caused it to buck, but it quickly disappeared over the hills.
Masher released Alli. “Sorry, Sweetness. It was for your own good.” He walked away without saying more. All the men were dispersing, an eerie silence blanketing the area.
“Jace, you have to tell them it was Garitt!” she said, grabbing hold of his arm.
He gave her hand a squeeze. “We have no proof. Right now they have two suspects, you and Kayo, and Kayo just confessed.”
“But Tieg was a slave! We have to prove that!”
“I’m not sure we can. If Tieg got a chip on the black market, he’ll have a new name, one that won’t be listed in the slave registries. Afreename, Blue. There’s no way to prove he’s a slave if he has a black market chip.”
“But you have records that Kayo owns Tieg, right?” she asked, clinging to that one hope.
“You heard the First Lead. He didn’t acknowledge Tieg’s name. Our papers are for a slave named Tieg. But without Tieg’s chip in him, we have no way of proving that the body is Tieg.”
She couldn’t believe this was happening. Kayo had confessed to keep her safe, to protect her but he was innocent. “Take me to the First Lead and I’ll confess. I’ll say I stole Kayo’s knife and that’s why it has his prints on it.”
“Blue, it’s done. Kayoconfessed.”
“But he didn’t know Tieg had a new chip. Or. . .”
“What do you think would have happened? Kayo would have stayed quiet and let them take you? If you think that, Blue, then you don’t know Kayo.”
Jace walked away from her, leaving her stunned. “Leaving for Sanctuary in twenty minutes, everyone,” he announced, then headed for the longhouse.
Alli raced ahead of him and cut him off. “We can’t leave Kayo. I’ll tell them Garitt killed Tieg, that I saw everything. I’ll say whatever you want. Just tell me what to do!”
Jace took a long, deep breath. “Don’t you get it, Blue? Nothing you can do or say will help him now! You’re just a slave to them. They won’t listen to you. And Kayo doesn’t want you involved in this. He confessed to protect you. He didn’t expect Tieg to have freeman status, but it’s done. If Kayo had wanted to recant, that was the time to do it, but he didn’t, because he wasn’t going to let them take you!” He was practically yelling at her as he paced back and forth.
The other men had all disappeared. They understood the reality. Hell, she did too, but she couldn’t accept what Jace was saying.
“Are you just going to abandon him?” she asked, her voice sounding as small and insignificant as she now felt. It seemed like no one cared. They all were going about their routine, as if Kayo hadn’t been hauled away on murder charges.
“I know what Kayo would want, and that’s for me to do whatever I can to get anything I can out of the mines in the days we have before the notes come due. He’s counting on me to do anything I can to save these men. . . and you, Alli. Especially you.”
Alli wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep from shaking. The cold look on Kayo’s face as they’d forced him into the glider chilled her soul. She had to do something to save him.
