Page 75 of Taken By the Convicts
“And yet you let her believe it was a trade. For sex.”
“She keeps repeating that she’s not a whore. I know that. I do.”
“Then why did you make her feel like one?” Ivan asked, no longer sounding so mad.
“So she wouldn’t trust me.”
“You’re not making sense, Jayce. Why wouldn’t you want her to trust you?”
“Because I don’t trust myself! I don’t want her to get hurt.”
Ivan sighed. “Maybe you should go to the med-center and tell her that. Maybe that will be what it takes to bring her back. You certainly can’t do any worse than I have.”
“That’s because you’re competing with another man,” Zev said from above as he entered the bunker.
Crusher shot out from his room when he heard Zev. He looked worried, then mad as he started signing furiously.
“I know I left my watch,” Zev said. “But I wanted to report in. There’s a new doctor in the med-center. Ulrick was just released. He said Melina’s very friendly with the new doctor and she doesn’t plan on leaving the med-center. Ever.”
“No, she wouldn’t ignore us,” Jayce said, though inside he didn’t feel as certain. Instead of making Melina understand that he liked her, he’d hurt her.
“Think again,” Zev said as he held up the leather ring. “Ulrick gave it to me. He said it was from her, with a request that we stop waiting at the med-center for her to leave.”
Crusher returned to his room. A moment later they heard furniture being thrown around.
Ivan charged down the hall. “Enough, Reece! If you want her back, then stop buying into the lies.”
“I’m not lying,” Zev said, holding the leather ring on his pinkie.
“Someone is because she wouldn’t do that to Crusher,” Jayce said. “We’ve all seen how she looks at him. We’re being played. Someone’s trying to make us think she’s moved on from us.”
“Or she has,” Ivan pointed out.
“If she’s replaced us, then we need to hear it from her. Directly.”
“No,” Ivan said. “We don’t need her. Let her screw the entire staff and all the guards for all I care. They’ll turn on her. I should have seen it, before. She’s a user. She lied. She drugged all of my men for the sake of getting in good with The Company. She never cared about any of us. She never tried to stop them from killing my men.”
Crusher started signing furiously.
“What’s he saying?” Jayce asked, even as Ivan continue spouting off about Melina, calling her names he never thought he’d hear from Ivan.
“Ivan, shut the fuck up!” Zev blocked Crusher, who looked like he wanted to kill Ivan. “There’s something you don’t know about her, Ivan. Crusher’s trying to tell me, but he’s going fast.”
Ivan tore the leather ring from Zev’s hand. “This meant nothing to her. She took it off so she could fuck whoever could help her next.”
Crusher swung too fast for Ivan to react. The punch sent Ivan flying into a wall. Ivan went down hard and didn’t get up again.
Chapter Twenty
IVAN
Ivan opened his eyes. Well, one eye. The other wouldn’t open. The bright lights made him wince, but at least he’d made it inside the med-center. Crusher had certainly earned his nickname. Ivan felt as if he’d been crushed beneath a building. Maybe he should have simply had Jayce hit him over the head with a chair. It would have been less convincing, but certainly less painful. The guards never would have let him in the med-center if they had suspected a ruse.
“Thank you, Vaughn. For everything,” Melina said nearby. “Safe journey.”
Ivan tilted his head. She stood in the doorway hugging a tall man with light hair and a scruffy beard. Was it true, then? Ivan didn’t want to believe Ulrick. The man had been known to work for Hawke, and Hawke would like to keep Ivan and his unit away from Melina, especially if he was planning on taking her.
“Have you found someone to replace us?” Ivan asked with a raspy voice.
