Page 24 of Taken By the Convicts
“He’s had it before. It works. Just stay away from him. He doesn’t need your kind of help.”
“My kind of help?” She stood up and confronted Jayce. “How many times?”
Boy, she was headstrong when she wanted to be. Ivan liked a woman who fought for herself, but he couldn’t forgive that she used men like lab rats, not caring about the risk, or how they suffered and died because of her.
“Narkosine’s not good to have too often. It can cause permanent nerve damage.”
“Like you care,” Jayce said as he took the drug-soaked patch from her and slapped it against Ivan’s skin. Near instantaneous relief spread through his system, but it was only temporary. Each time lasted less than the previous one. If he was lucky, the pain would abate for two, maybe three days.
Jayce gripped his shoulder. “Sleep, buddy. I’ll take care of things here.”
Unfortunately, the damn medicine made him sleepy, which is why he didn’t take it too often. He had to sleep with one eye open, even though he bunked with Jayce. Two men weren’t enough against a mob. Staying alert, leaving time to run, and having more than one escape route. That’s what life had become.
“Time to pay up, doctor,” Jayce said, as he grabbed her wrist. Don’t worry. I won’t hit or leave marks. Ivan wouldn’t like that.
That look of fear on her face as Jayce locked onto her wrist made every protective bone in Ivan’s body want to leap up and thrash Jayce. Except he couldn’t move yet. The fucking medicine made his limbs feel like lead weights.
As Jayce hauled her off the bed, Crusher wrapped his hand around Jayce’s throat.
Crusher cared about this woman. Why?
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she said to Jayce, though not smiling as if she had the upper hand, which she did as long as Reece supported her and Ivan was too weak to move.
Something about this entire situation wasn’t adding up. She could have left before now, but she’d stayed to treat Ivan. And she wasn’t taking any joy in any of this, even though she had the advantage.
When Jayce released her, she turned to Crusher and held his face between her hands. “I don’t want you killing for me. That’s too much, Reece. I can’t ask that of you.”
Ivan hated that she was so damn tender with Reece, that she’d gone to him for protection. . . worse, that Ivan was jealous. What the fuck was wrong with him? He’d waited for two years to get revenge against the monsters at the med-center on Markov 4, and now he wanted her to look at him the way she looked at Crusher.
He’d hit his head harder than he’d thought. That had to be it.
Crusher released Jayce, but Jayce had always been a scrapper, not one to back away from anyone.
“You’re not in charge here, Crusher. Ivan is. I made that clear when you accepted the offer to join us. Ivan gave her to me. That was my deal with him.”
Fear registered in her face, making him nauseous. Fuck, he shouldn’t be feeling guilty. He’d done what he had to do to get hold of her. And she was on Veenith, for fuck’s sake. She had to expect she’d be nothing except a fuck toy here.
Ivan forced himself up, hating how jaded he’d become, how much likeJaycehe’d become. “Everyone out. Except the doctor.”
Jayce crossed his arms over his chest. “Out, Crusher.”
“I don’t think he’s leaving without me,” the woman said, her eyes darting from man to man. With Crusher doing her bidding, she had to know she wielded power here, and yet she still looked terrified.
“Crusher, I won’t touch her,” Ivan said. “I give you my word.”
Melina leaned against Crusher, her trust in him quite obvious now. Crusher had become her bodyguard. Ivan would never reap the revenge he deserved. . . the revenge he wasn’t sure he still wanted.
Ivan needed to understand this woman. She had killed twenty men, but here she had argued with Jayce over Ivan’s treatment as if she cared about Ivan, even though he’d threatened her.
Dark eyes met Ivan head-on. “I trust Reece. Not you.”
That hurt. It shouldn’t, but it did. “Crusher can stay. Jayce, leave.”
“But—”
“Leave!” Ivan yelled. The room spun and his head pounded like someone was pummeling him with bricks.
He found himself flat on his back again, long hair tickling his cheek and neck as she leaned over him, examining one eye and then the other. “Pupils are normal.”
