Page 27 of Taken By the Convicts
“Let me heal you,” she added.
“You think I’d let you treat me after what you did to me? You fucking caused the pain I’ve been living with for two years. Pain that never ends. But I got off lucky. Four of us survived. Twenty didn’t. You killed them!”
She paled and looked as if she’d throw up. She was a good actress. Or maybe she truly felt guilty. He didn’t know anymore, but one thing was certain, she was his now.
Ivan gripped the edge of the bed, digging his fingers in as he rode out the pain as it flared worse than before. Her hand curved over his fingers, holding him while her other hand rubbed small circles on his back. . . a modicum of pleasure to ease the pain. The pain began to fade.
“You may not trust me to give you the cure for the damaged caused by XRGN-723, but you still have a head injury and need time to heal.”
She confused the hell out of him. He pushed his way to his feet and past her. She needed to understand who was in control here. He grabbed both of her wrists and pulled her against him.
“Reece!” she called, panicked.
Crusher charged in. The hulking man glared at Ivan and looked as if he’d kill for her. He already had.
Few could take Ivan down single-handedly on this planet. Crusher was one of them. While they’d crossed paths before, Ivan had never done anything to get on the man’s shit list. Until now.
Crusher tucked her against his side, like one would a small child, except she was no child. She was all lush curves and long dark hair that framed her body, a body that relaxed against Crusher even though her eyes remained on Ivan.
Sadness. Fear.
Ivan didn’t like seeing the dark emotions swirling in her eyes, especially since he’d caused them. Maybe it didn’t bother her to play with people’s lives, to use them as lab rats and cause pain, but that wasn’t who he was.
“Crusher, I’m injured,” Ivan said, laying the facts out for him as if he were an ally. He needed Crusher. And Jayce. Maybe even Zev. “You can probably defeat me now, but if you walk out that door with her, Hawke will take her. If you want to keep her safe, this is the only place for that, and you know it.”
Crusher dipped his head slightly, telling him to continue. He didn’t need Zev after all. He could understand Crusher fine. The man wasn’t stupid, just committed to the woman, and that made him both dangerous and predictable.
“I can give you my word that I won’t harm her.”
Crusher curled his thumb and forefinger into the letter J.
“Jayce won’t harm her either. I’ll see to it. But only if you concede to my authority here. If we’re going to survive when Hawke comes for her, for all of us, then we need to be a unit, with one leader and rules. I’m in charge here. If you want to be a part of this unit, you will follow my orders, it’s as simple as that.”
“He’s not simple!”
Ivan wanted to grin at how quickly she defended Crusher. Ivan knew the man wasn’t simple. Either way, Ivan liked her dedication to Crusher. It was the type of commitment he wanted in a unit. Fuck. Was he really considering making her a part of this unit? Making her more than a prisoner here?
“Why should either of us believe you?” she asked.
Crusher tapped his heart and pointed to Ivan.
“Because Ivan never breaks his word,” Zev said from the doorway.
Ivan hated how quietly Zev moved, but he was right, and the doctor was looking at him as if he had all the answers. Maybe Zev did, except Ivan didn’t trust him. Zev had an agenda Ivan had yet to uncover. The day the man arrived on Veenith, Ivan’s hackles had gone up, and they hadn’t gone down yet.
“Everyone breaks their word,” the doctor said, a new layer of pain flashing in her eyes. Ivan couldn’t explain why, but that pain went right through him. He should feel nothing but hatred toward her.
Zev shrugged. “I’m just telling you his reputation, Mel. Though he did promise us the chance to fuck you. All of us.”
Crusher growled at Zev, though Ivan wasn’t sure if it was because of what Zev said, or how he’d nicknamed the woman already. Either way, the relationship between Crusher and Zev wasn’t unbreakable. The woman had come between them. She would come between Ivan and Jayce too, if Ivan weren’t careful. Fuck, having a woman here, especially this one, was going to be his downfall.
“Take it easy, big guy,” Zev said. “I just want to see how Ivan’s going to get himself out of that promise without breaking his word.”
“I never promised any such thing. That was Jayce,” Ivan said.
“He made a deal with us on your behalf, and you promised Jayce he could have her whenever he wanted.”
Crusher moved toward Ivan, intentionally towering over him.
