Page 84 of Taken By the Convicts
Reece had been so mad at Melina for risking herself by going to the med-center, he’d taken his anger out on everyone while she was gone. Jayce first for taking her there and then Ivan for all those awful things he’d said about her. He hadn’t realized at the time that Ivan had been goading him intentionally. The man had risked his life to gain access to the med-center so he could be there to keep her safe and convince her to return. Reece wished he’d thought of that. But he wasn’t Ivan, who always thought three steps ahead and who willingly took the necessary risks to ensure the unit’s welfare.
Ivan had figured out how to get her back. He’d connected with her and replaced Reece at the same time.
After Reece finished his report about Hawke’s men above, Reece grabbed Ivan’s shoulder before he could walk away.
“What?” Ivan asked, with his usual scowl.
Reece wasn’t a soldier, but he crossed his arm over his chest, laid his right palm over his heart, and bowed his head, eyes lowered to Ivan. A soldier’s salute.
Ivan looked stunned, then his face turned hard. No emotion whatsoever. But Ivan returned the salute, an honor considering Reece had only been a bodyguard.
As Ivan headed down to his room, Zev grabbed Reece by his shoulder, stopping him. “Ivan’s been rather solitary since he returned from the med-center, even though Melina stayed in his room last night. He’s on edge. We all are, and that was before we knew Hawke had men above.”
Reece clenched his jaw at Zev’s confirmation. Melina had claimed Ivan. A part of him wanted to punch Ivan, but Melina made her own choices. Ivan was a worthy leader, one Reece respected, and Ivan had brought Melina back, safe.
Zev’s friendly hand landed on his shoulder. “She’s in her room, big guy. Go to her. Talk.”
Reece glared.
“You know what I mean.”
Zev would not encourage him to speak with her if he thought it was a bad idea. He wondered if she’d been with Zev yet, beyond them sharing her in the stairwell. Zev was a good man and would treat Melina well. He’s the one Reece would want her to turn to in a crisis if he weren’t here. Though Ivan wasn’t a bad choice, especially compared to Jayce. Ivan had proved he’d fight to keep her safe, whereas that kuvak Jayce would sell his soul to turn a profit.
Reece knocked on Melina’s door.
“Come in,” she said.
He pushed the door open. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, facing the door, waiting for him. The way she bit her lip and sat on her hands made it clear. She was nervous, not excited, to see him.
He tapped his heart twice, then pointed to her.
“I know you care about me.”
Not care! Much, much more. She was his heart. Why didn’t she understand that? He tapped his heart twice again, harder, so she could hear the thud and know what she meant to him.
As she rose, she shook her head. “I’ve hurt you. I see it in your eyes, Reece. I saw it all those hours you waited outside the med-center.”
He pounded his chest this time. Her staying away had hurt, but it was nothing in comparison to what she was doing now. She was done with him. He could see it in her face. He had failed her, hadn’t given her what she needed. He had allowed Ivan to keep her in the bunker when she had needed her freedom. He hadn’t fought for her as he’d promised. It’s why she’d removed his ring.
Two fingers folded into a fist that kept beating against his heart, desperate for her to understand he loved her. An ungodly wail left his throat. Crude, beastlike, unworthy of her.
She raced to him and grabbed the fist pounding against his chest. Then she captured his lips with hers. She bewitched him with that kiss. As her lips left him, her hands cupped his cheeks.
“I’m right here,” she said with an urgency he felt to his bones. “I’m not leaving you. Never leaving you.”
With a single finger, he traced her left thumb, where he’d placed his leather ring. She no longer wore it.
“It’s missing. I took it off in the med-center before I treated a patient’s wounds, and when I washed up afterward, it was gone. I searched everywhere. Please don’t be mad.”
Mad? He captured her lips and plunged his tongue into her soft, sweet mouth. She opened to him easily, eagerly, and let him take over, stroking her, tasting every part of her mouth. When he moved lower, kissing along her jaw, her hands gripped his hair.
“I missed you, Reece. Oh, how I missed you. I watched you through the security monitor at the med-center when I should have been sleeping or working. I almost ran out to you more than once, but I had to stay. I had to make everyone in this unit understand.”
He understood, better than she realized. Having a voice and being heard were two separate things. He and the other men had acclimated to life on Veenith by doing what was necessary to survive, even at the cost of their humanity at times. That’s why he needed her so much. She would never let him fall back into that black hole that had been his life before her, before Veenith.
Crimshaw had sliced his vocal cords to keep Reece from telling anyone about what he’d overheard. After Reece had recovered, he could think of nothing except killing Crimshaw. A bullet from a half-mile away. It had felt right at the time, but the cost had been too high. He should have found a way of alerting the people that Crimshaw was giving Crash and Flight to young kids, hooking them, ensuring he had the minions he needed to conduct his dirty work on the ground. After Reece crippled Crimshaw, his second-hand man Jackson had taken over the operation. Those kids continued working for a crime boss who would keep them hooked until they died or ended up as Level 5s. No voice, no ability to write. Crimshaw had locked his secrets inside of Reece. He’d been arrested before he could find a way to help those kids.
Reece pulled out the leather ring he’d tucked into his pocket and held it out to her. He traced over the tiny needles that protruded through the leather.
