Page 99 of Taken By the Convicts
Jayce.
His expression looked pained. Something in those green eyes made her lose her composure. Her knees buckled and she would have struck the ground had he not already been holding her. As he pulled her in against his chest, Ivan’s hand carefully caressed her cheek, avoiding the bruises.
“What the fuck happened?” Jayce asked, barely containing his anger.
“Talk later,” Ivan bit out. “We need to get her out of here.”
“It wasn’t the guards here. One of Thorne’s personal guards,” she said as Jayce gently handed her over to Ivan to hold.
“Liden,” Ivan supplied the name as his hands ran down her arms, checking her over. “We saw him drag you in here. We’re taking you home, Melina, where you’ll be safe.”
“You’ll let me come back tomorrow, right?” she asked Ivan as Jayce quickly tossed a bunch of medical supplies into a bag he pulled out of his jacket. He didn’t know what he was taking, he was just emptying drawers. “You know I’m responsible for all those supplies, right, Jayce?”
“Need to get you to the bunker. I’ll bring back whatever you don’t need to treat yourself.”
“You meanI’llbring them back. On my next shift, right?” she asked, still trying to get them to commit.
Jayce didn’t meet her eyes. He kept shoving vials and instruments into the bag.
Ivan’s blue eyes remained hard. “We’re leaving. Now.”
As hard as it was to leave the comfort of Ivan’s arms, Melina pushed away. “I won’t be a prisoner in the bunker again.”
“You’re vulnerable here,” Ivan said.
“I’m vulnerable everywhere on this damn planet, but I won’t go back to be being your prisoner.”
“You still don’t get it, Melina. You’re a woman on a prison planet. If those men out there take you, you won’t survive. They’ll use you and use you hard until you’re begging them to kill you.”
“Why are you saying all this?”
He held a metal tray up for her to see her battered face. “A man just attacked you. And you were out of my reach. I. Couldn’t. Get. To. You.”
“It won’t happen again. It was my fault.”
“That’s your ex-mate talking,” Jayce chided. “Whatever you did or didn’t do to upset Thorne, you don’t deserve to get beaten.”
No, she didn’t. “I won’t go near the greenhouse again, so Thorne won’t have a reason to punish me. I can still work in the med-center. Nothing’s changed.”
“Pick her up, Jayce.”
“But—” she protested, but Jayce scooped her up, cradling her in his arms, not slung over his shoulder. She threw her arms around his neck to steady herself.
Ivan disappeared for a moment and then returned with her coat, which he draped over her. “Let’s go.”
“Everything’s changed,” Jayce whispered in her ear as he followed Ivan out of the med-center. “Even if you behave perfectly and Thorne never has reason to punish you again, you’ve reminded Ivan and me of what could happen to you. Of how vulnerable you are.”
Ivan’s body tensed. The man was on full alert as if he expected another attack, but he was listening to them.
“I have important work to do. I finished the cure for Ivan. The medicine is inside. The syringes are already prepared. Let me go get them from the lab. And give me a few minutes to develop an antihistamine for Reece, and—”
“And you’ll always find another person you want to help because that’s who you are, Lina. You care about people, but we care about you. Ah, fuck, Melina. Don’t you get it? I love you. And I’m guessing Ivan does too. We won’t risk losing you because you’re the best thing to happen to us in a long time.”
His words stunned her. She never really thought Jayce cared about her, not to that extent.
Melina rested her head against his shoulder, watching the med-center get smaller and smaller as they walked away. She wondered if this would be the last she saw of the med-center as they whisked her into the bunker.
Maybe one day she’d find a way to prove to Ivan and Jayce—and Reece—that she deserved the freedom to choose her path, even on Veenith.
