Page 82 of Rescued By the Convicts
She threw a curious look at Reece, who stood there, face impossible to read. He seemed content to let Jayce speak for him, much as Zev had once. Her silent gianttrustedJayce. When had that happened?
“Ah, yes, Mr. Ladas. Last, but certainly not least. It’s good to see you’re out of the med-center.”
“You can’t send Reece back to Veenith,” Jayce pushed.
“I certainly can, but convince me why I shouldn’t.”
“He’s not violent,” Ivan cut in.
“I want to hear from Mr. Ladas. He’s off to a very interesting if not belligerent start.”
Melina sucked in air. Foley seemed put off by Jayce.
Before she could reach for Jayce’s hand to signal for him to go easy with Foley, Jayce took a seat—uninvited—and leaned back all causal. Like he was about to strike a deal.
“Reece is the best damn sharpshooter you’ll ever see,” Jayce began, his tone moderate and business-like. “And you have a kuvak problem here, Manager Foley. One you haven’t exactly been upfront about with the prisoners. They think that fence is to keep them in, but this is a prison planet with water that’s poisonous. No one’s going to survive by wandering away from the water treatment facility, and they’re not going to storm the port with zurlite-powered fences blocking them. And they’ll work the mines or do whatever you ask of them now that they have the chance to return home after their sentences are completed.”
“I see you’ve done your homework, Mr. Ladas. What is your point?”
“You’ve done a good job giving the prisoners here what they need for a decent enough life, including allowing Level 4 women here. The mines are producing at all-time highs. The last thing you want is for the prisoners to panic when they understand the danger they’re in. You don’t want them knowing about the drugs the previous manager dumped into the jungle, mutating the kuvaks, creating a dangerous situation on the planet.”
Foley’s eyes narrowed. “And you know this how?”
“Doesn’t matter how. I know it.”
“You’ve just given me a reason to send you back to Veenith, Mr. Ladas.”
“But not Reece. You need him. He’s the best hunter you’ll find. Consider the fact that the guards on Veenith trusted him with a sonic rifle. Send Reece out to hunt or put him in a tower. Your kuvak situation will become nothing more than a minor nuisance in time, and you’ll be free to let your researchers explore farther into the jungle without the worry of kuvaks attacking. The Company is pushing for additional medicines from the floral wealth of Narkos, isn’t it? Another reason for keeping Melina here, by the way. She’ll be an asset in drug research and development. Face it, Manager Foley, you need Reece.”
“And what about you, Mr. Ladas? What can you offer me? I see you killed a man in Turul. Poisoned him. Not the usual method we see in killers. In some ways, it’s worse. A person can’t exactly defend against poison, not like a guy coming at you with a knife.”
“The man was a rapist, a murderer, and sold women into slavery,” Jayce said, rising from his chair as his voice wavered. He’d spoken so eloquently and smoothly when it came to defending Reece, but when it came to his past, he was faltering.
Melina slid her hand into Jayce’s, to keep him from moving around, to settle him. His eyes turned to her. “No shame, Jayce. You’re with family now.”
With a slight nod, Jayce trained his attention on Foley again. “And I helped him traffic women.”
Foley raised an eyebrow. “I have a colony with men and women, and more women arriving each day. And you think I should leave a predator among them when I can easily ship him back to Veenith?”
“He’s not that person anymore. He had no choice back then,” Melina defended.
“Everyone has a choice,” Foley countered.
“If he goes, we all do,” Ivan said. “We’re a unit. You can’t separate us.”
“I most certainly can, but let’s put that aside for a moment. Answer the question, Mr. Ladas. Why should I trust you here?”
Jayce gritted his teeth. “Because what I did. . . I did to save myself, not because I wanted to harm any of them. I. . .” Jayce fell silent, unable to speak. His eyes turned to Melina, pleading. They’d never discussed what had happened with Danning, but she’d expected Jayce had been drawn into some ugly crimes to save himself.
“He was a victim, Manager Foley,” Melina continued for him, as she locked her eyes to Jayce’s. He needed to know she forgave him. “He’s no danger to the women here. He killed the man who victimized him. He aided with the trafficking of women because he had no choice.”
“Poison,” Foley said. “Explain.”
Jayce’s hand tightened on hers. “You’re fine, Jayce. Just breathe,” Melina said softly.
“He needed to die,” Jayce said as he faced Foley again. “Poisoning his drink was the only way I could get to him without harming anyone else.”
“Perhaps, in theory, you didn’t risk anyone by using poison, but effectively you endangered others. You poisoned a drink that someone else could have drunk.”
