Page 90 of Rescued

“Never!” Davrik said fiercely. “You’re never dying again, baby girl! You’re mine now and I’m never letting you go.”

“Never dying again?” she asked, a look of confusion on her lovely face.

“Don’t worry about it,” Davrik told her. “Just hold on tight—we’re almost to the ship.”

As he spoke, they reached the broken metal bridge and he was able to clamber back onto the side that still held. It was a precarious business but he kept one arm looped securely around Sonya’s waist the whole time, making sure she was in no danger of falling.

At last they made their way back inside the ship and he was able to shut the door and seal both of them inside, away from the howling wind.

“All right, baby girl?” he asked Sonya, who was sitting on the floor shaking and panting. At fist he thought she was still in shock from nearly plummeting to her death, but then he realized something else was wrong. “What is it—what’s wrong?” he asked anxiously.

“Can…can we do something about the pain chip in my ankle?” she asked, her voice tight and her face twisted in agony. “It feels like my bones are on fire and it hurts so much!”

“Of course, baby,” Davrik said quickly. “But first I need to get us away from Yonnie Six before that fucking Sluggorn sends anyone after us. Can you hang on just a minute?”

“I…I’ll try.” She nodded shortly and he could see she was doing her best to bear the pain the chip was giving her.

“I’ll make it fast,” he promised. “Here. Let’s get you settled.”

He scooped her up off the floor and deposited her carefully on the large loveseat that his own Sonya had picked out while decorating the inside of the long-range shuttle. She’d said that it needed “a woman’s touch” and had proceeded to redo the whole thing, much to his bemusement, Davrik remembered. He couldn’t help thinking how he had come within a hairsbreadth of losing her again. Thank the Goddess that hadn’t happened!

With a final look over his shoulder, he ran to the cockpit and slipped into the pilot’s chair. Gripping the steering yoke tightly, he piloted the ship up and out of the atmosphere of Yonnie Six. He checked the scanners and saw to his relief that no one was following him. Sending another prayer of thanks to the Goddess, he set a course for the general direction of the Kindred Mother Ship. Later he would call them and ask if they could fold space to bring him and Sonya back more quickly.

But first he had to tend to the pain chip in her ankle.

FIFTY

SONYA

Sonya felt the ship moving upward and it seemed that the further it went, the worse the pain in her leg got. In fact, the burning sensation was spreading through her whole body now—it felt like her whole skeleton was on fire inside her! She writhed in agony, nearly falling off the couch where Davrik had left her. It hurt—hurt so much!

Then, abruptly, it stopped.

She collapsed back on the cushions, panting and gasping and blinked tears out of her eyes. The pain had gotten so bad that for a moment she was sure she might throw up and she had to breathe deeply to control the nausea it had caused.

Slowly, the feeling that she was going to lose her lunch subsided and Sonya was able to relax. Experimentally, she wiggled her right ankle from side to side. To her relief, there was still no pain.

“Thank God!” she breathed. She didn’t know why the pain chip had stopped working but she was incredibly grateful that it had. And now that the horrible pain was gone, she had a moment to consider her incredibly narrow escape.

He caught me—he actually dove off the bridge and caught me, she thought as she remembered the horrible sensation of falling through the air. And just moments later the line had gone taut and they had jerked to a stop. Which meant that if Davrik had hesitated, even for a split second, he wouldn’t have had enough cable to catch her in time.

But what if the cable had snapped, sending them both to their death? They both might have ended up splattered on the ground like that horrible Trollox! Davrik had risked himself to save her without hesitation.

“He must really love me,” Sonya murmured to herself. But why? They had only known each other a few days—why was the big Kindred so devoted to her?

Her mind flashed back to his strange turn of phrase—“You’re not going to die again,”—wasn’t that what he had said? What had he meant by that? How could she die again when she’d never died in the first place?

Sonya frowned. There was some mystery here and she wanted to know what it was. She’d always had an inquiring mind and loved reading thrillers and mysteries—something told her there was more going on in this situation than Davrik was telling her.

But for right now, she was just incredibly grateful to be safe and pain free. With a sigh, she relaxed fully for the first time in ages and let herself drift.

FIFTY-ONE

NATE

“This is my suite—I hope you’ll feel at home here,” Lan’ara said, smiling shyly as Nate stepped through the metal door still holding her in his arms.

“I’m sure I will, baby—but right now, all I want to see is your bedroom. Or maybe here will do.”

---