Cavas (The Vorge Crew Book 5) Read online

  “Not you.”

  Nara held his brother’s gaze without even flinching at his harsh tone. “Let’s be honest. Midgel would freak.” She glanced at the cook. “No offense. It would be hell for you to be led around by a collar.” She motioned to the female with long hair on Dovis’s lap. “Mari is the most docile of us humans, but she’s not a fighter. It would be her and Cavas alone down there. She’d be horrible backup.” This time, she glanced at Mari. “No offense. And Lilly could put up a decent fight if they got into trouble, but she’s been throwing up. Therefore, it’s me.”

  Raff growled, staring at his female. “You’re sick?”

  She shrugged. “My stomach has been upset a few times. It’s no big deal. I can do it.” She stared at Cathian. “I owe you guys my life. I’m in if you need me.”

  “No!” Raff snarled. “I’m taking you to see the android.”

  “Nara is right about one thing,” Mari suddenly said. “I was raised as a slave. I’m the best one of us to pull this off. You should take me, Cavas.”

  Dovis snarled. “You are submissive. What if there’s a battle?”

  All the couples began to argue loudly, while Midgel got up and fled the room.

  Cavas simply watched them, feeling a headache coming on. It was nice that most of the females were willing to risk their lives to attempt a rescue of his littermate. Too bad their males were all having a fit.

  Chapter Four

  Jill sat quietly, watching the crew. Some of the women were yelling at their husbands, arguing why they should be the one to go. Then she glanced at Cavas. He stood there with his eyes closed, a pained expression on his handsome alien face. It was clear he wasn’t happy to ask one of the women to volunteer to put themselves in danger.

  She looked around again, studying the alien men facing off against their wives. All of them appeared worried, upset, fearful—and that’s when it sank in.

  They must honestly love those women.

  She bit her lip…then found herself standing. She put two fingers in her mouth and gave a shrill whistle.

  Everyone went quiet, gawking at her.

  She pulled her fingers from her mouth and turned to Nara. “I’ll do it.”

  Nara shook her head. “No.”

  “I’m not married, certainly not pregnant or sick, and you said I should help out on this ship when it’s needed. Technically it’s not on the ship, but it’s the same, right?” She glanced around at everyone else. “You guys saved my life. I owe you. I just spent almost a month wearing a collar on that damn planet. I was trained on how to act by another slave. I don’t have any skills for use on a spaceship, but I’m good at keeping my shit together under pressure. I also won’t hesitate to fight to protect myself. I’ve survived this long by doing so. Let me do it.”

  Nara stepped closer. “You just got free, Jill. You’re emotionally in a bad place right now. None of us would be.”

  “I’m a little screwed up in the head after all I’ve been through. I’m not denying that. You also made it clear we need to rescue Crath in order to keep this ship and crew safe. I was listening, Nara. It’s important that we find him, and I owe him for getting me out of that cage. He tried to take me to his shuttle. I want to go after him. It’s only right.”

  Jill turned to Cavas. His eyes were open, and he was staring at her with a scowl. “I don’t have great fighting skills, but I’m not helpless. I can take orders, keep my mouth shut, and I was instructed on how to act if I was ever escorted to that arena. I’m your best bet.”

  Cavas hesitated. “We don’t know you.”

  “What he means,” one of the white little aliens stated, “is that he’s not sure if you’ll be motivated enough to do what is necessary to get Crath out of there. You could try to flee out of distrust of us, since you’re new.” The Pod studied her, going silent. Then he turned to Cavas. “She understands what’s at stake, and trusts what Nara and Sara have said to her. She feels her best chance at survival is to stay with us. You can trust her. She’s sufficiently motivated.”

  Jill felt slightly violated since her mind had just been read, but she understood. She stared at the white alien, thinking questions at it, curious to know if it would hear her.

  “My name is One,” it stated. “We were sold by our own people to criminals who used our mind-reading abilities to harm others. We not only read thoughts, but we feel pain if someone is being tortured if we’re linked to them at the time. Our captors did that often. It was hellish, a term you understand. This crew saved us and now they keep us safe from being used in that way again. None of them would harm us or you. You can trust them.”

  The pod next to him spoke. “I’m Three. If you are captured, this crew will come for Cavas and you. They would risk their lives for yours. Each one of them thinks of you as a part of this crew now. Your life is valued.”

  Jill took a deep breath and blew it out, turning back to Cavas. “I’m the one you need to take with you. If a woman must go down there and put her butt on the line, it should be me. I owe you guys, and I’m not married. I owe your brother. And I’m all about paying my debts.”

  “She means that,” one of the Pods stated.

  “We didn’t rescue you to put you back in danger,” Dovis growled.

  He did appear scary, even in skin. She tried to image him looking like a werewolf but failed. “I appreciate that, but let’s be real. None of you really know me.” She returned her attention to Cavas. “You saved me once. I trust you to get me out of there again if shit hits the fan. But if you have to send one of us women into danger, and the worst happens, losing me will hurt the least.”

  He didn’t look pleased at that, but he nodded. “It’s the logical choice.”

  There were some loud protests.

  Cavas snarled louder. “Enough. Jill has volunteered. I’ve accepted.” He shot a look at his brother. “None of your crew want their females in danger. This is the best solution. I’m without a life-lock. Jill is without one, too. Our losses will be the easiest on everyone if we fail.”

  “No loss is acceptable,” Cathian stated emotionally.

  “Agreed.” Cavas hesitated before looking at Nara. “Can you help her find something suitable to wear and replicate the collar she once wore? I’ll dress to fit the part. The drones have taken images of the wealthy slavers getting off those private shuttles. We’ll meet in half an hour in front of the cargo bay. Since some of them have recently arrived, a fight must be taking place soon. We need to get down there as quickly as possible.” He turned to Cathian. “I’ll do my best to bring our littermate and Jill back safely.”

  Jill walked quickly toward the door, assuming Nara would follow. She just wanted out of that room and away from all those emotions. Including her own. She’d lost her mind to volunteer, but it did make the most sense. She owed these people her life. They could have left her in that cell. She’d have died there, or faced a horrible future at the hands of another slave owner if she’d recovered from her injuries.

  “Wait up. Where are you going?”

  She turned to force a smile for Nara. “Sorry.”

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  “I do.”

  “You literally just got free today! No one would expect you to go back down there like this. It was brave and gutsy. Hell, I’m impressed, but I should be the one to go. I’m responsible for the humans on this ship.”

  “I’m doing this, Nara.”

  Nara stepped closer, peering deeply into her eyes. “But you’re scared.”

  “I’d be an idiot if I weren’t.”

  That caused the woman to smile. “True.” Then she sobered. “Are you sure about this?”

  “No, but I’m still going to do it.”

  Nara studied her silently.

  “Do you want to know what I saw in that room?”

  Her question seemed to surprise Nara. “What?”

  “Guys who actually love their women. They weren’t grabbing hold of you and being abusive
when you were arguing. I saw real fear in their eyes. You have something here that I never thought I’d see in my lifetime.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Real love between couples. Five years ago, there was an outbreak of a coughing disease. We didn’t have the money for treatments. My mom, three of her sisters, and my two female cousins got sick. They were all the blood family I had. My aunt was married, and so was one of her daughters. And the government was passing out antibiotic shots for free—to men. My uncle and my cousin’s husband, like me, were spared catching the cough. I would have given my shots up in a heartbeat to save their lives, if I’d had any. But those bastards? They hid their shots just in case they needed them. They watched them die, doing nothing, until it was too late. I lost my entire family because those assholes were too fucking selfish to share drugs they didn’t even need.”

  Nara appeared horrified. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Me too. It was a common story in the city that summer. Men weren’t giving up their precious supply of antibiotics to save their wives, or even their own daughters. I wanted to kill my uncle, but men are protected on Earth.”

  “I remember it being that way,” Nara admitted.

  “The alien men on this ship honestly love their wives. The love you’ve found here, it’s better than what’s on Earth. I’m not going to let you lose that if I can help it. This ship is your home. As long as your husband manages to deal with his shitty dad and get his missing brother back, you get to keep this ship, right?”

  “Yes,” Nara sighed.

  “Then I’m all in. You were willing to go down there. So am I. Is it terrifying? Yes. But now I have something to risk my life for—I want to be a part of this crew. I’ve got nothing left on Earth. Let me pull my weight.”

  Nara nodded. “Thank you.”

  Jill changed the subject. “The slaves down there don’t wear much. Where do we go to get me a skimpy outfit?”

  “We have a replicator. Cathian learned every known thing about Flax before they went down there, to find out how the locals dress. Let’s go pull up the information, you can pick something you think will work, and then we’ll have it made. It only takes a few minutes.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Jill pushed her fear back. The one thing the women in her family had taught her besides how to love was to always have the back of the people you care about most. She didn’t know the crew, but they’d taken her in. They were the only home she had left. She’d fight to keep it. The alternative wasn’t an option.

  * * * * *

  Cavas hated the outfit he wore. The fact that Cathian stood smirking at him made it worse. “I look like a pompous, wealthy shaft-head.”

  His brother laughed. “You’ll fit right in.”

  Cavas ran his hand down the open front slit of the lacy shirt, hating how much skin was exposed. The pants weren’t much better. They reminded him more of fancy sleeping wear for the arrogant rich. The thick jeweled chains around his neck were irritating, along with the ones on each wrist.

  Dovis approached, looking him up and down. He chuckled.

  “Don’t say a word,” Cavas warned.

  York approached next and whistled. “You look just like a successful slaver.”

  “Where is Jill? We need to leave.” Cavas wanted to get to the surface of the planet and end the mission as quickly as possible.

  “Right here.”

  He turned at the sound of her voice—and his eyes widened in shock.

  Jill came around the corner of the corridor into the shuttle bay holding a long chain with a handle in her hands. The thin chain had about six feet of length and was attached to a collar around her delicate neck.

  That wasn’t what stunned him. Jill was breathtakingly beautiful. She also had a very appealing body. Most of it was on display. She was thin but had nice curves. Ones his fingers itched to stroke. The attraction he felt toward her made him angry. He’d saved her life. That made her off limits to his way of thinking. He shouldn’t be having sexual thoughts about her.

  “Where is the rest of your clothing? You wore more than that when I found you. Much more.”

  She paused, staring at him. “Remember when I said the guards decided to sell me to the planet owner? They made me wear my original outfit from Earth, thinking they’d get a better price if I seemed like I was fresh merchandise. This is more like what I wore while waiting for my first buyer to come home from his business trip. Cia and the other slaves dressed like this, too.”

  Cavas tried hard not to gawk, but it was difficult. The top she wore was little more than a tight strip of narrow material over her breasts. It hugged the bottom of her soft tempting breast mounds, but the tops of them were almost spilling out. And there was just a loose layer of thin material wrapped around her hips, attached by a useless string at the hip. It barely covered her sex in the front or her ass in the back.

  “You’re almost completely bared.” He tried not to stare at her legs. They were small but shapely…and he could see so much of them. The only other thing she wore were little sandal-like shoes on her feet. Even those appeared delicate.

  Humans were a fragile-looking race. He forced his gaze to her pale green eyes. They would haunt him if he wasn’t able to keep her safe on their mission. He also noted that they were a beautiful color, reminding him of soft grass on his home world that grew on the cliffs by one of the Veller homes near the ocean.

  She cocked her head. “Um, I’m pretending to be a slave.” She walked up to him and held out the leash. “This is what they wear. I went with the non-sheer option. Some of the slaves in the house wore materials so thin that you could see everything. At least my important lady bits are covered in this.” She glanced down at her chest. “Mostly. No nipples.” She looked up at him. “Are we doing this or not?”

  He ignored the leash handle. “I’ll keep you safe.” He turned, staring at his brother. “Be prepared for us to come back with possible enemy shuttles on our tail.”

  York cleared his throat. “We’ll be ready to blow apart anything chasing you. Just make it back safe.”

  Dovis stepped close to Cavas. “Be careful. Don’t punch them like you’re a child.”

  He laughed. “I won’t.” He glanced back at Jill. “He was joking. I can fight. I’ll do my best to protect you.”

  She gave a nod. “I’m not totally defenseless. Just so you know. Don’t think I won’t use this chain to hurt someone if the need arises.”

  She looked completely harmless, but he wasn’t about to insult her. He respected her bravery to volunteer to go with him. He faced Cathian again. “Be safe. It’s possible Yorlian Trevis has assigned space patrols since we let those prisoners go free. The Vorge could come under attack if they check behind the dead moon.”

  “We’ve deployed sensors on the other side. Anything flying this way won’t be able to sneak up on us,” York assured him. “This isn’t our first time doing covert operations.”

  Cavas arched his eyebrows, looking at his brother.

  Cathian grimly nodded. “It’s sometimes my job to check out our alliances to make certain they’re trustworthy. We’re also well-armed to defend ourselves.”

  Cavas wasn’t surprised his older littermate wouldn’t blindly trust other aliens, and he was already aware of the extensive battlements on The Vorge. Not only was it the ambassador flagship for their planet, it was also capable of extreme defense in case of war. Tryleskians prided themselves on their fighting skills. To have a flagship that could easily be overtaken would have been an embarrassment. “We’ll hopefully be back soon with Crath. Then we’ll deal with our father and uncle.”

  “Uncle?” Jill asked.

  “My biological father,” Raff growled. “He needs to be killed, too.”

  “Let’s go.” Cavas didn’t want to participate if an argument broke out between his cousin and his brother, about the ultimate fate of their fathers. It didn’t matter to him if Beltsen was killed or just shamed into banishment. Eith
er way, he’d be stripped of power. He walked through the cargo bay and headed up the ramp of the shuttle. He could hear Jill following him, the chains making a small clinking noise. He hesitated just inside the door and pointed for her to take a seat. She walked past him and began to buckle into the passenger area. He closed the door and strode forward, taking the pilot seat.

  “You can fly one of these, right?”

  “I can.” He began turning on the engines and doing a preflight check.

  “So, you’re a pilot?”

  “I’m much more.”

  Long seconds ticked by before she spoke again. “I’d really like a distraction from the crazy we’re about to do. Can you tell me about yourself? I mean, we’re in this together. I’ve told you things about me. Screwed over by Earth, how I was sold into slavery, and defended myself against a bug alien.”

  He buckled in. “Give me a moment.” He checked the status of the cargo bay. It was clear of life signs, sealed, and he had been given access to depressurize. He did that next, then lifted the shuttle enough to fly out the now open exterior doors.

  The dead moon was almost as black as space. The Vorge had flown behind it to hide from all traffic going to Flax Colony. He slowly put distance between the shuttle and the larger vessel, then picked up speed. He set course before speaking again.

  “I’m Cavas Vellar, second born of the first litter of Beltsen Vellar. We are part of an old, very wealthy and powerful family on Tryleskian. That’s our home planet. I hit adulthood and joined the military. I rose quickly in the ranks. I was the high commander, only one position down from the supreme commander. That’s who controls the military.”

  He kept his attention on the scanners, not wanting to look at her. Guilt surfaced over being attracted to Jill. She’d gone through several traumas. The last thing she needed was a male feeling lust. They were there on a mission to find his younger brother, not for him to ogle her body.

  “That sounds impressive.”

  He smiled at her uncertain tone. He also picked up a hint of nervousness still.