EnforcersCraving Read online

  The next wave of women moved forward and Chelsea’s unformed fear took shape when she shuffled into the room. Two enormous windows sat on the opposite wall, showcasing the dark expanse of space. Stars twinkled in unfamiliar patterns and when a shuttle of some kind came alongside to dock the full reality of Chelsea’s situation came crashing down.

  Aliens who looked human but weren’t, a spaceship big enough to double as a detention center, and a shuttle that was even now disgorging more of the blue-clad soldiers. Tansy and her, kidnapped and captive. The nightmare kaleidoscope flashed faster and faster and Chelsea’s lungs became too small for her to take in enough oxygen.

  Nausea swamped her, her vision blurred and bile rose in her throat. In a failing attempt to keep control of her body, Chelsea fell to her knees, gasping for air in a desperate bid to stop herself from vomiting all over the floor.

  She almost had herself under control when a pair of large, polished boots stepped into her field of vision. A rough hand grabbed her shoulder-length hair and dragged her to her feet.

  “Get up, slave. Don’t even think about dirtying my floor.” He twisted her hair and craned her neck back so far she had to get on her toes to relieve the pressure. The guard leaned in, his breath humid on her cheek. “The correct response to any instruction I give you is ‘yes, Sergeant.’ Do you understand?”

  Chelsea blinked against the tears blurring her eyes and it took her two attempts before she finally forced the words past her throat. “Yes, Sergeant.”

  He grunted, easing the pressure but not releasing her. “You need a bit of work, but I don’t mind taking on some training here and there.” He shifted and when his free hand clamped hard and tight on her breast, Chelsea was so shocked her arm flashed forward before she stop the reflex. Her palm struck his cheek, the crack of flesh on flesh echoed through the room and in that moment she knew she was dead.

  In a single, swift movement she was dragged out of line and thrown facedown on the hard floor. The sergeant still had hold of her hair and he used the leverage to force her cheek against the laminate while he swung down to place his knee in the small of her back.

  “Scan her.” A second pair of hands captured her wrist and a short beep sounded. After a moment the Sergeant spoke again, his voice heavy with satisfaction. “Hello, 28-517. Welcome to your new life.”

  He pressed himself forward until his lips skimmed her ear. Chelsea didn’t struggle, despite the fact that his hold on her and his weight was making it hard to breathe. She knew instinctively that this was the kind of man who would enjoy their unequal struggle even more than he’d enjoy her submission.

  “I know your designation now,” he said, “and I’m senior enough to put in a winning bid at auction. Just think of it 28-517, your new life with me could begin as soon as tomorrow. Would you like that?”

  Struggling wouldn’t do her any good, but she simply couldn’t bring herself to metaphorically roll over. “No, Sergeant,” she whispered, bracing herself for violent retaliation.

  He laughed. “I don’t imagine you would. But unfortunately for you, the only thing that counts is what I want. And what I want is for you know what it is to be a slave. To fully comprehend the fatal error you made when you dared to lift a hand against me.” He kicked her legs apart and then inserted his knee between her legs, jabbing hard and sharp at the juncture of her thighs.

  The pain shot through her body, broad and jarring. She couldn’t prevent the grunt that escaped her lips or her need to squirm away from the bruising pressure. She was beyond caring about the tears that rolled down her cheeks or her involuntary whimper when he rolled her just enough to slide his hand over her abused breast.

  He squeezed. “This is mine. You are mine, to dispose of as I please. You will be my slave for as long as I see fit and when I’m bored with you I’m going to turn you into a whore. I will rent you out to my men, an hour at a time, for as long as I can stretch it out. I won’t let them beat you, break your bones or do permanent damage. I’ve learned from experience, that’s the fastest way to kill a whore. No. I plan to be very careful with you. I’ll keep your body whole so you’ll last a long time for me. I’ll rent you out over and over until your will dies, until your soul shatters, until there’s nothing left but an empty shell. And do you know what I’ll do then?”

  Chelsea couldn’t answer because her whole body shook. Nerves, muscles and bones quaked in the face of the nightmare he described.

  “I’ll rent you out some more. I’ll let my men fuck you again and again until one morning you simply won’t wake up. But that will be years from now. Years filled with pain, humiliation, deprivation and utter powerlessness. How does that sound, slave?”

  It was too much. Her terror and desolation tangled together and the emotion came out of her body in harsh, racking sobs. Every breath stabbed like a knife, her stomach convulsed with every exhale, and she began keening like a mindless animal.

  Somewhere outside the darkness she heard Tansy shouting but the grip of misery on Chelsea’s body was too hard to fight. The heavy pressure on her back released and she could think of nothing more than getting away. She crawled slowly, hand over hand, dragging her body across the smooth surface of the floor. She had no idea how far she’d gone before her bracelet arced into life. White-hot agony flashed through her, searing her nerves, blinding her, shutting out everything but the unbearable pain. She opened her mouth to scream but she didn’t know if any sound emerged. All she knew was the excruciating punishment of the bracelet and the terrifying possibility that it might never end.

  Chapter Three

  Ari stood just inside the hatch of the slave ship, watching the women wait to board his shuttle and trying to look as though he belonged. A hot trickle of sweat crawled its way down his spine and he chose to blame the synthleather jacket rather than the sinking feeling that something was going to go wrong. The recycled air of the transport ship made it difficult to breathe and without fresh air and wind currents he couldn’t scent for trouble. Another trickle of moisture sped its way to the crack in his ass. Just one more discomfort in a litany of dragon-shit that was this mission.

  And then there was the girl. Hauled out of line and abused by the biggest asshole in the Brightstar army, she caved like an egg under a hammer. It took everything Ari had to stand motionless, pretending not to watch or care, pretending he didn’t want to turn his blaster on Sergeant-fucking-Edrick and melt him into a puddle of nothing.

  Tarkan wasn’t faring much better. Even across the distance of the room, Ari could see how close he was to breaking cover. When the tortured girl’s bracelet finally switched off and she slumped into a shaking heap, Ari let out a quiet sigh of relief. That brief moment of respite lasted right up until Edrick stalked over and peered into his closed helmet.

  “Get that slave off the floor and onto the shuttle. And don’t damage her because I’ve already put in a bid.”

  Ari nodded and did as he was told, mentally cursing the whole way. Their entire plan hinged on getting in and out without anyone noticing, without their shuttle transfer being different to any one of the other fifteen embarkations. They did not need a special interest woman on their manifest and they certainly didn’t need Sergeant Edrick taking note of their shuttle.

  Crouching down Ari slid his arms under the girl, lifting her carefully and cradling her against his chest, doing his best not to jostle her. He’d had firsthand experience of a control bracelet, and he knew the residue coursing through the girl’s body would make her hypersensitive to touch. He didn’t want to add to her pain but he couldn’t afford to appear too gentle with her either. As far as Brightstar and its soldiers were concerned, these women were now commodities to be bought and sold. Sentiment and decency had no place here.

  Holding the girl in his arms he stood by the door, waiting for the females to disembark from the transport ship. He followed them through into the shuttle, doing his best to ignore the fear so obvious in their body language. The connecting door swished
shut behind him like a falling sword and his sense of impending danger didn’t lessen as he made his way to the back of tiny craft.

  Laying the girl down on one of the two emergency beds, he buckled her in and perched on the end of the bunk, bracing himself with one hand on the wall and the other on an overhead cabinet.

  The tiny ship declamped, eased forward and then side-slipped into formation with the other Brightstar shuttles. Now all they had to do was fly casual until they reached the asteroid field and the next phase of their mission.

  Every centimeter of Chelsea’s body hurt—even her eyelashes and hair were not immune. Something particularly foul had crawled inside her mouth to rot and her head throbbed like it was in the running for the biggest hangover of all time. She heard the hum of male voices and the thought that one of those voices might belong to the sergeant put the fear of god into her.

  Prying open her gummy eyes, she squinted against the glare of overhead lights and turned her head. On the bed opposite her, sat two big, scary men who were built like gym-junkies. Broad shoulders, deep chests, huge arms and thighs and hands big enough to snap her in half. Their skin was sun-bronzed, but the warm copper tinge was unusual and there was something odd about their features. Their faces were rough-hewn and strong but their cheekbones were a little too prominent, and their eyes a little too slanted to look…well, she hated to use the word “normal” but it was the one that fit. And the color was off in both of them. One had clear, light-brown eyes the color of cognac diamonds but the other’s gaze was as purple as amethyst. Both men boasted long thick lashes and they were staring at her with such intensity she couldn’t hold their gazes. Her glance skittered up and that’s when she noticed their hair.

  She blinked, swallowed and blinked again, convinced in that moment she was suffering some kind of weird concussion. Their hair wasn’t really hair, it was more like long, silky fur. Like a lion’s mane, only soft and shiny. Purple eyes’ hair was jet black and it fell full and straight to brush the tops of his shoulders. But the other’s hair, mane, or whatever, was electric blue. Same style, same thick abundance, but shiny blue. This time when she swallowed it was around the huge lump of fear and uncertainty that had tried to climb up her throat.

  Blue leaned forward. “Are you feeling better now? Would you like a drink?”

  She nodded her head, not taking her eyes off them for a second.

  He retrieved a flask from a cupboard while Black slid forward and slowly unbuckled her restraints. Moving to the head of the bed he slid an arm under her shoulders and eased her into a sitting position, positioning himself behind her so she could rest against his chest. Blue knelt on the floor and helped her with the flask, controlling the flow so she could only take small sips.

  When she’d had enough, Blue resealed the cap and placed his hand on the edge of the bed. Near her leg but not on it. “My name is Tarkan Benestaire.” He nodded to the guy behind her. “And that’s my den-mate Arian Plenastenery—everyone calls him Ari. Can you tell us your name?”

  “Chelsea,” she croaked out. “Chelsea McMullin.”

  Tarkan smiled at her. “Good. We’re glad to meet you Chelsea McMullin.”

  Their accents were neutral and they didn’t seem threatening, but she wasn’t in a position to trust her judgment. “The other women?”

  “The ones who were in your group are fine. They’re just through that door.”

  Oh thank god. “Tansy. I need to see her.”

  Tarkan nodded. “We’ll take you to her as soon as you’re well enough. She’s not going anywhere.”

  Chelsea took a deep breath to steady her nerves and got a lungful of the most amazing scent she had ever experienced. Closing her eyes she took another breath, drawing air deep into her lungs, allowing the aroma to carry deep into her body. It was sweet, exotic and divine—like she was breathing in angels—and the scent relaxed her muscles even as it stroked every nerve-ending into awareness. Her whole body softened and it wasn’t until her head tilted back to rest on Ari’s shoulder that she realized the danger she was in.

  Snorting a little and scrubbing at her nose with the back of her hand, she pushed away from Ari and tried to get some distance. She didn’t know where the smell originated but if it was coming from the men she couldn’t afford to get too close.

  Ari seemed to understand what she wanted because he eased out from behind her and propped her up with some flat pillows. He stepped around Tarkan, seating himself at the very end of the bed. “Do you know where you are, Chelsea?” he asked.

  She hesitated for a moment, still a bit brain-scattered, and wondered if she should lie. The trouble was, she didn’t have enough information to know what to lie about. “Honestly, I don’t have a clue where I am. Or what happened. Or who you are.”

  “All right.” Tarkan reached out and briefly touched her knee. “One thing at a time. We are on the approach to our homeworld, Gemarra. Have you ever heard of it?”

  She shook her head. “Homeworld? I don’t understand.”

  The two men exchanged a look and Ari laid a hand on her ankle to get her attention. “You’re from the planet they call Earth?”

  Chelsea blinked, her mind unwilling to follow where this conversation was heading.

  “It’s our understanding that yours is a closed world,” Ari said. “You don’t allow off-planet visitors. Is that right?”

  She nodded as the vast chasm of erroneous beliefs opened up in front of her. Either this was a very elaborate hoax or everything she’d been taught to believe about her place in the world was wrong. The events of the last day tumbled into place and, as shocking as it was, there was only one logical conclusion to draw. She wanted to run and hide, she wanted all of this to be a dream but she knew she couldn’t afford to fall apart right now. She had to stay focused, manage what she could and temporarily put her nervous breakdown on the back burner. Her chest squeezed tight and she had to fight to find her voice. “Most people on our world believe we are alone in our universe, that we are the only sentient life forms.”

  Tarkan’s mouth opened in astonishment. “Truly? I mean, we’d heard rumors to that effect, but it seems so…”

  “Naive?” Ari asked.

  “Yes, that’s a good word.”

  And not nearly as insulting as it could have been. Chelsea was thinking words like arrogant, wilfully ignorant, small-minded, childish…the list went on.

  “We’ll need to start you with the basics.” Tarkan smiled at her.

  Yes, basics were good. She could do basics. “How come you speak English?”

  “We don’t,” Tarkan replied. “The people who paid for your delivery have access to the best technology on the Rim and that includes state-of-the-art translators.” He tapped just behind his ear, in the same spot that was still tender on her own head. “The implant not only translates but it intuits words and phrases that are particular to your linguistic patterns and forms them accordingly.”

  She hadn’t quite wrapped her head around the spaceship factor but she was relieved that wherever she was going, she wouldn’t be hampered by language barriers.

  “Are the other women okay?”

  “The Enforcers will be helping them. You need to rest a bit longer, so we may as well make use of the time.” Tarkan eased back to sit on his heels. “Are you up to a quick history lesson?”

  “Yes.” The more information she had, the better chances she had of making good decisions. She just hoped her beleaguered brain was up to the challenge.

  Ari shifted to lean his shoulders against the back wall. “Our world has two major landmasses. The southern continent, Ivasta is where we live. The northern hemisphere landmass is Otegan and it is controlled by a corporation called Brightstar. Brightstar started off as a mining company but since it dug its hooks into Otegan, it has diversified to become one of the most powerful influences in the Rim.”

  “The Rim?” That was the second time she’d heard it mentioned.

  “The area of space Gemarra shares
with her neighbors.”

  Tarkan picked up the tale. “Not everyone was happy with Brightstar’s takeover but when they tried to rebel, the company cut off all energy supplies and shut down the transport hubs. People died fighting in the streets but they also died of cold in their homes or of sickness in hospitals. Within a matter of weeks, our population lost the old, infirm and the young.”

  Earth had its own share of corporate carelessness, and she didn’t find their story hard to believe. “What happened then?”

  ”Some left Gemarra for other worlds. Those who didn’t want to leave but couldn’t live under Brightstar’s yoke made plans to travel to Ivasta, on the opposite side of our planet. Ivasta is prone to frequent ion storms, and those storms make most technology unusable. The refugees knew if they could find a way to survive, they would be protected from Brightstar’s power cuts and weaponized reprisals.”

  Chelsea was feeling pretty sorry for herself and her predicament, but the story he was telling still managed to tug at her social conscience. She had to concede that they might not be telling her the truth, but Ari and Tarkan felt honest to her and she suspected this wasn’t the worst of what happened on their homeworld. “The Brightstar people did something else, didn’t they?’

  “Yes.” Tarkan’s cognac-brown eyes flashed in anger. “They introduced an airborne virus that affects pregnant women. For the last fifty years only male children have been born on Gemarra. Brightstar has the infrastructure to travel and trade off world, so we’re forced to negotiate with them for women or smuggle women into Ivasta if we don’t want to die out as a people.”

  “Which is what brought me here.” Chelsea shuddered, horrified by the prospect of becoming an unwilling wife, broodmare or sex slave for the Gemarrans. “Don’t they care that we’ve been kidnapped? Doesn’t it bother them that we’re here against our will?”

  Ari shook his head. “Some don’t care about anything beyond getting a woman of their own. But there are many who dislike bride auctions and using women as rewards for work well done. Unfortunately Gemarrans are in a situation not of their own choosing, same as you.”