He watched as she pressed a button on the device, and it lit up. "This is a movie," she was saying as she flicked her finger along the smooth surface. "I love science fiction/fantasy-type movies. Sometimes I'll watch a good horror one, but I always get nightmares from them so I have to be careful. I had nightmares for three days after watching Stephen King's The Mist!" she explained as she pressed another button, and a strange creature appeared on the screen.
Vox watched it for a minute before understanding dawned. She was referring to entertainment holovids. The human on the small screen was working on an obviously fake control panel before he and a human dressed in some type of costume disappeared behind the console. He listened as Riley giggled. Her eyes were glued to the screen, mesmerized.
"God's blood," Tor muttered over Vox's shoulder before a chuckled escaped him. "She used something like this as a reference for knowing which wire to cut?" he said with a shake of his head. "It's a miracle Fred's head wasn't blown off!"
"That's okay," Riley responded absently, still watching the movie. "He has a spare one."
Fred glared at Riley again over the heads of the other men in their room. Titus, his brother, and two other men had appeared in their room a couple of hours after they had removed the other collar on Fred who finally came to in a very grouchy mood. Vox had also removed the ones on Lodar, Tor, and Bob. They had left the one on Vox but had disconnected it so it was no longer a threat. This allowed him the freedom to move around the prisoners' living quarters without attracting attention.
Tor was in the process of disconnecting the collars so the other men would not have to worry about being killed when they escaped. Riley sat curled up on the end of the bed watching everything with a wary eye. She knew she should be excited about the idea of getting off this rock, but she was still pissed at Vox. It had taken several minutes for her to finally understand the big oaf thought she was some kind of spy or something when he kept grilling her about where she got her tools from, how she had been captured, and why was she allowed to choose five mates when all the other women only had one. He had barked out one question after another, holding her wrists tightly in his large hands the entire time until she finally had enough of it and struggled to pull away. When she confronted him, he admitted he thought she was some kind of spy brought in to trick him. He also admitted he had been prepared to kill her if she had been.
She wasn't so sure she wanted to go with him and his men when they made their escape. She was thinking she might have better luck with the next guy she chose. It didn't help that Fred was still mad at her either. Both of his heads had ripped her up one side and down the other when he woke up. It had taken Bob's calming voice and her swearing she never meant him any harm before he had sulked over to the corner where he sat shooting glares at her from both sets of eyes.
Riley decided she couldn't stand the glares Fred was giving her any longer. She had grown attached to the little two-headed lizard, and it hurt that he was shooting her such heated looks of displeasure. She scooted off the bed, trying to ignore the way Vox's eyes followed her every movement as she edged around the crowded group and went over to where Bob and Fred were huddled in the corner. She slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor next to them.
"Fred," Riley said quietly, touching the Tiliqua who had turned a cold shoulder to her as soon as she came over to where he was sitting. "I'm sorry. I would never hurt you, you know that don't you? I think of you as a very, very dear friend," she said, running her fingers gently along the side of one of his faces.
Both heads turned to her with a scowl. "You could have killed me, Riley!" Fred bit out coolly.
"But she didn't," Bob muttered. "Be nice to her, Fred. She feels bad enough."
Riley glanced up at Bob and gave him a grateful smile before looking back at her little friend. "Will you go home once you leave here?" she asked quietly, picking up a small rock lying next to her and playing with it.
"Maybe," Fred said with a sigh. "I'd never been off the Spaceport before. I think I would like to see more before I return. It will give me time to figure out what to do should I decide to return to my father's business," he muttered.
Riley looked down at the rock. Hot tears burned her eyes at the idea of losing the small group of alien males. They were the only creatures she knew here, and she had grown attached to them. Her eyes flickered to Vox for a moment before she quickly looked back down when she saw him staring at her intently.
"I'll miss you both," she admitted quietly. "You've both become good friends. I just want you to know it has meant a lot to me."
Bob moved his big body so he was in front of her. His huge, green arms folded over his gelatinous chest. He waited patiently until she looked up at him.
"What are you planning now?" he demanded.
Riley's eyes grew large before she shielded them. She was used to losing friends. If her mouth didn't drive them away, her moving on did. It was just … she wasn't sure where to go. None of the locations she was likely to end up in were programmed into her phone.
Hell, she thought, depressed. Even Google isn't going to be able to help me here!
"I figured I'd stick around here for a while longer," she started to say before tears thickened her throat and she had to clear it. She forced a smile to her face before she continued. "I hope you both have a safe journey to wherever you decide to go."
"We will not leave you behind, Lady Riley," Bob said in his deep, melodious voice. "The warrior king will not leave you. You are his mate."
Riley's eyes flickered up, but she couldn't see Vox because of Bob's huge body. "Yes, well, it isn't his decision. Besides, I think I'm allergic to cats so it wouldn't work out anyway. I'll just stick around here and see if I can't find me a trader or someone heading back toward Earth. I've got some business there I need to finish, not to mention my family is back there," she said lightly.
Bob's huge body shook as he chuckled. "Little female, you should not try to fight. It will do no good. If the Sarafin warrior king wants you, you are his. But if you do not wish to stay with him, I will do what I can to help you. I owe you a life debt for choosing me as a mate when others would have let me die."
"As do I. You know that big Sarafin warrior will kill us both if we try to take Riley away from him," the left head of Fred said with a scowl as he looked at Bob. "I don't care. I will do what I can to help you if you want to leave him," the right head added gruffly to Riley. "Let us hope if he kills us, it is quick."
"You both are just so sweet! But neither of you owe me a thing. Don't you boys go worrying about little ole me. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for the past twenty-four years," Riley said with a watery smile. "So, when is this elaborate plan of escape supposed to take place? I didn't understand half of what they were saying. Do you need a distraction? I excel at creating distractions," she added with a mischievous smile.
"No!" a deep voice growled as the door to their living quarters opened.
Riley rose from where she was sitting. Bob slithered to one side revealing Vox. Behind him, their visitors were quietly exiting the room. Soon, it was just the three of them. Tor and Lodar had followed the men out.
"You will stay here with these two for now," Vox growled out in a soft voice. "I will return before it is time to leave. You will be ready to go with us."
Riley shrugged her shoulders and tossed a length of curly blond hair over her shoulder nonchalantly. "Yes, well, I was telling the boys I think it would be best if I just caught the next ship out with a trader who is heading toward good old Earth. You know, it would just be easier for you guys to escape without having little ole me holding you back and getting in the way," she said with a bright, fake smile.
Vox stared at Riley intently before he jerked his head at Fred and Bob. Both knew it was an order to leave. Riley watched nervously as her two friends moved reluctantly toward the exit. Fred's right head turned, and he gave her a look of apology before he stepped out of the room behind Bob.
Riley folded her arms over her chest and waited. "Okay, say what you've got to say, but it isn't going to change my mind," she said stubbornly.
Vox took a step closer, crowding her until she was backed up against the wall. "You will be ready to go when it is time," he said with a determined thrust of his chin.
She was afraid to move her arms because it would allow him to move even closer to her if she did. She frowned up at him. She was still mad at him. The big oaf was really too much! He had the nerve to think she was some kind of intergalactic spy hired by God-knew-who. He had been prepared to kill her without a second thought while he was the one sleeping with Spy One and Spy Two back home! On top of that, she'd found out that he and his friends were a bunch of alien kitty-cat shifters. And the icing on the cake was him telling everyone he was "claiming" her without even a take-her-out-to-dinner date!