CAPTURED: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys(193)

Riley picked at her sandwich, not really sure she was hungry anymore. "I  found out my boss and his daddy were running drugs and guns among other  things. When my boss made a pass at me, I clobbered him," she smirked  at Carmen. "He probably will never be able to give himself a hand job or  have kids. Anyway, I had found out they also had a dead guy buried  under the shed out back. I decided it was in my best interest to get out  of town before I ended up joining him. Needless to say, my car broke  down, I got in a truck with a major asshole, and the lights did not  belong to the dwarf biker gang as I had hoped."

Carmen choked at Riley's vague explanation of events. "So, how did you  end up with five mates?" She sighed heavily when Riley lifted her  eyebrow at her. "I promised Creon I'd find out."

Riley chuckled. "You lose?"

Carmen nodded. "I never should have taught him how to play poker," she said before a rosy blush swept up her cheeks.

Riley sighed before she looked up at Carmen. "Will you help me get back home?" she asked nervously.

Carmen stared into Riley's eyes for several minutes before she nodded.  "If that is what you want, I will do my best to see that you get back  home."

Riley looked away as tears burned her eyes again. She didn't know what  was wrong with her. Between the sudden hot flashes and the emotional  roller coasters she was about ready to go postal on someone's ass. She  was too damn young for menopause.

"I have family back home," Riley said clearing her throat. "I have a  grandmother and a baby sister. Not much, but it is all I have. Plus, I  need to stop Dudley Dipshit and Daddy Dumbest from killing anyone else. I  took the files and photos that would put them away, but it doesn't do a  damn bit of good up here."

"I'll talk to Creon and see what I can do. By the way, I love your  descriptions. You wouldn't have a few you could share on a couple of  Bobbsey twins that have been practically parked up my ass, do you?"  Carmen asked humorously.

Riley's eyes glittered. "Darling, you are talking to the Queen of Mean.  The mouth from Denver. The Bitch Extraordinaire. Give me a little  background, and we can make them beg for a transfer."





Chapter 14

The next several days passed in relative quiet, at least after the first  night. She had talked Carmen into helping her find a temporary place to  stay until she could sort out her feelings and deal with what had  happened. Vox had not handled the new sleeping arrangements very well.  He had left deep gouges on the outside of the door when she refused to  open it. According to Carmen, he had gone ballistic when he returned to  their living quarters and found her things gone. He had roared, hissed,  and snarled for over an hour before he realized that she was not coming  out and he was not going to be allowed in. Riley shivered as she thought  about his parting words. He had vowed that when he got his hands on  her, she would never get away from him again.

Lucky for her, she had a few hidden resources he wasn't aware of, namely  a couple of guys who were having way too much fun at his expense.  Thanks to them, she had gotten really, really good at hiding from him.  If she didn't know better, she would think they were enjoying his  discomfort. The first clue she had was when Creon's face lit up with a  huge grin as he showed her to her new living quarters, then proceeded to  show her a half dozen times how to override the system so she could  seal it from the inside. The second clue was when Ha'ven had come  trotting up to her early the next morning with a cool little device that  showed Vox's exact position at all times on board the Horizon. He had  even shown her how to switch to a map that would display ways to get  away from Vox should he get too close. She had eyed the two men with a  cynical look, but all they did was grin and slap each other on the back a  lot. She had even approached Carmen about it, but all her new friend  did was roll her eyes and mutter something about little boys and  payback.

She spent most of the day with Carmen or exploring the ship. Her  favorite time was when she and Carmen went to visit with Mel and Cal,  two other humans on board. They had been abducted in much the same way  as she had been and sold to the Antrox as well. The biggest difference  was Mel turned out to be Melina. Riley just shook her head in disbelief  that no one else appeared to see through the oversized clothes and the  grandson references. One look at the way Melina walked and the soft  sound of her giggle was enough for Riley to figure it out.

She had been relaxing with Carmen and Cal when she put two and two  together. She finally answered Carmen's question as to how she had ended  up with five mates instead of the one. That was when Melina had given  herself away.

"So, who is the scarecrow?" Riley asked Cal.

"Scarecrow?" Cal repeated confused.

Riley jerked her head toward the cargo crates where Melina spent her  time hiding whenever anyone came into the repair bay. "Yeah, little miss  Priss. Does she think I have cooties or something?"

Carmen's soft gasp told Riley she had let the cat out of the bag.  "Granddaughter," Carmen murmured. "That is why she stays hidden and  doesn't talk."

Cal had called out to Melina to join them and slowly explained why they  had decided to continue the ruse. Cal mentioned that Creon promised that  he would return them to Earth with the understanding that they could  never tell anyone about what happen to them. Riley's brain froze on  those softly spoken words. Cal and Melina were going to be returned to  Earth, so that meant she would be going as well.

Riley listened absent-mindedly to the conversation going on around her. A  part of her was interested as Cal relayed story after story of the past  four years of their lives on the mining asteroid, but it was only a  small part. She was overwhelmed with sorrow at the thought of never  seeing Vox again. Sure she had been avoiding the big pussy cat, but she  always knew where he was thanks to Ha'ven's neat little device. She  casually slid it out of the pocket of her skirt and glanced down at the  mark showing Vox was back in their living quarters.         

     



 

His, Riley reminded herself. His living quarters, she thought sadly as  she watched the tiny speck on the screen. I wonder if he misses me as  much as I miss him.

She was just sliding the device back into her pocket when the door to  the repair bay opened and the other twin who protected Carmen walked in.  Melina jumped to her feet and scurried back between the crates before  he had taken more than a few steps inside. Riley's eyebrow rose in  wonder as she saw the dark hunger and confusion in the male's eyes  before he shielded them.

Somebody is not happy, Riley thought with a curve of her lips. And  somebody doesn't realize that Mel is really Melina if the confused look  is any indication of his feelings.

Life, it would appear, was about to get very interesting for Melina if  Riley had to make a guess. She had seen the same expressions on the  other twin's face. She wondered how long it would take before they  figured out Mel was a girl. She also wondered if they would discover it  before Cal and Melina made it back to Earth.

"My lady, your mate wishes to see you," Cree said in a low voice to  Carmen before he cleared his throat and looked carefully at Riley. "Your  mate as well, Lady Riley. Lord Vox said, quote, ‘Tell her to get her  beautiful ass to our living quarters now.'"

Riley snorted and tossed her heavy mane of blond hair over her shoulder.  If he thought trying to be sweet while still bossing her around was  going to work, he had another think coming. It didn't matter anyway. Now  that she knew for sure they were heading back to Earth, she would do  whatever she had to resist. Deep down, she admitted that if Vox ever got  his hands on her again, she might not let him take them off.

She shivered as another wave of heat started flaring inside her. She was  already wearing lighter clothing. Ever since Vox had made love to her  she had been having blasted hot flashes. They were getting worse,  especially at night. Not only that, she felt like there was something  weird going on with her skin. She could swear something was moving  underneath it. It was really beginning to freak her out. If it didn't  stop soon, she might have to ask Carmen for help again.

No, Riley thought dismally. I need to stick with my plan. Staying away  from him is definitely still the best for everyone, especially me.

Her mind might rebel against the idea, her body might protest it  vehemently, but it was the safest plan for a supporting character like  her. That was one reason why she had made herself watch all the science  fiction movies she had on her iPad again. She was not about to take a  chance of having anything exploding out of her or morphing her into some  disgusting creature that ate people.

Riley drew in a deep breath before she responded to Cree with a  determination born out of desperation. "Tell him, quote, ‘My beautiful  ass is quite comfortable where it is, and he can shove his … '" Riley  almost broke off when Cree made a choking sound during one of her really  descriptive-filled sentences. She finally took pity on him when she  realized there was no way he could remember everything she said anyway.  "Oh, never mind. Tell him I'll be there when I'm damn well ready," she  muttered instead, in resignation.