“The bastard. I knew he had to be involved in this.”
“Up to his eyeballs,” Kyden confirmed. “We think he had help from inside your organization. Your man Darryl has a few suspicious contacts and credit flows lately but we haven’t finished the investigation yet. I will say he apparently has quite a gambling problem.”
Reeling from the information that Darryl, who she trusted implicitly for so many years, could have been corrupted by the mob, not to mention the news about his gambling, Samyra took a tighter grip on her blaster. The flyer came to a stop, hovering, and the interior lights blinked off. The door slid open.
“Short antigrav descent,” Kyden said, wrapping his arm around her waist. “Hang on.”
She had no time to protest or be scared. Her adrenaline was raging as it was, just as when she entered the arena, so Samyra was ready for anything. The group descended about twenty feet to the pavement and she glanced up once, to find the flyer was still in stealth mode, not visible even to the naked eye. Sensors would never ‘see’ it.
The team landed in a tight group at the edge of a building, which was a garage by the smell of engines and fuel. With Kyden at the point and herself directly on his six, Rennyr and Talinn behind them they made their way through the shadows to the next building, which stood next to the property’s force barrier. It looked like a warehouse or a big storage unit to Samyra, not really appropriate for keeping a prisoner as deadly as Jamirr could be.
They crossed the shadows to the door. Cautiously Kyden reached out with one talon and tried the door, which proved to be unlocked. Exchanging looks with his men, he burst through it, Samyra and the two Badari right behind him. There was a large cryosleep container against the back wall, humming, indicator lights flashing green. One man had been sitting on a chair next to it and he fell to blaster fire as he tried to draw his weapon and stand up to meet the assault. The other man fired off a few wild shots and made a break for a side door. Rennyr chased him down, tackling him from behind and cutting his throat with one talon.
Talinn turned and locked the door as Kyden and Samyra advanced to the cryocooler. Through the transparent top she was relieved to see Jamirr. He seemed fine although his face was set in a frown.
“They stuck him in cryo?” Rennyr said in disbelief as he joined them. “Worst possible thing to do to a Badari with our particular DNA issues.”
“The kidnappers had no way to know and probably wouldn’t have cared,” the Alpha replied.
“Is there a problem?” Samyra asked, looking from one worried face to the other. “At least he wasn’t tortured or starved. Let’s get him out and go.”
Kyden faced her. “For some of us, cryosleep has severe effects on our brains. That’s why we were selected to be sold on the black market. We believe Jamirr has a particularly high sensitivity to the process, given how confused he was and the amnesia he experienced when we found him in your care. We’re going to have to basically rip him out of it right now with no supportive meds—he may react badly.”
“No choice and we’re probably running out of time,” Rennyr said, going to the large control unit. He started flipping switches as Talinn joined Kyden and Samyra.
“I’m a healer,” Talinn said, flexing his hands. “Unknown how much I can help with cryosleep issues.”
Samyra did a doubletake at the way his hands glowed green and the sparks which floated from his fingertips.
The cryo unit hummed and went dark as the power was cut. The lid slid open and frosty vapors poured out, which Samyra took care not to breathe in.
Kyden gestured her forward. “Speak to him before we try to lift him out.”
She didn’t hesitate but leaned over and kissed Jamirr’s cold lips. “I’m here with Kyden and the others to get you out,” she said softly, stroking one hand through his hair. “You need to wake up and help us.”
For a minute there was no reaction and then Jamirr convulsed. Kyden grabbed Samyra and moved her back a few steps despite her immediate protest. Jamirr’s eyes flew open and he sat up snarling, fangs exposed. When he caught a glimpse of Samyra, he hesitated as if trying to place who she was.
“It’s me, my love,” she said, trying to break free from Kyden’s hold. “You were kidnapped and we’re here to rescue you.”
His eyes focused on the Alpha’s grip on her wrist and he growled, a low rumbling sound more terrifying than anything any of her zoo animals had ever made. Kyden released her immediately and held his hands up. “Easy, brother. No one’s trying to hurt your woman or you either. Can you walk?”
Samyra edged closer. “Please?” She extended her hand and Jamirr touched it with one talon before suddenly wrapping his entire hand around hers and tugging her to him. She nearly fell into the cryo chamber as he gathered her in for a kiss, holding her tightly pressed against his chest.
“Mate,” he said.
Samyra heard the men behind her suppressing their amusement. “Yes,” she agreed, “You can call me that. I love you.”
He rubbed his free hand over his face and stared around the open space in bewilderment.
Kyden stepped forward, Rennyr at his shoulder. “Let us help you, brother. We need to be gone and you’re going to be woozy on your feet.”
Jamirr answered him with a pithy sentence in what she assumed was the Badari tongue and then began trying to climb out of the oversize box on his own.
“If you don’t mind moving,” Kyden said to Samyra with visible restraint.
She skipped out of the way and watched as the two huge men lifted Jamirr free of the lingering vapors and set him on his feet, where he would have promptly collapsed if they hadn’t held onto him
“Company coming,” Talinn said from his post at the door. “Sounds like two men.”
