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“Of course they won’t. But the Gente won’t give us up without a fight.”

Wren looked back at Daisy. “We have to get her help. Hey, is anyone there?”

She called until her throat burned and her voice was hoarse.

“Take a break.” Eden nudged her with an elbow. “Those goons don’t give a damn about us.”

Wren slumped against the cage and rested her forehead on the cold bars.

Eden’s hand settled on her shoulder. “You did good out there. There was nothing else we could have done to stop the Gente.”

Wren sighed. The fight was just a blur of gun fire, fists, and pain. “I just remember not wanting them to touch me.”

“You screamed in this huge guy’s face. Even when he was dragging you to the ship. That’s how you got that massive bruise on the side of your head. He didn’t like being talked back to.”

Wren touched her injured head and winced. “He’ll pay for that.”

“Yeah, I’ve got all sorts of fun things lined up for them when we get out of here.”

The sound of a door opening had Wren reaching for the cage bars. “Over here. We need help. Someone is injured.”

Stomping footsteps approached, and a Gente appeared. It was the asshole who’d abducted Wren the first time.

“Stop shouting,” he said.

“You claim we’re a prize, yet you leave us here with serious injuries,” Wren said. “My friend is hurt. If you don’t treat her injuries, she could die.”

He approached the cage and peered in. “What will you do for me if I treat your friend?”

“She’ll promise to make your death a fast one,” Eden said.

The Gente smirked. “That’s not what I had in mind. There are ten of us on this ship. We all want to claim you. Promise yourself to me, and I’ll make sure your friend receives her treatment.”

“I’m not promising you anything,” Wren said. “If Daisy’s of value to you, make sure she gets better.”

He bared his teeth. “You don’t get to make demands.”

“I do if you want us to live,” Wren said.

The Gente circled the cage. He had overly large lips and sharp teeth that glinted in the gloomy light.

“Gente aren’t known for being clever, but even you must know you can’t get a corpse pregnant,” Eden said. “Fix her up.”

The Gente scowled at her. He touched the side of his ear. “Send two crew down to collect an injured Human. She’ll need a thorough examination. In fact, they all will. We need to make sure the credentials sent were legitimate.”

Wren recoiled. There was no way in hell they were running tests on her.

“I’ll unlock the cage. Bring your friend out,” the Gente said. “No sudden movements. As we witnessed before we took off, Humans can’t be trusted.”

“Neither can Gente,” Eden said. “You forgot to mention you had another ship hidden and illegal shield tech.”

He unlocked the door. “Don’t be concerned about our partners. We’re keeping you for our own use. The others were paid for their services and sent on their way.”

“At least we know how many of you we now have to kill,” Eden said. “Thanks for the information.”

He snarled at her. “Bring your friend out, unless you want to be injured as badly as her.”

“I’ll lift her legs,” Wren said. “Can you take the rest?”