In
last week's episode, Regan forced Duncan to take baby Noah to the Hyborean, he threw Addy in the river, and he beat the heck out of Max. Can Max and Addy get their baby back?
An abducted cop and a gladiator prisoner must learn to trust each other with their lives…and their hearts…to escape their alien captors.
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CAPTIVE
Chapter Fifty-One
Having spent three-quarters of her life in the woods, Addy knew how to creep through vegetation making minimal noise, but each time her arm brushed a leaf or a twig snapped underfoot, fear amplified the sounds.
Thuds from fists on flesh sent her ducking behind a thicket.
Regan repeatedly pounded Max’s head into the ground. Bound and helpless, he couldn’t get up.
Her stomach pitched. She had to stop Regan from killing him. Before she could muster the courage to move, Regan’s head snapped up and scanned the woods, no doubt looking for her. Keeping still, she held her breath hoping the vegetation was enough to hide her white shirt.
Why was she cowering in the woods? Max needed her…if he were still alive. Trying to keep silent, she searched the ground for something to use as a weapon. If she were to attack Regan, she needed the element of surprise.
Regan strutted off in the opposite direction.
She waited until he disappeared fully into the trees before staggering on tired legs to Max. By the time she reached him, he had managed to get to his knees. He looked like living death. Blood mixed with dirt and forest debris saturated his shirt, face, and chest. His hands were bound behind his back. Kneeling at his side, hesitant to touch him for fear of causing more pain, Addy’s heart broke.
“You okay?” he croaked.
She nodded. “And you? There’s so much blood.”
“It’s not all mine. I think.”
Choking back her tears, she went to work on the knot at his wrists. “Is anything broken?”
“My nose for sure. Ribs hurt, but I think they’re intact.”
Was he saying that to be brave? She’d been on the receiving end of Regan’s powerful kicks.
“The knot’s too tight. I can’t get it loose.” She found a sharp rock and used it to saw through the fabric.
The instant Max’s hands were freed, he turned and pulled her to him, burying his bloodied face in her wet, stringy hair. “I’m sorry. If I hadn’t gotten caught in that damn poacher trap, that bastard would never have laid a finger on you.” He peeled her away to examine her, then pushed the wet strands from her face, tucking them behind her ears.
Anguish filled his eyes. His fingers lightly skimmed down her throbbing cheek and jaw, across her split lip, and down her neck like soft threads of a spider’s web. Had her pain vanished by magic? Or perhaps it lay forgotten beneath her flesh trembling from his soothing touch.
He pulled the two drenched ends of her shirt together, tying them Daisy Duke style. She used the shirtsleeve that had been his restraint to blot his cut brow, his broken nose, his bloody mouth.
“We have to go,” he said.
She didn’t know how he stood of his own volition, let alone helped her to her feet, but she thanked God he could. Maybe all that blood really wasn’t his. Strong fingers interlaced with hers as he led her upstream, keeping inside the rainforest’s edge for cover. He stopped when they came to their vine over the river.
“Once we’re across, I’ll cut the line to buy us time. We’ll lose Regan in the refuge. If we’re lucky, we’ll find Kedric’s clan before Regan finds us.”
“What about Noah?”
“We have to save ourselves right now, Addy.”
She jerked her hand free. “Like hell. We have to save our son.”
“When Regan brings him to Ferly Mor, the Hyboreans will know we’re close. I don’t know how many there are, but every one of them will be looking for us. We have to level the battlefield. No Hyborean can go into the refuge, and I’ll guarantee Duncan won’t cross, which leaves Regan. Our chances of survival are greater on the other side.”
“No. We have to find Duncan. If he ran northwest, that means he’s hiding Noah for us. He’s on our side.”
“Regan’s no fool. He knows Duncan’s loyalties are with you. But Regan’s not barefoot or injured. He’ll find Noah before we do.”
“Because we’re wasting time arguing. I’m going after my son.”
“The hell you are.”
“I won’t give up on my baby.” She started to run but was jerked back by Max’s hand gripping her bicep.
He forced her around to face him and held her gaze. “I won’t let you run smack into Regan’s trap. You’re going to the refuge. Once Regan is dead we can devise a plan to get Noah back.”
“What if Ferly Mor takes Noah to HuBReC while we’re in the refuge?”
“That’s a chance we’ll have to take.”
Addy shoved him away. “No way am I chancing that. I could never live with myself knowing my son is somewhere out there being tortured and starved and trained to be some survival race gladiator slave, killing men, raping and terrorizing women. I refuse to live in freedom while they turn our son into a beast like Regan. You of all people should understand this. After everything they’ve done to you, how can you turn your back on your son? Why won’t you fight?”
“Hell, woman, because I can’t win!”
Max drew in a breath and let it out slowly. He closed the distance between them. His fingers found hers and curled around them. He spoke softly as if it pained him to control his words. “At nineteen I lost my home. As a gladiator I lost my life, my humanity, and my soul. Today I lost our son. If we go back and fight, I’ll lose you.” He brought his forehead to rest on hers. “And I can’t bear that torture again. I can’t.”
His anguish ripped her heart into shreds. He loved her. He was scared to death to lose her. And here she was telling him that she had to go back. She hated seeing the distress behind his teary eyes, especially knowing she was the reason. She loved him too much to cause him pain or grief. She palmed his stubbly cheeks and brought his lips to hers, then kissed him, soft and tender.
Max drew his mouth away, his pleading eyes searching hers. “Please. Go to the refuge.”
“I want to, Max. I really do, but I can’t leave our son. I have to protect him.”
“You can’t protect him. If you’re forced back to HuBReC, there’s no guarantee Noah will even live there. Anyone could buy him. Don’t you understand? We can’t win on this planet. We can only survive.”
“Surviving isn’t living. Fighting for what you believe in is. Even if it means giving up the very things you want most. Live free or die, Max. Live free or die.”
Freeing her fingers from his, she turned and ran barefoot and weaponless into the woods, following the trail of broken branches and upturned leaves she knew Duncan had been responsible for leaving.
* * *
The pain in Max’s body didn’t compare to the torment in his heart as he watched the forest swallow the best part of him. He glanced back to the vine rope hovering above the river. Two hundred yards stood between him and the refuge. The closest he’d ever come to freedom.
Why did his heart ache worse than it did the day he’d killed Cameron?
Surviving isn’t living.
She was right. Without her and Noah, he could survive, but he sure as hell couldn’t live.
He had to fight to get his family back, no matter the cost.
Max sprinted after Addy.
* * *
Thwap. A spear penetrated the ground cover two feet to Addy’s left.
“If you’re going into battle, you’ll need a weapon.”
Her heart burst. She ran to Max, throwing her arms around him, knocking him back. “I knew you’d come,” she whispered into his shirt, taking comfort in his solid, yet banged-up form before hitting him once on the chest. “What took you so long?”
His reply was a tight, reassuring squeeze. “It took thirty seconds to catch and tail you, and three minutes to carve the spear. Now, let’s get our son.” He released her and plucked the spear from the ground. “You skilled in the martial arts? Stick fighting? Fencing?”
When she shook her head no on all accounts, Max found a thick branch, about as long as a baseball bat, near a fallen tree. He weighed it in his hand. “Can you swing a bat?”
“Yes.”
“Then take this.” He handed her the heavy branch. “Regan’s head is the ball. Knock it out of the park. Don’t hold back, Addy. We aren’t out to hurt him. We’re out to kill him and anyone or anything else standing in our way. You understand?”
“Yes.” She followed him through the thick forest. She’d have enough motivation, fortitude, and guts to kill Regan and even Ferly Mor, but what about Duncan? If she had to could she kill him, too? Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.
Max stopped to pick up another stick, this one about seven inches long. He handed her his spear and worked on whittling the end of the smaller stick into a point all while tracking the enemy through brush and around enormous alien tree trunks. The man’s skills never ceased to amaze. Thank God he were on her side. Together, they would get back their son.
“I’m sure it didn’t take Regan long to catch Duncan,” he said. “Which means by the time we get to Ferly Mor’s vehicle, Noah may already be aboard.”
Long, arching bramble canes pulled on Addy’s clothes as she maneuvered through thickets. “Can you cover me while I sneak aboard the craft?”
“You can’t open the doors.”
“Then how do I get in?”
Max didn’t react to the brambles scratching tiny red lines across his arms. “By throwing raw meat into a smilodon den.”
“If that’s a Hyborean idiom, I’m afraid to ask who the meat is.”
“It’s you.”
“Great.” She pulled another bramble from her arm.
“When I lure Regan into the woods to kill him, you gain Ferly Mor’s attention. Hell, knock on his vehicle if you have to. He’ll sublimate the door and come to get you. That’s when you take this and stab him.” He handed her the finished weapon. “We’ll conceal it under your pant leg.”
Max ripped two long strips of material from his pants, knelt in front of her, and tied one strip around her upper calf and one strip around her lower calf. “You’ve got to kill him before he slaps a shock collar on you or cages you. Can you do that?”
She nodded. “What if I fail?” She tucked the weapon between the fabric and her leg. “What if Ferly Mor takes us to HuBReC?”
“He won’t leave without Duncan.”
“You’re going to hide Duncan?”
“No.” He took her spear and started tracking again. “I’m going to kill him.”
She couldn’t help gasping. Duncan had taken care of her. He had been something of a father figure. He had even aided them by taking Noah into the woods away from Regan and Ferly Mor’s ship knowing he risked punishment. A moment ago, she wondered if she would be able to kill Duncan. Now, she knew she couldn’t.
“If by chance you get captured,” Max said, “Ferly Mor will have to search for Duncan and then reawaken him, giving us more time to figure out how to get you and Noah off his craft.”
They hiked another ten minutes to where the trees grew thick and the ground cover sparse due to a dense canopy blocking the sunlight. Max halted, putting up a hand to stop her. “Regan’s here.”
“Noah.” Fifty yards ahead, her baby lay at the base of a five-foot-wide tree trunk, alone. Motherly instinct urged her legs to run to him, but law enforcement training overruled the desire. It was an obvious trap. “Is he alive?”
“Yes. He’s making sucking motions.”
Relief energized her with renewed hope and strength. Ready to fight for her family, she scanned the area for Regan.
The forest was quiet except for the buzz-saw sound of insects, distant birdcalls, and the occasional pings of falling nut seeds through the leaves.
Regan hid somewhere, just like he did the day he attacked her on the running trail. Her heart rocketed. Gripping the club with two hands now, she brought it slowly to her shoulder.
“I see part of a hovercraft through the trees straight ahead,” Max whispered. She didn’t see anything. It must have been pretty far away. “Be ready for anything.”
Regan stepped from behind Noah’s tree, knife in hand. “I knew you’d come after the whelp, pet. Though I was hoping you’d come alone.” He licked his bottom lip.
“Give us the kid, and I won’t kill you.” Max raised his spear. He crept sideways away from Addy, circling Regan as he closed the distance between them.
Addy held her bat at the ready and cautiously moved toward Regan, hoping Max would wait until he was closer before letting the spear fly. If Regan stepped out of the way, Max would be weaponless.
Regan laughed. “Two against one. This should be sporting.”
Duncan appeared several feet behind Regan, a large rock in his hand. His face was badly beaten and bloodied—no doubt, his punishment for trying to hide Noah. Duncan raised the rock into a ready-to-throw position. “Seems the odds are no’ in yer favor, lad. Drop yer weapon and let them be.”
“Fuck you, Gramps,” he shouted over his shoulder.
Duncan threw his rock. Max and Addy charged. Regan ducked the rock, simultaneously grabbing Noah. When he stood, his flesh-eater hovered over the baby’s belly.
Everyone stopped—except for Noah, who wailed.
“No, Regan,” Addy shouted. “Please. I’m begging you. Don’t hurt him. You’re not an animal, for God’s sake.”
“That’s right. I’m a Hyborean alpha gladiator. An immortal.”
“You’re only a man,” Max shouted. “The same as me.”
“I’m nothing like you, Earthling. I’m free to do as I please.” Regan plunged the knife into Noah’s belly. After one heart-wrenching wail, the baby fell silent. “I bet you’ll take him to Ferly Mor this time,” he said to Duncan before dropping the body. He raced toward Max, who was running full speed and screaming his battle cry.
Addy couldn’t stop screaming. Pain ripped through her chest as if the knife had plunged into it. Her heartbeat thrashed in her ears as she scrambled to her baby. She covered the bloody wound with her hands. Red oozed between her trembling fingers. “Oh God, oh God, oh God. I can’t stop the bleeding.”
“Let me take him, lass.” Duncan was at her side. “Ferly Mor will work his magic, and the bairn will be whole within minutes.”
She couldn’t hand over Noah. She couldn’t leave her baby, even though she knew she should. Terror had stricken her motionless. She could do nothing but sob and watch in horror as her baby’s chest rose and fell with shallow breaths.
Until it dropped for the last time.
* * *
Blade and spear engaged in battle. Steal bashed against wood. Splinters flew.
Max thrust. Blocked. Struck. Jabbed.
Hot pain tore his knuckles. Regan knocked the spear from his grip. A side blade kick into Regan’s gut sent him backward, gaining Max enough time to get to his weapon.
Retrieving it, he caught sight of Addy crumpled on the ground, her eyes void of life.
Clearly, Noah was dead.
Their newborn son, gone.
Grief shattered his heart, spewing shrapnel into his soul. Regan was about to meet his ultimortem.
Regan charged. He was nearly on top of him when Max came up with the spear and thrusted. Regan deflected it to his side, the spear ripping through his gladiator shirt, not flesh.
In his peripheral vision, Max saw Duncan running Noah in the hovercraft’s direction. Good. If Addy waited until the kid’s reawakening, they could still execute their plan.
The flesh-eater burned across his chest.
Concentrate, dammit! You lose this fight, you lose your family.
On the offensive, Max thrust again and again. Regan stepped back, blocking the barrage. Max moved sideways, changing his angle of attack, backing Regan toward a giant tree trunk. A few more minutes and he’d pin the bastard to that tree with his spear.
What the hell? An irate, vengeful mother raced toward them, fists tight around her club, fire burning in her eyes.
“Stay back, Addy,” Max shouted, though he knew from experience it fell on deaf ears. Rage and hate had a way of coloring the world red, preventing hearing, preventing thinking. She wouldn’t be able to stop until she killed the raping, murdering bastard…or died trying.
She swung for Regan’s head. He ducked, and she nearly hit Max. “Hell, woman, you’ll get us both killed!”
Regan moved away from the tree trunk and thrust his knife at Max. Instead of countering, Max dove to avoid Addy’s back swing before it caught his temple. A tuck and roll later, he jumped to his feet, spear at the ready. “Get out of the way, woman!”
Addy swung at Regan again and again, keeping him off her but making no bodily contact. Shit. Max couldn’t throw his weapon without hitting her.
In one motion, the bastard disarmed Addy and pulled her struggling against him, using her as a human shield.
Think, dammit.
Max cocked back his spear. Aimed. Then let it fly straight and true.
Into Addy’s heart.
#
What?!? Did Max just kill the woman he loves?!? How is this story going to have a happy ending with Noah and Addy dead? Will Addy and Noah be reawakened? Can Max defeat Regan? Find out next week in Chapter 52 or read the full story now at your favorite retailers.
