Free A Perfect Bond by Lee-Ann Wallace Page B

coming from his Ellie. Should never be coming from his woman. He looked at her wound. It was high up on her chest on the right side. She was lucky it had missed a direct hit to her heart. If it had hit her heart, she would have died instantly. As it was, the wound was serious. She could have damage to her lungs and the muscles of her chest.
    “Fuck it, Ellie. Why would you do that?” he demanded.
    Her eyelids fluttered, but she didn’t speak. She stared up into his eyes, yellow-green orbs hazed over with pain, the pupils large and dilated. He couldn’t even give her anything for the pain. He had nothing. He touched her cheek gently, a light stroke that had her eyes closing as tears slid from the corners.
    She coughed, a wet sound that told him all he needed to know. Blood wet her lips, dark blue and shiny in the lights of her lab.
    He searched her lab again, almost desperate for something, anything that would help. She needed to be in a medical bay with equipment and pain relief. His gaze landed on her Health Pod. She’d said it was untested, but from what he’d seen, it was ready to go. At least the scanner was, though he didn’t know about its regeneration capabilities. If he knew anything about Ellie, she would have made sure it was far superior to the regeneration units that were already available.
    He glanced at Stadden to see the man standing, staring down at Ellie, wide eyed and shocked, his weapon still pointed towards them. He wasn’t going to be any help and if Manik didn’t do something soon, she would drown in her own blood.
    Lifting her as carefully as he could, he walked towards the Health Pod. It was the only chance she had. Her breath rattled in her lungs, the sound wet and liquid.
    He looked down at her to find her eyes closed and her head hanging limply. Fear slithered down his spine, cold and vicious. He couldn’t lose her now, not when they’d just bonded.
    Holding her tightly in one arm, he lifted the lid on the Health Pod. This had better work. Glancing back, he saw Stadden coming out of his shock. The man was watching him, his weapon lowered to the floor.
    Lifting Ellie as carefully as he could, he lowered her into the deep well of the Health Pod. Settling her limbs gently, he brushed a hand over her short hair before stepping back and closing the lid. Pressing his finger to the control panel as he’d seen Ellie do just the day before, he waited impatiently as the machine started. Small pictures slid across the screen, the same small pictures that had been on the screen inside. He didn’t dare touch anything in case he changed an important setting. He couldn’t read the writing under each picture and could only guess at what each one was for.
    He wanted to know what the machine was doing, but had to satisfy himself with the knowledge that it was on and would be scanning Ellie and checking her for damage. The machine beeped, and writing scrolled across the screen. Writing he couldn’t understand. Frustration balled his fists as he stared down at the screen, frustration along with anger. Why would Ellie do that, why would she step in front of him?
    A movement behind made him turn to look at the security officer. The man still looked a little shocked, but he had his weapon aimed at Manik’s chest and determination was in his eyes.
    “You can either come with me quietly or I’ll shoot you,” Stadden said.
    Manik stared at the security officer. His hand was steady as he held the weapon pointed at him. Manik didn’t see that he had a lot of options. He could try and fight his way out, but he’d have to make a run for his shuttle—if he did that, he’d be leaving Ellie behind. There would be no coming back if he escaped this time. Ellie would have to find some way to get off the station and meet him. The dangers to a woman travelling alone through space were high, and even if she convinced her friend Prixy to go with her, they still ran the risk of being sold to slave traders.
    If he went