idea of offering her up to him for a moment, but instead of panicking, Kyra trusted in her comrade not to put her in harms way. She played along and kept her cool, and knew he’d never actually allow her to be used in that way. Her patience paid off, and Gage quickly shot down their host’s request. “As much as I’d like to pretend I’m open to sharing, I’m afraid I cannot. Kiki’s mine, and has been since I took her innocence. Understood?” he added, and the authority in his tone and intense stare as he regarded their new friend even scared her.
Tuka laughed again, and slapped his knee in appreciation of Gage’s show of dominance. Kyra couldn’t deny, she hated how men loved having their foolish contests to establish control over one another, and was instantly reminded of how Kronus had downright demanded he prefer her be alone and miserable than happy with someone else.
“Now, now gentlemen. That’s enough of that,” she chimed, and then accepted a shot of vodka from the waitress who’d returned. She threw it back in one, and regarded the men with a coy smile. “We aren’t interested in entertaining anyone but each other, thank you. Your hospitality has been wonderful, however I think it’s time we were going.” Kyra stood, but in a surprise move, Gage didn’t join her.
“Answer me this, Mrs. Paynter. When was the last time you let go of all your inhibitions?” Tuka leaned across to the small table before them, lifted another shot from the tray, and held it out to her. “There’s a secret behind your eyes, and I’m dying to discover what it is. Perhaps you love another man, or maybe your lover is another species all together?”
Now then, aren’t you intuitive, she thought with a hint of a smile. Kyra took the shot from him, sat back down, and drank it. “My secrets are mine to keep, but I will tell you that they’ve led me to places and people I could never speak of. I’ve seen things I doubt you’ve even dreamt about, and they are what led me here today.”
“You’re truly ready to question the life you’ve been taught to believe is right?” Tuka grilled her further.
“I already do,” she answered, and raised her freshly refilled glass when he grinned at her and lifted his in a toast.
“Then you’re already well on your way to phase-two. Tell me, what’s the worst thing you’ve seen or experienced at the hands of our alien leaders?” he enquired, and in a move that surprised her, she answered honestly.
“My best friend, and her unplanned pregnancy that was taken care of in the most absolute way. I’ll never forget what they did to her,” Kyra told him, and a real tear fell onto her cheek at the memory of her old friend Brona’s awful time during training. She’d gone to the Medical Division to take a pregnancy test, only to end up with a hysterectomy and therefore lifelong infertility. They’d been told it was an unavoidable consequence to an infection she’d developed, but Kyra truly believed otherwise. Tuka leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands with a solemn look in his eye, regarding her intently.
“We’ve had the same. One of my girls went missing after she attended a local clinic, but I’d taken measures to track her years before—like with all my girls. I followed the signal out into the arid lands, and found nothing but desert.” He shook his head in clear disgust.
“Where was she?” Kyra had to ask. It was a question that had plagued her for years, and the thought of finding an answer suddenly overtook her need for intel about the rebels themselves.
“Buried beneath the sand in a mass grave, along with hundreds of other women. Their bodies had been dissected and dismembered, but none bore any sign of pregnancy, nor did any have a child’s bones still within them.”
“Do you think they’re taking them away? Testing them? But for what reason?” Kyra knew she was blurring the line between the fake role and her real personality, but she
Lee Harrington, Mollena Williams