Free Rescuing Rory by N.J. Walters

laughing. “You should have gotten laid at our last stop before the Exos . All you can think about is sex.” Garth always attracted women wherever they went but he rarely acknowledged them.
    Flynn slid back into his chair. “I don’t care if Kal is fucking her as long as she does what we need her to and doesn’t cause any problems.”
    Kal took his brother’s words to heart. He nodded at Flynn to acknowledge that he’d heard the warning and went to work monitoring the radar for any other ships in their vicinity. It wouldn’t do to get lax with security, not when he had such precious cargo on board.
    As Kal worked, he couldn’t help but wonder how Rory was doing. He thought about checking on her but decided if he laid eyes on her, even if it was just on screen, his work would suffer. And that couldn’t happen. Not after Flynn’s warning.
     
    Eyes burning and shoulders stiff, Rory pushed out of the chair and groaned when her legs and back protested. She absently rolled her neck and shoulders as she wondered how long she’d been working. After a while, all the men in the photos began to look alike but she forced herself to take her time and study each one carefully.
    A woman’s life depended on it.
    That’s if Abigail was even still alive. Rory shuddered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms as a chill went through her. She knew all too well just what could happen to a woman on her own. And Abigail had only been a kid when she was taken. But she also wasn’t truly alone. She had four brothers searching the far corners of every known galaxy for her.
    And God help the person who snatched their sister when the Marks brothers found them. Rory didn’t think whoever was responsible would live long. And although she didn’t like violence, in this case she was pretty much okay with whatever they did to the person who abducted Abigail. If they’d take a twelve-year-old kid from her family they didn’t deserve lenience.
    She rolled her shoulders again as she considered the short list she’d made so far. She still had a few hundred pictures left to look at but needed a break. She could kill two birds with one stone and let Kal and his brothers know what she’d found so far.
    It had nothing to do with the fact she missed Kal and wanted to see him. “Stupid,” she muttered under her breath as she approached the door to the room. He probably hadn’t spared her a thought since he’d left her several hours ago.
    Rory straightened her shoulders and pressed the release button, slightly surprised when the panel actually slid open. She’d half expected to be locked in Kal’s quarters. She wasn’t exactly a guest on board the ship.
    It was easy to retrace her steps to the control deck. The ship was a nice size for a trader but wasn’t massive. Even if Kal wasn’t there, someone would be. The urge to turn around and run back to Kal’s room was strong but there was no safety to be found there. Not really. She didn’t have a place anymore. That had been brutally snatched from her.
    She took a calming breath and sucked back the tears that threatened to fall. She wouldn’t cry about her father’s murder. Not now. Now she had to be strong. Her father would not only understand but also approve.
    Rory could almost hear his voice in her ear. “Buck up, kid, it can always get worse.” She’d lost count of how many times he’d said that to her when she’d get down about things. Her father had loved her but he’d never coddled her, forcing her to stand on her own two feet and to accept life as it came. Some might think it a harsh lesson to teach a child but it had held her in good stead over the years.
    The door to the control deck slid open and Kal stood there with his hands braced against the frame, worry etched across his face. “Everything okay?”
    She nodded, not able to speak yet with so many emotions bombarding her. Her father’s memory was overwhelmed by the feelings she had for Kal. They weren’t just