The Price of Freedom (Page 17)

"Oh, you won’t be there," Bose said. Her heart froze. Why wouldn’t she be there? Was he planning to put her outside the airlock already? Had he changed his mind about giving her two weeks?

"You’ll be sleeping," he said. "You’ve got work to do while the rest of us sleep. I won’t have you neglecting your chores because of a wedding. Now where are my pain tabs?"

"Here they are, father," she said, quickly taking two out of the bottle. "Shall I get you something to wash them down with?"

"No, Moriah will do that," Bose said. He wavered, then stumbled over to his chair. Collapsing in it, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Moriah will be taking care of me from now on. You’ll stay here for now. Until I find a better place for you. Now get to work."

Shivering, Bethany handed Moriah the two tabs and then quietly opened the door to leave. Moriah clutched her hand, and leaned over to whisper, "Please don’t tell anyone I’m here. You know what will happen if they find out."

"I won’t tell," Bethany said, squeezing the younger woman’s hand. "Don’t worry about me. Worry about him."

"I do," Moriah said, a tear welling up in her eye. "I worry about him all the time."

There was nothing Bethany could say in response. Moriah would have to find her own way through this.

* * * * *

Sixth cycle after the mine collapse

Jess had just about figured out the routine. Bethany would arrive each cycle as the blasters were coming up from the mine. She would check on him briefly and then go to get the food.

By the time she came back with the second cart the guards would have arrived. They sounded the wake-up, and the men would hurry to get out of bed and get ready. Then she would arrive with the third cart and they would eat.

Fifteen minutes later the men spilled out of the barracks and suited up. They would go down into the mine for the day’s work and stay there for the next fourteen hours.

The most valuable piece of information he had gleaned was that even as the slaves were working, the majority of the Pilgrims slept. And there were very few guards at the mine. He’d always assumed that the entire contingent was there throughout the cycle. But within minutes of the last slave entering the mine, all but two of the guards left. Halfway through the slaves’ work cycle the guards were relieved by two new men. Other than that, the compound was left empty.

Empty except for him and Bethany.

It was perfect for his plans.

She popped her head in to check on him even before the blasters came up. He heard her coming, and pretended to sleep. She was more likely to touch him if she thought he was unconscious; when he was awake she seemed nervous. If he had been less honest with himself, he could have rationalized pretending to sleep by saying it was so he could spy on her. But he was more than willing to admit his real purpose. He wanted her to touch him. He wanted to smell her scent, to feel her soft warm flesh against his. When she’d given him the water the night before, it had been like touching heaven. He wanted more of that heaven.

He could hear the faint swish of her skirts as she approached his pallet. Her breathing was light, as if she were afraid to disturb him even in so small a way. Then she was kneeling next to him, and her cool fingers were touching his forehead.

It was all he could do to keep from moaning aloud.

Instead, he fluttered his lashes and looked up at her sleepily. Her green eyes blinked, and a soft smile stole across her face.

"How are you today?" she asked, her voice a smooth purr in his ears. As always in her presence, he hardened. How much more of this torture could he take? He didn’t care how difficult it was. He wanted to listen to her talk forever.

"I’m all right," he whispered, voice raspy. "Can you help me with some water? I’d really like something to eat, too, if you’ve got it."

"I’ll help you with the water," she said. "But we’ll have to wait for Bragan to make sure it’s all right for you to eat. I don’t want to do anything that might hurt you."

"You could never hurt me," he said without thinking. She blushed, then looked away from him. She was like a beautiful flower he’d once seen, grown hydroponically in a station greenhouse. Shy and flushed, almost afraid to look straight at him. So lovely…

"I have good news for you," she said. "I managed to get some pain pills. Once Bragan says it’s all right you’ll be able to take some for your neck. I’m sure that will help."

"I’m sure it will, too," he replied.

"I need to get more water, I’ll be right back."

She stood and left the small room. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Her smell was still in the room. Soon she would be touching him again. If there was one thing he’d learned during his time in the mines, it was to take each moment and savor it.

Being with her was definitely worth savoring.

She came back after a second with the water and knelt beside him again. Then she was lifting him in her arms again, cradling his head against her breast just as she had the night before. It was wonderful, even better than he remembered.

This time he sipped slowly at the water she held to his lips. The longer it took him to drink, the longer it would be before she left. At least that was the theory. Unfortunately they were interrupted all too soon by the sounds of the blasters returning from work. She gave a startled little gasp, then lowered him quickly to his pallet. Of course, there was one good thing about her self-consciousness, he told himself. She was clearly as aware of him as he was of her. He liked that idea.

"I have to go and get the food," she said, standing. "Bragan will be in to check on you soon. We’ll find out about the food and the pain killers then. I’ll be back."

With that she was gone, scurrying off to get the carts.

He listened quietly as she brought each cart. Then the noise level rose as the men came out to suit up.

The door opened, and Bragan stepped in.

"We’ve only got a minute or so, she’s coming back," Bragan said. "I have good news. She had no idea how much pain medication you might need, so she’s brought ten tabs. She says she can get more if we need them."

"Will that be enough?" Jess asked.

"It will be enough for five men," Bragan said. "You’ll have to convince her you’re in more pain so she’ll keep giving them to us."

"When are you going to start removing the implants?" Jess asked.

"I’m doing Logan’s today," Bragan said. "It’s the most risky, because I’ll have to do it in the mine in a pressure tent. We’ve decided we can’t risk doing this first one in the barracks. Once Logan’s done, he can stand guard while I do the others during the sleep cycle. We don’t know if this will work. If he doesn’t recover enough in one cycle to keep working, they’ll get suspicious"