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  Nina stared at her cuffed wrists for a moment and seemed to realize that the restraints were completely escape-proof. She took a deep breath and started to scream again.

  “Help! Help me! This man is kidnapping me. Help!”

  Reddix finally lost it. He was still on the ragged edge and the desperate fear in her blue eyes bothered him more than he liked to admit. The guilt that threatened to overwhelm him made him angry.

  “Goddess damn it, shut up!” he roared right in her face.

  Nina went abruptly pale and stopped screaming. She shrank back from him, turning her head away, trying to get as far from his threatening form as she could.

  Reddix felt his heart twist. This wasn’t how he had imagined meeting her for the first time. But what other option did he have? He couldn’t exactly introduce himself and ask if she would mind going with him to a distant planet in another galaxy so she could act as a sacrifice for an evil witch. It was kidnapping or nothing.

  Ignore her. She’s just a package to be delivered, he ordered himself as he buckled her in, securing the harness at last. But he still felt a sharp stab of guilt as he slammed her door closed and went around to get into the driver’s side.

  The sirens were getting louder, and Reddix saw flashing red and blue lights in the distance as he started the ship. They lifted off just as two official looking vehicles skidded to a halt in front of them. Their doors popped open, and two human males—puny looking creatures not nearly as tall as a Kindred warrior—jumped out.

  “This is the police,” shouted one of the males.

  “Help!” Nina leaned against the passenger side door and scrabbled at the handle. It would do her no good, of course. Reddix had taken the precaution of keying all the doors specifically to his own prints. But still, she tried. “Help me!” she begged again, looking down at the rapidly receding ground.

  One of the human males lifted his arm and pointed something at the ship—some kind of weapon, Reddix thought.

  “Let the girl go, or I’ll shoot!” he warned, his voice getting fainter as the ship gained altitude.

  Reddix was tempted to laugh. As if any of their puny Earth weapons could hurt a Kindred ship! As if—

  His thoughts were cut off as the human male squeezed his weapon and pointed at Reddix’s side of the ship. There was a loud bang and something hit the side of the ship.

  Reddix jumped in surprise. Then bang, bang, bang… Whoever the human male was, he was a damn good shot, Reddix had to grudgingly admit. He was no longer quite so sure that the human weapon couldn’t harm his ship. The projectiles it was firing whined as they grazed the metal hull. A direct hit in a vulnerable spot might cause damage after all.

  As if to prove him right, there was another bang, and the ship dipped and swerved, nearly yanking the steering yoke out of Reddix’s hands.

  Nina screamed breathlessly, her bound hands going to her throat.

  Reddix fought with the steering yoke and wrestled the ship into submission. A few more distant bangs sounded, but the projectiles passed them by harmlessly. The ship was still gaining altitude and was finally out of range of the human weapons. Out of range but not out of danger. He didn’t like the mushy way the controls responded to him or the way he had to fight to make the yoke turn when he wanted to correct his course.

  “Goddess damn it,” he cursed under his breath as he manhandled the yoke. The ship was definitely damaged, but how much and how seriously, he had no way of knowing. The smart thing to do would be to set down somewhere to examine it and run a complete diagnostic. That, of course, was impossible. He couldn’t set back down on Earth, and he couldn’t go back to the Mother Ship either—not with Nina screaming to everyone they saw that she had been kidnapped and taken against her will. No, his only option was to keep going and hope he could make it to the wormhole that led to Tarsia.

  “They hurt your ship, didn’t they?”

  Her voice surprised him, and Reddix looked over to see Nina staring at him, a bleak, shocked look on her face. There were tears standing in her big blue eyes—tears he had put there. Again, Reddix felt a stab of guilt, and again, he pushed the emotion savagely away. If he was going to do this, to carry through with his mission, he had to forget about his own feelings and hers and just keep going.

  “The bullets hit it when the cops shot your ship,” she went on. “Too bad they didn’t hit you.” She sounded like she might start crying, but there was defiance in her tone as well. It still felt strange to hear the emotion in her voice without feeling it on his skin. Reddix wondered absently how much longer this period of numbness would last before he was treated to the full blast of her emotions.

  “Yeah, well, they didn’t,” he growled, keeping his eyes straight ahead as he continued to fight with the controls. “Now be quiet so I can concentrate on flying this damn thing.”

  “Oh yes, just shut up and let you abduct me,” she said bitterly. “Just sit here quietly like a good little girl so you can take me somewhere to rape and torture me before you cut me into pieces and feed me into the wood chipper—or whatever alien equivalent you Kindred have.”

  Reddix spared a moment from the mushy controls to glance at her.

  “That’s the second time you mentioned rape,” he said, frowning. “Let me tell you, you’ve got nothing to worry about there. I couldn’t take you against your will, even if I wanted to—which I don’t. I’m not that kind of male.”

  Her eyes widened, then narrowed.

  “Right. You’re not that kind of guy. You’re just the kind who comes in and kidnaps some helpless girl you don’t even know—”

  “I know you, Nina,” he said shortly. “And you know me too. Don’t try to deny it.”

  “But I don’t…I’ve never seen you out…outside of my dreams.” Her voice faltered, and some of the defiance left her eyes to be replaced by fear and confusion. “Mehoo said you were a bear—an animal that hides its face.”

  Thinking of the way he always hid his face with his hood, Reddix laughed harshly.

  “That’s a fucking apt description. Guess your Mehoo was right about me.”

  Nina was silent for a moment, which gave him time to concentrate on flying. The little ship kept wanting to roll off course, and Reddix kept having to yank on the steering yoke to correct it. They were coming to the upper limits of the atmosphere now, though. Once they cleared the Earth’s gravitational pull and got out into space, flying ought to be easier. He hoped, anyway.

  At last, she spoke again. “Why did you take me? If you’re not intending to…to assault me, then why? Are you claiming me as your Bride? Because I told you, I can’t be claimed—I’m Native American.”

  “Got no interest in making you my bride,” Reddix growled. “Got no personal interest in you at all. This is strictly business.”

  “They why—”

  Suddenly, the comlink crackled to life.

  “Reddix? This is Commander Sylvan. You are in direct violation of my orders. I want you back at the Mother Ship now.”

  There was cold steel in the Tranq Kindred’s voice and Reddix could tell he was pissed. Damn it! He’d been sure he would have more of a head start. Now he had both the Earth authorities and his Kindred brothers on his tail. Could anything else go wrong?

  “Come back to the Mother Ship at once,” Sylvan demanded again.

  “Sorry, Commander, can’t do it,” Reddix said evenly as the little ship shot out into clear space. As he had hoped, steering was suddenly much easier, and he breathed a small sigh of relief.

  Nina leaned forward, staring hopefully at the comlink.

  “Hello? Can you hear me? My name is Nina Kerrick, and this man is abducting me against my will. Please, help me!”

  A new voice suddenly came onto the comlink.

  “Reddix? What did you do? Who is that girl?” Saber demanded.

  “She’s the one,” Reddix said shortly. “The one I need.”

  “What do you need her for?” Saber asked. “For Xandra? It’s all li