Kidnappping Casey Read online

  “Okay.” She studied him.

  Argernon hesitated. “I did not intend to bound with a human. When I left I didn’t make any arrangements to bring you home. I—”

  A loud blasting sound pierced the room. Casey gasped, throwing her hands up over her ears, to mute some of the painfully loud noises. Argernon almost leapt from the bed, running for the door.

  “Stay,” he roared at her.

  He was gone that fast. The sounds blared through the room over and over again, hurting Casey’s ears even though they were muffled by her hands. Whatever that alarm was, she knew she hadn’t liked the look on Argernon’s face as he’d leapt from the bed to run from the room. He was shirtless. Her eyes went to his boots on the floor. He was barefoot too. She made a grab for a pillow, shoving her head under it to dull the loud blasts.

  The sound suddenly went silent. Casey pushed the pillow off her head and sat up on the bed, biting her lip, wondering what in the hell was going on. Obviously it had to be something bad and urgent for Argernon to take off like that. He’d told her to stay, like she had the choice of leaving his room. She sat in the middle of the bed hugging the pillow to her chest, the not knowing and wondering was bad. She hated being left clueless.

  Terror hit Casey as she heard a noise like a muffled explosion as the entire room shook like an earthquake hit. She sat there for seconds in shock before climbing off the bed to the floor under her that vibrated strongly. It hadn’t done that before. She walked for the door to stand there staring at it. What in the hell was going on? All she could do was gasp as she felt her feet leave the floor. The loud alarm screamed out rapid blares again. Her fingers clawed at the wall but she couldn’t find any purchase on the smooth texture. Her body felt weird as she frantically tried to find something to grab on to she realized things were floating in the room, including her.

  Horror hit her as she realized what was going on. The gravity on the ship was gone. Her hands clawed at the wall again but she couldn’t find anything to grasp. She was disconcerted by the sensation. She pushed at the wall, but then screamed as she started to spin in the air as she moved away from it. She went upside down and the world went crazy as she flipped all the way over in the air. She groaned as she started to turn over again, rolling, grabbing for sheet, realizing she was over the bed. Her hand fisted in material so it slowed her momentum. The sheet started to move, pulling from the mattress slowly.

  She grabbed another fistful to yank frantically. It made her drift slowly forward to the bed. She was almost sobbing now. Where was the damn gravity? Had that sound really been an explosion? Had the ship crashed? Had the engine blown up? They were in space. All those thoughts flew through her head in rapid succession.

  She grabbed for the headboard when she almost flew slowly into the wall. As her fingers gripped it she sighed in relief. The bed had to be somehow bolted down because it was still attached firmly to the floor. The mattresses stayed put so they had to be anchored as well. She gripped the headboard with both hands and managed to angle her body so she had her ass on the mattress with her body curled against the headboard.

  The alarm went silent. She didn’t dare release her hold on the headboard to wipe at the tears that had filled her eyes. The weird part was she saw a few of her tears in front of her. They hadn’t slipped down her cheeks. They’d floated away from her.

  “Oh God,” she muttered, wondering if she was cursing what was happening or starting a prayer. All she knew was she was scared and Argernon was out there. Was he alive? Had that explosion sound been near him? She didn’t know. “Shit!”

  Her next thoughts were horrible ones. What if she was the only survivor locked in Argernon’s room? Would the oxygen run out? Would she starve to death? Would she die drifting in space on a damaged ship? She just wanted Argernon to come for her to tell her what was going on. She wanted him to tell her that everything was all right. She wanted him to be all right. She gripped the headboard, clinging to it as time passed. It seemed like hours went by.

  The lights flickered and she moaned. “Not a good sign.”

  They flicked on and off, finally they went out and stayed out, leaving her in terrifying utter darkness. She clung to the bed, listening to the silence. Something bumped her that made her scream. She frantically touched what had brushed her back. A hysterical laugh escaped when she realized it was just one of Argernon’s boots. She pushed it away from her thinking about all the floating things in the room. More stuff would probably touch her and she tried to prepare for that so she didn’t scream again.

  The ship felt dead now that the vibrations were gone and there was no sound whatsoever. She jerked awake when she started to float away from the headboard, the slight tug on her hand waking her, so she gripped it tighter, trying to stay alert. Taking deep breaths, she realized the air seemed fine to breathe, which was a good sign. She hoped anyway. Her thoughts centered on Argernon, wondering if he was alive still, because if so he still hadn’t come for her. The thought of something happening to him had grief slamming into her chest.

  A slight noise finally drew her attention. She listened, heard it again, and strained to hear the faint thunk and then another. She realized the noise was getting closer. She swore it was outside the door. Her eyes went in that direction, feeling terror, unable to see anything in the darkness. A loud sound made her jump. It was metal hitting metal. She heard a pop similar to a water balloon bursting. Light blinded her for a second. It was a bright, long, thin crack of it. The door opened wider so more brightness spilled in.

  “Thank God,” she almost moaned as she saw someone pushing the door open. It wasn’t Argernon but a stranger carrying a light with him.

  The male had long red hair and he was shirtless, with blood smeared on his stomach. Fear inched inside her. His eyes were so dark they looked black but it could have been because she couldn’t see his face that well, giving him that scary appearance. He growled at her as he moved into the room.

  Thunk.Thunk. Thunk.

  Her eyes flew to his feet. He wore metal looking boots that made that loud sound as he walked across the floor. They were some kind of gravity boots. He reached the side of the bed and held out his hand. She saw blood on his hand but she reached for it anyway. Up close she could see some cuts on his stomach. His hands were also scraped like he’d hit something. His large hand wrapped around hers as he pulled her away from the bed. She let go of the headboard.

  “What happened? Where is Argernon?” She tried to ignore the sick feeling of being weightless and floating. The only thing holding her was his hand as he maneuvered her on his back.

  He growled. The power was out so the translator didn’t work. Frustration hit Casey. It was like being back in the cave with Argernon when they couldn’t communicate. The large man wrapped her hand under his arm while he curled it up toward his shoulder. He jerked his head to his other arm. She understood, so she wrapped her hand around his shoulders. He turned with Casey floated behind him, gripping him hard, as he started the jerky walk out of the room into the corridor.

  “Where are you taking me?” Her voice shook. “Is Argernon all right?”

  The man didn’t pause. He ignored her as he slowly walked down the corridor. She clung to him. It was obvious he struggled with the uncomfortable and loud boots he wore. He made it to a ladder that led up to a hatch. He looked up. Casey followed his eyes, seeing light coming from above. Another male peered down at them from the open hatch that was about four feet wide in a circular shape with a metal ladder leading up.

  The redhead turned to stare at Casey, softly growling at her while pointing. His hand gripped hers on one of his shoulders to gently pry her hand loose. She understood, letting him go. He gave her a push toward the hatch a good ten feet above their heads.

  A squeal escaped her as she flew in the air without anything anchoring her. Kicking her arms and legs didn’t do a damn thing. She was slowly heading to the hatch. Below her she swore she heard the redhead laugh. It was almost comforting