Planet Athion: The Complete Series by Angel Lawson
27
Kai
Things have beena blur since Mercy was taken. I feel like I can’t focus on anything, while only being able to focus on one thing: getting my woman back.
“How the fuck did they even get her?” Dimka asks, barging into the room. He’s been combing the grounds for any sign of where the actual escape happened. For any clues in Mercy’s room. The hard expression on his face tells me he found nothing useful.
I don’t respond to his question. The truth is, I don’t know anything other than there was a false alarm, a breach, and an aircraft that got through our force field. Whoever took her has means.
“Check this out,” Alex says suddenly. He’s been working quietly in the corner, focused on his data pad.
“Got something?”
“Yeah.” He hops up from this seat. There’s a deep worry line etched in his forehead. “We just got a notice about someone who didn’t show up for work today.”
“Who?”
“Dr. Kane.”
We all exchange a look.
“Kane? The doctor Mercy worked with?” Dimka repeats.
“The one that was questioning her relationships with us,” I add.
“The very handsome, human Dr. Kane.” Alex says. “Fuck. I should have known. There was something about that guy…but I just thought I was being—”
“Petty?” I ask.
“Jealous.” He runs his hands over his head. “We need to do a search and see if he’s still on campus, but if not…”
“Then he’s the one that took her,” Dimka says.
“And he’s most likely not a human, either.” I swallow back the fear. “We knew it was a possibility a Trad got through the ranks.”
“If it’s Kane,” Dimka says, hands balling into fists, “this wasn’t a spontaneous thing. He groomed her. Got her complacent, and his job in gynecology couldn’t have been a mistake.”
“He wanted a midwife.”
“Why?” Alex asks. “Mercy’s gorgeous.”
“She is, and that’s part of the appeal, but the Trads need her to work the birthing rings.” My chest clenches. We’d all heard the terrible rumors about the hovels the Trads kept kidnapped human women in during labor and delivery. “Look, there’s two good things about this.”
“You’re kidding, nothing about this is good,” Dimka seethes, showing more emotion than I’ve ever seen.
“If Kane took this much time and specifically chose her for her skills, it means she’s safer than an average human female.”
Dimka’s color has faded. “It also means she’s going to the auction block.”
“That’s the second thing—if she’s headed to the auction ship, it means that we’ve got someone on the inside—well, sort of.”
Alex’s eyebrows raise. “Do you think he’ll even answer?”
I walk across the room and reach for my data pad, signing into a secure line. “He better fucking answer—or I’m going to kill him.”