Dathrow squeezed Poppy’s arm in concern.
“The baby?” he asked, his panicked gaze falling to herstomach.
“Val and I didn’t take the meds. We weren’t sure if theywere okay for us or not so we pocketed them. Demascus assumed we took them whenhe saw they were gone.”
Before Poppy could say anything else she was pulled into ahug yet again. “Thank your god!” Dathrow whispered into her hair as he held hertight.
“Dathrow? We must move now.”
Turning around to the warrior behind him guarding the door,he nodded.
“Right.” After letting Poppy go, he walked to the warriors,issuing orders. “Pick them up gently. We need to hurry and move to a moresecure location before Demascus is notified the cell has been opened.”
The warriors lifted the women like babies and carried themout of the cell. The warrior guarding the door checked both ways down thecorridor before gesturing for Poppy and the rest to follow.
Poppy felt as if she’d been cast in a spy movie as theysilently followed the warrior leading them down a hallway and into a room atthe far end. Recognizing a supply closet, Poppy moved as far into the room asshe could to make room for the ones following.
“Are we seriously going to hide in a closet?” Poppy asked,confused.
“My main concern was moving you before Demascus came back.We now have a few moments to regroup.” As the door swished closed behindDathrow, who had been bringing up the rear, he spoke to the other men. “We needto figure out our plan. If Councilor Demascus had warriors help him abduct thewomen, I am unsure who to trust.”
Not being the type to be discussed without her beingactually part of the discussion, Poppy popped in her two cents. “I can alwayspoint out who I saw with him. My main concern is for the brides who are hurtingright now.”
When one of the men tried to speak, she held up a finger. “Isthere a doctor on this ship?” She nodded to the woman he was currently holding.“We have to get them to help.”
“I agree. The only problem is that both of our doctors arecurrently on the other ship for meetings. We have no choice but to shuttleback.” The warrior paused. “I am not sure how much longer these women can holdon. I believe they may have been given Hefnon 12.”
When Dathrow cursed under his breath, Poppy raised hereyebrows. “What the fuck is Hefnon 12?” Poppy watched his face go through arange of emotions while she waited for him to answer.
“It is a drug that we were supposed to transport to thePleasure Sector. It is made for a species stronger than humans.” Rubbing hishand along his jaw, he obviously wasn’t sure how much he should say. “Theintended purpose is to terminate and prevent pregnancies. I am afraid that itcould possibly kill these women. It is a very strong medication.”
A panicked Poppy clutched at his tunic. “That is notacceptable. Get us to a doctor and do it now. I don’t care if we have to hijacka shuttle to do it.”
Behind her, Melanie, Andrea, Brandy and Val all nodded inagreement. Knowing they had no choice if they wanted to save the brides, thewarriors took a moment to speak quietly. After some murmuring amongst themselves,Dathrow nodded.
Standing by the door, he turned and spoke quietly to theothers. “I will go and secure a shuttle. Once I have one prepped, I will signalDrake’s band to lead the group to me. I can message Wheaton to make sure he hasmedical doctors ready and in the docking bay to receive the injured brides.Once I have a shuttle, you will need to—”
Poppy stopped Dathrow right there in his tracks. If hethought she was going to be okay to sit there and wait for another rescue, thenhe was nuts.
“Why can’t we all go to the shuttle now? I don’t think weshould split up.” She had seen enough scary movies to know that when peoplesplit up, throats started getting slit.
Obviously torn, Dathrow ran his hands through hisshoulder-length hair and then pulled on the ends. “Because I don’t know who Imight run into out there, Poppy. What if Demascus is waiting in those halls? Hecould have already figured out you have been released and be searching as wespeak.”
“Dath, we’re going to have to walk there eventually, right?It makes more sense for all of us to go now and stop wasting time standing herearguing or sending someone ahead.”
Turning to the rest of the women for support, she was happyto see all of them were ready to run, if needed. “Plus, Demascus should be scaredof us by this point. He tried to kill our babies and he might havesucceeded with those brides.” Pointing over her shoulder at the women beingcarried, she was ready to kill. “If I get my hands on him, I won’t beresponsible for what I do.”
Brandy stepped forward and nodded to the men. “We’re readyto go if you are.” she continued, “Don’t forget, we are warrior brides—we cando this.”
Dathrow shook his head at the women. “I can see that,” hereplied. Readying himself to open the door, he glanced back. “Stick close anddon’t talk. Squadron Two did not receive the protection notification so weshould not be stopped by anyone.”
The women all tensed as the door opened, and they waited forDathrow to walk through before following closely behind him. They linked handsand the warriors carrying the three unconscious brides brought up the rear asthey all hurried down the empty hall. As she held on to the back of Dathrow’stunic to keep pace, Poppy felt his back stiffen slightly before he relaxed.Peeking around his shoulder showed her a tall warrior standing in their way.
“Dathrow? What is going on? I saw you receive a message andthen leave quickly.” The loud voice came from immediately in front of them, andDathrow was shielding her as best he could.
“Raz, Councilor Demascus transferred these women hereagainst their will. That was the notification I received earlier when I leftabruptly. We are getting these brides back to their husbands on Squadron One.Three of them need immediate medical
