“It is okay, Poppy. This is Raz. He is a friend to Wheaton.”
She peered around him to the big man in front who wasblocking their path. If Poppy had had more time, she would have appreciated thehulking figure of the warrior but all she heard was that this was another manwho could help them.
“Wheaton has talked about his good fortune with his bridalmatch.” Raz bowed quickly to Poppy. Gazing past her, he blanched. “Those womendo not look well.”
Seeing the warrior’s face pale, she cast her own glance backto the brides. They seemed to be barely breathing now. “We need to go now!”she demanded as she tightened her grip on Dathrow once again.
“Follow me,” Raz ordered.
They started hurrying down the hallway again, this time withRaz leading the way.
“I just docked my shuttle from a run to Squadron One. Itshould still be available,” Raz informed them.
As they reached the docking bay, the men tried to shield thewomen as much as they could from curious glances. Poppy saw a large hangar withsmall shuttles that were either being fueled or stocked with cargo. She stoppedin her tracks when she caught a glimpse of Demascus. Poppy’s first instinct wasto attack on sight―her fingers itched to get hold of him again. Slipping fromthe grasp that Dathrow had on her arm, Poppy hurtled forward. Dathrow grabbedher shirt fast. Bringing her up short and pulling her back into place, heignored her attempts to maneuver away from the group.
The scuffle drew Demascus’s attention to them. When hespotted Poppy, he shifted to get behind his guards, relaxing only when Dathrowstopped Poppy’s advance. As they made eye contact, Demascus nodded mockingly toPoppy and then slipped aboard a shuttle, all the while surrounded by sixwarriors.
As they reached their destination, Raz ran up the shuttleramp and the others ushered the women quickly onto the ship.
“Strap down fast. I will run through flight check quickly.Dathrow, secure the door.” Raz rushed out instructions as he moved to thecockpit.
As Poppy was buckling her belt and making sure the otherswere ready to go, she caught Dathrow’s eye.
“I saw Demascus in the bay,” she whispered.
“Is that why you tried to break from the group?” Dathrowhurried to the glass on the side of the ship and peered through, quicklyscanning the open space. “Was he getting on a shuttle?”
Poppy nodded as she tried to calm her breathing. The fastwalk from the closet to the docking bay had been so quick and nerve-racking andshe didn’t think she’d taken a breath the entire time. “He was getting into onewith six other warriors. And for your information, if you’d let me go, I wouldhave kicked major ass.”
“He cannot stop us from leaving now. The shuttle is locked.We are almost ready to take off.” Buckling his belt, he gave Poppy and thewomen a grim smile. “Knowing what I do, I can tell you that he would not havefought fair. If he knows what is good for him, then he will disappear. Thehusbands of those women are going to seek vengeance for what he has done.”
Poppy leaned her head back against the seat and closed hereyes. “I still would have kicked his ass.”
“Poppy, are you all right?” Val had taken the seat next toher and appeared as frazzled as Poppy felt.
“Yeah, I’m just overwhelmed and I think I might have amini-breakdown,” Poppy let out on a cross between a laugh and a cry.
“We’re going to be okay.” She clutched Poppy’s hand,squeezing hard.
The women all sat in silence as if they were afraid to jinxthemselves while the shuttle engines fired up. As they flew to Squadron One,Poppy tried to calm herself down. Raz had called ahead to the docking bay torequest medical units prepared when Poppy’s ears pricked up. That was Wheaton’svoice coming through over the intercom. Tears immediately flooded her eyes.This whole ordeal was almost over.
“Yes, I have them all. Three are in need of serious medicalattention,” Raz repeated.
The static from the speaker and the roar of the shuttleengines made it hard for Poppy to hear what was being said from the other end.She could hear panic in Wheaton’s voice even though she was unable to make outthe words. Raz was obviously unable to hear him very well either, since he keptrepeating the same sentence over and over.
“They need a doctor! Did you hear me? They need a doctor!”he shouted.
Poppy glanced back at the women strapped into the seatsbehind her. She knew one was Staci but hadn’t been able to find out the others’names. All three were somewhat conscious. The awareness they showed remindedPoppy of someone who’d been heavily sedated but was awake at the same time.They were unable to sit up on their own and the only thing keeping them intheir seats were the five-point harness safety belts. Unable to watch the womanany longer without losing it, she had to stare straight ahead.
From the large windshield in front of her, she soon spottedSquadron One as they approached it at a high speed. Quickly maneuvering througha tunnel that opened on the side of the ship, they coasted into what Poppyassumed was the docking bay. Her hands were shaking. They were almost home.They were safe.
Landing was quick and as soon as Raz unbelted himself, shedid the same. The other warriors had unbuckled themselves and were assistingthe sick brides. Before she knew it, they were carrying the limp women out ofthe opening and down the ramp of the shuttle. From her place at the top of theramp, she could see the booted feet of warriors running toward the craft.
Scurrying down the ramp after the others, Poppy couldn’tmake out the voices of those shouting. Time seemed to slow. The noise from thedocking bay and the angry shouts of warriors were covered by the sound of herblood rushing through her ears. As she stumbled the rest of the way clear ofthe ramp, she could see Wheaton running toward the ship in front of Tamin andRodin. She tried to run to meet him but
