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«No means no.» she said to the man, squinting angrily into his eyes, filled with shock and fear.
As she let him go, he almost slipped down, but caught himself upright, cleared his throat and hurried away, straightening his clothes.
Serena thought why the men were so into her – she wasn’t at all giving them any reason to count her an easy target for anything at all. And even more puzzling was their interest since she had an eyepatch covering her left eye, which shouldn’t be such an attractive thing – at least, as far as she knew.
Veluthian men could easily be turned on by a battle injury that was healing, but Terrans were so caught up in their vanity that this little detail should be making her unattractive, and not the other way around.
Serena stopped next to a fountain, suddenly thinking about Lindon.
Was he so attentive towards her because he had loved her for so long? Or because he found her attractive while her eye was regenerating?
She sighed, feeling the strange mix of emotions drowning her.
On one hand, she thought, she wanted to make up with Hunter, but on the other – she loved Lindon as well, though her love towards both men was a little different.
Being a free mercenary that she was – she could have easily shared them both if they were open to the idea. And if Lindon was used to that, being a Veluthian, Hunter would never accept her having another man if she were to be with him.
The woman watched the water running down the beautiful composition of statues and lights that danced on the streams, and wondered if Lindon will really wait for her as long as it takes. If Hunter will be with her again like they used to – will that make Lindon jealous? Or will he be just as courteous and respectful towards them both?
Knowing how long he waited for her ever since they met for the first time, Serena realised that, in fact, he was quite the man to keep his word. Even after he thought she was dead he wasn’t really into any women at all, taking up one or another for a little while, but never engaging in a more serious relationship at all.
The time they spent altogether on MSS Lyssandra definitely brought them closer and they reconnected so easily, that she felt he would really be the greatest pick if it ever came to marriage.
Serena took a deep breath, her thoughts returning to Hunter.
«Fuck…» she sighed, realising that this was a very hard topic, and her mind was already flooded by everything that had happened.
She glanced up from the fountain and saw an advertisement of a night club not far from the place she was at. Feeling the urge to clear her head, she headed to the address, hoping that a bit of dancing would help her settle her thoughts.
And even though the music was loud and the people there were inebriated and caught in their own fun, Serena found herself slowly falling into the pleasant melodies that the local DJ was offering, exciting the visitors with an energy-filling playlist.
Unlike most dancers Serena could easily avoid clingy drunkards and overly interested men and women that wanted to become friends – or something else she didn’t really care about – and slipped away, quickly hiding in the crowd without even breaking her dance.
A few hours into this mindless fun, she decided to step away from the dance floor and head towards the bar to have a drink before returning back to the mansion.
Fortunately, she caught a spot at the very end of the bar, where no one would disturb her, and settled down drinking in solitude.
«Serena! What a pleasant surprise!» she suddenly hear Elijah’s voice, when she was about to finish her second drink and order another one.
The woman turned and saw the man approaching her with a charming smile on his lips.
«Elijah.» she nodded to him politely, even though she wanted nothing to do with him at that moment and thought it suspicious him being there at all.
«Why are you drinking all alone?» Elijah glanced around. «Aren’t you here with your crew? Where are they? I’d love to meet them.»
Serena pushed a polite smile to her lips:
«I’m here alone, just grabbing a few drinks before going back to the mansion.»
«Oh, then, maybe, I could join you?»
Serena felt someone bumping into her, splashing a drink onto her arm.
«Terribly sorry!» the stranger retreated so fast that all Serena could catch was that it was a curvy woman.
Shaking off the alcohol from her arm, she sighed:
«Fucking drunkards…»
Elijah caught the bartenders attention and the worker quickly supplied them with a clean towel to wipe off the drink. Fortunately, none of the liquid got onto Serena’s clothes.
«Perhaps, we should get out of here, before someone decided to spill their drink on you again?» Elijah chuckled as Serena returned the towel to the bartender with a smile.
«I wanted… I…» Serena suddenly frowned, feeling her thoughts becoming slow and unresponsive. «Fuck…»
Elijah saw this sudden change and caught her arm, when she slipped off the chair and swayed:
«Serena? What’s wrong? How many drinks have you had?»
«Just two…» the woman felt her body becoming numb. «Shit… This…»
Elijah leaned in and looked into her eye and saw the pupil becoming wider.
«Oh. I think someone might have dropped something into your drink…» he whispered. «Come on, I’ll get you out of here before that someone decides to take advantage of you.»
«No…» Serena felt him grasping her waist, but no matter how hard she tried to make her body answer her commands, it barely even stepped by Elijah’s side.
«I’m not that kind of man, Serena. I just want you safe.» he said to her.
She didn’t remember how he took her to his place.
But when she woke up the next morning, the first thing she realised was that she wasn’t at all in the mansion she rented for her crew to enjoy. She lay on a lavish bed, fully clothed and as if left there to sleep off a heavy intoxication.
Not recognising the room around, she got up and, ignoring the bathroom where she could freshen up, went straight out of the bedroom, finding herself in a huge apartment of sorts, decorated to the brim with extremely expensive things.
Hearing voices, she headed towards them, trying to feel if her body was experiencing any leftover effects of whatever she was given at night.
Stepping into the open-planned kitchen and dining area, she saw John and Elijah leaning above a screen, watching something.
«See? This woman, though she was fast in the club…» John pointed at the screen. «…was caught in miss Serena’s mansion a couple of days ago with her children.»
«So why is the system giving us two different names?» Elijah growled.
«Uh…» Serena cleared her throat. «Where am I? And why am I here?»
«Ah, you’re up!» Elijah smiled, straightening and meeting her gaze. «How are you feeling?»
Serena glanced at John and felt suspicion rising:
«What am I doing here?»
«You’ve had a…» Elijah sighed, not really knowing how to explain what happened.
«You’ve been drugged at the club.» John helped out. «Elijah was graceful enough to get you out of there before some asshole could use the situation to his advantage.»
«I hope my guestroom was comfortable?»
Serena glanced at her crumpled clothes:
«Quite…» she said. «Why didn’t you take me back to my place?»
«Mine was closer. Plus, I have all the necessary medical equipment to help straight away.» the man smiled again. «Breakfast? I can offer some fresh coffee…»
Serena tried to straighten her clothes, still not very trusting of the whole situation:
«I think I’d rather head back.»
«Please. Have some coffee at least. Freshen up. Then we’ll take you to your place. We found who did this to you, so if you want, I can take care of the person…»
Serena glanced at John, who was watching her calmly and decided that it was better not to argue for the moment:
«Fine. A coffee would be appreciated. Black.»
She saw Elijah’s face light up with a very pleased smile.
Chapter 6. Misunderstandings
«Where is Serena?» Hunter asked Lindon as soon as he saw him.
«She went out last night, and I didn’t hear her returning yet. Why?»
«I… uh… I wanted to talk to her about something.»
«How are things between you two?» Lindon tilted his head. «I noticed you have been spending more time together again…»
«I… I’m not sure.»
«Well, you certainly seem like everything is coming back to how it used to be before… this.» Lindon gestured to Hunter’s cybernetic body.
«I hope so, Lindon…»
The men heard steps approaching the front door and stepped that way. When the door opened, they saw Serena and greeted her with smiles on their faces:
«There you are!» Lindon frowned suddenly, seeing her clothes a bit crumpled.
«Hunter, Lindon, meet Elijah Winchester. Our potential client.» the woman half-turned, gesturing to the handsome man that accompanied her to the mansion.
Hunter gritted his teeth, seeing a very pleased grin on the stranger’s face.
«A pleasure.» Elijah bowed and Lindon glanced at his face, noting the glance he gave Serena, when she walked inside.
«You’re welcome to get acquainted, but please excuse me, I need to go change my clothes.» Serena headed off, leaving the men.
Hunter stepped up to the man and studied him with his eyes:
«And… how is it that you’ve taken it upon yourself to accompany Serena home?»
Elijah immediately understood why Hunter was so tense, and leaned in, twitching his brow:
«Serena, yes… It was the least I could do, after all… she was a great fuck.» he said quietly.
Hunter squeezed his hands in fists, gritting his teeth in fury:
«What the fuck did you just say?»
Elijah smirked and flicked his multi-purpose watch on his left wrist. The screen on the nearest wall came alive and the man flipped through a couple of files, then poked one, making the device connected to the screen. Hunter saw Serena on her knees before this man, offering him the pleasure he enjoyed with a wide smile on his face, leaning with his back over the luxurious couch.
«See? She sucked me dry…» Elijah gloated. «I barely slept last night.»
Hunter flinched towards the man, but Lindon jumped in, standing in between them.
«That is not Serena.» Lindon said, his tone low and harsh. «Hunter might not see it, but I do. Your sex bot is flawed.»
«That is no sex bot, little man.» Elijah smiled, enjoying the situation. «That’s Serena. And she was a wonderful time spent.»
Hunter looked at the screen again and saw the man grabbing Serena by the throat and throwing her onto the floor. He grabbed her wrists, pressing them down with one hand and his second one squeezed her throat, as the man took her, harshly biting her neck and breasts.
«You need to leave.» Hunter growled, forcing his anger down. «Before Serena sees this.»
«Tell her I look forward to seeing her again.» Elijah cackled, switching off the recording and walking out.
Lindon glanced at Hunter, and saw him scowling, watching Elijah getting into his car and flying off.
«Hunter…» the Veluthian called out.
«Fuck off!» Hunter replied, growling, and walked off, heading towards the beach.
Lindon sighed, understanding that to an untrained eye the sex bot he saw on the screen would really look like Serena. But he knew – whatever Elijah showed them wasn’t at all what happened.
He also thought that it would be best to speak to Serena later to try and find out what really happened during the time she was absent. The Veluthian hoped that when they find out the truth, Hunter will calm down.
«Just don’t do anything stupid, brother…» Lindon sighed, shaking his head.
The Veluthian didn’t know what to do, but decided that it was better not to bother either of the two for a bit, because Serena might be stressed enough as she is, and Hunter seemed to be even more distraught than he was able to admit.
He didn’t know that only a little over an hour later Hunter headed to confront Serena, too deep in the whirlwind of the thoughts and assumptions that drowned him after what he saw on the screen.
When he saw her walking towards the gym, he immediately approached her:
«Serena, we need to talk!» Hunter said harshly.
«What about?» the woman tilted her head, seeing an extremely strange expression in his eyes. «What’s wrong?»
«Elijah. You spent the night with him?»
«What? No!» Serena frowned. «Whatever gave you that idea?»
«Please, tell me the truth…» something in the way he looked at her made the woman frown.
«I am! I didn’t sleep with the guy if that’s what you’re implying!»
«Tell me the truth!» Hunter stepped up, leaning in, his eyes becoming angry.
«I am telling the truth!» Serena leaned back, surprized to see such a reaction. «What the fuck do you want from me?»
«I want to hear the truth!» Hunter growled.
«But you have! I didn’t sleep with him! He was kind enough to let me use his guest room for the night, but that’s it!»
«I don’t believe that was what happened, Serena!»
«Well, I can’t help make you believe it, unless we get back to Lyssa!» Serena frowned in anger. «And if you don’t want to believe it, then don’t!»
She turned to walk away.
«Just tell me the truth, Serena!» Hunter shouted, catching her by the throat to stop her from leaving.
«I didn’t sleep with him! Let me go, asshole!» Serena curled up and kicked him in the face, panicking.
For a moment the cyborg felt his fury taking over again. But then he suddenly remembered. His hand relaxed and Serena fell to the floor, immediately running off.
Hunter took a shaky breath, frozen in place.
She would have never allowed anyone to grab her throat like that – not after what she endured in Veluthian prison. Not after he tried to choke her while under Falana’s control.
He fucked up. Again.
Chapter 7. Drinks
Serena slipped out unnoticed, glad to have run off from whatever shit storm Hunter has stirred up. She didn’t care why he was so certain she slept with Elijah, and couldn’t simply shake off the feeling of aching and anger towards the cyborg.
After all that she’s been through – he added to her torment by not listening to the truth and assaulting her.
She pressed her palm to the neck and swallowed hard, remembering the cold metal fingers that grasped her. This brought back the terrible memory of him trying to kill her.
All they’ve worked through up until that moment was for nothing.
Serena felt like screaming, and beating someone to pulp.
Walking off into the distance, she spent the next half an hour trying hard to calm her nerves and stop the heavy waves of shudder running through her body. When she felt calmer, she accessed the smart watch that was given by the resort administration when they arrived to call for a rental hover car.
It didn’t take long for one to pick her up and take her to the Entertainment Centre, where she got out at one of the bars she deemed worthy to spend some time at.
Walking inside, she winced at the happy and cheerful expressions of partygoers that were having fun, even though it wasn’t even evening yet, and headed towards the bar. However, passing by some booths, she noticed a couple of familiar faces and was surprized to see Cipher and his crew relaxing with a couple of women by their side.
She hurried past, hoping they didn’t see her there.
«Hey!» Serena heard a familiar voice and turned to see Pher smiling to her from the corner, waving to her. «Serena! Come! Join us!»
The woman gritted her teeth and slowly shook her head, stepping away. She noticed how the man’s smile faded and he frowned, seeing her walking off.
Serena headed towards the bar and hoped her crewmembers won’t bother her. But as soon as she ordered a drink, she felt someone approaching her and glanced that way only to see Cipher standing there with a very concerned look on his face.
«I declined the invitation to your table, Cipher. Go, have fun.» the woman said to him as calmly as she could.
The Captain of SS Growler frowned even more and leaned in, squinting his boyish eyes in suspicion:
«Did something happen?» he asked quietly.
«It doesn’t concern you. Go back to your company and have fun. Don’t worry about me.»
«Is it Hunter?»
Serena gritted her teeth and straightened:
«Cipher…» she growled.
The man immediately understood he struck a chord and sighed, slapping her shoulder:
«Fine. Just…» he nodded to where his team was sitting. «If you need, we’re here. We can ditch our entertainment at any moment to be there for you.»
Serena felt her anger surfacing, but forced it down, nodding in reply:
«I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.»
«Anything at all, even if all you need is to just sulk with a drink in your hand.» Cipher tilted his head. «Alright?»
Serena nodded again.
Cipher leaned in closer, saying to her ear:
«And I see Hunter did something. I’ll beat his ass for you first thing we get back.» he slapped her shoulder again and walked off, leaving the woman alone.
Serena called over the barman and inquired if she could purchase a whole bottle of Belunian Vodka. After getting a surprized look and a price, she nodded to the man and received the drink, finishing her shot, and, after paying for the drink, headed out of the bar, trying hard to be lost among the people so that the crew of SS Growler won’t notice her leaving.
As she walked the streets, drinking vodka, she tried not to think about anything, basking in the buzz of alcohol in her head. If it weren’t for the groups of drunkards, the stroll would have been even more pleasant for her. But the constant catcalling she ignored and the futile attempts of people to come up and be friends made her irritated, so she headed off to the beach to cool off and enjoy some tranquillity of the waves crashing upon the shore.
And even though some people were on the beach – some partying, others – having an early evening swim – Serena didn’t mind, as there was definitely more solitude in this place than the streets of the city.
She spent hours wandering through the sands and waves, washing over her feet, before finishing her drink and heading back to the roads, where she could either catch a rental hover car, or walk back to the mansion. The woman decided to walk, and, fortunately, there weren’t too much people outside by that time, so her stroll was uninterrupted.
By the time she approached the mansion, she was feeling the faint aching again – the thoughts about Hunter returning to her barely settled mind.
Walking inside and hearing the heavy silence, she hoped everyone was sleeping.
She stopped by the minibar, stocked to the brim with all kinds of alcohol and took herself another bottle, before stepping out into the chilly air of their private beach. Lying down onto one of the lounge chairs, she spent the next hour there, watching the skies that glimmered with the stars and moons that floated through space.
Finishing the bottle, Serena sighed, realising she would have to go back inside for another one.
As she walked in, though, she immediately saw Hunter standing by the stairs – he was definitely looking for her and could have noticed her on the beach before coming down to talk to her.
Seeing him, she felt anger returning to her heart, and she gritted her teeth:
«I’m not in the mood to speak to you, Hunter.»
The cyborg swallowed hard, but approached her:
«Serena, please. I wanted to say I’m sorry…»
«No, Hunter. Sorry isn’t going to cut it.» Serena said harshly. «You asked if I slept with Elijah. Well, maybe I should! Or maybe I already have! You wouldn’t be able to know now, would you? Because whatever I say you will not believe me!»
«Serena, I am sorry…» Hunter felt his heart aching. «Please…»
He reached out to touch her, but she stepped back.
«Don’t!» she hissed. «Grab me like you did, and I will tear your arms off. Be sure of it! Because from now on, I am going to carry with me at all times my armour and some Shimmer to be sure that if you do, I’ll be strong enough to go through with my threat!»
«Serena…» the man couldn’t hold back his tears.
The woman scowled and walked off, heading back to the front door. Seeing Lindon and Wolfin there, she shoved them aside and went out. The Veluthians exchanged glances and looked at Hunter, who now slipped to the floor, grasping at his hair and crying.
Chapter 8. Surprise
Elijah took a sip and glanced towards the sex bot charging station, wondering if he should indulge himself again. He was about to step towards it, but suddenly heard his watch chirp with a notification.
The man tapped onto the tiny screen, accepting the call, and a small holograph appeared, showing Serena’s face.
«Serena! What a pleasant surprise!» he greeted her, smiling with pleasure.
«I… uh…» she glanced aside. «Is your invitation still open?»
Elijah felt a wide smile coming to his face:
«Why of course!» he said, extremely pleased. «Let me come get you. Where are you?»
«Let me get a drink, and you can pick me up…»
«No-no-no, my dear!» he didn’t even let her finish. «Don’t bother yourself with whatever watered down alcohol any of the bars or clubs offer! Let me come and get you and you can have the best alcohol you can find in the Human Universe!»
Serena sighed and shook her head:
«Fine. You can find me…» she glanced ahead and saw a tall statue depicting some partygoers. «On the statue near the mansion we’re renting.»
Elijah frowned in surprise and tilted his head:
«ON the statue?» he asked. «The Night Party?»
«Yeah…» Serena saw the name of the statue, etched in stone at its base and glanced up at the perfect grips she could use to get up to the tallest point of it somewhere on one of the dancing people’s heads. «I don’t want to hang around down on the street. Drunk men around. I’m not in the mood for a brawl. I might send them packing.»
The man chuckled:
«Very well. I’ll be there shortly. Just… don’t fall.»
«I won’t. And you can help out and tell your security bots not to bother me.»
«Done. See you soon.»
«Uh-huh.» Serena jumped to the lowest grip and pulled herself up, beginning her climb.
The statue was so easy to climb that Serena got to the top long before Elijah got there. The woman watched the surrounding lands from atop and basked in the evening air, trying to calm her nerves down. She didn’t even know why she called Elijah – the man still made her feel strange and somewhat uncomfortable. But, perhaps, she just didn’t want to be around Hunter for the moment. Or anyone else from her team for that matter.
When the hover car approached her, she saw the amused face of Elijah Winchester through the windshield and waved to him, though still feeling dark and heavy inside. He stopped the vehicle near the head of the statue and Serena easily jumped in, taking the passenger seat.
«Daredevil.» Elijah chuckled as the door closed.
«I’m a mercenary. I’m used to doing things like this.» Serena shrugged. «So… where are you taking me? Your place again?»
«Yes and no. I thought that you would appreciate some privacy, away from anyone on the mainland, so…» Elijah tapped the screen of the car and it showed the local map. «I have a private island not far from here. It’s calm and protected, so… no one will bother us. Seems like you want to get away, so… we can take time there to just relax and have all the time we need while we’ll be discussing the contract details.»
«Yeah… getting away is something I’d like right now. Together with a strong drink…» Serena flicked her earpiece off, denying any communication, because she grew tired of switching it off every time someone from her crew reached out to her.
«You’ll have all the strong drinks you want, I promise you. Besides, John will come only later, because there’s been a slight development. So we have some new data to give you.»
The speed of the hover car calmed Serena quickly, offering the slight buzz of adrenaline rush in her body, while she was watching the vast stretch of water that shimmered under the stars.
«Good.» the woman sighed. «The more details I know, the better.»
«Care to tell me what happened? You look and sound… distraught.»
«A disagreement with my crew. Don’t worry about it. We settle them quickly, I just need a bit of time to cool off. One of those assholes got on my nerves.»