A Hero’s Welcome Read Free Page B

her lower body into Cath ’ s hand, evidently aroused by the woman’s touch.
    Joe frowned in confusion. What the hell was Annie doing? Why was she allowing the woman to fondle her?
    “You are so wet, Annie. No use denying you’ ve been fucking my slave.”
    Annie bit her bottom lip and said nothing as the two women stared at each other. Messages snapped between the two. Messages he couldn ’ t decipher.
    Terror washed into Annie ’ s eyes. A red blush of embarrassment stained her already pink cheeks.
    Cath’s thin lips curled in satisfaction.
    He tried to shout at Cath . Wanted to yell at her to get away from Annie. Nothing erupted from his throat. Nothing except an awful raw pain and a sickly whisper.
    Finally Cath uncupped Annie and brushed past her, slapping a piece of paper onto a nearby table.
    “What is it?” Annie asked.
    “Read it later. All the details are there. In short, this paper states he’ s mine. I ’ m here to pick up my property.”
    Joe tensed.
    “He’ s still not well enough to travel, Cath .”
    “If he’ s well enough to be fucked, he ’ s well enough to leave.”
    Cath whirled away from Annie and headed toward him. Something evil gleamed in Cath’s gray eyes and he didn’t much care for that satisfied smirk marring her face either.
    Shit!
    “ Cath , you can’ t take him. He ’ s still not healthy enough.”
    “He’ ll be fine.”
    Dread sliced through Joe when he spotted the glistening needle full of blue fluid in Cath ’ s hand.
    Oh man. Don’t do this, lady.
    “Now hold on, Cath .” Annie pulled on the woman’ s arm, practically dragging her away from him.
    Cath ’ s face twisted into an evil mask and Joe literally saw Annie tremble and shrink away from Cath in fear.
    Okay, so his only ally was literally dissolving right before him. This was not a good thing.
    He was screwed. Quite literally.
    A wiggle of panic cut through his thoughts and Joe once again pushed his bare legs and arms against his restraints. Suddenly the restraint holding his left wrist loosened. Not enough to set him free, but just enough so he could wiggle the metal belt buckle beneath his wrist and use the sharp edge of it to do some fast scratching into the wood bedframe where his wrist was latched.
    “My crew is right outside, Annie. You give me trouble, I’ ll holler.”
    “He’s my patient. You can’t come in here and take him!”
    “I can see he’ s co-operating quite nicely. Maybe you should have drawn the drapes and closed the windows before you climbed on him and started moaning like a bitch in heat.”
    “I was trying to get him to trust me.”
    Joe finished what he was doing with the belt buckle and frowned. If Annie was telling the truth, then he ’ d just been had.
    A noise from close by made him lift his head just in time to feel the sharp needle prick into his upper arm.
    The effects were immediate. Dizziness swept over him like a tidal wave. A split second later the lights went out.

 
     
    Chapter Three
     
    Annie ’ s guts twisted into a painful knot as she watched two of Cath ’ s male slaves lift the unconscious Green Eyes from his bed and drag him out the door.
    “Where are you taking him?”
    “It’ s all in the requisition on the table,” Cath said as she brushed past Annie.
    “He could still have a relapse, Cath . I’ ll be putting him on your record if something happens to him.”
    Annie held her breath as Cath stopped short and whirled around. Anger and hurt flared in her eyes.
    “I can’ t believe you pulled rank on me out there. I thought we were friends? I trusted you.”
    “We’ re still friends.”
    “I don’ t think so, Annie. You let a slave, a useless male, come between us. I never figured you ’ d do something so hideous.”
    Annie shrugged. Neither did she. She ’ d never been a fighter. Always a follower.
    And then Green Eyes had shown up and everything had changed.
    Watching him fight so valiantly against the women who’d wanted to castrate