Read Online Trapped: A SciFi Convict Romance (The Condemned Book 1) by Alison Aimes - Free Book Online Page A

on his neck
stood out even more than usual. “Are you both okay?”
    “My leg’s a little banged up, but I’m fine,” answered Ava.
    “I’m fine, too.” Bella felt a surge of guilt. Beyond a few
scrapes and a sore shoulder that only really hurt when something heavy bore
down on it, she was remarkably unscathed while so many of their colleagues had
died. She dreaded having to tell Winthrop that.
    “Thank God.” Winthrop’s hand gripped hers. “The others?”
    “Pogue and a few other soldiers also made it out alive.” Her
gaze slid from his. “The rest didn’t.”
    “Shit.” Lines of grief tightened his usually cheerful face.
“Where is Pogue now? I—I remember somebody carrying me.” He struggled to sit up
fully. “I need to thank him.”
    She and Ava exchanged a look. “It wasn’t Pogue. He and his
crew deserted us.”
    “What?” Winthrop’s protest started as a roar, but ended on a
pained hiss, his hand clutching his chest. “ Christ ,
that hurts.” He shook off their attempt to check his bandage. “Deserted us? The
Council will have Pogue’s job for this. His freedom, too. His sole objective is
to keep us alive.”
    “He was afraid for his life.” Bella wasn’t defending, simply
explaining. She’d detested Pogue since the first time he ‘accidentally’ brushed
up against her ass during a training session. His actions since the shuttle
wreck had only confirmed her initial assumption of his character. “Our crash
drew the attention of the Dragath25 prisoners.”
    “Are they after us?” Winthrop tried to heave himself up.
Instead, he slipped on his elbow and crashed back down with a grunt.
    “We’re safe. Stop thrashing around.” Ava added her weight to
Bella’s, holding the man down. Clearly, Bella wasn’t the only one emboldened by
being temporarily beyond Council rule. Still, her colleague’s wary gaze
flickered to Bella before shifting back to Winthrop. “Bella found us help.”
    “Help?” Winthrop’s eyes slid shut. Even that simple effort
had exhausted him. “Thank God. I think I need a little more time before I can
make a run for it.”
    It was the kind of self-deprecating joke he always had at the
ready. It had Bella smiling, her eyes prickling with the sting of salt, relief
that he was alive, that they were all alive, winding through her.
    Ava’s eyes were wet, too, as she smiled down at the man. “Let
me get you some water.” She sprung up, hurrying toward the hollow gourd Convict
had left behind.
    “Bella, I’m so glad you’re okay.” Winthrop pressed her hand
against the curve of his face, surprising her. “I knew the second I saw you,
you were extraordinary. So beautiful. So determined.” He turned and kissed her
palm; his mouth a warm, unwelcome imprint against her skin. “I shouldn’t have
let Council biases deter me. I—I’ve wanted to tell you for so long. I…I care
for you. And I’m not going to let protocol stand in my way anymore. I want us
to be far more than colleagues. And my position affords enough influence to
weather any damage our union might cause.” His grip tightened. “Thank you for
finding a way to save us so I could come to my senses.”
    He was in shock. Likely not thinking clearly. And, boy oh
boy, the presumption. The unbelievable arrogance. Still…he was her superior.
She shifted uncomfortably, her face growing hot, her mind struggling for the
right thing to say.
    Especially since she doubted he’d be thanking her so
fervently if he knew the truth of what she’d done to save them.
    “Well, isn’t this cozy.”
    Bella looked up.
    Convict loomed above, his gaze locked on Winthrop’s hand atop
hers. “I see he finally woke up.”
    Winthrop’s hold tightened. “Who’s this?”
    The air vibrated with menace.
    Bella struggled to her knees. “Convict, this is Dr. Winthrop,
Senior Council Officer of our mission. Dr. Winthrop, this is Convict. The man
who’s saved our lives countless times already.” As subtly as