She curled her lip at the fat, grimy man. "What do you want of me?" she asked, already knowing the answer, but hoping to gain some time until she could think of a way to escape them.
His lecherous smile answered her.
Kiara stared at him, wondering how he could stand to look at his ugly, warted face long enough to shave. But then, by the am ount of stubble on his pudgy jowls, she could tell he didn't look too often.
The man at his side was only a few inches taller. His long, sharp angular features reminded her of one of the beasties her nurse used to frighten her with when she was a child.
Their eyes mirrored a coldness in their souls that chilled her own.
She grasped onto the bedpost, her knuckles protruding. Kiara assessed them, and the distance and time it would take her to get between them and through the door. She was quick and strong, but not enough to break through their hulking form s. At that moment, she wished she were a magician or soldier instead of a scrawny dancer.
"My father will give you any amount you ask if you return me unharmed."
Chenz took a step toward her. "We don't intend to return you at all."
Panic, cold and dem anding, welled up inside her, temporarily dimming her eyesight.
Before she could move, Chenz had her by the arm. Fiercely, Kiara clawed at his face. By God, she would have his eyes for this!
He drew his fist back and struck her hard across the face. Kiara reeled backward, falling against the wall. She slid to the floor, stunned. Never in her life had she been struck and the pain throbbing across her cheek and eye was unlike anything she had ever felt.
Only the sound of her nightgown ripping brought her back to the present and her mind away from the pain. With a curse born of desperation, Kiara sent her fist into Chenz's flabby belly. Releasing her, he doubled over in pain.
She kicked at the other man, catching him in the center of his chest. Her nightgown tore more as she scrambled from them. She couldn't allow herself to be raped. She would rather die trying to escape than to docilely submit to them.
Kiara ignored the gaping front of her gown and ran for the door. Someone grabbed her foot. She hit the floor with enough force to knock her breath from her.
Oh God, she had to get away! Kiara clawed at the garbage as they pulled her back toward them.
"You'll pay for that, bitch!" Chenz snapped, wrapping his belt around her throat.
Kiara gasped for air, but the belt bit into the flesh of her neck, choking it from her.
Desperately, she tried to pry the leather free from her throat. She kicked her feet and tried to scream. Not even a whisper left her bruised lips.
She was dead, she knew it.
"Kill her, Chenz!" the taller man said, rubbing his chest where she had kicked him.
The belt tightened. Kiara's sight dimmed. She clawed at the belt. Her tongue seemed swollen, almost too large for her mouth. Just as she thought Chenz would finish her, the belt loosened.
Kiara gulped the air into her burning lungs and throat. She rubbed her neck, feeling the welts left by the rough leather.
Chenz wrapped his hands in her long, dark brown hair and reeled her to him . "Your life's nothing to us, girly. But how you treat us in the next few minutes will decide if we kill you quick or make it real painful."
She choked at the stench of his breath falling against her cheek. Before she could think of a retort, his wet, scarred lips covered hers. Kiara gagged.
"Why you . . ." He drew back to hit her again.
A sharp lurch in the ship sent them tumbling. A warning buzzer pierced the air. The sharp pulses of sound were punctuated by flashing lights.
"We're being attacked!" the tall man shouted before running out of the room.
Kiara lay on the floor numb from physical pain and fear. Chenz grabbed her by the arm, jerked her to her feet, and pushed her back against the wall. She stared bravely into his eyes, wondering if he would kill her before he left. She was amazed to find her eyes dry.
"I'll finish with you when this is over," he promised, his fingers biting fiercely into her face as he twisted her mouth with his hand. Giving her a lecherous sneer, he released her and ran to join his partner.
The door slammed down, jarring the room. Kiara slid slowly to the floor, her mind too overwrought to think about much of anything except the fate that awaited her when the battle ended.
She was aboard some sort of aircraft with two assassins, in who knew what sector or galaxy, and all of them were now under attack by something probably more cruel than her current hosts.
For the briefest moment, she thought it might be her father with a rescue party. But she knew better. He was still at the consulate meeting and thought her safely guarded in the dance company's hotel rooms.
Tears flooded down her cheeks as she realized the hopelessness of her situation. She would die out here in space, raped and tortured. The only hope she had was that whoever was attacking them, would destroy them.