Stars Across Time Read Online Free PDF

of cartridges before needing to be reloaded. If he could get one of those for himself, he could definitely do some damage.
    Fabric ripped as the men cut away the women’s clothing. Some of the girls in the back whimpered. The sound made Theron cringe. Nobody should have to endure this indignity—and what was sure to become more than indignity—but especially not such young women.
    Min-ji had tears in her eyes, but she looked at her friend, a question there, as well. Andie nodded once. She looked toward the cache of stolen goods, even as her captors cut her clothing away. Calculation glittered in her brown eyes. Theron might have an ally in the battle he was planning, whether she thought of him as one or not. He vowed to cut her bonds as soon as he had a chance.
    “Virgin,” Optimus announced. “Over there. Next.”
    Theron paused, frowning in the man’s direction. Optimus wasn’t doing a physical check, at least not in the invasive way Theron had imagined, but instead, held a small device against each woman’s bare abdomen. Oh, his hands did roam unprofessionally as he did his checks, and guards held the young captives so they could not shy away, though they certainly tried, but as soon as a red or green indicator came on, he waved the subject to stand in one group or the other and moved onto the next woman. Not surprisingly, most of his previously uniformed captives went into the virgin group, though two who looked too young to be sexually active were guided toward the other group, one with her cheeks flushing red. Hell, to Theron, they all looked too young to be sexually active. He might not have any children, but he was old enough that any one of the uniformed girls could have been his daughter. The thought of them being sold to the highest bidder made his fingers tighten into fists again.
    He took a couple more steps toward the gasoline canisters. Three men stood in front of the area. Whether they had been assigned to guard the goods or had merely chosen that spot when everyone had entered the cave, Theron did not know. All three of them were watching the naked girls, their eyes hungry. One of them dropped a hand down, openly rubbing his crotch. Theron hoped he managed to light that one on fire.
    “You going somewhere, new blood?” one of the men asked, turning his eyes from the girls to Theron.
    Apparently, this one hadn’t been as engaged as his buddies. He tapped the stock of his rifle as he met Theron’s eyes. The motion caused his sleeve to droop slightly, revealing a bracer on his wrist, one identical to the one Optimus wore. One that could call to the time machine back in their own century, letting it know its travelers were ready to come home. The bracers were simple, with all of the complicated parts being back on the machine itself. Press and hold down the button on the side, and one went home.
    The guard followed his stare, curled a lip, and yanked his sleeve down. Realizing he had made himself more suspicious by taking such a long look, Theron shrugged easily and met the man’s eyes, as if he had nothing to hide.
    “Yeah. Came to see you. I saw you earlier, talking to Optimus.” Theron had seen no such thing, but he assumed that the men in the other group had all “talked” to their leader at some point during this raid. “Do you have any idea how much we’ll end up making once the girls are sold? If they’re getting split off, and we get sent with the less valuable group, will we get a cut from the other group?”
    “What makes you think you deserve a cut of anything? You didn’t come in with a woman or anything else in your arms.” The guard shifted so that he stood in front of the gasoline jugs, as if he knew exactly what Theron had in mind.
    “I helped get those two.” He resisted the urge to wave toward Min-ji and Andie, reminding himself that he had suspected them of being up to something. If they were, he did not want to draw anyone’s attention to them.
    “Did you.” The