Taken by the Cyborg (Galactic Pirate Brides Book 4) by Tamsin Ley (best ereader under 100 TXT) 📕

The other cyborgs grumbled, but Doug heard them moving into the hall. The nanites in his head received silent transmissions from them as they passed the watchful eye of the doctor.

Do you know her?

Did you open the door?

Doc’s bringing out the tranq gun. That was from Benjy.

At the other end of the hall, the two guards from the lab entered, pulse pistols readied. The doctor was a stickler for security and would immediately have the door inspected for malfunctions, so Doug quickly coded a bug into the latch’s sensor, indicating one part had a manufacturer defect.

Doug turned toward the lab, ignoring Attie completely. He did not want the doctor thinking she was anything special. When he heard the door whir closed and the doctor’s footsteps behind him, relief flooded his system. Attie’s presence hadn’t raised suspicions, at least not with Dollard.

The other cyborgs, however, continued bombarding him.

Tell me how you opened that door, Esben said.

Rust said, I’d like to know why our robot role model suddenly has the hots for a Consort.

Yeah, what’s going on? Benjy asked.

Doug ignored their rapid-fire transmissions as he passed between the guards into the lab. He seldom talked to the others; the more people he let into his world, the greater the chance someone would turn on him. Two technicians had risen from their seats holding tranquilizer guns as they watched Doug weave between the steel exam tables. His cell was on the far side of the lab, and the sooner he reached it, the sooner the doctor could engage the dampening shields, blocking further conversation.

As he approached Rust’s cell door, the redhead said, I wonder if Dollard will reward me if I tell him you can bypass the door locks.

Doug’s step faltered, and he met the other cyborg’s piercing gaze. Don’t.

If Dollard knew he could open the doors, he’d secure that loophole and possibly even discover Doug’s other abilities. Doug would be caged like the lab rat he was, unable to reach Attie or the AI. He did not know how the blasted thing had made its way to Attie or where it could be now, but he had to destroy it before it blabbed whatever it knew about his sister and the rebels. And to do that, he needed to be able to use the doors. His sister’s safety was at stake.

Why shouldn’t I tell him? Rust glared at him. I’ve got nothing to lose.

With a sinking feeling, Doug realized he couldn’t get away with silence. What would you do if I tell you how to open the doors?

What do you think? Rust’s scowl twisted into a grin. Take over the ship.

Agreement radiated from the others.

He needed to make the cyborgs understand the consequences of using the hack, or even better, believe the hack was useless. But they needed to reach that conclusion on their own to end this conversation. It wouldn’t be that easy. How would you get past the technicians, let alone the guards?

Rust lifted his chin defiantly. Next time we visit the Consorts, I’ll escape through the other door.

Doug scowled and continued his path toward his cell. There are more guards on the other side, you idiot. You’d be dead before you took three steps.

How do you know?

You think there won’t be? Doug didn’t mention he could access the security feeds.

You brought that new Consort here. Benjy’s transmission vibrated with reproach. How? What other secrets are you keeping from us?

For the first time in a very long time, Doug felt guilty. Benjy had arrived at the lab not long after Doug and his sister, and had been kind to Lisa while Doug underwent multiple tests and implant surgeries. He’d said she reminded him of his daughter. Doug made a mental note to track down Benjy’s daughter and make sure she was all right the next chance he got.

I recognized her name on the roster, Doug offered a half-truth. She’s someone from my past I’ve sworn to keep safe.

Who cares about some whore? I want to get out of here, Rust said.

Doug’s muscles tightened at the word whore, but right now, bloodying the other cyborg’s nose would only make things worse. He kept walking toward his cell, wishing the lab wasn’t so big.

Emilryde joined the conversation. We don’t need to take over the ship. But if we work together, we could escape the lab and steal a shuttle. That’s how I got free of the slave pens on Enays.

Doug reached his door and stepped inside, grateful the conversation would soon be forced to end. We’re not run-of-the-mill sex slaves. We’re cyborgs. High-tech Syndicorp property. Even if we somehow avoided Dollard’s auto-destruct sequence, we’d never blend in with the general population. Anyone who saw us would turn us in for a bounty. Leaving here isn’t an option.

Dollard tapped Doug’s doorframe with the barrel of his tranq gun. “You, out. You’re getting a full diagnostic.”

One technician uncoiled a hardline near an exam table while the other unbuckled the restraints. Doug’s pulse sped up. He hadn’t been strapped down in over a year.

Share it now, in case he purges you, Esben urged as Doug moved out of his cell.

Doug had never been afraid of the doctor’s diagnostics before. He’d learned to shield his abilities for the most part. But the doctor had never had this much reason to be suspicious. If he discovered anything, even a hint of what Doug was capable of, he’d wipe Doug’s nanite processors. Doug could lose all the hacks he’d developed over the years.

Giving the cyborgs the algorithms he’d developed would likely lead to an all-out riot and completely spoil any chance he had of reaching the AI. But they might also be his only chance at preserving the technology he’d developed. With mere moments before the hardline locked him down, he had little choice. He said, Do not use it until we speak again.

Then transmitted the information.

Chapter 5

Doug lay strapped to the hard steel exam table and endured the