Page 44 of Escape Clause

Still on the lam, Stervak continued to threaten her life and urge his followers to do her harm. Sending her away was the only way to ensure her safety. It would kill him if something happened to her. Just contemplating injury—or worse—befalling her caused him to break into a cold sweat of anxiety.

Love hurt.

It still hurt. Her departure hadn’t eased the pain; it had increased it. She was safe now, but it felt like she had died. How was this better?

His gaze settled on a light-purple garment. She’d worn that one the night they consummated their marriage. The intimacy had been unexpected, unplanned. He’d been feeling like a failure after the stasis pod malfunction. Hope hadn’t solved the problem, but she had fixedhim. Her presence, her sympathy and concern, lifted him up and renewed his sagging spirits so he could fight another day. She had become his shelter in the storm. Not the empty, vacant penthouse. Her.

And that had terrified him. What if she became his anchor, and he came to depend on her steady, loving presence, and then a storm broke the lines and cast him adrift? He’d been abandoned once before. Hecouldn’t survive it again. He would live, but inside he would die.

While he was still processing the change in their relationship, trying to master his fears, Stervak had fomented the rebellion, enflamed emotions, and issued a credible threat against her life. It wasn’t some crazy person babbling nonsense—the menace had come from someone with a motive and the means to carry it out.

His worst fear was about to happen.

He’d pushed her away because he couldn’t deal with the fear of losing her. He’d run from love rather than fight for it.

The separation wasn’t best for her. It was best for me.He’d done it to protect himself as much as to save her. Rather than risk abandonment, he’d abandoned Hope.I did it for me. Not her. I can marshal the resources to protect her. I didn’t need to reject her.He’d had options. He could have hired more guards,doubled the manpower searching for Stervak, addressed the citizens and requested their help in apprehending Stervak, but he hadn’t.

I’m an idiot and a coward.He couldn’t do anything about the former, but he could fix the latter. The ship hadn’t left yet.

He sprinted from the suite. He tore through the apartment lobby and jumped into the vaporator. As soon as it opened at the spaceport, he leaped out and grabbed an accelerator.

Revving it to the max, he zoomed across the terminal.Hurry, hurry.

He got to the waiting room outside the dock in time to see the spaceship fade into the sky.

Chapter Twenty-One

Hope slipped into the penthouse. To her astonishment, Krogan sat on the sofa in the conversation pit.What is he doing home? Why isn’t he at work?Although she’d raced to catch him before he left, nothing had gone right, and hours had passed since she’d disembarked the ship.

“Krogan? Why aren’t you at work?”

He jackknifed to his feet and whirled around. “Hope?” He blinked like he didn’t believe his eyes.

She couldn’t believe hers. His blue skin had grayed to dull slate, and the sigils had lost their gleam, all but fading away. “What happened?” She moved closer. Had more women in stasis died? Had Stervak committed some heinous criminal act? “Are you all right?”

“You left me. I forced you to go home.” His face contorted.

Her stomach fluttered with frantic, crazed, hopeful butterflies. “This is my home. My home is with you.” She took a breath and a leap of faith. “I love you. I want to make our marriage work—aieeeee!”

He leaped over the sofa. Hauling her into his arms, he kissed her fiercely and swung her around. Had there been furniture, they would have demolished it.

“I love you.” Kiss. “I’m sorry.” Kiss. “I was an idiot.”

She hugged his neck hard, reeling at his change of heart. She’d psyched herself up for an argument, to have to convince him to let her stay. She’d anticipated he might be angry she’d left the ship.

“I went back for you,” he said. “I missed the ship by mere minutes. I feared I’d lost you forever. I’ve been such a fool.” He tipped her chin so he could peer into her eyes. “I’m sorry I said those terrible things to you. I do want you. I need you. I love you.”

Secure in his love now, she didn’t need the words—but it was still nice to hear them. “It was my fault, too,” she said. “I shouldn’t have given in so easily. I should have fought harder to stay.”

His color had returned, the gliteri reappearing and sparkling like diamonds.

She hugged his neck hard. “What about protecting me from Stervak?” she voiced a lingering concern. Hadn’t that been the sticking point?

“Don Juan will become your bodyguard and accompany you everywhere. He can take out five men before the first can take a step. And, Stervakwillbe caught,” he vowed in a determined tone. “I’ll triple the security force. I’ll keep you safe, I promise.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “When did you get off the ship?”

“A few minutes before launch. We’d already disconnected from the terminal. The captain wasn’t happy, but I tossed your name around, and he let me off. Your name opens doors.” She hadn’t bothered to retrieve her bag but had left it behind and run off the ship.

“Feel free to use my name any time.” His grin turned to a frown. “What took you so long getting home?”

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