Page 22 of Her Lawless Prince

“Faulty wiring.” She frowned. “Huh. I really thought we were communicating on another level. Guess not.”

“How is faulty wiring code?” he argued.

“Because he’s clearly telling you not to take his leg,” she shot back, irritated. Heat flushed her features. “He loves that leg.”

“He doesn’t love.” Nyle had tried to tell himself that her delusion wasn’t as deep as it sounded. His tone came out harsh. “He’s a machine. A tool. A fancy, programmable tool. If anything, he tapped into his self-improvement directives to give himself mobility to make his job of protecting the Cysgodian people easier.”

“Why are you yelling at me?” she asked. “This was the plan. We’re going to escape. They can’t have Yevgen. You heard them. We have one day before…whatever they plan.”

“Stop saying this is our plan.” Nyle wasn’t sure what he wanted to do to the woman more: yell at her or kiss her. Either way, he knew he needed to protect her, and they currently weren’t in a position for him to do that adequately. “We’re in deep space. The plan was to buy time until we could remove Yevgen’s legs for easy transport. Then when we landed at a fuel port, we could try to escape when our odds were better.”

“What if the next port is a Federation docking ship?” Payton countered, her eyes flashing with the threat of a shift. She lifted Thane off Yevgen and laid the unconscious man on the floor. Looking at the cyborg, she asked, “Can you walk?”

Nyle didn’t know how many times he needed to explain how machines worked.

“As long as you stop trying to take off my legs,” Yevgen answered. His eyes lit up as he moved to sit. The mechanisms in his chest sounded a little rough. “How would you like it if I removed your legs?”

Nyle stared at the cyborg in surprise. “You’re deactivated.”

“Reality says differently.” Yevgen moved to stand and swayed a little. He eyed Nyle. “I require blood.”

Payton hugged Yevgen. “I’m so glad you’re awake.”

Nyle felt an unreasonable pang of jealousy.

“As am I, my wife,” Yevgen answered. “Do not fear. You are in good hands now. I will save you. I am not afraid of these mercenaries.”

“Can you fly this ship?” Payton asked him. “We need to get somewhere safe where I can contact my mother’s old crew to come and get us.”

“I am not at optimal functionality.” He looked at Nyle.

Payton turned her attention to him. “Well?”

“What?” Nyle eyed the pair.

“He needs blood,” she said.

“So do I,” Nyle answered dryly.

“You’ll make more.” Yevgen lifted a cutting laser.

Nyle instantly backed away from him.

The cyborg ignored him and walked along the wall. He ran his hand over the panels before rubbing his face against the metal surface.

Payton glanced around. “How do we do it?”

“We need a medical unit and a transfuser.” Nyle did not like the feeling that Yevgen was suddenly calling the shots or that the cyborg was about to play the hero. He frowned as Yevgen spread his arms and placed his chest flat against the wall. “I think your husband is cheating on you with the ship.”

Payton glanced at Yevgen and shrugged.

“Here we are.” Yevgen took the cutting laser to the wall and began slicing his way through the metal. He made a heart shape in the metal and then turned to wink at Payton before reaching into the ship’s wall. He yanked wires and connectors from within before pulling them apart to attach the ship to the back of his hand and arm.

Nyle went to Thane and took the man’s blaster pistol. He handed it to Payton. “Yevgen, see if the space pods are able to reach a safe port.”

“Do you wish to eject our captors from the ship?” he asked.

“I wish not to risk fighting an unknown number of captors if there is a safer way off this ship,” Nyle explained.

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