Page 22 of Survivor
He blinked at me in surprise.
I smiled up at him, suddenly weary with it all. “That was their plan. It was why they rescued me from Vesper. But it’s not any longer. Now we’re running. From the Trads who suddenly want me back, and from the Athion government who wants to run tests on me. We need this prize to get away. This … coming here to fight, was my plan.”
His jaw flexed, and then he let out a humorless bark of laughter. “They went against their orders.”
I nodded. “They’re good guys.”
He puffed out his cheeks. “Well, fuck.” He tapped the area under his right ear. “Call off the hit on the blues. Change it to a retrieval.”
Wait, what?”
He smiled almost amiably as the door behind me opened and Blondie stepped in.
“Larcen, get some food sent up. We’ll be having guests soon.”
11
MARICK
The air smells of smoke and copper. Spaceport atmosphere. Heady due to the unique combination of gases mixed to cater to a variety of species. It makes me sick. I miss Trad air. I miss Trad soil. Vesper was meant to be a temporary position, but the powers that be left me there to rot. Maybe now, once I deliver Rogue to them, they’ll finally allow me to come home.
The spaceport has a record of a shuttle matching the Athion shuttle’s description docking two weeks ago. There are records of it being towed by the chop shop. But no records of any public or private transactions regarding a new ship in the last two weeks.
They’re still here.
She’s still here.
Excitement bubbles in the pit of my stomach, and my hands itch to touch her. To wrap around her throat and squeeze while I bury myself inside her. She will be mine, over and over again, before I deliver her to them.
She owes me that much.
I stand back in the shadows, eyes on the building where they sort space trash, watching the bounty enforcers exit the building. Talking to them is pointless. They won’t give out details on their warrants. But shuttles don’t just disappear. The Athions would have sold it or had it scrapped. And shuttles aren’t great sale items.
They came here.
I know it, and I’m going to find out where the fuck they went.
I duck out of the shade and stride toward the building. You can run, Rogue, but you can’t hide.
12
Larcen led me back into the room with the bar, and the other guys sat up with interest.
“Well?” Jaron asked him.
Larcen shrugged. “I got to order food.”
Red-eye studied me. “You’renotan Athion captive?”
I shook my head. “The Athions are my … mine.”
His frown cleared.
“They broke protocol,” Braker said from the doorway to his watchtower. “I guess some snitches have hearts.” His smile was sad. He turned away and stepped back into his room.
The door closed on him.
I was so confused. How did he know so much, and why did I get the feeling this was personal?
