Page 76 of Rescued By the Convicts
“I hate this,” Ivan said as he headed to the hatch. “Can you at least take Melina with you? She doesn’t deserve to be here, Zev.”
“None of you do. Level 5, Ivan. There’s no changing that. This was the best I could manage. And a life on the run never ends well. I know it doesn’t feel like it now, but this is the best solution.”
Ivan held his hand out for Melina. She shook her head. “Please, make sure they’re taking care of Jayce. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Ivan left her alone with Zev. Part of her wished Zev would shut the hatch and force her to leave with him. She didn’t care how long or far they ran, at least they’d be together. But that would mean leaving Reece, Jayce, and Ivan behind, and she couldn’t do that.
Zev’s eyes pleaded with her as if he was asking her to come with him, despite his words to Ivan.
This was really happening. They were going to live out their lives on a prison planet. Not Veenith, but still a prison planet with guards, dangerous prisoners. . . and without Zev.
She pressed her body to him. “I need you. As much as I need them. Don’t make me choose, Zev. I can’t.”
“There’s no choice, Mel. They need you.”
“And you don’t?” she asked, trying to hide her hurt.
“No, I don’t,” he said, his face perfectly schooled as he slid his hands up and down her arms. He didn’t kiss her this time. Already, he was distancing himself.
“Liar,” she said as she lifted herself on her toes and reached around his neck one last time. “This isn’t goodbye. It can’t be, because that would destroy me, and I swore I wouldn’t give up. Even when Namir was beating me, I thought of you and the others. I wasn’t ready to leave you, any of you. If you love me, you’ll come back to me.”
He had never said he loved her, and she suspected he never would because that would make leaving so much harder for him. But she wanted to make it hard on him. She was too selfish to let him walk away without the hope of ever seeing him again.
She kissed his cheek. “I love you, Zev. Always have, always will, which is why I’m not kissing you goodbye. I made that mistake on the station. I was wrong to let you go, so I won’t do it a second time.”
“You’re not letting me go. I’m walking away. Remember that.”
The hell she would. She knew better. Zev had always done whatever he could to protect her. Now, he was letting her think less of him so she could move on with her life.
Her hands slid over his biceps one last time before finally releasing him. Already, she was forgetting the feel of his skin beneath hers, the way his lips glided over every part of her body. In her heart, nothing would change. He’d always be with her.
His thumb glided over her lower lip. “Goodbye, my sweet Melina,” he said as he stepped back.
Melina held the tears back as she exited the ship. As a wall of heat and humidity hit her, the hatch closed behind her. She didn’t look back. She couldn’t.
Ivan waited a few paces ahead of her. “I’m sorry, little bird.” When he pulled her against his chest, she sank into his embrace and let the tears escape. She buried her head against him for a few seconds to indulge the sense of loss.
“Where’s Jayce?” she finally asked, trying to push the pain aside and put her energy where it was needed.
“They took him to the med-center. They allowed Reece to go with him.”
A tall man with silver-streaked hair, dark eyes, and The Company logo on his black shirt approached with two guards flanking him. “I’m Manager Foley, warden of Narkos. You will follow me to processing.”
“Can we go to the med-center first? Our wounded man, Jayce Ladas—”
“He’s being taken care of. You can see him after processing.”
“She’s injured as well,” Ivan said. “Or can’t you see the bruises and the way she’s holding her side?”
“There’s only one doctor at the med-center at the moment and we had a mining accident this morning. Only critical injuries are being tended to at the moment.”
“She’s a doctor,” Ivan added.
“I can help with the injured. I worked with one of your doctors a few months back. Dr. Vaughn Caster. He can attest to my skills.”
“You’re from Veenith?” Foley said, a scowl filling his face.
“Yes, but—”
