“That, Irena… Stars, that is amazing. I’m so proud of you, my fierce little Tikai. Where to now? What’s the plan?” She grinned, and then she outlined it in rough strokes. It was very simple and relied heavily on Mitnick’s skills to hack the ship. I had no doubt it would work. There was just one problem: no room for vengeance.
When I stole the weapons off the dead guy and we got ready to leave, I mulled that over. My ribs were far too injured for any close-combat fighting. Irena still had the tissue regenerator, but they needed more heavy-duty healing, unfortunately. That left shifting out of the equation. But that didn’t mean we shouldn’t blow this ship sky-high as we left. I had no doubt I could convince Jaxin to do it with theVarakartoom, but that wasn’t quite as satisfying as having a hand in it myself. That also gave theVidua chance to outrun us, and it was a ship very good at vanishing. No, too much was left to chance that way.
My hand tightened around Irena’s small digits, holding her close as we slipped from the brig. With all the internal cameras down thanks to Mitnick, our escape had yet to be detected. That didn’t mean I wanted her to be in the lead; she’d already risked so much to get me out. Even with busted ribs, I was solidly back in protection mode. “Stay behind me. We’ll hit an armory on our way to the escape pods.”
She tilted her head up, her brown eyes warm and full of confidence. “Okay. I trust you.” Ah, beautiful, sweet mate. She said the most amazing things. Those words, coming from her, were almost as good as her declaration of love back on the planet. She trusted me, and I knew how hard-won that trust was, and that made it worthwhile. So many things I could get my hands on as easily as breathing, but not family, a home, a place where I truly belonged. To keep it, I’d fight to the bitter end.
We slipped deeper into the warm, humidVidu, hand in hand. The plan was solidly in my mind, and my mate was right beside me. Yeah, Xathena had underestimated Irena for the last time. Now she’d pay. She’d get exactly what she deserved, a fate just like Dimon’s.
The armory wasn’t guarded, though it usually was, possibly because the crew was stretched alarmingly thin at this point. Irena had stolen weapons before, but she admitted those had been personal items. She did not have the access code for this door. Mitnick hadn’t unlocked it for us, though he’d helped my mate locate the keys to my shackles. That didn’t matter. It was the work of a moment to break the lock and give myself access. Then we were in, and I quickly loaded a backpack full of small but very effective explosives. “Let’s leave a surprise before we leave, shall we?”
She opened her mouth, possibly to tell me we shouldn’t waste time, and I silenced her with a kiss. In the darkness of the armory, it was easy to forget we were in danger of discovery—that we were breaking out again, and that it wasn’t just Xathena who was the danger. Jalima, or a kill squad sent by him, could arrive at any moment too. Yet it felt incredible to hold her and have her taste flood my senses. A reminder that we were both alive and in love.
“Flack,” she whispered, her hands lingering against my chest. Fingers soft and uncalloused after I’d healed them. She clung as if she needed me to steady her, and I felt immense satisfaction in knowing that. “We really should get moving, especially if you want to plant bombs. Jalima’s ship could arrive at any moment.” She reminded me of reality with a husky voice; temptation incarnate. “I know just the place for these. Follow me.”
I did, because I’d follow her anywhere. She trusted me, but I trusted her, and she knew this ship better than anyone. A bomb beneath the deck near several major junctions I’d never even considered was just the start. We were making good progress and had still avoided discovery, my backpack growing lighterwith each carefully selected stop she made. I was beginning to understand the grit she had in spades, the strength that had carried her through the six-month-long ordeal she had endured. From injury to slavery to the struggle for food and survival. I was seeing her backbone in action, and suddenly this did not feel like my vengeance, but hers.
We had almost reached a row of escape pods that lined the hull of theVidu’s belly when everything went sideways in the worst possible way. Something blew up, and it wasn’t us. The whole ship rocked with the force of it, and alarms began screaming madly. I threw myself over Irena to protect her just as a structural beam sheared clean off from the ceiling and came crashing down on top of us both.
Chapter 23
Irena
I did not realize I was a bloodthirsty person—someone who believed in revenge. As I helped Flack place bombs all over theVidu, it felt cleansing, however. Not so much the prospect of blowing up the pirates as the idea that I was going to wipe this miserable place out of existence. Today, everything had gone to hell, and I’d risen from the ashes like a phoenix. I’d taken control of my own fate, even if I was terrified, and now I was taking control of the past.
I’d gotten us help, and I’d gotten Flack out of his cell. With him at my side, we’d beaten everything that life had thrown at us. The future suddenly didn’t seem so scary after that. That thinking was tested moments before we reached the safety of the escape pods. I saw them; I’d been inside a few in my search for a safe sleeping place, yet they felt like they were miles away at the same time.
The ship rocked so violently it threw me off my feet, and I stumbled forward. The real danger came from above, and I didn’t even see it coming. Disoriented after falling, I heard the groaning, shrieking noise, and then Flack was already on top of me. Our bodies colliding and rolling across the wildly bucking deck as metal crashed down around us.
For a moment I believed the bombs we’d placed had gone off already, and that we’d accidentally blown the ship up around us. Then Flack’s mouth by my ear whispered the answer. “Jalima’s ship arrived.” The name of the crimelord had inspired terror anddesperate plans in theVidu’screw. It was clear it did something to Flack too, a growl in his whisper, a fury etched on his face that had nothing to do with me. I didn’t know how he knew, but I believed him right away. Bombs might not be my thing, but we’d been very precise setting the timers.
“Hurry,” I urged. The ship had stopped bucking, and there was no more debris falling from the ceiling above us. I could only conclude that meant the ship had been struck just once. We needed to seize the moment and get into an escape pod while we still could.
Aside from skinned knees and a few blisters on the palms of my hands, I was surprisingly uninjured after all that. Flack’s body covered mine, but he had kept his weight off me. Despite my whispered urging, he didn’t get up, and I had to wriggle out from beneath him. How badly was he injured? I expected a broken leg, gashes, perhaps a head wound. All bad, but this… this was worse.
A beam lay across his legs, as big as a tree trunk and probably much heavier. Steel warped and twisted, all of it pressing down on his lower legs. There was no way either of us could move it. The future came crashing down around me.
“Go,” he said. “Get into the pod. I’ll be right behind you.” His blue eyes glowed with fervor, fists clenched, mouth pulled into a grim snarl. He jerked his head, repeating the order, but my feet were rooted to the spot. No, there was no way I’d leave him behind. Not now, not after everything we’d been through.
“Flack,” I whispered. “No!” I shook my head, turned to the beam, and though I knew how hopeless it was, I tried to move it anyway. “We’ll get you out!” I pleaded. “Push! Help me, damnit! I’m not leaving you, so get this bloody beam off! Now!” He growled in answer, but he braced himself against the deck and pushed.
A crackling noise overhead made both of us wince, and instinctively, I covered his head with mine. That really pissed him off. “Run, Irena, go!” he tried again, but I refused. That wasn’t the ceiling about to collapse again, but the shipwide intercom struggling to come through. It crackled again—static, thin and high-pitched. “The bombs will go in just a few minutes. You don’t have time. Get out of here! TheVarakartoomwill retrieve you…” Me, but not him, because he wouldn’t be able to make it to the pod. I hunkered down over his head even more, fingers trailing through his long, silvery hair.
“Vidu, that was a warning shot. Surrender now and I will end this swiftly. You have no shields and no weapons. You’re sitting ducks. You have one minute.” A woman’s voice sounded, clear as day, when with a loud pop the static suddenly cleared. Jalima’s ship, indeed. From the sounds of it, not the crimelord himself, but someone he’d sent to dispose of theViduand its crew. I pictured Xathena panicking on the bridge, possibly answering back to say they had the diamond and could pay.
Then something else sunk in: sitting ducks? Had this woman just said what it sounded like? Was that some weirdness with my translator, or had she really said that? I met Flack’s eyes, but he must not have been paying attention as I had. His attention turned inward. I realized what he was trying to do right away, and my heart skipped a beat with hope. A shift! Of course! If he managed to shift to a much smaller size, he could get out!
Then he shook his head with a groan. “I’m full of that damn drug, and too injured.” He shifted on the deck, rolling just enough that he could look up at me. “My beautiful Irena. I know this isn’t what you want, but you must. Leave me here and go. Get yourself to safety with the pod, and my captain will take care of you, I promise.” I was shaking my head, furiously denying what he was saying.
“Yes! You must go. I need to know you’re going to be all right. I’m a pirate, a mercenary. I’m a selfish bastard, and I need you to do this for me.” His voice was hoarse, pain and emotion raw in each syllable. He gathered his strength and, with a shove, pushed me across the deck toward the pods in the distance.
I glanced at the pods, the looming offer of safety. Then back at the beam that kept his lower body pinned to the deck. Then I looked at the timer on the detonator and calculated my chances. I could make it, as long as that mystery woman didn’t try shooting up theVidujust yet.
I rose to my feet, dusted off my torn skirt, and gave Flack my fiercest glare. “No, I love you, and I’m not abandoning you. Now, do you know what the antidote looks like?” There was one; there always was one. I was certain of it. It was the only option we had, and I’d brave the damn med bay—and the butcher inside it—for it if I had to.
Flack’s snarl was so furious I took a step back, but the sound of a ship docking with the airlock made us both freeze. That was good, wasn’t it? If the enemy ship had docked, perhaps Xathena was surrendering. In any case, it meant our bombs were ready to blow it up. It was the only timer I had left to race.
“No,” he said, and then relented almost immediately. “I’m pretty sure Yurel keeps it in a cabinet to the left. Yellowish liquid. Take a blazing gun, Irena.” I’d already turned to start running, but I bolted back to take the rifle he shoved out from beneath his body toward me. Then I flat-out sprinted through the ship with zero fear that I might run into someone. I did, though, rounding a corner and barreling straight past two pirates arming themselves at the armory where we’d stolen the bombs.
