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“They’d recognize the ship as a Human transport shuttle. Their attack wasn’t an accident. They came after us deliberately.”
“Which means they must have been approaching the Apocalypse just as we left,” Daisy said. “They’d have been nearby to see our ship leave. Were they tracking us?”
“Why would they do that?”
She drew in a slow breath. Since her encounter with the Gente, Daisy had put them in the category of alien she’d never take out for a beer. They were sly and deceitful and quick to take things that didn’t belong to them so they could make money. Basically, they were profiteering ass wipes.
Her stomach kicked as she stared at the approaching Gente as they came into view. She grabbed the seat as a wave of dizziness hit. She couldn’t hide from this crippling concern any longer.
Rexx grabbed her arm. “Are you feeling sick again?”
“No, it’s not that. I feel okay. No worse than usual.” She swiped a hand down her face.
“Daisy, what’s wrong?”
She turned to face him. “Rexx, what if they’re here for me?”
***
Daisy’s words felt like a punch to the gut. “What do you mean? Why would the Gente be here for you?”
She tapped behind her ear. “Because of this. They put this inside me. Maybe they want it back.”
The raw fear on her face had him stifling a growl. “No way. That can’t be it.”
“We don’t know what this technology is. It could be valuable to them. We know the Gente are always stealing from others. What if they want to see what this tech would do?”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass if it is valuable to them. They’re not getting their hands on you.” He pulled her close and curled his hand around the back of her neck. “If this is what they’re after, I won’t let them take you.”
“Don’t go making promises you can’t keep.” Sweat slid down the side of Daisy’s face. Damn, she was burning up again, and her eyes had a strange, weird glaze in them.
“You feeling bad again?” His fingers slid over the skin behind her ear. “You should have said if you weren’t doing so well.”
“Twenty minutes ago, I’d never felt better.” She grabbed his arm and held on so tight her nails dug in. “Rexx, cut this thing out of me.”
“I can’t just dig out the tech and destroy it. It’s too much of a risk. It could kill you.”
“You could. It might work.” Daisy’s gaze shot to the window. Her body shook as her hands white knuckled on the back of the chair. Her brows were lowered and her chin set.
It killed him to see her so distressed. “We’ll get out of this.”
She turned sharply, her features contorted, and shoved him in the chest. “How? If they want me, are you gonna kill every one of them?”
“Yes! Of course I will.” Rexx reached for her, but she shoved his hand away.
Damn. His sweet Daisy was gone, replaced by the messed up version being controlled by that tech worming its way through her. Maybe he should have cut the stuff out the second Angel had discovered it.
Daisy turned to the door. “If they want me, I should go to them. I could negotiate something.”
“No way in the star system are you going anywhere near those morons.”
“It makes sense. They put this in me. They want it back. I have something they want. We can do a deal.”
“They can go screw themselves.” He grabbed her arm. “Daisy, stay with me. Don’t lose control now.”
“I’m in control. I know what I’m doing.” The blurry anger simmering in her eyes suggested the opposite. “There’s no way out of this. We can’t get away on foot, and the ship can’t fly us out of here.”
“Yeah, but you’re forgetting that I’m with you.”
