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“You’re kidding me, right?” I scoffed, pulling back from him. “I don’t want them to take you. We need to get your name cleared. We need to prove that I’m safe and unharmed and that you’re innocent.”
“Mari,” he whispered, his voice straining. “I’m sure that by now my brother has spun the whole story. I refuse to put you in the middle, sugar. It’s too dangerous. I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt in the crossfire.”
I glared at him. For someone so smart, he clearly wasn’t getting it. I wasn’t going to just step aside and let things happen. Not without a fight.
“Well. That doesn’t work for me.”
He scowled. “What do you mean?”
“I mean what I said. That doesn’t work for me. I demand to be in the middle,” I said. “I alreadyamin the middle.”
He let out a soft curse, crossing all four arms. “You’re too stubborn. What if—”
“What if we got out of here, went to the Galactic Gem ship, and worked on a plan on how to clear your name? I know my friends would help. And then when you’re in the clear, you can come with me. Travel with me.”
My heart squeezed as I blurted everything out, unable to stop myself from dreaming. It had been almost all I could think about the last couple days.
“You could work and build things. There’s plenty of room on the ship. And we could be together.”
“Mari,” he whispered.
“If you don’t want that, I understand,” I said, crossing my arms too. I was holding back tears, but I refused to let them fall.
If he didn’t want to try, then I couldn’t make him.
I would not force him to say yes to a future together.
Either he wanted us to work this out or he didn’t.
He was silent, his gaze meeting mine. He let out the softest growl, shaking his head.
“You have completely rocked my world,” he said. “Everything has changed in a matter of days. In the blink of my eyes, I have been gifted the most wonderful thing in the universe. Time with the woman that is meant to be mine. Of course I want those things, Mari. Of course, I want to be with you. I would travel to the ends of the universe to be with you. But my brother…” He trailed off, wincing. “He’s done terrible things. Last time someone came between us, they died.”
His last sentence was a frail whisper.
“Someone died?” I asked.
“Yes. He killed them and then pinned it on me. That’s why I was in jail. That’s why everyone thinks I’m bad. They claimed I kidnapped her and then killed her.”
“Oh, Raider,” I breathed, my shoulders relaxing. “You didn’t tell me about this.”
“I know,” he sighed. “Let me tell you everything that happened. And then you can decide if you even want to be with me.”
I nodded, my stomach twisting. “Let’s go sit in the nest and talk.”
I held out my hand, and he took it, giving me a gentle squeeze. I led him back into the room, the two of us plopping down in the pile of blankets. I sat across from him, folding my legs together. He took a similar position.
“A few years ago, I met someone,” he said. “She was Rhomboan like me. We hit it off well, but what I didn’t know was that she was also seeing Rider. Rider knew. He would make comments here and there that I didn’t understand. I found them together in my home. Rider and I fought, and then he turned everything on her. He’s got a vicious streak, one that snaps sometimes. One moment he was coming for me, the next he was going after her.” He drew in a quick breath, his words weakening. I could feel his pain, his sadness.
“He killed her. I held her as she passed. When the authorities arrived, he made it sound like I’d done it. He was an ambassador then, so he pulled strings. Pulled favors. I was just the strange cowboy mechanic that built things and worked for my family sometimes. They didn’t believe me.”
“Didn’t they have to have evidence?” I asked.
“Rider is my twin brother. Our DNA is the same. And like I said, he has some friends in high places. That, coupled with some note that I swear she never wrote, I took the fall. He took everything from me.”
I swallowed hard, thinking through everything. I felt sad for him. To have someone you cared about die before your eyes and then to be blamed for it…
Rider was dangerous.
