He was buried alive.

Ry gritted his teeth and kept digging up through the snow. At least, he hoped to hell it was up. He’d lost all sense of direction, after tumbling end-over-end through the avalanche.

He was trapped in a small cavity, which meant, for the moment, he had air. But he also knew he didn’t have a lot of time.

Was Elana okay? The last glimpse of her he’d had, she was out of the main rush of the avalanche. Be safe, gorgeous.

All of a sudden, he heard distant voices above. He froze and cocked his head.

For a brilliant, shining second, he thought his brothers had found them. But then he heard Elana’s voice—too indistinct to make out the words—but she was yelling.

Damn. Then he heard laughter and the sound of several blows. Ry’s hands curled into fists. He knew, all too well, the sound that knuckles made hitting flesh. He heard Elana cry out.

Bastards. He knew it wasn’t the snow monsters beating her, so it had to be the space pirates. Fucking hell.

An icy anger swept through him, cold and fierce. There was nothing he could do. On top of the anger lay that fucking sense of uselessness he’d known all too often. There was nothing he could do to help her.

For a second, he was eight years old again—trapped and helpless.

No, dammit. That’s the past. He’d get out, and he’d make anyone who hurt her pay.

With a sudden burst of extra energy, he kept digging. But he was going nowhere fast. And above, he heard more sounds of the skirmish and faint voices.

His jaw was clenched so hard, he felt like it was going to shatter. He hated being stuck like this. Hated it. Hold on, Elana.

But soon, he was forced to take a break. He leaned against the snow, panting. He’d spent so many hours of his childhood, listening to his brothers take a beating. Usually, Ry was already lying in pain on the floor. Their bastard stepfather had been determined to beat some discipline into three energetic boys.

In the darkness, bleeding and broken, Rynan had cursed his mother. He’d hated her for leaving them to their fate.

He blew out a breath. But worst of all, deep down, a part of him had still loved her.

He squeezed his eyes closed. He’d blamed her, but loved her as well. Because of that, he’d always equated love with weakness, pain, and betrayal.

Drawing a shaky breath, he stared at the snow. He suddenly realized that he had to work to pull the air in. He was running out of oxygen.

He started digging through the snow again. Now, he thought of his brothers. He’d seen both of them fall in love, and watched their happiness. Watched some of their jagged edges smooth out. He loved the way Nissa and Justyn complemented each other, and were a team. He still had some reservations about Dakota, but there was no questioning she challenged Dare, kept him on his toes, and made the controlled man laugh.

Elana did all that for Rynan.

A searing pain cut through him. Damn. He absolutely was in love with Elana.

Strong, tough, brave Elana who loved helping people and listening to music. Ry knew there was no chance in hell that she would ever leave a child locked in a basement, let alone allow a monster to beat them.

He needed to get out. He needed to get to her faster. Digging was taking too long.

Rynan maneuvered his pack off his back, pulling out the last few bits of stuff that he had. He had his scanner, some packs of food, his multitool, and his dying laser rifle.

He stared at the gear, willing his damaged brain to put it all together. To come up with something that might help him get out.

Nothing. He slammed his fist into the snow. Fuck.

Give yourself a break, Ry.

He could practically hear Elana’s voice. And in an instant, he remembered loving her up above that waterfall. Her beautiful body riding him, her face suffused with emotion.

Wait. An idea formed in his head. He could boost the last drop of power in his weapon, and widen the laser beam. Then, he could use it to cut through the snow.

Perfect. Ry quickly set to work. Using his multitool, he opened the scanner and salvaged the parts he needed. Then he opened his rifle up. It took him a few minutes, a nicked finger, and a couple of curses.

Then, he grasped the laser rifle and aimed it straight up. Green laser light flared, and he shielded his eyes. The snow above him melted away immediately, leaving behind a narrow tunnel that went up through the snow.

The rifle burned out. He shoved it behind him, taking a huge gulp of fresh air at the same time.

“What in solar balls was that?” a deep voice called out above.

Ry gripped the snow and climbed up the hole. He launched himself out and onto the surface. At the same time, he crouched and yanked his knife off his belt.

He analyzed the situation in seconds. Elana was on her knees, her face swollen and already bruising. The pirates were standing around her, fists up.

No, not pirates. These were no unruly scum from the galaxy’s edge. These were trained, well-equipped mercs.

It didn’t matter who they were. They were going to pay.

Ry pushed to his feet, raising his blade. “You shouldn’t have touched her.”

Her one good eye met his gaze. He inclined his head, communicating his plan, and she gave him a small nod back.

Like she could read his damn mind. God, he loved her.

“Don’t know where the hell you came from, big guy,” one merc spat. “But I’m going to—”

Ry tossed his knife.

The blade hit the mercenary in the eye and the man fell backward with a gurgle. The other three mercs all looked shocked. Ry charged forward, tackling the closest man to the snow.

At the same moment, Elana leaped up. Even with her hands bound, she kicked one merc in the gut, sending the woman sprawling.

Ry pummeled his fists into the mercenary beneath him. Face, chest, gut. When the man slumped, out cold, Ry jumped to his feet.

He watched Elana aim a kick at the last merc. The man shouted wildly, and yanked a stocky laser pistol off his belt.

Ry dived, hitting Elana, and rolling them out of the way. Wild laser fire careened around them, making the snow sizzle.

Fuck. This bastard was going to kill them. Ry glanced at his surroundings, and spotted something sticking up out of the snow.

The Viking sword.

Ry pushed up and dived for it. He slid in on his knees, his hand curling around the hilt.

He swung his arm up, and rammed the sword through a joint in the merc’s armor and straight into his gut. The man came to a halt, his eyes widening. He dropped his pistol, staring with disbelief at the sword sticking out of his stomach. Ry wrenched the sword back, and the merc collapsed.

“Ry, watch out!”

Elana’s shout made him duck. A glowing vibroblade skimmed over his head.

He spun, swinging the ancient blade upward. One of the other mercs was back on his feet, and swung his vibroblade viciously at Ry’s head.

Ry rolled to the side and came back up to his feet. With a few thrusts, he took down the man. “You should not have touched my woman.”

He spun and saw that Elana had taken down the woman. She was unbound now, watching him, ready to fight. The final merc was staring at them balefully, his hair askew.

“Fuck you!” He yanked something off his belt. “Fuck you all.” He held up an explosive device.

Ry’s gut turned to stone. It was a home-made device. Very likely highly unstable and with a big blast radius.

He caught Elana’s eye, and she nodded. They leaped at the man together.

“No!” the merc screamed.

Ry tackled him to the ground, knees to his chest. The man tossed the device and it sailed into the air. As Ry snapped the man’s neck, he watched Elana leap gracefully upward.

She snatched the device, and landed in a gentle crouch on the snow.

“Nice catch,” he told her.

She smiled. “Nice sword fighting.”

Ry rose and strode toward her. Careful of the device in her hand and her injured face, he pulled Elana onto her tiptoes and kissed her.

* * *

Trying to ignore her aching face, Elana stared at the tunnel that was now completely blocked by snow.

“How the hell are we going to get out?” More importantly, how would anyone find them in here?

She kept telling herself that she was alive and that Ry was alive. Thank God. But that snow-choked tunnel reminded her of just how trapped they were.

Her chest tightened and she coughed. It turned into a fit and she leaned over.

“Sit down.” Ry carefully set the merc explosive device down, then he was there, lowering her to the snow.

“I’m a bit battered, Ry, but I’m not an invalid.”

“I’m not helping you because you need it. I’m doing it because I need it.” He gently stroked her swollen eye. “God, I could hear them hurting you, and there was nothing I could do.”

She gripped his coat. “But you did it. You got out and you helped me.”

He snorted. “Another few minutes, and you wouldn’t have needed help.”

Elana smiled. “I was biding my time and waiting for the right moment.”

She watched as Ry bent over the explosive device. It was a mishmash of parts, and contained a lot of lastite—a highly unstable explosive. The damn thing could blow at any second. She knew mercs prided themselves on making their own explosive devices.

Ry’s brow was furrowed, that intense look of concentration on his face. He looked at the device, then his thoughtful gaze flicked up to the snow-packed tunnel. He pulled out a multitool, and carefully started probing the bomb.

He looked just like the old Ry. Composed and assured. Completely lost in his work.

“We’re getting out of here,” he said, voice determined.

She wasn’t so sure, but God, she hoped he was right.

Stone-gray eyes met hers. “Trust me?”

“Completely,” she said. “But please don’t blow us up.”

He reached out and grabbed her hand. “That’s not on the agenda. What I really want is to fuck you. Preferably in a bed. And I want a hot shower.” A sexy smile lit up his face. “I want to fuck you there, too. And on my desk in the security office.”

“Ry.” Desire and love became a tangled burn in her belly. She reached out, cupping both his cheeks. “All I want is for you to be mine.”

“I already am.” He drew in a deep breath. “I…I love you, Elana.”

“What?” she breathed. Elation coursed through her, along with about a hundred other emotions.

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. “You know I only say what I mean.”

She slugged his shoulder. “It’s a hell of a time to tell me! It took years for you to finally get there, and you’re telling me while we’re stranded on an ice world, next to an unstable explosive device?”

“Yep.” His smile widened, and she saw a flash of dimple. “I’ll make it up to you. When we’re back on the Nomad.”

“Oh?” She arched a brow. “How are you going to do that?”

“I want you to marry me. I want the galaxy to know you’re mine.”

Elana rocked back on her heels, and sucked in a breath. “What?”

“You heard me.”

She shook her head. “The man moves slower than a Dtruskan glacier for years, and now he’s moving at lightspeed.”

That dimple again. “You complaining?”

“No,” she muttered. “You are lucky I am head-over-heels in love with you. Now, you better get us out of here, Ry. Can you disarm the bomb?”

“I’m not going to disarm it. I’m adjusting its yield and range, and then I’m going to blow our way out of here.”

Elana’s body locked. Oh, God.