“How do I stop the ship from shaking itself apart?” Ivy’s hands were clammy as she stared at the confusing array of options on the ship’s control panel.

“You need to get the ship stabilizers back online,” Billy said over the comm.

“Which button do I press to reengage?”

“You’ll have to do a manual override before you can reengage,” Billy said. “You must have the ship’s automatic controls off-line or disengaged, as well. Normally, you can’t mess with the stabilizers if you’re cruising on autopilot.”

“Tell me what to do.”

“Didn’t you take the flight simulation course when you came to Prodigy?” Billy asked. “I loved them. They gave me the knowledge to fly a shuttle.”

“I might have skipped those lessons.” Ivy had been to the first three lessons, but figured she’d never need to pilot her own ship. She could always pay somebody to do that for her. Now, she wished she’d paid attention and completed the course.

“It’s not a problem.”

“It’s a big, fat problem from where I’m sitting.” Ivy took a deep breath. “You must be human if you took those classes.”

“I sure am. I’ve been here almost a year. Billy Quinn. All human and at your service.”

Ivy nodded. “Okay, Billy Quinn the human, how do I get out of this mess?”

“We’ll get you fixed.”

“Who’s we?”

There was no reply.

“Billy, please, you have to help me.”

“Did you just admit you can’t do this on your own?”

Ivy’s heart fluttered. “Karn! Is that you?”

“With my good friend Billy. We’re here to rescue your sexy butt.”

She felt oddly pleased Karn had come to her rescue. “I don’t know how to fly. Something happened when I was fighting with Marcus.”

“Marcus is there? Did he hurt you?”

“No, just a few bruises. I shoved him, and he landed on the control panel. That must have been when everything went off-line.”

“He was leaving the station, and you were going with him?”

“No! That idiot tried to convince me we should get back together. When I turned him down, he drugged me and took me anyway. He’s taking me to some alien auction to sell me to the highest bidder.”

“That scum sucking piece of space dirt,” Karn growled. “I’ll rip him apart.”

“You’ll have to get in line.” Ivy glanced over her shoulder to where Marcus still lay unconscious on the floor.

He was the reason she’d become so fiercely independent. Marcus had forced her to put up a barrier so high no one would hurt her again. He’d bruised her heart so many times she’d wondered if it would ever heal. Marcus put himself first. Look where it had gotten him.

Ivy needed help. She had to lower her defenses. If she didn’t get it, she would die. “Karn, tell me what to do. I need you.”

“I’m right here.” Karn sounded deadly serious. “I’m adding this to the list of favors you owe me.”

“Don’t push your luck.” Her newfound humbleness had its limits.

“I’ve got you. I’m coming for you. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“I’m pretty worried about the fact this ship feels like it’s about to fall out of space.”

“You can fix this. Where are you on the ship?”

“The cockpit.”

“Where is your creep of an ex?”

“Out cold on the floor behind me. He hit his head when the ship flipped out of control.”

“Good. Sit in a seat in front of the control panel. To your right, you’ll see three colored bars. What levels are they at and what color are they?”

Ivy settled into the seat and scanned the control panel. “I’ve got them. They’re on level three, and they’re all red.”

“You’re looking at the ship’s stabilizers. If they’re working, they should glow green and the level should be right to the top.”

The ship lurched sharply to the left. Ivy grabbed the arms of the chair. “How do I get them back online?”

“You have to get the ship’s movements under control. It looks like you’re bouncing around out there.”

“No kidding. My stomach is doing somersaults.”

“That might have nothing to do with the ship and more to do with that other... complication we need to discuss.”

Ivy shook her head. She couldn’t deal with the thought of a baby growing inside her. “Not now.”

“Right. In front of you is the navigation system. It could be round or oval and has a cross in the center. Do you see it?”

Ivy nodded. “Got it.”

“There’s a red dot on the screen. That’s you.”

Ivy peered at the screen. “The red dot is down in the left of the circle.”

“Your mission is to get that red dot as close to the center of the cross as possible. It doesn’t need to be dead on, but once it’s close enough, you can reactivate the stabilizers. The ship’s systems are too unstable to engage them. Whatever happened when Marcus hit the control panel messed with the autopilot and stabilizers. You need to steady the ship before you can do anything else.”

“How do I steady it? What controls do I use?”

“Either side of the circle are two arrows. You use those to guide the red dot, which is you, back to the center. Go slowly. They’ll be sensitive.”

Ivy rested her fingers on the arrows and gently stroked them. The ship responded and veered to the right.

“Slowly,” Karn said.

“I am going slowly. I’m barely touching the controls.” Ivy wiped her hands on the stupid sheer fabric of her dress and tried again.

“Think of it as stroking your lover’s favorite part. You don’t want to be too rough and definitely don’t want to use your teeth.”

“Not funny.” Ivy brushed her fingertips over the arrows. This time, the ship’s movements felt smoother. The red dot on the circle shifted closer to the cross.

“That’s it. You’re heading in the right direction. We can see the ship’s movements are less erratic. A few more strokes on the arrows and then all you need to do is slide the three red bars up. If the stabilizers can come online, they will activate.”

Ivy concentrated on the arrows, continuing the feather light touch as she edged the red dot closer to the center of the cross. “I’m as near as I’m going to get.”

“Try the stabilizers.”

Ivy shifted her right hand and slid it up the three red bars. She let out a relieved sigh as they turned green.

“How’s it going over there?” Karn asked.

“I did it. I mean, we did it. The ship is stable. I no longer feel like I’m on a rollercoaster.”

“You did great. We might make a pilot out of you yet.”

“I’m not sure space flight is for me.” Ivy looked around the cockpit. Actually, it felt satisfying to do this for herself. Maybe she could learn to pilot a ship and go investigate the place she now lived in.

“You’d make an amazing pilot, Ivy,” Billy said over the comm. “It took me three days to figure out navigation. You did it in three minutes.”

Ivy grinned. “I’m a natural. It could be time for a career change.”

“You want to leave My Single Alien?” Karn asked.

She shook her head. “No, that place will do for now if they’ll still have me.”

“You never know. There could be more adventures to be had in space.”

“Is that an offer?” Ivy asked.

“It might be.”

Ivy forced herself to stop grinning like an idiot. She needed to keep this together. She wasn’t out of danger yet. “Tell me how to get the autopilot back online.”

“Will do. We’re only fifteen minutes from your location. I can come on board and help you bring the ship back to the station.”

“Good idea. I don’t fancy trying to figure out how to dock one of these.”

“One step at a time, angel.”

There was that stupid grin again. “So, autopilot?”

“There are two buttons you need to press and then give the ship a command to activate autopilot.”

“Which one?” Ivy yelped as a hand wrapped around her throat and cut off the air supply. She gave a strangled gasp as she was yanked from her seat.

“Ivy, is something wrong?” Karn asked. “You haven’t puked, have you?”

Ivy grabbed Marcus’s hand as he glared down at her. She tried to kick him in the shins, but he kept her at arm’s length.

“You left me for dead,” he growled.

She shook her head as tears leaked out of her eyes. “I didn’t. I’d have gotten you medical attention.” Maybe, if she’d been in a good enough mood when they’d returned to Prodigy. “The ship. I needed to fix it, or we’d both be dead.”

“I always knew you were crazy,” Marcus said. “You always looked out for yourself.”

“Takes one to know one. You’re a selfish bastard.” Ivy heard Karn repeatedly calling her name and asking what was wrong, but she couldn’t reach the comm.

Marcus snorted. “It’s hardly a surprise I fucked your best friend. You’re such a heartless bitch. Everything had to be about you. You needed to be taught a lesson. What better than spreading your best friend’s legs and showing you how little you meant to both of us.”

Ivy clawed at his hand as black dots colored her vision. His words stabbed into her, making the tears come faster. She wasn’t a heartless bitch. She had to look out for herself. No one else cared.

“It’s time to get what you owe me,” Marcus said. “All the times you nagged me and complained about me not being good enough, this is payback.” He swung around and shoved her away from him.

Ivy grabbed her throat as she gasped in air. “I’m not like that. I owe you nothing.”

“You are exactly like that. You messed up everything by leaving.”

“You mean I took my money with me.” Ivy’s throat ached from where Marcus had squeezed so hard.

“Your money. Your connections. I needed those. I made one small mistake, and you acted like the world was ending.”

“Stabilizers off-line,” the ship’s computer said.

“No! I’ve just fixed that.” Ivy moved to the control panel. “You’re the one messing things up.”

Marcus grabbed her and spun her around. “You were always looking out for yourself. Now it’s my turn.” He made the mistake of turning his back on Ivy as he inspected the ship’s controls.

She glared at his back, her fingers twitching. She had the worst taste in men. On the outside, Marcus was gorgeous, but inside, he was rotten, selfish, and spoiled. If she spent any more time in the company of this waste of space, she really would puke.

Ivy threw herself at Marcus and wrapped her fingers into his hair as she jumped on his back.

Marcus spun around. “Get off me, you crazy bitch.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist and tried to choke him just as he’d done her. “It’s not so much fun when someone else is doing it to you, is it?”

Marcus gagged and flipped around as he tried to dislodge her. His hand went inside his jacket, and he drew out a laser.

Ivy kicked his hand several times until he dropped it.

“Get off me,” he yelled. “You’ve lost your mind.”

“I lost it the day I said yes to getting involved with you.” She tightened her hold around his neck. “You never once said a genuine sorry for all the times you lied and cheated. You thought you could get away with it. You figured I wasn’t worth taking care of.”

“So what? You got what you needed.”

“No, I never needed you. You’re a nightmare.”

Marcus reached over his shoulder. He caught hold of Ivy’s hair and threw her over his head.

With a gasp, she slammed into the control panel. Alarms bleeped and flashed as the ship lurched again.

Marcus grabbed the laser from the ground and pointed it at her. “Your alien lover can’t help you now. You’re going to pay for that.”

As the ship began to spin, Ivy realized it was game over. Marcus had finally beaten her.