Aymee pressed the booster gun to Macy’s calf and pulled the trigger.

It pierced Macy’s skin with a pop, and she flinched, hissing through her teeth. The shots had become a daily occurrence over the last few days, and they seemed to be working — her pain had diminished to tolerable levels. It still hurt every time she was forced to roll out of bed and walk, but Macy didn’t complain. Every step was one closer to seeing Jax again.

Tonight.

Macy would have already gone to see him, if not for her leg; she couldn’t manage more than twenty or so steps before it was too much for her damaged muscles. These days apart from him had been the longest of her life. Only the knowledge that Jax wasn’t being harmed had afforded her any patience.

“I’ll pack a few of these with your other supplies,” Aymee said, removing the cartridge from the dispenser and tossing it in a bin.

“Thank you, Aymee.” Macy said massaged her calf. “More than you’ll ever know.”

Aymee smiled and pecked a kiss on Macy’s cheek. “As crazy as all of this is, I’m happy for you, and fascinated by him.”

Macy arched a brow.

“Oh, stop! You know what I mean. We thought we were it on this planet. I mean, even if they weren’t here before us, they’re still alien beings who can think and talk like us.” Aymee sat beside Macy on the bed. “And there’s something…alluring about him. I mean, he’s frightening and all, too, but…he’s beautiful.”

“He is.” Macy chuckled; the sparkle in Aymee’s eyes meant she was already envisioning how she’d paint Jax’s picture.

Aymee’s features grew suddenly somber. “I’m going to miss you, Mace.”

Macy’s eyes stung. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

“At least I’ll know you’re alive this time.” She looked down at Macy’s stomach. “And you’re not going to get out of letting me meet your baby.”

Macy embraced Aymee, holding her close. “We’re supposed to grow old together, right? Even if I live somewhere else, we’ll still see each other.”

“I know. And we can leave letters for each other in the supply case. Do you remember the place?”

“Near the rock that looks like a krull drinking from the water.” Macy smiled to herself. “Where we used to build little houses in the sand, and you’d paint the stones pretty colors.”

Aymee pulled back and grinned. “The very place.”

There was a knock on the door; it opened before either of them could respond. Doctor Kent Rhodes, Amy’s father, peered in.

“How are you feeling, Macy?” he asked.

“Anxious, but good.” Macy had been fearful when Aymee said she’d told Doctor Rhodes everything, but her fears were unfounded. His warm demeanor — which she’d known since she was a little girl — hadn’t changed, and he’d shown nothing but concern for her wellbeing.

It had been his decision to erase Macy’s scans. While no one else was likely to see them, he didn’t want to take the chance of them getting into the wrong hands and stirring up trouble for Macy and Jax.

“Good, good. You need to exercise that leg, but don’t push it too hard, okay?” He cleared his throat and glanced behind him. “You have another visitor.”

Doctor Rhodes opened the door wider to reveal Camrin.

“Can I talk to you, Macy?” Camrin asked.

Macy nodded when Aymee gave her a questioning glance.

“Okay,” Aymee said. “I’ll go find your dad, and I want you up and walking when we get back.”

“I will. Thank you, Aymee.”

With a nod, Aymee moved toward the door. “Be nice, Cam. If you upset her—”

He held up his hands. “I won’t. I promise.”

Camrin entered, and Aymee and her father left. Once the door closed, he turned to face Macy. He was silent as she scooted to the edge of the bed and lowered her feet to the floor.

“I tried to find you after the storm,” he finally said, stepping closer. “You have no idea how panicked I was when I woke up on the beach and you weren’t there. The boat barely made it back here, but the first thing I did was try to form a search party. Only my father and Breckett were willing to go. Everyone else figured you were already dead…but I had to try. We searched for days, up and down the coastline, all along the cliffs, but…we couldn’t find you.”

Guilt assailed Macy; she knew the pain her decision would cause. Though Jax hadn’t left her much of a choice, she’d been the one to embrace her situation, to enjoy her newfound freedom and let everyone she knew believe she’d perished.

“And all this time, you’ve been with him,” Camrin said, stopping in front of her.

“Camrin—”

“No. I’m not here to attack you, Macy. I’m here to say…I’m sorry.” He knelt and took her hands in his. “You’re my friend. Always have been. When I saw you in his arms, saw you alive, I was overjoyed. I wasn’t thinking about our future together, or what I’d say to you when you woke. I was just so damn thankful you were alive.”

Teardrops flowed over her cheeks, and she dropped her gaze, squeezing his hands. “I’ve wronged you, Camrin. So much…”

“I can’t lie and tell you it doesn’t hurt, Macy.”

“I know.” She met his eyes. “I should have told you years ago how I really felt. I’ve wasted so many…so many years, so many years of your life. You could’ve found someone worthy of your love.”

“Macy, you are—”

“No, I’m not. I never felt for you what I do for Jax. I loved you, but it was never the kind of love you wanted or needed from me. You were familiar. You were safe, and I used…used you horribly. I thought that maybe, after we joined, it would change — that I would change — but I know now it would’ve been a mistake.”

Camrin stared at their hands, silent.

“I’m so, so sorry, Camrin.”

He was silent for a long while before his tongue slipped out to wet his lips. “I think I’ve always known, deep down. I…I didn’t want it to be true, and I fought against it so damned hard because all I wanted…I wanted you, Macy, but more than that, I wanted to make you happy.”

“You did, Camrin. You were there for me through it all. You made my days a little brighter.” She cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. “You did nothing wrong. Nothing. It was me. What I needed, what I wanted…”

“Is locked in a tank in the warehouse.”

Macy frowned and looked away. This time, Camrin guided her to face him, curling a finger beneath her chin. “I’m jealous as hell of him, Macy, and I wish you felt that way about me…but I really do want you to be happy. Which is why I want to help you.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

He smirked. “Do you think I don’t know you and Aymee have something planned? She’s not exactly the most subtle person around here, and I’ve known you both since we were little kids.”

“You’ll help us?”

“Whatever you need from me, Macy.”

Macy threw her arms around him. “Thank you!”

With Camrin’s support, she made several slow laps around the room, detailing the plan as she walked. Before long, the door opened, and Aymee entered with Breckett close behind.

“You’re walking,” Breckett said, grinning through his thick beard.

Macy smiled. “Barely, but it’s getting better.”

“How much longer do you think it’ll be before she can come home?” he asked.

“Well…” Aymee looked at Macy and raised her brows.

“I’m not coming home.”

Breckett frowned, his gaze moving from Macy to Aymee, then Camrin, and back again. “What are you talking about?”

“I need your help, dad.”

His frown deepened. “You two, out.”

Without a word, Aymee and Camrin departed.

Breckett stared at Macy for a long while after the door was closed, nostrils flaring with his heavy exhalations. “Just when I get you back, you’re going to leave again?” His eyes glistened.

Unable to hold back her tears, Macy stumbled forward and threw her arms around her father. He stepped forward and caught her, drawing her into the shelter of his embrace.

“Tell me you know what you’re doing, Macy girl,” he rasped. “Tell me you’re going to be okay.”

“I will be. Jax loves me, dad, and I love him. I know he’s different, that he’s not…not human, but if you could only spend time with him…”

“Damn it, I have. And all he did was ask after you. Wouldn’t tell me anything else…he just wanted to know if you were okay, if he could see you.” He sniffed and tilted his head down, kissing her atop her head and tickling her face with his beard. “I just want you to be safe and happy. I’ll still break his neck if he hurts you, doesn’t matter where you go.”

Macy laughed and squeezed him tighter; her laughter quickly faded. “What about mom?”

He pulled back and took hold of her upper arms with his big, rough hands. “She’ll…she’ll come to terms with it, in time. I need you to know, Macy girl, that she never really blamed you for your sister. Your mom…she broke that day, and she’s never been quite right since. But I’ll take care of her while you’re gone.”

Macy nodded. “You’ll tell her I love her?”

“Course I will. Now, what do you need my help with?”

“We’re leaving tonight, but there’s no way I can get down to the water on my own. Even if I use crutches…I don’t need anyone asking why I’m out there on my own in the middle of the night. If you’re with me, though…”

“I’ll take you, Macy.”

“You will?”

“I will. But how’re you going to get him out of the tank? The town council put a lock on it until they decide what to do about all this, and we don’t have the key.”

“We’ll…figure it out. Aymee is going to speak with him soon. But afterward… We need to make sure everyone understands this is my choice. That I left with him willingly. I don’t want anyone to hunt him — to hunt us. He’s not a danger to anyone.”

“I’ll tell them, but there’re fools in this town who’ll run their mouths regardless. What about the guards?”

“Camrin is going to lure them away. We don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“If those men aren’t far enough away when that tank is broken, they’re going to hear it, Macy. They’ll come.”

Macy frowned. “Jax will just have to be faster than them. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He never hurt me, either, even when I gave him cause to, but all of this… It’s put his people at risk, and now he’s exposed.”

“And you can’t much blame a man — or whatever he is — for fighting for his life when his back’s in the corner.” He lifted a hand and tugged his fingers through his beard. “All right. When do I need to be here?”

“Come at sunset. It’ll…it’ll give us a little more time to talk.”

He wrapped her in a strong, secure embrace. “Love you, Macy girl.”

“I love you too, dad.”

Jax watched the guard leaning against the next tank over; the man’s head bobbed as he drifted toward sleep. The other guard sat on the floor near the entrance, back against the wall, and was using the tip of a knife to pick at a chunk of wood. Their conversation had died off long before, and idleness was taking a toll on them.

For five days, Jax had been trapped inside this damned tank, with no idea of where Macy was, or what she was doing. The guards changed twice each day and once every night. Most of them couldn’t help but walk up to the tank and ogle Jax with wonder at some point during their vigil; their faces were becoming familiar to him. A few had even attempted to talk with him; Jax wasn’t interested.

He trusted Aymee, but he wasn’t happy about the situation.

His muscles bristled with tension, with the need to move, to stretch, to swim. They gave him fresh fish several times a day, and though they tasted fine, there was no satisfaction in eating them. Not without the preceding hunt. He missed the open water. Missed exploring. Missed freedom.

More than all that, he missed Macy — the smile on her face, the sound of her laughter, sharing meals with her and lying beside her in the open air, admiring the stars.

Just as the sleepy guard began to tip forward, the door opened. The light was bright enough that Jax was momentarily blinded. After his eyes had adjusted, he watched as a newcomer — clearly Aymee, once she drew nearer — spoke with the guards, who had both moved to meet her.

Jax didn’t bother surfacing yet. After a brief conversation, the guards picked up their long guns and left, one of them raising his arms overhead and stretching as he moved. Only when the door was closed and Aymee stood in front of the tank did Jax rise.

“We don’t have much time,” she said. “We’re going to make our move tonight. Macy will be ready to leave, and we need to figure out how to get you out of this tank.”

His hearts quickened, and excitement swept through him, heightened by his need for action. “How?”

“We’re not really sure how it’ll play out. Macy’s father is going to take her to the docks to wait for you, and Camrin is going to lure the guards away.” Her eyes strayed to the crack in the glass. “The main thing is we want to keep anyone from getting hurt, so we need to be quick and quiet.”

“You need to try to call Arkon and Dracchus.”

Her eyes widened. “They’re here?”

“Arkon said he would wait and watch. He is in the water, not far offshore. He and Dracchus will help, if you can contact them and lead them to this place.”

“How do I contact them?”

“A sign.” Jax ducked under the surface and showed her the quick series of arm and hand movements. She repeated them with him several times until she got them right.

“What does that mean?” she asked when he came back up.

“Swim with me.”

“Swim with you? Not help? Or danger?”

“It is the only sign I can think of that doesn’t require tentacles or a color change, but still holds enough meaning to catch their attention.”

“What do you want me to tell—”

The door opened.

Aymee glanced over her shoulder. “I need to go. Tonight.”

She turned and went to meet the guards. Their voices were too muffled by distance for Jax to make out, so he sank down and closed his eyes. His tentacles twitched with anticipation, but all he could do was wait.

Tonight.