***

ELODIE WAS RELEASED that very same day.

The officials brought her forward along with several of the others, and cross-examined their stories. It helped that during the takedown of the pirate organization, the mining ship she’d worked on had been recovered and the records of the employees were still intact.

It proved her innocence.

Those who weren’t freed—or had taken recruitment—remained in holding until they underwent their trials.

To her disappointment, those who’d left in the escape pods had yet to be tracked down.

But the news she’d received was good: several had shown up at a nearby star port and her father’s DNA was within one of the pods. That was where his trail ended. There were no more data signals for the Peace Keepers to follow and vanishing into the stars wasn’t a difficult task...especially if you started off-world.

If she really wanted to, Elodie could find him. She knew her dad well enough to know what he would do and where he would go. There were only so many jobs he would take, and even if he changed his name, she would always be able to recognize him.

Elodie followed the yellow light of passageways that signaled the direction of the landing zone. Her nerves were frayed and her feet felt heavy, but she’d made up her mind.

I just have to convince Gunner... if he needs convincing. She wasn’t sure if he would need it at all, but weighing all of the odds was safer. It guarded her heart.

They were on opposite sides of a vast spectrum, after all.

If her feelings for the Cyborg were one-sided, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. At least that’s what she kept telling herself. I have a whole universe of options now.

She repeated that over and over in her head, but her thoughts always drifted back to Gunner. There was only one option she wanted. Ely never thought freedom would feel so burdensome.

Her chuckle was filled with self-deprecation. I don’t think I have a taste for it.

Some of the others had taken jobs with the Peace Keepers. They had all been offered positions within hours of their innocence. It was surprising, but she supposed it made sense. There were far too many jobs on a space-faring vessel and far too few people interested in filling them. With the experience she and the other prisoners had shared, working for the government was a far safer option than working on a ship that could be brought down again.

The hallway abruptly ended in an atrium and a giant archway, beyond which was the landing zone. The air grew colder as she stepped into the large space, and pungent grease and oil hit her nose. She was bombarded by loud noises from the ships being worked on and repaired in the zone.

The landing zone was cavernous—larger than any port she’d ever been on. A seemingly endless amount of ships, and the machines that maintained them filled her vision. Her brow creased as her eyes roamed over everything at once.

Gunner was here somewhere, but she never expected that somewhere would be the end of a labyrinth filled with men and metal. People and androids passed her by with little more than a glance, each heading to a destination set out before them. She envied that they knew where they were going.

Elodie stepped into the void.

It was so different from the cramped, dark spaces she’d worked within most of her life, and she craned her neck to take it all in. The liveliness felt unnatural to her. Her fingers curled into her hands and then her hands crawled into her long shirtsleeves.

The machines she worked on in the bowels of starships were always in motion, but it was a predictable, rhythmic motion. To her untrained eye, the loading docks looked like a small battle.

She tempered her uneasiness and began her search.

Before long she was among the flyers and the entry hall was lost behind her. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for but she believed that when she saw it she would know. Gunner had a way of drawing eyes.

The ships towered above her like skyscrapers and she was lost in their shadows. Some were so large that she couldn’t see the top of them while others were barely big enough to hold one person comfortably.

Elodie stopped. The hair on the back of her neck rose and she felt eyes on her. She turned slowly around, her gaze darting everywhere, scanning everything.

Then she saw him.

Gunner was up a ramp, leaning inside the open hatch of a ship, his body relaxed and yet still menacing in his prowess. Even in his leisure, he demanded caution from those around him. There were androids, ships, and small machines between them, walking and moving through her line of sight, but his watchful stare never faltered.

Elodie stood motionless, staring right back.

He’s waiting for me.

A small smile tugged at her lips. Suddenly, all her worry and uncertainty vanished. Every other option she’d forced herself to consider died like starving weeds in her head.

In a flash, she ran to Gunner, grinning like a lunatic while dodging the obstacles in her way.

Elodie slammed into his body before he even had a chance to uncross his arms, hers banding around him. There was no way she was going to let him go. No way was she going to give him a chance to reconsider. She burrowed her face into his chest and clasped him tightly, rubbing her brow back and forth, feeling her Cyborg take over her soul.

His arms came around her slowly and she tightened her hold. His rough hands touched her back lightly until they moved. One shifted up to cup the back of her neck while the other slid down, positioning under her ass. Gunner abruptly jerked her up—her legs hooking his waist—and caught her upturned mouth. He kissed her desperately, filling her up.

Elodie slipped her hands all over him, grasping and touching anything in her reach, unable to stop feeling him. It wasn’t until he hefted her further against him that she realized he’d carried her into his ship and away from prying eyes. She continued to press herself into Gunner and held onto him as he lowered her feet back to the ground, his lips chasing after hers the whole way. Breathless, she cupped his cheeks and broke the kiss to meet his eyes.

Red and bright.

“You waited for me,” she said.

“I did.”

“Why?”

“I hoped that you would follow.”

“Of course I would. I thought I might have to convince you.” Elodie smiled. “We’re very different.”

“Not for long.” Gunner breathed hotly over her brow. She wasn’t sure if he knew how much she liked when he did that, though she suspected he did. It would always remind her of her safe spot, the one place that gave her comfort within that nightmare. “You needed to make the choice yourself.”

“I made it a long time ago.”

“And in desperation.”

“Not for me. When I said everything, I meant everything,” she argued.

Gunner pulled back with a smirk. “Remember, I’m in exile. You’ll be alone with me for the rest of your life.”

“I like being alone.” She looked around at his ship for the first time. “With you,” she added, her eyes going over the mess of the interior. Walls had been ripped off, bolts and screws littered the floor, tools haphazardly placed. There were exposed wires and piping, and when she looked farther in, entire doors had been broken off or blasted in. “You got your ship back.”

“The EPED and the Peace Keepers were able to track it to where the pirates had it stored.” Gunner led her in. “They were already looking for me before your distress beacon went off. Fuckers thought I needed help.”

Elodie laughed. “I’m glad they did. I’m glad we’re not on that freighter anymore.”

“What? You didn’t want to help me captain a crew of prisoners and mutineers for a few days? Bring in a new reign of terror?”

She slanted her eyes at him. “No. Neither one of us is cut out to be around people. We’d make terrible leaders.”

“Terror, Ely. Reign of terror. And it works. I already have the iron fist, see?” he answered her question, flexing his hand.

“Is the ship...working?”

“Most of the damage you see is superficial. The pirates cracked some of my codes and looted a lot, but I’ve replenished most of the supplies. But enough about that.” They stepped into a large room filled with glass enclosures and thick flora. She wasn’t expecting to see a well-kept jungle smack dab in the middle of Gunner’s ship. The lush and vibrant greenery was out of place among the rubble and metal.

Gunner turned her to face him and grazed his knuckles over where her nipples had begun to peak under her shirt and sports bra. Elodie grasped him as they grew taut under her clothes. “You’re mine,” he whispered.

“Only if you’re also mine.” She leaned into him.

“Machine, man, and animal. All yours.” Her breath left her as he said it. She had needed to hear him say it aloud. “Which do you want first?”

The last time he took her, Gunner had dominated her. She wanted him to do it again.

Gunner didn’t give her a chance to answer as he stripped her shirt off and pressed her to the wall. Her breasts spilled out when he ripped the center of her bra, his mouth kissing and nipping them in the next instant.

Elodie arched into him and struggled out of her pants. His were already miraculously pushed down as he reached down and helped her. His cock sprang out to slide between her crux and through her folds. It was velvet and hot, the push and shove filled with demand.

She sank her nails into his shoulders as his hands spanned her behind, opening her up. Gunner pressed his thick, pierced tip to her opening, testing, and grazing his teeth from her nipples and up her neck. Her pussy clenched around it, deliciously stretched open to take him.

“Man,” she begged. “I want the man.”

With a growl, he speared her in one thick thrust. The back of her head slid up and down the wall as he fucked her against it. She held on, held him, magnetized to keep the connection, rocking her hips with his. Her first climax had her melting into him, and her second was in unison with his.

Gunner dragged the flat of his tongue over her face, licking off her sweat while his frantic thrusting continued for a short time after. When it was over, she was on his lap, on the ground, their arms wrapped protectively around each other.

“There’s just one thing.” He brushed his lips over her head.

“What?” she asked.

“I’m going to need help repairing it.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t let me rub off on you too much,” he teased but his eyes darkened as if he didn’t agree with his words. Her mouth dried up and her throat closed. Gunner was intimidating even when he wasn’t covered in blood and decked out in weapons. Weapons he threatened to penetrate her with. Her core tugged and her belly tightened and he grasped the back of her neck again and held her hard against him.

“I can help repair it,” she whispered, squeezing the words out. “I have steady hands and years of experience.”

His eyes narrowed and his teeth gleamed. “You’ll work for me. Not the EPED.”

Elodie nodded. “I have one condition.”

“Which is?”

“You can’t mark anything with your urine anymore. Even if it isn’t urine, but some super Cyborg serum I’m not aware of. It’s disgusting.”

Gunner’s lips slowly, devilishly curled up into a smile. “Deal. And...”

“And?” she asked.

“No more pretending that you’re a boy. Not that it wasn’t fun, but you’ll realize the act won’t fly once you see your new uniform,” he said.

“Ha. I’m not going to wear a uniform. Especially one chosen by you. Otherwise, deal,” she laughed and rubbed her pussy over his thigh. “Easy enough.”

He caught her chin and forced her to face him. “So you’ll stay.”

“I’ll stay.”

He searched her eyes. “I would kill for you. Have killed for you. And would do so again. You understand?”

“I would die for you,” she told him back. “I understand.”

Gunner dropped his hand and she rested her head against his shoulder. His heady warmth enveloped her while his ship descended into quiet, comforting silence. She closed her eyes against the broken metal paneling and the exposed wires—blocked out the vivid green plants. The grey didn’t meet her this time. But the red did. And for the first time since she could remember, Elodie looked forward to the future.

A burning, red-hot, wildfire future.