Chapter Six
Killian
I’d been worried I’d feel wildly jealous seeing Ruby with Zak. But it had actually been a bigger turn-on than ever. I knew she was mine. This didn’t take away from what we had together. Only added to it.
I’d wanted to stay and make love to her, but we had to go. There would be time later. All the time in the world. We’d have the long trip back to Earth before we had to make any important decisions about what to do next. Serious grown-up-stuff decisions.
First, we had to find Rekowski. Hopefully he’d be somewhere close by.
I crossed the room and opened the door, peered down the corridor, but there was nothing moving and everything appeared quiet.
“Come on, let’s go.”
I led the way, Ruby came next and Zak brought up the rear. He looked a mess, but the wounds were superficial, and he’d heal quickly enough.
Zak had his own decisions to make.
Would he come back, fight for the position he was born to? I hoped so. That way, there might be a chance for everyone on the planet, and for the slaves in the asteroid mines.
I peered through the grill into the next cell, but it was empty. So was the next. Where the hell was that bastard Rekowski? This was taking too long. The more time we took, the more likely the dead guard would be noticed. Or that something else would trip them up. I wanted to suggest we leave the bastard and get the hell out of there, but I knew Ruby would argue. I’d give it five more minutes. We must have nearly looked in all the cells anyway. Maybe they’d already executed him, or he’d died under interrogation.
We turned a corner and I looked into the next cell. And there he was. Slumped on the floor, his eyes closed. He appeared unconscious. I bent down to slide open the lower bolt as a laser blast whistled over the top of my head. I leaped to the side and out of the way then instinctively turned to check on Ruby. She was pressed back against the wall, Zak covering her with his big body.
More laser shots. We had to get out of there.
They were up ahead of us, a whole load of them from the quick glimpse I got. We had no choice but to go back the way we’d come. Crouching low, I gestured to Zak and Ruby. “Go back.” I mouthed the words, and they both nodded and then we were off. I had a fleeting thought of regret for Rekowski, but there was no way we could help him now. I seriously doubted we could help ourselves.
Shots whizzed past us. Zak was keeping himself between Ruby and the soldiers. Sharp pain sliced through my shoulder as I was hit. I ignored it. Sparks flew as a laser blast hit the metal of my cybernetic arm. We turned the corner and earned a few moments of safety.
We ran.
The shots found us once again as we reached the staircase. Up the stairs. We were nearly at the doorway. Maybe we could lock it from the other side, which might give us enough time to get out of the palace. Presuming there weren’t a whole load more soldiers waiting for us at the top.
We were almost there, when a shot took me in the leg. It buckled under me. Something thumped me in the back as I crashed to the floor, slamming my head into the stone stairway, and everything went black.
My last thought was of Ruby.
Keep going, Ruby
…
Ruby
I was breathing hard, my legs like lead, but we were almost at the door. A crash sounded just behind me, and I whirled around, slamming into Zak.
“Keep going,” he yelled.
But Killian was on the floor, and he wasn’t moving.
A silent scream rose up inside me.
Noooo!
Fear like I’d never felt before swamped me, threatened to lock me in place. Zak shoved me from behind, and I fell through the doorway at the top of the stairs, onto my knees. I scrambled up, turned around, needing to go back. But Zak stumbled through the doorway dragging Killian behind him. He slammed the door. But there was no lock. Nothing to stop them.
I couldn’t think about it. Couldn’t think about anything but getting to Killian. I dropped back to my knees and rested my shaking hand against his chest, holding my breath as I searched for his heartbeat.
I almost collapsed as I felt the slow steady thud beneath my palm. “He’s alive.”
“Probably not for long. We have to keep moving.”
“Wake up, Killian.” I shook him, but his eyes stayed closed. “He won’t wake up. Oh God.”
Zak reached down and hefted him over his shoulder. Then we were running again.
But I could hear them behind us. They were through the door and coming after us fast. Heavy boots beat on the stone floor, loud and getting louder. I struggled to keep up with Zak, but his legs were twice as long as mine, and I was falling behind. He glanced back over his shoulder. A shot hit him in the side, but he didn’t flinch.
We had to find some way to slow them down.
Up ahead, the corridor turned. Once we were sheltered from the blasts, Zak dropped Killian to the floor, grabbed his laser pistol and shot around the corner. The footsteps skidded to a stop, and everything fell silent.
I peered around. There were so many of them. Ten at least. There was no way we could take them all, and they’d soon realize they could rush us and it would be all over. A laser blasted out, and I ducked for cover.
Killian was still dead to the world, though thankfully not actually dead. His chest rose and fell with his shallow breaths.
“Go,” Zak said. “I’ll hold them off. Give you a chance to get away.”
My feet twitched with the need to run. I didn’t want to die.
I could get out of the palace. Hide away. Survive.
But at what cost?
Killian would die. So would Zak.
And there was something else. Inside of me, every cell screamed that I couldn’t let them win. This whole thing was set up so they could exploit Earth, tear it apart and enslave its people.
No fucking way.
Which meant someone had to get back to Earth. Tell Pendleton what had really happened. Make sure the vote went the right way.
I couldn’t do that. Not alone.
But Zak could.
And he could take Killian with him. There was a chance Killian could get out of this alive, and that eased some of the terror inside me. Kill would come back afterward, help the rebels and do some good. I wouldn’t die for nothing.
I took a deep breath. I could do this. Just get the words out. “You have to take Kill and get out of here. I’ll hold them off.” My voice sounded small and shock flashed across Zak’s face as though the idea hadn’t even occurred to him.
“No way.”
“I can’t carry Killian. If I go, you both die, and I can’t face that. I love him and you can take him to safety.”
“I’m not leaving you here.”
Shit. How was I to convince him? Get past that innate sense of chivalry? “Come on, Zak, how long do you think I would survive out there alone?”
“Then we all stay. We’ll get out of this. We’ve been in worse situations.”
“No, you haven’t. Any moment now, they’re going to realize there are only two of us, and they’re going to overrun us. Then we all die.” I rested a hand on his arm. “You know I’m right. Kill’s your friend, and you can save him. You know the city, where to hide. You could steal a ship. I can’t do any of that stuff. Please, Zak.”
His face was a mass of confusion. At least he was no longer adamant.
“And there’s another thing,” I continued, speaking fast, conscious that any moment they could overrun us. “I want to succeed. I came here with one purpose—to make sure that the vote for Earth went the right way. Promise me you’ll get to Earth, tell them what really happened. I can’t do that. But you can. And that means more than anything. This can’t have all been for nothing.”
Every muscle in his body clenched as though he was fighting what he needed to do. Then he sagged, and I knew I’d won.
It was a bittersweet victory.
He cupped my cheek and leaned down, kissed me on the forehead. “You’re a hero, Ruby Robbins.”
My eyes pricked, but I blinked away the tears. They wouldn’t help, and I was pretty sure Zak would not be able to physically abandon a weeping woman, so I had to look strong. “Go. And look after Kill.”
He stepped back and scooped up Kill’s unconscious body, tossing him over his shoulder. I stroked the hair out of Killian’s face and touched my lips to his. “I love you,” I murmured.
“Ruby—”
“Go,” I interrupted Zak before he could talk himself out of this.
He nodded once, and then he was off at a run. And my heart cracked, because I was in love and I knew I’d never see them again.
I could hear the shuffle of feet, and I peered around the corner, letting off a burst of laser shots into the mass. They dived for cover, and I leaped back and pressed myself up against the wall. Zak was out of sight; he’d only need five minutes to get out of the palace and then he could lose himself in the maze of the city.
Five minutes. Surely I could give them that.
Would it hurt?
They were on the move again. Time for some action.
My hands were shaking as I stepped out and pressed my finger to the trigger. My eyes were clamped closed, and I forced them open. The soldiers were clearly unsure how many of us there were. But now they were returning fire. A shot blasted the wall beside me and I ducked back.
This was it. Hopefully it would be quick.
I stepped out again, stood legs apart and shot a continuous blast.
Pain fired through my arm as a blast caught me, and my pistol dropped from my useless fingers. I stood unarmed, staring straight ahead as a shot hit me in the chest. I felt burning pain and then everything went black. Dying wasn’t so bad after all.
Something poked me in the side.
What was with that?
I slowly opened my eyes and groaned. Every bit of me hurt. A pair of boots stood close to my nose and I followed them up.
Oh shit.
It was Zak’s sister, the one who had tried to kill him. The lesbian princess from hell who’d purchased me in the slave market and…best not go there. Bad memories.
“I’m not dead?” Pretty stupid thing to say, but in my own defense, my brain wasn’t really functioning any better than the rest of me.
“You didn’t expect it to be that easy, did you? You were stunned, that’s all. Now where the hell is my brother?”
“Long gone.”
I hope.
She turned to the guards behind her. “Find him. Scour the goddamn city, but find that bastard.” She stepped closer, leaned in toward me, and breathed deeply. “You fucked him, you little bitch.” She straightened. “Take her to the courtyard. We’ll execute her in the morning in my brother’s place.” She stared at me, her upper lip curling. “You die at dawn. And don’t expect it to be quick.”
What a bitch.