“It’s David.” Standing there alone. On the surface of Rhodon.

“That’s David?” Sebastian lurches forward, and he’s already gone several steps before I catch up with him and grab his massive left biceps in both my hands. Trying to hold him back.

“No!” I whisper. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to kill him.”

“What the fuck?” Sylvie demands in a whisper, her soft steps sounding behind us. “Who the hell is David?”

“Kaya’s bastard of a fiancé,” Sebastian says. “I’m going to kill him.”

“He has a gun,” I point out.

“Maybe you could just put your fingers in your ears, stick your tongue out, and tell him in a taunting voice that you fucked his fiancé,” she suggests. “That might have less permanent consequences than the coldblooded murder of a UA executive in front of however many witnesses are watching through the windshield of his shuttle.”

“Also,” I add. “He has a gun.”

Sebastian only growls.

“Okay, stop it. I hate him too, but he has a gun, Sebastian. We can’t go out there.”

“Or…” Sylvie shrugs. “We do go out there, still pretending Kaya’s our hostage, and make our demands.”

“He’ll just start shooting,” Graham says. “Then he’ll grab Kaya, and she’ll be in orbit, and we’ll all be dead. That’s not exactly the best-case scenario.”

Sylvie crosses her arms over her prison-issue tee-shirt. “So put a knife to her throat, and—”

“Come out!” David shouts, and I jump. “We have infrared. I know you’re in there. I know you have Kaya, and if you don’t come out now, I will send my men in after you. Their orders are to shoot to kill.”

“Fuck,” Sylvie breathes.

“Okay,” I whisper gesturing at Sebastian’s pack. “Get the knife. This is less than ideal, but we have to roll with the punches, right?” My dad used to say that too.

Sebastian digs out his knife. The serrated one. “You know I would never hurt you, right?”

“I know.” I want to kiss him, but I’m not sure what that would look like on an infrared scanner. “But make it look good, okay?”

“You make it look good,” Sylvie says. “If you don’t look scared, he’ll never buy this.” She props both hands on her hips. “Maybe this will help: knives are dangerous, even when the people holding them aren’t. If you two trip while Sebastian has a knife at your throat, he’ll slice right through your jugular and you’ll bleed out in seconds.”

“Sylvie…” Graham scolds.

I turn to Sebastian. “Is that true? Seconds?”

“Yes. But I’m not going to trip. I have excellent control of my body.”

Yes, but I don’t have excellent control over my body. If I trip, I’ll end up killing myself.

No pressure.

“Okay. Let’s do this.” We’ve probably already wasted too much time, and I’m worried that our infrared silhouettes—whatever can be seen of them between the trees—don’t look like kidnappers and their hostage should.

“Ten seconds!” David calls, aiming his pistol at the woods in general.

Sebastian pulls me in front of him and takes a tight grip on my arm. Then he holds the knife up to my throat, without actually touching the blade to my skin.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that,” Sylvie whispers. “There’s hardly any light under the canopy, and even I don’t buy that.”

Sebastian growls. But then he presses the blade against my throat and nudges me forward.

David’s grip tightens on the gun the second we step out of the woods, and for a second, I think that means he’s actually worried about me. Then I recognize his scowl for what it really is. Anger. He’s pissed that someone would dare take something that belongs to him. As if I were his favorite suit jacket, or a bottle of his expensive whiskey.

“Let her go.”

“I will,” Sebastian calls, his voice booming in my ear. “In exchange for a couple of demands. That’s how a hostage situation works.”

“This isn’t a hostage situation,” David says, and my pulse jumps. “Why do you think I’m out here alone? I know you won’t hurt her.”

“Do you not see the knife?” Sebastian demands. “Do you really want to play with your fiancé’s life?”

David’s gaze slides from Sebastian to me, and his expression sends chills down my spine. I know that look. He’s mad. If he doesn’t get what he wants, he’s going to hurt someone.

The urge to apologize—a completely irrational urge—washes over me.

“I’ve seen the footage, Kaya,” David isn’t shouting. He’s speaking softly on purpose, so that I have to listen closely. So that I can’t think about anything else. So that he’s sure he has my total attention—even with a knife being held at my throat.

“What—” My voice breaks. I’m afraid to project any volume with the blade against my skin. Sebastian eases back on it just a little. “What footage?”

“Shots of you two making out in the greenroom. Charles showed me.”

That…asshole!

“That’s not what’s on whatever footage you saw,” Sebastian growls. “It can’t be, because that’s not what happened. I kissed her. She didn’t know it was coming. I did it as a distraction for Graham. So he could try to steal a knife. Did Charles show you that too?”

“He did.” David’s aim hasn’t wavered. “But it’s no shock that convicts might try to escape prison. You and Mr. Anderson were doing what any men in your circumstance would. Kaya, though…” He clucks his tongue and shakes his head, as if he’s scolding a naughty puppy. “I expected more from her.”

David’s gaze slides to me, even though he’s still talking to Sebastian, and those chills running down my spine spread to my arms. “It’s a bit ironic, considering what she does for a living, but Kaya is a textbook example of false advertising.” He’s looking right into my eyes. Daring me to argue. “She’s hot as hell on the outside, but cold and limp as a dead fish on the inside. Fucking her is like fucking a blowup doll stored in the refrigerator.” He shakes his head. “Frigid as a fucking glacier.”

Oh my god. Humiliation burns in my face, yet leaves the rest of me cold. I want to crawl beneath a pile of leaves and curl up in a ball. I want to disappear.

Sebastian’s frame tenses against my back. The fist holding the knife begins to tremble with rage. He wants to kill David. I want to tug him back into the woods and climb into his lap where I can cry in peace. Where I can get David out of my system once and for all. But my ex is our only way off this planet. He needs to believe I’m a hostage.

He needs to want me back.

“But I assume a woman with no sex drive will at least stay faithful,” David continues. “Until I see that footage. Kaya doesn’t kiss; she cringes with her mouth open. It’s like sucking on a damn ice cube. Until she kisses you.”

Uh oh.

“I will admit that I’ve seen that footage several times now. I don’t know how you managed it, but you really thawed her out. Opened up whatever bottleneck has been jammed in her libido, and now the juices are flowing.” His attention returns to me, and it’s like staring right into the devil’s face. “Aren’t they, darling? I bet you’re wet right now, aren’t you?”

A low-pitched sound is leaking from Sebastian’s throat. He’s seconds from losing control and if that happens, David will shoot him. Then his men in the shuttle will open fire on the woods, shooting enough beams of energy that even if they have to mow down half the trees, they’ll get Sylvie, Graham, and Warren too.

I can’t let that happen.

“David, I don’t know what you—”

“Save it, whore. I’m not angry.” He shrugs. “Okay, I am. But we can work that out in private. You’ve had your fun, and this asshole has clearly fucked the ice cubes right out of your pussy. But now it’s time to leave Tarzan in the jungle and go home. We have a honeymoon to plan, so come show me what you’ve learned. If you make it good, I might just forgive you. Assuming he hasn’t stretched you out.”

“Apologize,” Sebastian growls. He removes the knife from my throat and spins it into a more aggressive and advantageous grip. I’ve seen Sylvie hold her knife that way—right before she shoves it through someone’s throat. “Apologize to her right now.”

David’s grip on his gun tightens. “Take one step, and I’ll shoot you where you stand.”

“No!” I step squarely in front of Sebastian and spread my arms, trying to block as much of him as possible. This can’t be happening.

“Seriously, Kaya. Get your ass on the shuttle. If you cooperate, I won’t kill him.”

This is all wrong. We were supposed to call in a demand. Someone was supposed to leave us a shuttle, then go. No one was supposed to see me and Sebastian together. No one was supposed to know this hostage situation was a bluff waiting to be called.

David isn’t supposed to be here!

But it’s too late for all of that. The men on the shuttle have probably heard every word of this. We’ve lost our leverage. There will be no escape vehicle.

Sebastian and the others aren’t getting off Rhodon.

But if I go, maybe I can come back for them. Maybe I can…I don’t know. Maybe I can steal a shuttle and get us all out of here. Except that I can’t pilot a shuttle. But if I do sue UA, I’ll have plenty of money to bribe someone else to help break them out.

That could take months, though, even if UA settles.

“Kaya, I am going to count to ten,” David begins.

“Hell. No.” Sebastian grabs my arm. “I’ll let her go, but not with you. Send someone else for her. We’ll wait right here.”

“You are not calling the shots, inmate,” David snaps.

“You’ll never touch her again. You don’t deserve to.”

“I’m going to strip her out of those filthy clothes the second she steps onto the shuttle,” David says. “Kaya’s been a very bad girl, and she has a lot to apologize for.”

I shudder. There are other men on that shuttle. I don’t want anyone else to see me naked. I don’t want anyone else to see whatever David’s planning to—

Wait.

It doesn’t have to be like this. Just because I get on his shuttle doesn’t mean he owns me. Just because he “rescues” me doesn’t mean I have to marry him. I’ve survived Nolan, and Marcus, and a whole “city” full of violent felons. Compared to them, David is like a spoiled little boy throwing a temper tantrum.

I’m done with him.

I turn to face Sebastian. Then I go up on my toes to hug him, treasuring the feel of his chest against mine. “I’ll be back for you,” I whisper into his ear.

His arms snake around me. “No. Just get out of here. Go live your life.”

“Sebas—”

“They’ll be watching you after this,” he insists as he returns my hug, and the strain in his voice brings tears to my eyes. “You’ll never even get close, and if you try, they’ll arrest you. He’ll make sure of that.”

“But—”

“Go home, Kaya. I love you, and I’ll never forget you. But you don’t belong here, and here is exactly where you’ll wind up if you try something stupid.”

“You love me?” I’m crying on his shoulder now. I can’t make myself let him go.

“Baby, that’s not the point. I want you to get on that shuttle, keep your damn clothes on, then go live your life. Without David.”

“And without you. That’s what you’re saying.”

“There’s no other choice.” He withdraws from my embrace, then takes me by the shoulders, careful not to point the knife blade at me. “Go home, Kaya.”

“Yes. Come home, Kaya,” David says.

Sebastian ignores him. “Go.”

Sniffling, I nod. Then I wipe my eyes and turn around. I’m coming back for him, no matter what he says. Sebastian loves me. He’s the only good thing that’s happened to me since my parents died, and I’m not giving him up.

“Fine.” I make myself meet David’s gaze. “But this doesn’t change anything between us, David.”

“Oh, I think it does. Spouses keep each other’s secrets, Kaya. And I know all of yours.”

A bolt of alarm shoots through my veins. “What secrets?”

“Other than the fake hostage situation? I know that Graham Anderson is still alive. We have footage of him running into the woods with you two and Sylvie Wolfe.” David takes a step toward us. “And Kaya, I know exactly how he came to survive his own execution. So if you’re thinking you’re going to walk away from our life together—that I’m going to let you humiliate me like that—think again. Your choices are simple. Say your marriage vows and take them very fucking seriously. Or spend the rest of your life in prison for aiding and abetting the escape of a death row inmate.”

“Fuck,” Sebastian breathes behind me. He steps closer, and the hard warmth of his chest against my back is the only thing keeping me from collapsing in total panic. “Run,” he whispers. “Go with him, and when you get to Station Alpha, get on the first shuttle out of here and don’t look back.”

And spend the rest of my life in hiding? That would be one thing, with him at my side. But it’s not something I can do alone.

I need Sebastian. I love him.

“No.” The word feels like an anthem rolling off my tongue. It sounds like the breaking of chains. “I’m not going with you, David.”

“The hell you aren’t.” Fury rolls off him like toxic fumes.

“I choose prison.” Marriage to him would be like living in a cage anyway. “I choose this prison.” With Sebastian.

“You would rather rut in the dirt with this fucking animal than marry a billionaire?”

“In a heartbeat.”

“No, Kaya,” Sebastian groans. He presses his forehead to the back of my skull and I can feel his breath on my neck. “You have to get out of here. You have to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

“You would rather live in filth and fight for every bite you take?” David demands. “You’d rather sell yourself for protection?”

“That’s not what life here will be like.” Not with Sebastian at my side. Not with the Sorority at my back. “But yes. Even if it were, I’d rather live in filth, surrounded by violent criminals, than spend one more night pretending I don’t want to vomit every time you touch me. So fuck off, David. Take your shuttle, and your armed guards, and your clothes, and your damned high heels, and just fuck off.”

“You’ve sealed your fate, you fucking whore,” David spits as he backs toward the shuttle ramp. “You are going to regret this for the rest of your short, miserable, filthy life!”

He’s probably right. The reality of what I’ve just done hits me as his shuttle takes off, blowing my hair into Sebastian’s face, and my hands begin to tremble.

Clean clothes. Hot food. Real mattresses. Medical care. I’ve just given all that up.

“I can’t believe you did that.” Sebastian turns me by my shoulders and kisses me, despite his split lip. And that’s when I know this is going to be okay.

If he can survive here, I can survive here.

“Did you just tell him to fuck off?” Sylvie asks as she, Graham, and Warren emerge from the woods.

I shrug. “In light of my sudden change in circumstances, I’m exploring alternate forms of communication.”

Warren frowns. “Like carrier pigeon?”

“Like profanity,” Sebastian says. “And every damn word of it was hot.”

“Do you have any idea what you just gave up?” Graham asks. He looks worried about me. As if I don’t understand what I just did, though I’ve been living on Rhodon for a week now. “All the things you’ll never see again?”

“I don’t need any of that stuff.” I wind my arm through Sebastian’s. “I have everything I need right here.”

Warren’s frown deepens. “So, we’re not getting an escape shuttle then? Hanging with you four is like riding a fucking rollercoaster. Someone stop the ride, so I can puke.”

Sylvie looks up at Sebastian. “So, what’s the plan now, bro? We’ve pissed off everyone in ‘the city’ and half of them know where Graham and I were staying.”

Sebastian turns to me. “I guess there’s only one place left to go.”

I smile as I take my pack from him. “It’s a three day walk, guys. I hope everyone’s shoes fit.”