All morning I helped Doc run tests on the captured Cadre members. I say helped, but it really came down to moving them wherever she pointed - both the living subjects and the dead - from one machine to the next.

I was good with knives, but I’d never seen anyone with Doc’s delicate skill with a laser scalpel. And none of us knew what she was looking for, what theories she’d spun in that labyrinth of a mind.

But shutting my brain off, following orders, should have been enough to keep me distracted from the growing urge to find Loree.

Of course, it wasn’t.

Hour by hour, the need to see her grew, pulling at my attention until Doc finally snapped. “Vicki has more focus than you, kiddo. Do us both a favor and go get her.”

“Vicki?” The straps holding the unconscious man to the table would even hold one of us, but still. “Are you sure it’s safe to have her that close to this guy?”

Doc pushed back her micro-lenses and rolled her eyes. “And now I know you’re not following along. Wrong ’her.’ Go get your girl, I’ve got enough samples for now.”

Bouncing on my toes, I had just enough discipline to wait. “Are you sure? I can wait until Aeden or Hakon are free.”

“Go,” she waved me off. “You’ll just distract me with your fretting. I can handle things just fine.”

A passing worry flitted through my mind as to how Doc tended to handle things, but the pull to find Loree was too strong.

“Ping my comm if you need me,” I called out as I wound through the lab.

“Bring her back for a checkup when you find her.” Doc cackled. “Not immediately, of course.”

Cheeks burning, I stepped out of the lab. Somehow, combat missions had never prepared me for these sorts of talks.

The overly processed air of the station filled my lungs, and nothing else mattered. Loree was out there, somewhere. And without questioning it, I knew where to head.

Not at the bazaar. Not at the arcade I’d seen her at last night. Not at Nadira and Ronan’s living quarters.

The tug at my gut lead me through decks, through the edge of a residential zone I didn’t recognize. The docking rings. Why would she be there?

But it didn’t matter. I knew that’s where she was going, and something I couldn’t define spurred me on.

Picking up speed as I wound through the cargo areas, I caught the flash of her hair.

I started to shout, then saw the dark uniforms on either side of her.

Instinctively I ducked behind a stack of crates, thoughts whirling. Why was Loree with a pair of Imperial agents?

Was she working with Stanton? Was she reporting on us, on Doc, to the Empire?

No.

I couldn’t, wouldn’t believe it.

I slid behind another stack of cargo for a better view, just in time to watch her stumble, the older male to her right catching her by the elbow before she fell, but I saw enough.

Red painted my vision. Her hands were manacled.

My hands stiffened into claws, the urge to shred the agents apart overwhelming. But still, I stayed hidden.

Something was happening and rushing in without information was the act of a cub.

The agents hustled Loree through the ring until they reached a small craft. No imperial markings, but I gritted my teeth, wondering how they’d landed without Ronan or Davien knowing.

The boarding ramp extended and a choice lay in front of me. Attack, take Loree back, capture the agents and discover their mission?

I snorted softly. Why take the logical path now?

As they dragged Loree into the ship, I slid underneath the craft and began prying off the cargo panel.

In minutes I’d worked my way into the ship’s hold. Quietly investigating my surroundings, empty shelves showed only a few supplies left. Whatever the agents were doing on Orem, they hadn’t bothered to restock.

Through the permisteel walls I could hear Loree muttering angrily to herself. Too much background noise to pick out the words at this distance, but that was anger in her voice, not pain or distress.

I might hate it, but I could live with that. Rescuing her could wait until we found out what the hell was going on.

What she’d have to say about that decision would be another matter entirely.

The hull gave an almost imperceptible shiver as the ship lifted, moved to exit the docking ring and reenter open space.

My shoulders tensed. If this went wrong…

I wouldn’t let it go wrong. That was the only option.

I counted my breath until I was sure we were clear of the station. I kept my hand by the hatch and waited.

There.

The twist in the universe that signaled we’d entered jump space.

Loree’s voice hadn’t moved the entire time. The agents must have secured their prisoner, then laid in the course. They’d be focused on the task ahead, whatever it was.

I could hear them, the man and the woman as I ghosted through the corridor towards the bridge.

They hunched over their respective control panels, barely talking. I moved behind the man, swiftly striking the nerve cluster where his neck and shoulder met.

Disable, question, then kill if needed.

It was hard to get information going the other direction, no matter how the fire burned in my veins.

“What the hell?”

I spun, cursing myself.

The woman must have seen my reflection in the monitor.

She drew her sidearm, but not fast enough.

In seconds she sprawled on the deck, next to her partner.

In moments they were both bound fast, tied with strips of their own uniforms. A quick glance at the controls confirmed we had plenty of time until we emerged from jump space.

Plenty of time for what should have been my first priority.

Rescue Loree.

Her voice had fallen silent during my attack on the bridge. Images of her sprawled in a cell, hurt and afraid, whipped me as I ran through the corridors, her sweet scent against hot metal and grease the only trail I needed.

Without pausing I wrenched open the cell door, then stopped in shock.

Loree crouched next to an open panel, stripped wires coiled next to her. With one hand she pushed her hair back and shook her head. “I don’t suppose I should be mad at you for following me again, should I?”