Talia Jager

by Without Hesitation

  “I have feelings for you and I know I can’t be with you. It’s too dangerous. Between being a criminal and being on the run from the Authority, it’s not a life I want you to have.”

  “Shouldn’t I have a say in this?”

  “There’s no way out. Not one I can think of and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I just wanted you to know.”

  We sat there in silence for a while. I blinked to keep the tears away. I understood what she was saying, though I didn’t agree.

  “We have today. That’s what matters. Tomorrow’s not promised for anyone. So live for today, without hesitation.” And with that, I leaned over and kissed her.

  “We should go.”

  Picking up my glass, I swallowed the last bit of my drink. “I’m going to go to the bathroom. Meet you up front?”

  She held up her glass, which was still a third of the way full. “Be there in a few minutes.”

  I was waiting for Ever at the front of the restaurant when I heard, “The crew of the Nirvana.” My ears perked up and I took a step closer. “A male in the casino, female here.”

  “Is she still here?”

  “Yes.”

  I slipped away and back to the bar where Ever was finishing her drink. I leaned down. “You need to come with me now.”

  She met my eyes and then stood. I led her to the bar until the Authority passed by. Then I hurried to the side door and pushed her out in front of me. “Is the ship docked under a fake name?”

  “Always.”

  “Good. Go. Get back to the ship. Get ready to go.”

  “What is going on?”

  “They know we’re here. I’ll get the others.”

  “Kaci, no. I’m not putting you in danger.”

  “I’m the only one they’re not looking for.”

  She knew I was right, but I could see the war raging inside her head.

  “You have an earpiece, right?”

  “Yeah, but they probably have them off.” She tapped her ear as we kept walking. “Hux? Zabe? Bri?” She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  I knew where Huxley and Briar were so I asked, “Where’s Zabe?”

  “I’ll get him,” she said. I opened my mouth to argue, but she kept talking, “I know where he is and I know who he’s with. It’s too dangerous for you to go. You get the others.”

  I didn’t want to let her go. I was scared she’d get caught. “Ever…”

  “I’ll be okay, Kace.” She turned and rushed off. My heart lurched and I chastised myself for not opening up more to her about how I felt. What if I never got another chance?

  Looking at a map, I made my way to the casino. I was about to do things I never imagined myself doing. First, I stopped at a wig shop. When the salesperson wasn’t looking, I put one on and walked out. I could return the wig when I was done, but right now, I needed a disguise. Not that anyone was looking for me, but so I wouldn’t be identified when they went back and looked at the recordings.

  Two guards stood at the entrance of the casino. Holding my head high, I walked right past them. I scanned the room as I weaved in and around people and the betting machines. Finally my eyes landed Huxley. I didn’t go to him right away. I had to assess the situation first. There were four uniforms watching. I wasn’t sure what they were waiting for, but I devised a plan in my head and hoped it would work.

  Grabbing a drink off a waiter’s tray and downing it—because let’s face it, for what I was about to do, I needed the liquid courage—I walked straight to Huxley with a smile on my face. He looked up, surprise written all over his face. I ran my hand through his hair and sat on his lap.

  “Are you almost done? I’m getting very impatient.” I planted a kiss on his lips and his mouth dropped open. I kissed his neck and then whispered, “The Authority knows you’re here. We need to get you out of here and back to the ship. Cash out.”

  “Oh darlin’, I’m ready.” He pushed over his chips and the dealer gave him a card, which he handed to me. Standing, he put his arm around me, and I led him toward the biggest group of people I could find. A quick sideways glance and, I saw the guards moving in.

  “There’s a side exit. Go.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’ve got this.” I almost scared myself on how well my plan was working. He split and I took off the wig and tucked it in my shirt. I walked right up to a booth and handed over the card. They gave me money. More money than I had ever seen.

  “Do you have a bag?”

  “A bag?”

  “Shopping bag?”

  “Um…” He looked around and picked something up from the floor. “Here.”

  It was small, but it would do. “Thanks.” I took the bag, shoved the money in and walked out. Nobody was looking my way. I slipped back in the wig shop and replaced it perfectly.

  “Do you wish to try on a wig?” a voice surprised me from behind.

  “No, thank you.” I smiled and hurried out of the store to the hypnotist’s office. I stepped up to the counter.

  “May I help you?” the lady behind the desk said.

  “I’m looking for my…sister. She has pink hair. She said she’d be here.”

  “I can’t give out any information.”

  I thought for a moment. “Well, can you give her a message from me. Can you tell Bri that her sister needs to speak with her immediately?”

  “But then you’d know if she was here.”

  “I already know she’s here. I’ll turn around, so I don’t technically see you leave. Go out the door. You can tell her. She won’t mind.” I placed a coin on her desk.

  The lady mashed her lips together and tapped her fingers on the desk. Finally, she reached out and grabbed the coin. “Fine.”

  I paced the room as I waited wondering if Ever and Huxley made it back okay. After a few long moments, Briar came out with an amused look on her face. “Hey, sorry I was late.”

  “No problem. Did you get what you needed?”

  “Maybe. What’s up?”

  “Mom needs us.”

  “Okay, let’s go.” She turned to the lady behind the desk. “Thank you.”

  We walked calmly down the corridor. Briar hit her earpiece. “Ever? Yeah. We’re on our way. Everyone else? Good.” She glanced over at me and said, “Everyone else made it back.”

  “Hey! You there!” a voice behind us yelled. “Stop!”

  “Don’t turn around,” Briar said. “Keep your head down.”

  “Authority!” they yelled. “Stop or we’ll shoot!”

  “There’s a store coming up. We can go through it, try to lose them, and get to the ship,” Briar said.

  We took off running and a tranquilizer dart whizzed past me. Ducking into the store, we weaved through aisles and came out the other side. Briar led me down a dark, back corridor. I could hear shouting, but no more shots were fired. We got to the bay and boarded the spacecraft.

  “We’re here, Ever. Go,” Briar said. Turning to me, she said, “Hang on.”

  I grabbed ahold of a nearby railing as the ship shot into space and left the station far behind. Briar and I made our way to the bridge. Ever’s face relaxed when our eyes met. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “This girl,” Huxley said. “She’s incredible.”

  Heat rushed to my face.

  “I’m serious.” He grinned.

  “I agree,” Briar said.

  Before they said anything else, I asked, “Zabe, did you get what you needed?”

  “Yes. I’m going to go work on it right now.”

  “Zabe?”

  “Shouldn’t take long, Ever.” He strode out of the room.

  She nodded. “We stocked up on supplies—”

  “Oh, and I got the money.” I tossed the bag on the table. Noticing Briar spreading out her maps, I asked, “Briar, did you learn anything?”

  “I think…they may be on one of these planets.” Her hand hovered over an area and then another. “Or these.”

 
Huxley and Ever joined her and examined the area she was pointing at.

  “What did you remember?”

  “You could see two other planets from ours. The sunstar was a blue giant. I don’t remember seeing much else, but I did remember some things I overheard. The adults were talking about the harsh winters. Someone said the reason Caspar had left them on such a desolate planet was so they had to depend on him.”

  “Where is Caspar’s ship now?”

  “Here.” Briar pulled something up on the screen. “Once someone came to them to fix their engine, they went to the station for more repairs. They just left that station. He’s heading this way.” She pointed. “We can intercept around the time we’d be waking up.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Also, I picked out an AI. She was delivered onto the ship. I’ll get her ready when I have a minute,” Briar said like setting up an AI was the easiest task in the universe.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Everleigh

  THE DOOR CLOSED BEHIND US and Kaci immediately took my hands. “What’s wrong?”

  “What happened today…”

  “Everyone is okay.”

  “You were in danger, Kaci.”

  “All of us were.”

  “But you don’t deserve it.”

  “That’s over. We got away. Let’s focus on what we have to do now.”

  I didn’t know if I liked that she brushed it off so easily or if it infuriated me. “It should be a simple in and out.”

  “You’ll come back?” she said.

  “I will.” I really wasn’t the least bit scared. She seemed more than just worried about me. “Is there something else on your mind?”

  “I kissed Huxley.” Guilt flashed in her eyes.

  I held back a chuckle. “You did?”

  “To get him out of there. It was just a cover though, I—”

  I cut her off mid-sentence with a kiss. She instantly kissed me back. Hungry and deep kisses. My hands found the small of her back and pulled our bodies flush against each other.

  “Anything else you want to get off your chest?”

  “Just this.” She pulled her shirt over her head.

  My eyes mapped over her exposed flesh and rested on her beautiful breasts. “Damn.” I bit my lip. Unable to control myself, I lunged forward and seized her lips in a heated, feverish rush.

  My hands roamed the vast expanse of her back and traced her curves. Her skin was smooth and warm. Pulling away, my eyes locked with her bright blues. I ran my thumb over her swollen, moist lips.

  I kissed along the side of her neck, memorizing the smell of her hair and taste of her skin. Pressing her up against the wall, I moved my thigh in between her legs. She gave a low hum of approval and grinded her body against me, which set my body on fire. Her hands went under my arms and her fingernails dug into my back before she pulled me closer. Trailing kisses along her jaw, under her ear, and across her chest, I led her to my bed where I lowered her down.

  After a while, we stopped kissing and she curled up in my arms and fell asleep. I held her all night, hardly sleeping. My mind was in overdrive thinking about how we barely escaped the Authority. They weren’t someone we could kill to keep them from coming after us. We couldn’t pay them off either. To them, we were criminals. It was either stay on the run or be locked up. I knew I should keep my distance, but I couldn’t. She smelled like the most perfect day, a dream come true. Happiness. I knew I was being selfish. I just didn’t know how to stop.

  Morning came too fast. We dressed in silence while Nero chased around this stupid toy Briar had bought him at the space station. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail to keep it out of my way. “Food?”

  “Too nervous,” Kaci answered.

  “You should have something.”

  “I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

  “There’s really nothing to worry about,” I tried to reassure her.

  Our eyes met and she nodded, but something made me think she wasn’t just worried about me planting the bomb.

  “Is there something else going on?” I asked.

  “No. I just don’t want to lose you.”

  “You won’t.” It wasn’t a lie. I was hers. I would always be hers. Whether or not I could be with her was another story.

  Over the intercom, Briar’s voice told us that we were close.

  “Go,” Kaci said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Zabe walked onto the bridge with a sleek silver canister in his hand. “It’s finished.”

  “It’s so small,” Kaci stated.

  “This gorgeous thing will destroy the ship.” Carefully, he placed it on the table. “All you have to do is get it to the core of the ship. It’s magnetic, so you can attach it to pretty much anything there. Then you get out of there. Briar can set it off remotely as soon as you jump back. We’ll then have thirty seconds to hightail it out of the way.”

  “Let’s do this.” I picked up the device.

  “They will be able to detect us. We won’t stay stationary, we’ll have to randomly move around, but we’ll stay in jump range,” Huxley said.

  “Almost through his security,” Briar reported. “Caspar upgraded since the last time we hacked in, but I’ve got this.”

  I didn’t want to say anything to Kaci. I knew if I did, she’d worry more, but I didn’t want to go without a single word just in case something did happen. Apparently she felt the same way because she closed the space between us and planted her lips on mine for a long minute. It wasn’t a passionate or gentle kiss, but it was one that left my lips wanting more.

  Glancing at Huxley, I said, “Keep your hands off my girl.”

  He let out a loud laugh and Kaci turned bright pink, while the other two looked confused.

  I stepped into the jump circle, keeping my eyes on her, and when Briar gave the okay, I pushed the button. Suddenly I was in the core of Caspar’s ship.

  With no time to waste, I wove in between the machinery and placed the device right on the central computer. Just like Zabe said, it stayed there. Easy. With a nod of satisfaction, I placed my finger on the jump device, but before I could press the button, a voice came through my earpiece, “Ever?”

  “Yeah, Briar?” I whispered.

  “Akacia took the other jump device. There’s a gun missing, too.”

  “Fuck.” What was she thinking? That was a stupid question. I knew exactly what she was thinking. Revenge. Personal revenge. She wanted to be the one to actually kill him.

  This was what she was holding back.

  I should have seen it coming.

  “Can you tell where she is?” I asked, desperate.

  “Not for sure. My guess is she’s going for the bridge.”

  “I’m going after her.”

  “Be careful, Ever,” Briar said.

  Seconds later, I heard gunshots.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Akacia

  I LANDED IN AN UNKNOWN ROOM. Nobody had taught me how to use the jump device, so I had to guess at some of the settings. I had to find Caspar and fast. I wanted to be the last face he saw before he died.

  As I rushed through the corridor, I passed a room with large windows that looked to be a lab. I stopped and after making sure nobody was inside, I entered.

  One wall of the room was lined with large cages, about ten of them. I saw a flash of movement in the last cage. I crept closer and saw a human-shaped figure.

  A low growl appeared to come from him. Curiosity got the best of me and I took a few more steps toward it. The closer I got, the more I realized this creature wasn’t human. Fur sprouted in patches all over his body. One of his hands looked normal and human, while the other was a paw.

  Suddenly, he let out a loud growl and started banging on the cage. Drool dripped from his sharp, canine-like teeth. Looking in his tortured filled eyes, I had no doubt that this was an experiment gone wrong.

  I backed away from the feral creature in the cage. Once I was far eno
ugh away, the creature calmed back down. I turned to the computer.

  After a few keystrokes, I was searching through Caspar’s files, trying to find out what he knew. My heart picked up its pace when I saw one labeled Splicers. Opening it, I found pictures of people that I could only assume were Splicers in cages. Looking back at the metal boxes, at the creature in the corner, something clicked and my stomach churned. I realized the reason Ever reacted in the tunnel on Terronda the way she did had to be because she was kept in one of these cages at some point. I couldn’t tell if she was one of the ones pictured, but it made sense.

  Rage filled me. I picked up the heaviest thing I could find and pounded the screen, cracking it. Of course that wouldn’t do anything—the files were stored in a central computer—but it felt good. The bomb would take care of the files.

  It took a ridiculous amount of time to find the bridge. I thought for sure I was going to die in the explosion, but I couldn’t go back. Caspar was on the bridge with one of the guards that tortured me.

  “It’s definitely the Nirvana, but they keep moving. They know we can see them,” the guard said.

  Caspar sighed like he was annoyed. “Should have killed them when I had the chance. As soon as you can, fire on them. Once their ship has been destroyed, I want to fill the cages with Splicers, kill the rest, and personally go to Valinor. I will get what I want.”

  “Like hell you will,” I said, stepping into the room with my weapon drawn.

  After Caspar’s initial shock, a sly smile spread across his face. “Empress. Miss your time here?”

  Everything around me faded away. Caspar’s smile reminded me of how he looked at me when he or his men were torturing me. In my mind, I saw the chain being swung around in his hand. The basin of water. The chair I had sat in while being beaten. The cages where they kept Splicers. My hand trembled, but I kept it pointed at him.

  “Have you ever used one of those before?”

  I tightened my grip. What was I waiting for? Why didn’t I just shoot him?

  “You pull that trigger and you make yourself a criminal. You will always be looking over your shoulder. Maybe that’s what you want. You know you’re a freak now.”