by Nina Croft
The soldiers were closing in.
“Luther!” she called out. “Do you recognize what this is?”
She held up the small box.
“You won’t do it,” Kinross replied, but his voice was shaky, lacking in confidence. “You would destroy the whole planet.”
It came to him then what she held, and he swallowed. The detonator for one of the nuclear bombs. She really had chosen him. And he wasn’t sure it was a good thing. He wasn’t worth all these lives.
She took a few steps closer, so she stood directly below Kinross. “You know exactly what I’m capable of. Ask yourself—what would you do in these circumstances? Would you give up your heart, would you allow someone to cut it from your living body and take it for their own? Or would you blow everyone up before you let that happen?”
Silas aimed his weapon and a small red dot appeared over her heart. She smiled and Milo shivered as a chill ran through him.
“Do you really want to take the chance?” she asked. “A bullet in the heart and my hand spasms in death and…boom.” She turned back to the crowd. “This is the detonator for a nuclear device that will kill you all.”
They drew a little farther away as though that would save them.
“A nuclear device brought from Earth by Luther Kinross. He believes he should be in charge, and he has an army to back him up. And a stash of nuclear weapons just in case someone decides they don’t want to live in his brave new world.” She looked around. “Is that what you want in a leader? You’re free people. You can make the decision.”
“Don’t listen to her!” Kinross screamed. “She’s not even human. She’s nothing but a clone. And her compatriot is a monster. A creature of the devil.” Spittle frothed at the corner of his mouth, and he staggered backward, pain blossoming across his face. He backed into Silas, who dropped his weapon and took hold of his shoulders.
“We need a medic!” he shouted.
Everything seemed to stop, and the crowd fell silent.
Silas lowered Kinross to the floor and started performing CPR. He glanced up after a minute. “Where’s that goddamn medic?”
A man in a red shirt pushed his way through the crowd. “I’m a doctor. Let me take a look.”
Milo edged closer to Destiny. They needed to get the hell out of here while the attention was on Kinross. The mood of the crowd was volatile. It wouldn’t take much to turn the tide against them. Before he could speak, Silas straightened, his face expressionless. He stared at Destiny. “He’s dead. You can let go of your weapon. There’s no need for it now. You can go free. I’ve no argument with you or your friend.” He turned to the guards. “Fall back,” he said. “Let them go.”
The soldiers drew back and lowered their weapons.
Destiny’s hand dropped to her side and she slid the detonator back into her pocket. Her shoulders slumped and she blew out her breath. And Milo heaved a sigh of relief. He hadn’t really believed she would destroy them all. On the other hand, she’d given a pretty convincing argument.
Time to move.
As he reached out to take her hand, a voice called out across the crowd. “Stop them!” Sekongo shouted from the pulpit. “In the name of our Everlasting Lord, stop the abominations!”
Destiny looked at him, a frown forming between her eyes. “Does he mean us?”
“I’m afraid so.”
The crowd closed in behind them, and he swore.
“You heard what our great leader, Luther Kinross, said,” Sekongo again. Why didn’t the asshole shut up? “She’s not human and he’s a monster.”
A murmur ran through the crowd.
“There will be a reward for anyone who captures the abominations. Come into the grace of God.”
Goddamn Church. “I think we should leave,” Milo murmured.
But talk of a reward had turned the tide of feeling. The muttering grew louder, and the mob shifted restlessly.
Christ, he wished he had his wand. Though he did have a grenade. He held it up. “This might not be a nuclear bomb, but it will still kill a few of you. Back off.”
The people nearest backed away, pushing into the ones behind them and clearing a path. Destiny inched closer to him, and side by side they moved slowly through the press of people.
When they reached the edge of the crowd, he grabbed her hand. “Run!”
Chapter Forty-Five
“It’s necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
What happened?
She’d thought it was all over. Kinross was dead. Didn’t that mean she was safe?
Obviously not.
She could feel the crowd behind her, a mob screaming for her death. What had she ever done to them?
Milo all but dragged her behind him. But they were in the trees now, weaving between the trunks and leaving their pursuers behind. Finally, Milo pulled her behind a thick tree trunk. He stood with his back against it, breathing hard. Then he turned to her, lowered his head, and kissed her. “Thank you.”
“For what?” she asked breathlessly. She’d hardly done a good job of saving him. In fact, she’d totally messed up. But at least she hadn’t nuked the whole planet.
“For putting me first,” he said.
“You are first.” She glanced at her comm unit. “We’re only minutes from the deadline with Rico. And no way will we make it on foot. Can you magic us there?”
“Not without my wand.”
That wasn’t good news. She peered around the edge of the tree. Through the forest, she could see the flickering lights of torches. A cry rang out as the mob caught sight of them. And they were baying like hounds.
“Run,” Milo said again.
He raised his wrist as they ran and spoke into the comm unit. “We’re not going to make it. Get the hell out of here. We’ll find another way.”
She recognized where they were now. Heading toward the entrance to the tunnels. If they could just make it then they would be hidden.
They dived into the entrance and Milo stopped so abruptly she crashed into him. He turned her in his arms, pressed her against the cool rock of the wall, and kissed her.
Outside, she could hear the crowd milling about, restless. Their voices rising and falling. She wished she hadn’t woken them up now. This was gratitude for you. It would teach her not to try and do good deeds in the future.
They just had to wait it out, then find a way off the planet.
Someone shouted above the crowd. She recognized the priest’s voice. “There! A tunnel. They’ve taken to ground. Hunt them out.”
“Shit,” Milo said. “The wards have failed. Get to the ship.”
They turned and ran through the dark tunnels. She could hear the chase behind them, see the wavering light from the torches playing on the ceiling and walls, casting shadows.
They raced into the cavern and straight up the ramp and into the ship. The doors slid shut behind them. On the bridge, she swiped her hand over the surveillance screens just as the crowd poured into the cavern. They came to an abrupt halt as they caught sight of the ship, then began to inch forward, closer and closer. There were soldiers among them, one drew his pistol and shot at the hull.
They were shooting at her beautiful ship.
She gritted her teeth as the shots ricocheted off the surface. She had to do something. Searching the room, her gaze settled on the big red button on the console. Without conscious thought, her feet moved her toward it.
“Oh hell, no,” Milo muttered from behind her.
“Trust me,” she said, holding out her hand to him.
He tangled his fingers with hers, closed his eyes for a moment; when they opened, they were resolute. “Always.”
And she slammed her hand on the button.
She
wasn’t sure what she expected.
Worst case…nothing.
Or maybe the worst case was they would set off and crash into the wall of the cavern and they’d die.
Then they were rising. She waited for the ship to stop. To level out. But no, they went up and up. Faster and faster. The crowd below them was silent, their faces raised and drenched in light from the burning torches and the ship’s engines.
“Can you stop this?” Milo said. “We’re going to hit the roof.”
Her hand hovered over the button. But if they stopped, they had nowhere to go. Have faith.
She could see the roof rapidly approaching through one of the screens. She tightened her hold on Milo, and he pulled her close and kissed her and she closed her eyes, and her mind, to everything but the feel of him.
They didn’t crash and she opened her eyes. Above them, the roof was sliding open and she could see the stars. And then they were through. They hovered for a moment, and she held her breath. Then they shot forward so fast that they were both knocked off their feet and she crashed to the floor, Milo on top of her so the air left her in a whoosh.
And then she was flying.
Epilogue
“He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
They’d left Trakis Four far behind, and good riddance as far as Milo was concerned.
Seated in the pilot’s seat with Destiny snuggled in his lap, he was concentrating on the fact that despite their dire circumstances, he was rock hard. He pulled her closer and she squirmed against him.
“That’s really impressive,” she said.
It was. He was impressed himself. “Have I ever mentioned that I hate flying,” he said.
She twisted on his lap so she could stare into his face. “How can you hate flying? It’s wonderful.”
“We’re in a spaceship and neither of us knows how it works.” He waved a hand at the screen. “Added to that, we’re somewhere in the vastness of space with no idea where we’re heading. Except we’re heading there fast.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment the comm unit on his wrist buzzed. He thought about ignoring it, but then Destiny’s buzzed as well, and she pressed the button to accept the call.
“This is the captain of the space cruiser, Destiny’s Heart. How can we help you?”
“Very posh,” Rico said. “I take it you both got away all right.”
“We did.”
“I’m glad. We’ll see you on Trakis Two.”
And the comm ended.
“Will we?” Milo asked. “Do we even know where Trakis Two is?” It was a big goddamn sky out there.
She reached out and touched the screen with her fingertip. “There it is,” she said. “Trakis Two.”
He leaned closer. It just looked like another dot on the screen to him. “How do you know?”
“I studied the star charts.”
“How did you get so clever?” he asked.
Her face turned serious. “Dr. Yang manipulated my genetic code to increase my IQ.”
He chuckled. “It doesn’t really matter how.”
“I know. I’m happy with what I am. I have free will, and I can be anything I choose to be.”
She was so bright. And her words filled him with a sense of infinite possibilities. The world lay before them, vast and new. He hadn’t wanted to come on this journey, and he’d thought they’d reached the end many times. But it was only just beginning. And with Destiny by his side, he was happy for the journey to never end. They’d make their own world where neither of them had to hide what and who they were.
“Do you want to explore the universe with me, Destiny?”
She turned so she straddled his lap, then flung her arms around his neck. “To the end of the universe and back.” She grinned. “But first we have to learn to fly this thing.”
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Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to my fabulous publisher, Liz Pelletier, for suggesting I write this series and revisit my Dark Desires world, albeit a few hundred years before Break Out, book 1 in that series, begins. And thanks to everyone at Entangled Publishing for all the support and the amazing cover, and especially my editors, Liz and Lydia Sharp, for their great work and advice.
Thanks to my marvellous critique group, Passionate Critters, for reading my stories and telling me what they really think.
And finally, thanks to Rob, my other and better half, for putting up with me constantly disappearing into worlds of my own making.
About the Author
Growing up, Nina Croft spent her time dreaming of faraway sunnier places and ponies. When she discovered both, and much more, could be found between the covers of a book, her life changed forever.
Later, she headed south, picked up a husband on the way, and together they discovered a love of travel and a dislike of 9 to 5 work. Eventually they stumbled upon the small almond farm in Spain they now call home.
Nina spends her days reading, writing, and riding under the blue Spanish skies—sunshine and ponies. Proof that dreams can come true if you want them enough.
If you’d like to learn about new releases, sign up for Nina’s newsletter here.
www.ninacroft.com
Don’t miss the Dark Desires Origins series…
Malfunction
Also by Nina Croft…
the Dark Desires series
Break Out
Deadly Pursuit
Death Defying
Temporal Shift
Blood and Metal
Flying Through Fire
the Beyond Human series
Unthinkable
Unspeakable
Uncontrollable
the Cutting Loose series
Falling for the Bad Girl
Blackmailing the Bad Girl
The Bad Girl and the Baby
the Order series
Bittersweet Blood
Bittersweet Magic
Bittersweet Darkness
Bittersweet Christmas
the Saddler Cove series
Handle with Care
the Things to Do Before You Die series
His Fantasy Girl
Her Fantasy Husband
His Fantasy Bride
the Babysitting a Billionaire series
Losing Control
Out of Control
Taking Control
the Melville Sisters series
Operation Saving Daniel
Betting on Julia
Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire
The Spaniard’s Kiss
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