Maybe.
"Sway?" Devyn tried.
And again there was no answer. Without waiting on the others, Devyn bolted from his chair and ignored the protest of his body.
Please don't be dead. His mind tortured him with images of what he might find.
He went to check on Alix and Sway first. His heart pounded as fear took hold of him.
Damn, when had the ship gotten so big? It seemed like it was growing while he ran.
Finally, he found them in the infirmary right where he'd left them. Alix was strapped down on her table, but Sway...
He was on the floor a few feet away. And he wasn't moving at all. Not even a twitch.
Terror consumed him as he ran to him. He pulled him over to see the gaping wound in the center of his chest.
No!
Devyn's entire body shook as he saw the extent of the damage done to Sway. There were contusions on his head and arms. A severe gash above his eye, and he was covered in blood.
Sway coughed as he stared at him. "I slipped."
Devyn wanted to curse him for his condition, but it wasn't Sway's fault.
It was his.
He'd done this to his best friend, and from the looks of it, Sway wasn't going to survive. "You never could walk in a straight line, you lumbering asshole."
Sway laughed, then grimaced and groaned. "I'm dying, aren't I?"
"Not on my watch."
Devyn looked up as Nero joined them. With raw determination gleaming in his eyes, Nero knelt on the floor and placed his hand over Sway's chest. It was obvious how much pain the action cost Nero, but he didn't say anything while he healed him. He merely winced.
Amazed, Devyn gaped as Sway's color returned to normal. Nero's, on the other hand . .
He looked like he was about ready to barf...
Nero let go of Sway and leaned back.
"Are you okay?"
Nero slowly shook his head. "Headache, worse. I really don't feel good."
"You really don't look good."
And sure enough, he hurled.
Devyn started to check on him, but Nero held his hand up for him not to approach. "Go to Alix. I don't need a mother."
"Maybe not, but you look like you need a doctor."
Nero flipped him off. "I just need to recharge. There's not a damn thing you can do to help me right now."
Holding his hands up in surrender, Devyn went to check on Alix, who was still unconscious from her minor surgery. Her pale hair was spread out, making her look like a vulnerable angel as he unstrapped her from the table.
He took a moment to lay his fingers to her warm cheek, grateful that she was alive and unhurt.
Alix blinked open her eyes to find Devyn standing over her with a stern frown. She scowled herself in response to it as her head throbbed and she remembered his removing her chip. Was it done aIready?
She looked around to see the room in ruins. Boxes were scattered throughout the room from where they had fallen out of cabinets that were now dented and hanging open. Glass had shattered and medicine bottles were strewn everywhere.
More than that, they were at a strange tilt. "What happened?"
"We crashed."
No kidding. She'd already deduced that much. "Where?"
"Not real sure. Didn't have time to pull up anything more than the fact that it can sustain our life forms without life support."
That was definitely important, but it wasn't the only thing to know. "So we're walking into death?"
"Gods, I hope not. I don't have on the right boots for it. These are only good for a mild ass-whipping."
Alix was unamused by his attempt at humor. She hurt too much and their situation was far too dire.
Omari popped his head in the door. "The League is sending in scouts for us. We need to get out of here... ten minutes ago."
Devyn nodded. Taking Alix's hand, he led her to Vik's station on the upper bridge to find the mecha pinned down by debris and wreckage. He skirted around it, trying to find Vik's seat. Something much easier said than done.
Alix helped him dig around until he found Vik on his back, still strapped to his chair. The mecha seemed to have lost some of his fluids, but otherwise he didn't look to be in too bad of a shape. Especially given the fact that a large crossbeam had come free and was now draped over him.
"Vik? You all right?"
He opened his eyes to pin a glare on Devyn that would have shriveled a lesser man. "Not really. And for the record, I hate your father for giving me human emotions and sensitivities. I liked it better when I couldn't feel pain."
"Believe me, I know the feeling." He, Sway and Nero moved the beam while Alix unstrapped him from the chair and pulled him out from under the wreckage.
As soon as he was free, Vik glared at Devyn. "Whoever gave you your pilot's license should be shot."
"Thanks, V. Love you, too."
"Then why did you almost get me killed? No offense, but I'd rather you hate me, since you seem to abuse your enemies a lot less than you do your friends."
Alix had to stifle a laugh at his surly tone.
Nero stepped forward. "No offense, people, we're on a time crunch. We gotta go."
Devyn nodded before he led them through the smoldering ship, which could ignite at any moment. But getting off was going to be a problem.
The crash had pushed the door in, jamming it.
Devyn let out an irritated sigh as he stepped back from trying to shoulder it open. "Anyone got a can opener?"
Nero gave him a droll stare. "You guys aren't going to be happy until you fry out my brain, are you?"
Omari moved forward. "Let me do it."
Nero rolled his eyes. "You're an embryo."
But Omari refused to back down. "I can do this."
"Omari--"
"I got it, Dad. Trust me."
Devyn looked skeptical.
Sway passed a deadpan stare to Alix. "Where have you seen that face recently?"
"I'm pretty sure it was when Devyn's father said the same thing to him."
"Yeah, scary, isn't it?"
Shaking his head, Devyn backed off. "Fine. Get a headache, too. What do I care?"
Nero moved to stand behind Omari so that he could coach him. "Close your eyes and concentrate. See the door and what you want it to do. Breathe slowly, and if it starts to feel like your brain is melting, stop. Because it is."
"No melting brain. Got it." Omari closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
The metal in the door started creaking almost instantly. Alix could see the muscles working in Omari's face and arms as he physically strained to do his mental magic.
Vik pointed to the device in his ear that must have been allowing him to still monitor their enemies' communication. They're almost here, he mouthed to Devyn.
Nero cursed, then threw his arm out and blasted the door with his own telekinesis. The door went flying as blood started pouring from Nero's nose.
He wiped at it angrily.
Alix was worried about him. "You all right?"
He tilted his head back to slow some of the flow. "Yeah. What's a little brain damage, anyway? Not like anyone would notice."
Omari glared indignantly at him. "I could have done it without your help, you know."
"Yeah, but we're about to have company."
Devyn grabbed Omari by the arm and shoved him through the door. As soon as they were outside, they could hear the sound of approaching engines. Vik had been right--The League operatives were practically on top of them.
Omari paled. "We are so screwed."
Sway chucked him on the arm. "Only if they catch us."
His gut twisting, Devyn looked at Vik as he weighed their options. But at this point, it was like choosing between a slow, agonizing death and a slower agonizing death. "Can you still pick them up?"
"They're being told to bring you and Alix in alive. The rest of us are expendable."
Omari gaped. "I don't feel expendable."
Devyn igno
red his outburst. "Well, then, if it's a fight they want ... Sway, you and Vik take Alix and Omari toward the town that's supposed to be five ticks north of here. We'll rendezvous at whatever landing bay they have."
Alix didn't like the sound of that. She knew he had something planned, and knowing Devyn, it would be scary. "What about you and Nero?"
"Don't worry about us."
Yeah, right. The man was insane and Nero wasn't much better. So Alix stood her ground. "I don't think we should split up."
The look on his face was hard and sincere. "I'm a trained soldier, Alix, and Nero is a survivalist. Believe me, they won't be able to touch us. But I need you guys out of harm's way, otherwise we won't stand a chance." He leaned down to whisper in her ear words that sent a shiver over her. "Please, for my sanity, get to safety. I damn near lost Sway today. Don't make me lose you, too."
Alix pulled him close and kissed him. It wasn't until she stepped back from his kiss that she looked down and saw something red on her hand from when she'd touched his side.
Blood.
Devyn's. Her heart lurched, but before she could ask about it, a streak of color sizzled past her cheek. So close she could feel the heat of it.
"Run!" Sway shouted. "We'll meet at the rendezvous."
Devyn slid his weapon out and started firing at the enforcers. "Go!" he ordered her.
"Not without you." Alix grabbed his arm and pulled him after the others.
Devyn would have protested, but at this point, they were being swarmed, and there was no time to argue with anyone.
Hell, they barely had time to run.
Taking her hand, he cut through the underbrush, wishing they had on thermal-shielded suits that would keep their pursuers from using infrared to pick up their body heat. As it was, right now they were moving targets, and he had no idea if the others had already been apprehended or not.
But more than that, he felt the pressure on his wrist that warned him he was pushing himself too hard. It was his warning sensor that monitored his body.
Shit.
Alix slowed down as she noticed that Devyn was falling behind. She doubled back to his side. "We have to hurry."
He shook his head. "You go on. I'll cover you."
"Don't be--"
"Alix!" he snapped. "Don't argue with me. I can't keep up with you."
"Of course you can."
He glared at her. "No, I can't. I have a severe heart condition."
She frowned at his words and the note of panic in his voice. "I don't understand."
"When Clotilde attacked me, she sliced through my heart. Because I'm half Rit and half human, there's no donor. Rit anatomy is very different from a human's. One of the biggest is that they have a six-chamber heart. What I have inside me is a mechanical heart my father made, but it won't take this kind of abuse. I can't keep running or it will explode and kill me."
She winced as she realized what this meant. He was going to be taken.
And he was willing to sacrifice himself for her.
But looking up into those dark brown eyes that haunted her, she knew she couldn't leave him to his enemies. "Then I'll stay with you."
"Don't be ridiculous."
She eyed him. "You wouldn't be here but for me." She was the one who'd put all of them in harm's way. "I won't leave you."
Devyn wanted to tell her what kind of fool he thought she was, but as he stared at her, he realized something.
I love her.
In spite of the lies. The deceit and aggravation. In spite of everything, this woman meant the world to him. And he didn't want to see her hurt.
"I don't want to lose you, Alix."
"Then you understand how I feel about you."
He pulled her lips to his for a quick kiss. "All right. We'll do this together, then."
She inclined her head to him. "Together."
But then he realized exactly how many enforcers had been sent after them. It was actually ridiculous to go to this kind of effort for a runner. There were far worse criminals in the universe.
Hell, he was related to most of them.
The attention would have been flattering had he been in a better mood. As it was...
He wanted to kick their asses into oblivion.
Alix led him to a small dip in the woods where they had some degree of protection from their pursuers. "I think I have an idea. Can you fly one of their airbees?"
"Yeah."
She nodded and he could see her calculating something in her head. "How much charge do you have in your blaster?"
"Three-quarters."
She smiled. "All right, then. Let's play dead."
Devyn wasn't sure about her plan as she had him lie down on the grass. She lay by his side. He had an idea of what she wanted, but he'd rather blast his way out.
Trust her. Something much easier said than done, but in the end, he listened.
Within seconds, the probers were there to check on them. Devyn waited until the first one got off his airbee and came over. The moment he touched Devyn, Devyn grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. His partner shot, searing the blast across the man's chest.
He screamed as he went down. Devyn pulled his blaster out and shot the other one. He grabbed the link from the one who'd fallen closest to him and put it in his ear so that he could keep tabs on the others.
"They're headed this way."
Alix nodded as she slid onto the seat of the airbee. Devyn got on in front of her. Wrapping her arms around his lean waist, she slid closer to him and held tight while she tried to ignore how good he felt in her arms.
Devyn kicked the thrusters into high gear. They rose up and shot forward at a speed that was terrifying. While she'd seen airbees before, she'd never actually ridden one.
This was scary.
And as the enforcers realized that there were two of them on it, they gave chase.
"Hold on tight," Devyn warned.
Alix buried her face against his shoulder and locked herself around him with both her knees and her arms.
Devyn shot through the brush, hoping to shake the enforcers off them. But that was no easy feat. Especially given the fact that with two peole, they were at a severe speed disadvantage. Airbees were designed for a single rider, and while Alix didn't weigh that much, it was enough to be deadly to them.
Through the link, he could hear that they were setting up a trap for them.
He shot left, away from the trap, deeper into the woods. The little bastards weren't making this easy for him.
Why should they?
'Cause I don't want to die.
And as the enforcers closed in, he began to see a dismal end to their chase.
Until Alix drew his blaster from his holster and opened fire on them.
To his shock, she was an amazing shot as she took them down one by one.
"Girl, you've been holding out on me."
She laughed in his ear. "I was my father's gunner."
"I can tell."
Laughing, Devyn headed for the town. It didn't take long to reach it, but as they pulled in, he realized it was crawling with their enemies. Everywhere he looked, he saw a uniformed officer, either local or League.
Damn, who would have thought...
He abandoned the stolen bee in a full lot, so that hopefully it wouldn't be found for awhile.
Alix glanced around nervously. "You think the others have been caught?"
"No. Nothing's been said through their link. They're still hunting all of us."
Alix let out a breath in relief. "Where do you think they are?"
"Hopefully somewhere waiting on us."
They skirted around a group of enforcers who were questioning the locals.
"There they are!"
Devyn let fly an expletive that made her blush before he pulled her down an alley. The guards fired shots that narrowly missed them.
He turned to the right and ran down an even tighter alley that turned sharply to the left. Alix ran in front of him
until she got to a fence that cut her off.
Devyn picked her up. "Climb."
She moved as fast as she could until she was on the other side. He landed beside her. Leaning back against the fence, he clutched at his chest as if his heart was hurting.
"They're calling in reinforcements."
Her stomach sank.
* * *
CHAPTER 13
Devyn whipped around, drawing his blaster at whatever fool thought to stop them. But the moment his gaze focused, he couldn't breathe as he stared into the one face he'd always wanted to meet.
His older brother.
Time seemed suspended as they stared at each other, locked in momentary disbelief.
The loss of this one single person had haunted his father in ways he couldn't even begin to understand. Every year on the anniversary of Paden's birthday, his father lit a candle and prayed for him. Most of all, he wished him well, even though Paden wasn't there to hear it. He also had a gift delivered to Paden wherever he was living.
One that was always returned unopened.
And still his father tried, refusing to give up on his child. It was one of many things Devyn admired about his father. But it was also a source of anger for him.
Because with every present returned, he watched a part of his father die. Every time, year after year, his father reached out only to have Paden bitch-slap him for the effort.
At twelve, he'd been angry enough to ask his father, "Am I not enough son for you that you have to try and claim one who hates you?"
His father had pulled him into a fierce, crushing hug. "You are the greatest son any man could ever have and you're better than any I ever deserved. My love for Paden doesn't take anything away from how I feel about you, and it never will. But you have to understand that I grew up without a father, and it's a pain I'm glad you don't know.
"Paden was brought into this world against his will, and I don't want him to ever think his father doesn't love him. Yes, it hurts to be kicked when he refuses to talk to me, but I've been hit a lot harder in my life and if he wants nothing to do with me, that's all right. It will never change the part of me that loves him. The part of me that taught him how to tie his shoes and brush his teeth--just like I taught you."
He had brushed the hair back from Devyn's head and kissed his brow. "At least this way he knows someone out here still loves him. Sometimes that's all we have in this world. When everything else falls down around us, just knowing that there's another person who will miss us when we're gone is enough to see us through our darkest moments. Never underestimate how powerful that knowledge can be."