Mikos stepped between me and Shade, effectively blocking any shot I could hope to take. “There is a substantial bounty on my head.”
“I know that.”
“And I need the money.” Shade’s deep voice echoed through the room. “So, I’m taking him in. Once I collect the bounty, I’ll set him free, so he can finish what he started.”
“Finish? I don’t understand.” This was insane. “What if they execute you before they pay Shade? Have you thought about that? Who is after you, anyway? You never told me anything.” I hadn’t pushed because I wasn’t his mate. It wasn’t my business. Right? I shouldn’t care what happened once I received the antidote. But I did care. A lot.
“The Silver Scions.”
Oh, shit. They were the psychopaths that traded Hive tech on the black market. The shit they sold was outlawed in the Coalition, but that didn’t stop desperate—or power hungry—people from buying it anyway. Need a new spine? Stronger muscles? Cyborg eyes that could see in infrared? The Silver Scions would implant you with whatever tech you wanted, for the right price. Slang on Battleship Karter for the people who took that option was ‘Hived-Up.’ The fighters on my battle group talked about those who chose that option like they were lepers, or worse.
I’d heard the Silver Scions sold spaceships and weapons as well, but that wasn’t what freaked me out. I’d fought Hive tech, Hive ships, Hive blasters. That was one thing. Paying their so-called doctors to implant one’s body with Hive technology when the entire Coalition Fleet fought every damn day to make sure that didn’t happen to free people in the universe? That felt so wrong. “Why? What did you do?”
Mikos stood tall, shoulders back. There was no remorse in him. “Killed one of them that needed killing.”
Shade strode toward the door, his hand tapping something in his neck. “Lucky for me, you murdered a male with the wealthiest brother in the Scions, and he wants your head on a silver platter.”
“He sold and tortured children.” Mikos stated the fact like he was speaking of the weather.
“I know.” Shade pressed his forefinger into the flesh at the base of his neck. Hard. What the hell was he doing? “They’re here and they’re impatient. I’m taking you off this ship before they do something rash and send an attack. You want Breanna in the middle of that?”
“I do not.” Mikos spoke slowly, his deep voice made me shiver.
“I can take care of myself.” My protest was weak, and a lie. Surrounded by my ReCon team, fully armed and healthy? We held our own. Together. But one human female against even one of these males, or one Silver Scion in a frontal assault? I’d be dead so fast I wouldn’t even know what hit me.
Shade glared at me. “An hour ago, you could barely walk, female.”
Jeez. Did he need to rub my nose in it?
“Do not make me kill you.” Mikos lifted his arms, cuffs and all, and shoved Shade away from me.
Shade stepped away but didn’t appear worried. “You’re out of time, Mikos. You want your shot at Drakdak or not?”
“I do.”
“Ruk will make sure Breanna gets the antidote. You, don’t kill that fucker until I have my money.”
Nope. No way. This was not happening. I glared at Shade. “Take those off him. I’m not going anywhere with you.” I settled for using my words when what I really wanted to do was kick him in the balls. Wouldn’t Ms. Halifax, my kindergarten teacher, be proud?
Ruk cleared his throat, so I risked taking my eyes off my new enemy to look at the giant male I’d mistakenly believed was my friend. “Lady Breanna, I will accompany you to Astra Legion. The ReGen pod bought you a few hours, but if you don’t receive the antidote soon, your symptoms will return tenfold and there will be nothing we can do.”
Mikos leaned down and touched his forehead to mine. “Prince Ruk speaks the truth. Go with him, Breanna. The Scions will not kill me this day. Drakdak will want to make an example of me. Nothing will happen until tomorrow, after he’s had time to attract an audience.”
I stared into his eyes and shook my head as much as I could without losing our skin-to-skin contact. “No. I don’t like this plan. What if you’re wrong and he doesn’t wait? What if Shade takes you in and they slit your throat, or cut off your head? You don’t know what this Drak guy is going to do. You’re guessing.”
“Trust me. I know him. I knew his brother. He will wait.” He placed a chaste kiss on my lips and left me to join Shade near the door. The Siren Legion asshole pulled a blaster that looked eerily similar to a sawed-off shotgun off his shoulder and shoved it into Mikos’s back. “Let’s go. Remember, you fuck this up for me and I’ll kill you myself.”
My fingers twitched on my weapons, but before I could do anything rash, Ruk stepped in front of me and blocked my view of their retreating backs. When the door slid closed behind them, I shoved my blasters back into their holsters with far more force than necessary, quite sure my eyes were spitting daggers at the huge Hyperion. “How did you let this happen? This is bullshit.”
“You must trust Mikos. He knows what he is doing.”
“Yeah, right.” I’d heard that before. My mother said almost the exact same thing before my dad’s last deployment, and he never came home.
“Come with me. Mikos sent word to Astra while you were in the ReGen pod. She is expecting us.”
I followed him as he led the way off the ship. We exited in time for me to see Mikos surrounded, being led away by a bunch of bald assholes with shining silver heads. Eager to go after him,my muscles tensed. Ruk’s hand came down on my shoulder, hard. “Go after him and you die. Your body is failing, Breanna.”
As if his words summoned the poison, a blast of fiery agony seized my lungs. I doubled over, unable to take a breath for what seemed like forever, but was probably less than a minute. When the pain faded, I stood, shaking.
