Her thoughts crashed back into the present. None of this took into account her deal with Gunner and the plans that were already set in motion. Gunner’s plans had nothing to do with staying put and waiting for an opportune moment. It made her itch not knowing where he was or what he was doing.
He was fierce—terrifying, even. He had shouldered responsibility for their escape without a second thought. She was bound to him. The decision to follow her dad out of the brig still haunted her.He’ll return without me there. He’ll be angry.
Won’t he?
They had become close, sharing the same small space for countless hours with nothing but each other’s company to keep the madness and despair at bay. Even so, she had no real clue how he felt about her.He’s willing to risk his life for mine, for strangers he doesn’t know, but he would be risking it regardless for his ship.
Elodie threaded her fingers together and brought them to her lips, wishing for clarity, wishing that... Gunner was sitting next to her right now instead of her dad.
I like him.She strained her fingers.I...miss him.
How did I become so attached?
“You got something on your mind?” her dad asked.
She glanced up to find him watching her. “I’m afraid,” she choked out.I am.Her gaze kept drifting to the door. “I don’t like not knowing what’s happening.”
Or where Gunner was. Had he found her gone? Was he in trouble? The more questions that skirted through her mind, the heavier her guilt weighed.
“Don’t worry about that right now. As long as we stay holed up down here it won’t affect us,” he said. “We got some guns, some tools, some food, and some water. They won’t look for us down here, not yet at least, and if they do, there’s not many of them on the ship. They’d have to climb through the machines single file or in pairs of two. We’ll be ready if that happens, we’ll take them out. If we stick together, we’ll be fine.”
“And that beast? The one that tore those men apart?”Gunner.
“Won’t be able to get past these metal doors without a keycard.”
“Dad...” she began but trailed off. Elodie didn’t know how to tell him that she’d made a deal with a Cyborg. The words caught on the tip of her tongue and every second that passed, they grew harder to say.
It left a sour taste in her mouth. Not only had she set current events in motion, she actually wanted the creature responsible for it by her side.
Her choice in men was enough to get her committed. ACyborgheld her heart in the palm of his hand. She glanced back at the door.What have I done?
“Ely. Remember when we were stationed on theFar Seeing?”
“How could I forget?” she mumbled.
“You’d just grown into a woman then, it feels like yesterday, being on that job. Maybe because what happened haunts me still. It was your birthday.” Her dad laughed. “And I gave you a flask of whiskey to celebrate. ‘Don’t leave the room,’ I said, ‘enjoy yourself,’ I also said.”
“I remember.” Her eyes remained on the locked door behind him. She still had nightmares of that time.
“And you did. I got to share a drink with my daughter, and for a little while, it was just the two of us. We could take on anything, you and me... I’d never heard you laugh so much in my life before that night. It was like all the years of stress melted away. I was so proud of you.”
Her eyes darted from the door and back to him. “You were?”
“Yeah. We made a great team. There wasn’t a rig in the universe we couldn’t operate and fix.”
“There still isn’t,” she smiled, “and you taught me everything I know.”
Tsk.“You taught me more.”
“But it didn’t last...” She shook her head.
“No. It didn’t.”
TheFar Seeingdid feel like yesterday. She could still taste the bitter whiskey in her mouth. “You passed out.”
“And I regret that to this day.”
“I had to pee.”
