Technology was thwarting her righteous fury.
She’d have to be satisfied with the small amount of destruction she’d created. It made her feel more in control and a little less afraid.At least I'm not cold anymore.
Janet backed up into one of the rounded corners and closed her eyes when a sound filtered through the room.
“Honestly, I expected better of you.”
She narrowed her eyes.Zeph?
Her fear all but vanished at the sound of his voice. But her confusion and anger remained. Where was he, and why wasn’t she in her room? She hadn’t spoken to him the night before, she’d made it an effort to ignore him completely, to hurt and uncertain about him leaving her family’s homestead for good. They’d gotten close. Too close. And it’d made her nervous, even vulnerable.
I didn’t want to see him go.Janet eyed the sleek white floor between her and the door—located in the opposite corner of the room—and the glass shards and debris she’d made in frustration.
Janet licked her lips. “Zeph, what’s going on?”
She waited for the door to zip open and for him to enter the space, but he never stepped through.
“Are you done?”he asked, his words echoing in her ears.
“Done?”How dare he?“No. I’m not done,” she snapped, “I’m just getting started.” It was his fault for putting the fear of God into her.
Nothing but silence met her heated sentiment.
Janet wiggled her toes, suddenly remembering her feet were bare. Her eyes widened in horror and she dropped the blanket from her shoulders.Am I hurt?Had he put his hands on her while she was sleeping? The thought hadn’t entered her mind in her confusion and anger.
She looked down at her body, ignoring her wayward thoughts. A shallow breath escaped her lips as she stared at her night clothes—the overly large ratty black T-shirt and shorts she’d donned in her room. In herhome. Protected by millions of dollars of advanced security systems. Somehow, she had started the night there…and woke up here.
A shiver wracked her frame.How?
Janet examined the room, looking for security cameras, but spied none. She knew they were there, having dealt with bugs for years from corporate spies on the Montihan settlement.
But this was a Cyborg’s security system. Another shiver coursed through her and it wasn’t because of the temperature.
Going up against a Cyborg was futile.
Hearing Zeph’s voice called back memories. She recognized enough to realize it was a spaceship—his ship—even though she’d only ever been on one spaceship once before, many years ago. Spaceships were all the same, inherently. This one had the same feeling as the last. Utilitarian. Advanced.Bleak.
Nothing like one of her family’s waterships.
Dropping to her knees, Janet picked up the blanket and pulled it over her head. She ran cold, shaky fingers over her arms, legs, and chest, searching for abuse. Finding nothing, even when she tensed her muscles and pressed her hand between her legs. Nothing. She continued to search.
Untouched.
The smell of her morning breath filled her makeshift tent and she sagged in relief. The increasing heat of her body filled the blanketed space, comforting her as she entwined her fingers together and pressed her hands to her mouth. She inhaled, calming her nerves.No one touched me while I was sleeping. Hehadn’t touched her.
Nausea welled.
Another wave hit her right after, fueled by dark and terrible emotions, ones that were difficult to cope with threatened to consume. Men had hurt her in the past, just as her mother said they would, but an image of her rebellious young self sat like an idol in her mind.
Janet dug her nails into the backs of her hands.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
But I hurt them right back.
A short time later, Janet popped her head out from the blanket and scanned the cabin once more, taking in the damage she’d done; the broken console panel, the glass shards from the display case, the shredded upholstery, and finally landing her gaze to the room’s still-closed door. She took a deep breath.
Where is he?
