Her back hit the door as she cursed him and everything else to their graves. She hated herself for rising to the bait, and hated him more for pushing all her buttons, again.
But the thing she hated the most, out of every arrogant, annoying thing that came out of his mouth, was that she believed he was right.
17
The rocks trembled around him, a subtle vibration at first that built with every passing second. Zeph paused, gripping his knife a little tighter as he scanned the vicinity.
“Do you feel that?” Hector asked, his voice sounding inside his head.
“Of course I fucking do,” he said, waiting for the shaking to pass. His target was ahead and below, another several yards deep in the asteroid. It hadn’t moved since he and Hector decided to go after it. “The acquisition remains in place.”
“The other one is on the move.”
Zeph checked his radar, and lo and behold, the other creature was moving at significant speed toward their ship. “Looks like we have ourselves a competition.”
Hector laughed, the comm feed sending him mirthful signals. “You sure you want me to drop point?”
“Convenience is the key to the universe. I can give up on this one if you think you’ll need help over there.” Zeph snickered as he started moving forward, ducking his head as the tunnel's ceiling lowered.
“I need help from you like I need another hole in my head,” Hector grumbled as his signal moved farther away, the connection between them a little less powerful.
“Keep telling yourself that, reptilian fucker.”
* * *
The memories of him and Hector were resurfacing with increasing speed. No matter how hard he tried to banish them, no matter how deep he let them fall in his hard drives, they always returned to haunt him.
Fucking ghosts.He didn’t even believe in ghosts.
Zeph stared at the closed door, listening to Janet’s every movement within. He’d been there for hours, maybe more, maybe less. He always lost track of time when it came to her. He wanted to force his way in and take control of her, to caress and pet her into sweet submission, and let his crocodilian song fill her head... But it was the memory of Hector that wanted to fill his. If he let it in, who knew what would happen?
Let me in.Zeph demanded internally, willing the door to open for him.
It didn’t.
He turned from the room and checked on Lily, who’d found a large pool overlooking the Elyrian cityscape. She swam with her clothes on with Mr. Heartface right beside her.
“Want a suit?” he asked, cocking a brow. “Or a snack?”
Lily laughed and ignored him as the android lifted her above its head and tossed her back into the water. He studied them for a while, knowing he’d never get Mr. Heartface back to the way it was before. The android had formed a collective digital bond to the little girl, and to set it back to factory settings would be cruel at this point.
Zeph moved to take a seat in the corner of the indoor patio. He flicked out his wristcon. The messages from the EPED and his brethren had begun to slow down but there was always a new missive waiting for him. Another new article, another threat from some offshoot source with a political agenda against his kind.
There would always be a faction of humans who wanted the Cyborgs destroyed, even though he was part human himself. Good thing that faction was small, albeit loud.
He cracked his neck and pulled up Raphael’s information.
The less time in Elyria, the better.
The planet smelled of rot and waste. Even its glitzy beauty couldn’t cover it up. He didn’t want the stink to stick onto his girls. If he was lucky, they’d be off this hellhole within the next thirty-six hours with a new ship in tow and heading for Kepler.
Zeph rubbed a hand over his mouth, wishing he had a cig. Lily screamed with endless giggles a short distance away. The neon colors of the city shined through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
He called Raphael.
His comm was picked up on the fifth ring.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the man everyone’s talking about,” Raphael said, his voice filling Zeph’s audio tech.
