Zeph cringed, releasing her briefly to rip a corner of his uniform off. He brought the material to her nose and wiped the snot off her face.
If Sheryl Montihan was also on his ship, he’d turn himself into the EPED without a fight. Right this very second. A small part of him hoped against all odds that Sheryl would rush to his side and take the little girl away. But in the time it took him to pocket the snot-covered scrap of cloth, he connected to his ship’s security and scanned the interior. Three lifeforms.
He sighed, feeling relief and exasperation.
Fate was always…never on his side.
“Look kid,” he brightened his eyes to distract her, “I’m going to be straight with you. Your mom isn’t here and it may be some time before you see her again. I hadn’t planned for you to join us, but now that you’re here,” he paused for a moment, thinking back to every memory of Lily he had stored, “you’re just going to have to see the galaxy with Janet and me.”
Her sniffles lessened and Zeph leaned back.
“Like my game?” she asked.
He forced a smile upon his lips. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll show you the galaxywhileyou play your game.” He was a Cyborg, after all; he could give Lily anything she wanted within reason.
All traces of her tantrum vanished in a flash and he lifted her into his arms as he stood. A faint whiff of Janet’s lavender came off the girl and he pressed his nose into Lily’s hair, holding her a little more securely.
As they made their way toward his ship’s lounge and replicator, he felt a twitch in his arm that indicated the first incoming communication. He didn’t need to look at it to know who it was.
It would be the first of many.
Dozens.
Hundreds. All because he’d not only abducted one human female, apparently but two.
3
The cabin door zipped open.
“Zeph,” Janet gasped, looking up from her hands. “Where have you been?”
Zeph appeared in the doorway, staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face. He braced his shoulder against the side and crossed his arms without responding. She didn’t need his answer to know he was pissed. It was in his eyes, in his body language.
His presence always intimidated her. She bit into her cheek to stop herself from cursing him out while reveling in the power of his demeanor, knowing how rare it was to go up against someone who wore arrogance like a badge.
Her own anger returned, flaring hot and bright. They stared at each other until her eyes narrowed.He locked me up. Butterflies filled her stomach anyway. Janet bit harder into her cheek as her gaze left his to trail down his sharply honed body. She stood and took a step away from the safe haven of her corner, enthralled by the power he emitted, almost impressed with his ruthlessness.
He left me here for hours.
But no one else had ever made her feel this way; he was an apex predator, and she was nothing but prey. Their eyes met again, and his green gaze sharpened.
“Zeph, there’s something wro—” Her eyes tore from him as a small figure darted from his side and ran in her direction. A familiar squeal filled the silence, and her heart stuttered to a stop.
Grubby hands gripped her bare legs. “Janet,” Lily’s high-pitched voice reached her ears, “he’s taking us to see the planets. He said it’d be just like my game.”
What?Janet stared at her little sister, dumbfounded.
“Lily,” she reached down and cupped her baby sister’s shoulders, “what are you doing here?”
“He said it would be better than my game. Can we go now?”
Janet’s mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Her sister’s cherubic little face was pink and her eyes were glossy with bits of crust in the corners. She wiped Lily’s cheek once over with her thumb.
Hands tugged at her shirt.
“I want to see them!” Lily pulled away and ran back to Zeph.
Maybe I’m going crazy.Janet watched her sister mutely, confused.Maybe I wandered onto the ship last night?
