Cleo never told me why she didn’t make it off base during the evac. I was too busy to ask that first time I found her on the bridge.
But if she wasn’t supposed to be here, that explains why she didn’t want to pick anything up from her quarters when I offered. She doesn’thavequarters.
It explains how she knew so many back ways and shortcuts. She told me just a couple of minutes ago in the garage that she knows places others don’t. She told me we couldn’t radio Rover to warn her because we didn’t have a password to log in to a console. I didn’t even think to ask aboutherpassword.
Cleo lied her way onto Mars, then she pretended to listen, tocareas I showed her the pieces of my heart. And all along she was lying to me at every turn about who she was. A hitcher. One of the people who stole my father from me. Did she think they were justified? Did she agree with them?
‘No,’ I say slowly, trying to push through the numbness, to find some kind of feeling on the other side. ‘I’m not another hitcher. I take it you two know each other?’
‘Aw,’ says the woman, lowering her hands and planting them on her hips. ‘Cleo, you didn’t tell him about us? Kid, the two of us go way back. We’ve been talking about options for an exit strategy for a while now. Not a great time to be at Pax. I was just explaining to Cleo that she doesn’t actually need to die today. And bytoday, I mean in two and a half hours, actually, so we should keep this moving.’
‘Shut up, Sabrina,’ Cleo says softly.
‘How do you know her?’ I ask, though I know the answer.
Cleo won’t meet my gaze – she’s still gripping the gun, but it’s pointed at the floor, and she’s staring at a drink bottle someone left behind on their desk like it holds all the answers she knows she owes me.
What doestalking for a whilemean?
The lights flicker overhead, and Cleo lifts her gaze briefly, eyes narrowing as she studies the fittings.
‘For a moment,’ I say quietly, ‘I actually thought I knew you.’
Cleo flinches, her mouth tightening, but she doesn’t reply. What could she say?
‘I thought I knew you,’ I say again, softer still. ‘I guess I was wrong.’
This is why you don’t give a piece of yourself to anybody. All you’re doing is making yourself vulnerable. And when you do, they hurt you.
One way or another, they leave.
And sometimes it turns out they were never there at all.
25.
CLEO
2 HOURS, 23 MINUTES REMAINING
SABRINA’S LIPS CURVE INTOa slow smile and she cocks her head at me. ‘Cleo, am I in the middle of a lover’s tiff right now?’ she asks, far too pleased with herself. ‘And I thought we had something special, babe.’
‘Stop it,’ I snap. I have to think quickly – I have to pick a side. The guy who won’t stop defending Graves, or the woman who’s working for them? AmIwilling to work for them?
Maybe, if it’ll save my life. I’ve done a lot of things to stay alive. I ran all the way to another planet to stay alive.
My brain’s mapping the options at lightning speed, as my grip on the gun tightens.
Sabrina: Willing to work with me, has an idea for getting me out of this, but can’t guarantee she’ll be able to sell me as a new recruit. If it works, though, I know what that future looks like. I’ve lived it before.
Hunter: Looking at me like he’d rather die than side with me, but he’s a Graves – powerful enough to protect anyone, if he wants to.Ifhe wants to.
Then a new voice sounds. ‘Is it finally time for introductions? I’ve been looking forward to this.’
The Pirate comes striding into the room, gun raised. He’s even bigger than he looked from the balcony, a broad-shouldered bruiser. He’s not handsome, but there’s something about him that makes you look at him.
Another of the mercs – the one Hunter called the Ballerina – is just a step behind him, wearing a mean expression.
I snap my own gun up to point it at Sabrina’s head, and her hands fly into the air again as she takes a step back.
