Shade accelerated and rolled in a dizzying spiral down a huge avenue, towers hemming us in on both sides and shots chasing us until we swung hard around another building. Heavy g-forces dragged at my body, and I held on tight, holding my breath, too.
We came back around to…nothing?
“What the hell?” I leaned forward, then swiveled my head around. My eyes flicked up. “They’re after theEndeavor!”
With a well-placed tap, Shade coaxed our sputtering visual-aid system back into working order and zoomed off in pursuit. “Time to show them what we’ve got, starshine.”
“They could ground her.” Or worse. I wouldn’t voiceworseout loud, though.
“They won’t.” Shade pushed a button, and a panel opened in front of me. Automatically, I reached for the joystick that emerged from inside the front console, my thumb already hovering over the little red button. A target monitor lit up behind it.
“Shoot ’em out of the sky if you have to,” Shade told me.
I nodded, doing my best to ignore my cramping stomach. I hadn’t shot anything but bullets before. And I’d never shot to kill.
As we came up on the Dark Watch cruisers, a few of the fighters swung around to engage us while others stayed hot on the tail of theEndeavor. I picked one and tracked its movements, my fingers tensing around my control column. It was getting closer to us. Too close. It shot off an energy blast that sizzled down our left side and caused a damage warning.Shit. I couldn’t just sit here. I clenched my jaw and fired.
A beam shot from our weapons system and engulfed the Dark Watch cruiser. The goon’s scorched and pockmarked craft went dead in the air and dropped. The pilot ejected, spiraling backward.
“Whoa!” My eyes widened. I looked down. The cruiser exploded below us. “It’s a good thing no one walks around outside here!”
“I might’ve souped that phaser up a bit,” Shade said, grinning.
“You think?” I swung the megaweapon toward an incoming cruiser. The Dark Watch pilot got the hell out of my line of fire.
Another fighter closed in on our right, spitting shots that left our ship shaken and blaring alarms at us. Shade fired back but only managed to destabilize it. Watching my monitor, I adjusted my aim, locked on, and fired. The pilot ejected, popping up and out before what was left of his cruiser crashed and burned on the empty avenue alongside the other.
I whooped. Adrenaline pumped through me as I scanned for my next target. “My gun is bigger than your gun,” I teased, a little smirk in my voice.
Shade rattled off more shots with his itty-bitty phaser. “I’m steeringandshooting. That shows talent.”
“Being able to multitask doesn’t make up for size.”
He flashed a quick smile as two incoming cruisers banked away from us. “Watch this. You might reevaluate.”
Shade accelerated like a fiend. My whole body pressed into my seat, and I couldn’t move a muscle. He came up between theEndeavorand the two remaining Dark Watch cruisers, leveled out so fast my stomach flipped over, and started shooting. The fighters veered off in separate directions. We waited, blocking their path to theEndeavor. After a moment, it was clear they weren’t coming back again.
I sank into my seat with a heavy exhale and then caught a spark of sunlight off gray metal. I looked over my shoulder. TheEndeavorhadn’t jumped yet. She picked up speed, racing spaceward and getting smaller and smaller. She made her way toward freedom, and my heart lurched after her. My hands fell from the joystick. I stared up at the shrinking dot, unblinking. The second she leaped into warp speed, I’d be out of contact.
Watching her go, I felt suddenly lost, untethered. Static already droned in my ear, the distance growing too great for our outdated communication system.
“Jax?” Tears stung my eyes with abrupt intensity. He was my home. I was his. We’d built each other for seven years now.
My hands crunched down on my knees, squeezing so hard I’d leave bruises. “Partner?”
“I’m here, Tess.” Increased interference didn’t hide the strain in Jaxon’s voice. It equaled mine. Was maybe greater.
I started shaking and gripped my legs harder as Shade rose quickly, following theEndeavorout of Korabon’s atmosphere. We jiggled from the force of the climb, and my skin pulled back against my bones again, flattening. Hot and cold flip-flopped inside me with sickening volatility, and my vision went spotty as blind panic took over.
I made a noise—something between a whimper and a choking swallow. How had I ever thought this would be okay? Jax and I didn’tseparate. We hadn’t been apart for longer than eight hours since the day we met on Hourglass Mile. Prison created bonds, a pressure cooker that fucking fused people.
“Jax!” My scream flew out before I could stop it. My breath came short. I pounded my hands against my window. I couldn’t help it.
Shade looked over, frowning. Was I scaring him? Well, I was scared shitless.
“You’re a fucking badass rebel capt…” Jax’s words garbled and then cut off completely at the nearly broken connection. “I’ll see you in three da…partner.”
A bright spot in the distance glowed hot and then winked out—theEndeavorjumping away from us.
