Gark couldn’t disagree, but when the man held all the power in his hands, it did no good to defy him. “He is an admiral in the Taurean military—a commander of one of the biggest and most important starships. When I was a child, my mother and I visited him. He refused to see her while my father was alive, but after he died, he invited her. I remember how awed I was by the ship. All the people. It was a small city.”
By now, Gark was lost in his memories. As a small child, everything had seemed huge. The ship, the tall Taureans, all the uniforms were so impressive.
“But when we were shown in to see him—my grandfather—he made it clear the only way she would be welcome in the family was if she got rid of me.”
Aletta sat bolt upright on the bed. “What!”
“She wouldn’t do it and left after some heated words.”
“It sounds like your grandfather is a real piece of work. To want a mother to get rid of her child is just… I can’t even imagine how painful that would have been.” She slumped back against the pillows. “God. What a complete fucking twat.”
Gark had no idea what those words meant, but the sentiment was clear, and he couldn’t agree more.
“I joined the Taurean military, becoming a pilot and working my way into a command position. I had to prove, every single day, that I belonged there. That I had earned it through hard work.”
“But you’re not in the military now.”
He shook his head. “I thought that if I could prove to him I was more Taurean than Gnaggarian, he’d accept me. That if I excelled in something he valued, then he’d welcome me into the family.”
He rubbed at his sternum, trying to ease the ache.
“I was wrong.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“I refused to follow an order and was discharged without honor.”
Aletta winced. “Ouch.”
“I’ll wear that scar against my name for the rest of my life unless I can get the decision overturned. But there is only one hearing of the review board every year, and it’s taken me this long to find a lawyer who would be willing to represent me.” He sighed. “And only because I had to promise twice the going rate.”
“That’s fucked up.”
For years, it had been all he could think about. Clear his name, help his mother return to Taurus, reclaim his military rank.
But that was before he’d met Aletta and his whole life had been turned upside down in the blink of an eye. Now his worst fear wasn’t that he would never clear his name.
His worst fear was that Aletta wouldn’t accept his claim.
“My father died when I was a child, too,” Aletta said. She smiled sadly. “He had an asthma attack at work one day, and the hospital wouldn’t help him because he didn’t have insurance. He died.”
Gark’s heart ached at the pain in her words. “And your mother?”
Aletta wrapped her arms around her knees, the pillow discarded. “She died of a broken heart.” She took a deep breath. “That’s what my gram said, but it was cardiac arrest. Her heart just gave up. So Dylan and I went to live with my gram, but she needed help herself, so I ended up looking after her and Dylan.”
“How old were you?”
“Twelve.”
A twelve-year-old child looking after her grandmother and younger sibling after the death of both her parents? Gark shook his head. “That must have been a tough time for you.”
Aletta shrugged. “It was all I knew. I went to school until I realized nobody would care if I dropped out. So I did and started working so Dylan could finish school. When Gram died, we found our own place to live, and we’ve been together ever since.”
She rolled her lips inward. “Well, until Dylan was kidnapped.” Her eyes were big as she turned to Gark. “I have to find her. She’s all I have. Do you understand? Everything I’ve done is for her. I can’t just give up.”
Gark nodded slowly.
“I’ll help you find her,” he said, and was rewarded with the most blinding smile. In that moment, he realized he would do anything to see her smile like that again.
