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“No. I know that now. It was a sticking plaster. A dumb way to hide the fissures. A child wouldn’t have been happy in that situation.” Her long, slow sigh brushed across his bare arm. “For a long time, I believed what Johnny told me. I was the one at fault. I’d been the one to screw up our relationship.”

“He was never worthy of you.”

“Yeah, well, my sister thinks he’s worthy enough to be with her. That cold, evil asshole will be my brother-in-law. My family is fucked up.”

Rexx gave a snort of disgust. “Then I’ll definitely be your plus one at the wedding. When I get there, I’ll crush him.”

She looked up, and the small smile on her face just about killed him. “You’d really do that for me?”

He drew her back into his arms. “I’d do anything to make you happy.”

“You’re a great guy, Rexx. I wish I’d met you all those years ago. I have a feeling my life would have been very different.”

“You don’t. I was a moron. All I cared about was fighting and being the best in the squad. I was a selfish jerk.”

“No way. I see through you. I see there’s a soft side. I like it.”

Rexx didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t even sure he could speak; his throat was so tight. He was lost to her, but... but he couldn’t keep her. She’d already been with one dangerous man, a man who’d almost destroyed her with his cruelty. Was he so different? He struggled to control his rage and block out dark memories. And Daisy was sick. She was scared and desperate. That’s all this was. She’d come to her senses soon enough. When she did, she’d realize the mistake she was making with him. They couldn’t be together.

“Signal detected. Contact has been made,” the ship’s computer said.

Rexx stiffened and released his hold on Daisy. “Computer, confirm the signal. What’s the origin?”

“Signal confirmed. Alien life forms detected approaching the ship. They’re scanning now.”

Rexx leaped up, Daisy beside him.

“I figured we were safe here,” she said.

He grabbed her hand, his heart racing. “Maybe we still are. It could just be curious locals. Let’s go see who’s interested in us.”

Chapter 10

Daisy sped back to the cockpit with Rexx beside her.

She wasn’t sure how she felt after they’d shared so much. She needed time to process it all, but right now, she had to focus on the mission to find out who the hell was scanning them.

She leaned over the controls, frowning when she saw twelve red dots on the scanner.

“You’ve been busy while I’ve been asleep.” Rexx gestured at the repairs Daisy had made.

“Most of the systems are operational, but there’s still damage to the hull. We’ll need to work on it for at least another day before we can get airborne,” she said.

“Which is where we need to be right now by the looks of this scan. Computer, who’s scanning us?” Rexx said.

“Unknown.”

“How far out are they?” Daisy said.

“Three miles.”

“They won’t be able to see us yet,” Rexx said.

“We could leave the ship,” Daisy said. “Get away before they find us.”

“This is a better defensive position. We lock the doors, put up the blast shield, and barricade ourselves in.”

“That won’t keep them out forever if they aren’t friendly. Maybe we can find someone to take us out of here. Find another ship.”