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“Estelle’s looking into options, but—”

“No! We’re all out of options. If you don’t get it out, I’m as good as dead. Once it gets into my brain, I turn into a mindless slave. The Inkral may as well have me. I won’t be myself anymore.”

“We still have time. There could be another option. Cutting it out will be dangerous.”

“You have to try. I can’t have it inside me any longer. Rexx, I don’t want this Inkral technology destroying me. We’ve come too far for that. We have to do this.”

There was a knock on the door, and it slid open. A tall woman with pale blonde hair and startling purple eyes peered in. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”

Rexx glanced over at her. “Daisy, this is Estelle.”

Daisy staggered to her feet. She held out her hand and gripped Estelle’s arm tightly. “You saved my life. I owe you a huge thanks.”

“You’re welcome. But I’ve only temporarily saved your life,” Estelle said. “I’ve been looking into what we can do to make that permanent.”

Rexx stood next to Daisy. He was so close she could feel his warmth radiating against her already hot skin.

“Have you found a solution?” he asked.

Estelle’s expression was serious as she nodded. “I have. It’s not without its risks, but there may be a way to get this Inkral tech out of you.”

Daisy gripped Rexx’s hand, hope fluttering through her like a newly emerged butterfly. “Then we do it. No more waiting, no more worrying about the risk. I want this damn thing out of me.”

Rexx opened his mouth, but she shook her head and pressed a finger to his lips.

“No! I’m doing this. Estelle, what happens next?”

Estelle’s intelligent gaze moved from Rexx to Daisy. “We call in my brother.”

***

Rexx paced the room. His hands were clenched into fists, and the muscles around his shoulders ached with tension. “Talk me through this one more time. I need to make sure you haven’t missed anything.”

“Rexx, no more stalling.” Daisy sat at a table in a small white room of the veterinary clinic. Sitting on either side of her were Estelle and her older brother, Atticus. He was the solution Estelle had spoken about. He could also be the reason Daisy died.

“It’s fine. It’s important to make sure everyone understands what’s going on.” Atticus was half a head taller than Estelle. He shared the same pale blonde hair and purple eyes but had broad shoulders and the physique more like an Apexian than a Human.

“This chaser gene you insert into Daisy, it hunts down the Inkral technology and destroys it?” Rexx fixed his sharp gaze on Atticus.

“Yes, that’s essentially what it does. It identifies the alien presence within the Human genome.” Atticus glanced at Estelle.

“What aren’t you telling us?” Rexx thumped a hand on the table.

“I’ve never tested it on a Human,” Atticus said. “It’s been tested successfully on other aliens of a similar evolutionary path, though. In theory—”

“Theory’s not good enough.”

“Rexx!” Daisy stood and held out a hand. “It is. Everything Atticus and Estelle have told us makes sense. I’ve seen similar techniques used to destroy damaged cells before they mutate and become cancerous. This could work.”

He grabbed her hand. “But you’d be the first Human test subject.”

“It should work the same on Daisy as it has on all my patients,” Atticus said.

“Atticus has had a ninety percent success rate,” Estelle said. “This chaser gene is almost through its clinical trials. He’s a genius. It’ll get approval.”

“We shouldn’t do it,” Rexx said. “Humans are unique. I found that out when I started working with Daisy. They react differently to alien environments. They—”

“Rexx!” Daisy’s sharp tone stabbed at him. “Quit being so protective. We’ve had way too many arguments about this. This is my decision. We have to try. You heard Atticus. This is the best shot we have of getting the Inkral technology out of me before my brain gets fried and I become a marshmallow.”