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Those words froze Blaze’s insides. His head whipped around, and his gut tightened. Fuck! They had her.

Something hard pressed against his head. He slid his gaze to the side and grunted at the sight of a gun. If he moved, he was dead. His gaze cut to Eden.

She was being restrained by two Pecket, but she was fighting them, hissing curses into their faces.

Their gazes locked, and he gave a slight shake of his head. If she kept doing that, they’d take her out. These jerks would be looking for revenge after they’d killed half the crew.

Madrie gestured for Eden to be brought to the center of the room.

She fought and kicked, cussing like a sailor as they dragged her over.

“Get on your knees.” Madrie’s words were little more than a snarl.

Danger sparked through Blaze at the defiance in Eden’s eyes. She wasn’t going to make this easy on them.

She shook her head. “I don’t get on my knees for any guy, unless there’s something special about him. And there’s nothing special about a jumped up jerk who steals from others to make money.”

Madrie gestured at the Pecket holding Eden, and they forced her down then he turned to Blaze. “Bring him closer. He needs to witness what happens when he doesn’t obey an order.”

Blaze was shoved nearer to Eden, the gun remaining tight against his head. He kept his gaze locked on hers, anger fizzling through him.

“I told you there’d be death here.” Madrie lifted his weapon and fired at Eden.

An animal-like yell tore from Blaze’s lips as he tried to reach her, but he was restrained. He punched, kicked, and clawed his way closer to her, but a hard blow on the side of his head made him stagger.

Eden was flat on her back on the floor, blood pooling beneath her.

Several more hard blows rained down on Blaze as he crawled toward her, his heart frozen in fear. She was gone. They’d taken her from him.

Something sharp and cold tore at his stomach. Just as he realized he couldn’t be without Eden, she was gone. He was too late.

Chapter 15

A dull throb of painaccompanied Eden as she surfaced to consciousness.

The air smelled of blood, sweat, and stale fear. It was dark and cold, and she was back inside a cage.

She took a breath, and agony flared in her right shoulder. She moved an inch, a gasp of pain shooting from her mouth as her clothing stuck to the blood beneath her. Her limbs shook as an icy cold crept out from her middle, sliding through her veins. Her head pounded, and her tongue felt bone dry.

She had no idea how long she’d been out. All she remembered was intense pain as Madrie had shot her. And the last sound she’d heard before she passed out was Blaze roaring and fighting to get to her. But she hadn’t been able to move to help him.

A soft moan made her tense. She shifted her head, her throat clogging with horror. Blaze was right alongside her. He was still alive.

She inched out her hand and brushed her fingers against his. Hot tears filled her eyes and spilled over, dripping down her cheeks. He was messed up. His face was bloody and bruised and his chest barely moving.

Even though it didn’t look it, Eden knew that was a good sign. Apexians went into semi-hibernation to regenerate. And he damn sure needed a heavy dose of healing by the mess they’d made of his face.

This felt like it was the end for them. And if it was, Eden only wanted to spend it with Blaze.

Every movement took a Herculean effort, and she bit down on her bottom lip, trying not to cry out as she rolled onto her left shoulder to get closer to Blaze. There was a gross, squelchy sound as her blood-soaked clothing was pulled from the floor.

She almost passed out and had to rest her head against Blaze’s shoulder for several minutes, focusing on breathing deeply until the black spots in her vision disappeared. Her shoulder continued to burn and scream at her not to move.

Eden shuffled over on her left side until she was pressed against Blaze. She grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse.

He was still with her, although his heartbeat was way too slow for her liking.

“Blaze, it’s Eden,” she whispered, grimacing as she tasted her own blood through a split on her top lip.