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Before, I had a first mate’s position on a ship that skirted the grey area of the law.

Now I have a triad.

They are exposed, the cargo doors open, without even the shields and armor of the Reaver to protect them.

The cargo bay doors close. Every second feels like an eternity. The Toads have weapons locked in on us, and we’ve giving up the goods. If they’re going to betray us, they’re going to do it now.

The O2slowly rises as my triad waits in the living areas until it’s high enough for them to go through to the cockpit like an airlock.

There’s a flash from the sub-coms link. We’re still picking up sound from Aelon’s ship, but the volume’s low. I turn it up as my triad returns.

We might be facing a massive mothership in a tiny Reaver, but we’re together. Garrick pulls off his helmet, running his hand through his hair.

“…an old mixture of chemicals that were used in the Galactic Wars. I learned how to mix them back when we were running out of resources and had to make do. It’s a concoction so old it shouldn’t even be detectable by modern scanners.”

Shouldn’t?

This is the man we’ve trusted to load up the Orbs with explosives?

He doesn’t even know the time on it.

“We need to get out of here!” I yell out at Garrick, but he doesn’t accelerate, slowly turning us away from the mothership and ignoring the hundreds of missile locks on us.

“We can’t run. It’ll make them suspicious. We have to trust the plan.”

My stomach roils. I look back at the huge boxes full of Orbs, knowing I’ll see a brief flash before darkness takes me.

“It’s not as strong as conventional explosives,” Iunia continues, “but as long as Meelon brings those inside his shields and into his loading bay, there won’t be any armor to protect the mothership. The explosion alone will damage the ship severely. If it starts a chain reaction with his weapons systems and engines, that mothership will be crippled completely.”

If? If?

That’s a lot less confidence in the plan than I was expecting. Iunia isn’t even sure of the recipe. It could blow any second, and we’re not out of reach yet.

Garrick reaches to the volume dial and turns it down. “It’s done. There’s nothing else to do but wait. If this is the end…” He looks up at me, those slate grey eyes full of emotion. I never thought an Aurelian could have emotion in their eyes—other than contempt for the puny human race. I thought they were heartless alphas, just fucking and killing their way across the galaxies.

He cares about me. Bond or not, this man wants me to be safe.

“If this is the end, Sawoot, then I’m glad to spend it with you.”

Tears come to my eyes. I can’t help myself. It’s not smart from a strategic standpoint, but if something is going to go wrong, I’m not going to spend my last moments standing apart from him.

I step around his chair and jump on his lap. He controls with one hand, piloting us away from the Toads and towardsThe Instigator, and his other huge hand rests on my thigh, teasing my skin through the sheer material of the dress. Shudders run through me as my body responds to his touch.

There’s no tension like knowing you could die at any second and knowing there’s nothing you can do about it. I ache for release. I ache to surrender to Garrick’s protectiveness, to fully succumb to my needs. I’m not scared of the Bond anymore. I don’t care if it forces up desires I never knew I had, making them so powerful I’m barely myself anymore.

I just want to be with them.

Garrick breathes in deeply, tasting my scent. “Calm, Sawoot, calm,” he croons, smelling my fear.

That’s not the only thing he can smell on my scent.

There’s a tingling lust starting between my legs, and I need this to be over more than anything.

Toad assault ships pour out from the mothership. They fly towards the huge crates, circling them warily. Scanner drones fly out from the attack ships to check the contents of the container.

Every second is endless. “Please work, please work, please work,” I whisper over and over, while Garrick strokes my thigh, calming me like a skittish horse. If it wasn’t for him I would have snapped already.

I have to trust Iunia.