Page 24

One dawn, he had an epiphany. His soul would never be at peace until he located her and discovered why she’d gone.

So he set forth to scour the System for her.

Now, with her so close yet so far, he sat back against the heaving bulkhead, flush with a deep sadness.

Why Élisa? Why?

Silence reigned, and he sighed.What a fokkin’ waste of years spent apart.

Hours later, after rocking through the never-ending space phenomenon, Riv sensed the vessel settle into a smoother flight.

‘We’re out of it.’

Élisa’s announcement sounded tired, laced with exhaustion from fighting at the controls for a long time.

A measure of pity flooded Riv, mingled with a renewed regard for her.

The guessing game started again in his mind.Where was she taking him? And why?

He soon heard the loud squeal of the steel door opening into the storage deck.

His silver angel walked in, the light behind her obscuring her features.

She pressed a series of buttons, and the energized cell shield dropped.

Heart thumping in anticipation, he sat against the bulkhead, one knee bent and the other leg flat to the ground.

When she came closer, he looked up at Élisa with what he hoped was a combination of disgust and fear, none of which he felt. ‘I hope you’re happy with yourself! I almost died in here. It was like rolling around in an empty tin can.’

Her mouth fell into a thin slash. ‘I didn’t make any promises about the luxury of your travel situation.’

Nothing was soft or endearing about her at that moment. She was a universe away from the woman he once cherished. Weary, beaten down, and, while still beautiful, more jaded than he’d remembered.

Oh my angel, where did your gentle soul disappear to?

She must have sensed his despair because her face softened. ‘Are you hurt in any way?’ easing off her hard edge.

There it was,his spirit cried out as Riv stared into her lilac eyes filled with a glimmer of genuine concern.

Unable to speak, he shook his head.

Her lips turned up at the ends. ‘Just your ego then.’

Riv found his voice once more. ‘In a manner of speaking. How does a bounty hunter like me let a wisp of a creature like you catch me?’

‘How indeed?’

His shock at seeing her had lent power to his fainting spell, but she’d also used a potent knock-out laser weapon on him. One still strapped to her hip.

He planned to ask her about it later.

She thrust a bulb of water and a food pack at him. ‘Eat. We’ll be landing soon, and we’ve got a hard trek ahead when we get boots on the ground.’

‘Where to?’

She only smirked and retreated, turning back on the cell shield before swinging away, her hips moving with such sway his cock twitched in his suit.

Fokk. She still had it.