“Yes. I was so—”
“I’m sorry.” This wasn’t the time or the place, but I had to say it. I couldn’t wait a second longer to make things right.
She set her hand on my forearm. “I get it. You didn’t have a choice. And I had to believe it or the queen would’ve seen right through me. But damn it, Alex!” She leaned her forehead into my chest. “Don’t ever do that to me again. Ever.”
“Agreed.” Not because I wouldn’t do this a thousand times to protect her, but because after this, a ruse of this nature would not work again. My undercover days were over.
“I’m still mad.”
“Noted.” I tilted her chin up with a gentle touch and pressed my lips to hers for the briefest of moments. “You can scream at me later.”
“Don’t think I won’t.”
“I’d rather make you scream for a more pleasurable reason.”
“Let’s go, you two.” Trax tossed me the full-size laser rifle I’d taken from the dead guard. I caught it in midair. I looked down to the smaller one I had given to Jamie.
“You good with that?” I asked.
She shrugged but didn’t seem afraid of the gun. “Looks pretty standard. I’ll figure it out.”
I kissed her again. I had to.
“Get your asses out here!” Nave yelled at the three of us from outside the cell area where he’d stayed behind to stand guard. Trax ran for the entrance and slid to one knee as he approached the opening, aiming and firing so quickly I didn’t bother trying to keep up.
“Stay behind me,” I ordered Jamie as I joined my men in the fight. “We have to get to the docking station and the Valor. It’s our only way out of here.”
The shootout was over in seconds, and I held out my free hand for Jamie to come to me. I squeezed her palm as she came to stand at my side. “Stay close.” I looked at Trax. “Let’s go.”
We’d trained together for months. In the air. We weren’t ground fighters. But Jamie and I were a team.
Trax took off at a dead run, crossing the small open area before disappearing down a second corridor. At the end of that long stretch of space was a lift that would take us to the docking area.
I nodded at Jamie, and we ran together across the open area, Trax and Nave covering us from cross positions. When Jamie and I made it safely to the corridor, we covered for Nave as he ran to join us. He slid to a stop just inside the corridor, and I grabbed his shoulder. “You did turn off the GravEx beam, right?”
He nodded, his breathing ragged. “Blew every fuse in the panel. Even if they find it, it’ll take a repair tech at least an hour to get it up and running.”
“Excellent.” I turned to Jamie. “How are you feeling?”
She licked her lips and glanced at all three of us in turn before locking her gaze to mine. “I’m fine. Is the GravEx that tractor beam thing that pulled us into the warship?”
Tractor? I had no idea what that word meant, but I understood her meaning. “Yes, a gravity-exchange energy beam. That beam hits a ship and there’s no taking back control.”
“But it’s off now?”
“Yes,” Nave confirmed. “It’s crispy.”
“Good. Get me to my ship and I’ll get us the fuck out of here. You saved me, so it’s time to save your sorry asses right back.”
“Dodging laser cannons and Scythe fighters?” Trax asked, a grin twisting the corner of his mouth up.
She smiled and I fell deeper in love with her. “Child’s play.”
Trax took her at her word and sprinted off. We followed. We made it to the lift without incident and stepped inside. The doors slid closed, and Nave pushed the button that would take us up.
“It’s six levels up from here.” He stepped back and pointed his weapon at the closed doors. “I have no control over how many times we stop. Or who will be on the other side of these doors every time they slide open.”
Taking the cue, we lined up, weapons pointed at the door.