But with what? I didn’t have space money. And I wasn’t interested in selling myself. I’d managed to avoid that life growing up surrounded by addicts so desperate they would sell their soul for a hit. But I wasn’t that desperate. At least not yet.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I was so screwed.
I stopped, groaned, tugged on my hair. Maybe the hottie was right. If I went after slimy guy, I’d be walking right back into something I’d fought my way out of. Yes, I was mad, hurt, lost. But I wasn’t stupid. And I would be an idiot to go back to slime-tail looking for a fight. It was important to know when to retreat and live to fight another day.
A hand gripped my arm, and I jumped a foot, then instinct kicked in. I dropped my shoulders, leaned forward and bent my elbow up and back. Hard.
“Fark!” The hold disappeared, and I tried to run, my heart rate going faster than my feet. “Zara, wait.”
I stopped, practically skidding to a halt. Turning on my heel, there was Isaak holding his nose. Exhaling, I tried to let the adrenaline bleed out. “Don’t grab me like that,” I snapped, walking back to him. “You’re lucky I didn’t go for your balls instead.”
He dropped his hands and frowned. “Where did you learn to defend yourself like that?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Earth.”
His frown only grew. “Why does a female need to know such things?”
Narrowing my gaze, I glared. I wasn’t going to tell him that protecting myself had become second nature. “You snuck up on me to ask me questions about Earth?”
He sighed. “You can’t get away from Sector Zero without a ship. Transport is—”
“Not an option,” I finished.
Nodding, he continued. “Ulza knows me. She knows I helped you. The first place she’s going to go is the transport pad. The second is the landing bay. I’m headed there now to get away from Sector Zero. You have five seconds to decide if you are coming with me or staying here.”
There wasn’t much choice. In fact, there was no choice.
“You’ll take me with you? But where are you going?”
“Three, two—”
“I’m going with you.” I didn’t care much where we went. I’d take my chances with Isaak one-on-one. Even if he turned out to be a bad guy, I’d rather deal with just one than an entire dome full of criminals hunting me.
He nodded, then took my hand and started running. I had to sprint to keep up with his long legs, careful to keep the titan stick up and away from my feet. I kept it turned on. Well, I had no idea how to turn it off. It wasn’t like a toy light saber with a button that I could find. Every once in a while, it would hit the wall and sparks would fly.
“Stop doing that,” he snapped over his shoulder. “You’ll draw too much attention.”
I looked around. We were sprinting through corridors lined with people. Some held more than others, but still. “We’re running. People are already looking at us.”
“People run. Nothing new. But there’s only one titan stick on this rock, and everyone knows exactly who it belongs to. And it’s not you.” He was barely breathing hard, and I had to admire his stamina. My adrenaline rush was on the downward spiral, and I was running on fumes.
“Shit.” So, I’d stolen slimy-tail’s famous weapon? And it was one of a kind?
I couldn’t help the grin, the smile growing to a full-blown cheek buster the more I thought about it. Good. I hoped the thing cost a fortune. But I did make sure not to strike any more walls.
We ran for what felt like forever but was probably only a few minutes. I was gasping by the time we reached what looked like a huge ship holding area. There was one gigantic exit that seemed to be closed in with a forcefield of some kind. Very SciFi Channel. Beyond that, I saw nothing but blackness. And stars. No blue sky and mountains. No trees. Nothing but barren rocks and… space.
I froze in awe. I was really and truly in outer space. Like, walk on the moon, go to Mars, go to Trion, outer freaking space. “Holy shit.”
“Fark.” Isaak pulled me to one side, hard enough that I stumbled into him.
“Hey! What—”
He cut me off with a kiss. Um, what? His mouth was on mine.
On. Mine.
Holy hell, did he know how to kiss! After the day I’d had, I sank into it, let myself enjoy the heat of him pressed to my body, the feel of his hand burning into my hip. The other cradled the back