Deception Deception (Dark Desires Origins #2) - Nina Croft Page 0,115
and ran through the dark tunnels. She could hear the chase behind them, see the wavering light from the torches playing on the ceiling and walls, casting shadows.
They raced into the cavern and straight up the ramp and into the ship. The doors slid shut behind them. On the bridge, she swiped her hand over the surveillance screens just as the crowd poured into the cavern. They came to an abrupt halt as they caught sight of the ship, then began to inch forward, closer and closer. There were soldiers among them, one drew his pistol and shot at the hull.
They were shooting at her beautiful ship.
She gritted her teeth as the shots ricocheted off the surface. She had to do something. Searching the room, her gaze settled on the big red button on the console. Without conscious thought, her feet moved her toward it.
“Oh hell, no,” Milo muttered from behind her.
“Trust me,” she said, holding out her hand to him.
He tangled his fingers with hers, closed his eyes for a moment; when they opened, they were resolute. “Always.”
And she slammed her hand on the button.
She wasn’t sure what she expected.
Worst case…nothing.
Or maybe the worst case was they would set off and crash into the wall of the cavern and they’d die.
Then they were rising. She waited for the ship to stop. To level out. But no, they went up and up. Faster and faster. The crowd below them was silent, their faces raised and drenched in light from the burning torches and the ship’s engines.
“Can you stop this?” Milo said. “We’re going to hit the roof.”
Her hand hovered over the button. But if they stopped, they had nowhere to go. Have faith.
She could see the roof rapidly approaching through one of the screens. She tightened her hold on Milo, and he pulled her close and kissed her and she closed her eyes, and her mind, to everything but the feel of him.
They didn’t crash and she opened her eyes. Above them, the roof was sliding open and she could see the stars. And then they were through. They hovered for a moment, and she held her breath. Then they shot forward so fast that they were both knocked off their feet and she crashed to the floor, Milo on top of her so the air left her in a whoosh.
And then she was flying.
Epilogue
“He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
They’d left Trakis Four far behind, and good riddance as far as Milo was concerned.
Seated in the pilot’s seat with Destiny snuggled in his lap, he was concentrating on the fact that despite their dire circumstances, he was rock hard. He pulled her closer and she squirmed against him.
“That’s really impressive,” she said.
It was. He was impressed himself. “Have I ever mentioned that I hate flying,” he said.
She twisted on his lap so she could stare into his face. “How can you hate flying? It’s wonderful.”
“We’re in a spaceship and neither of us knows how it works.” He waved a hand at the screen. “Added to that, we’re somewhere in the vastness of space with no idea where we’re heading. Except we’re heading there fast.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment the comm unit on his wrist buzzed. He thought about ignoring it, but then Destiny’s buzzed as well, and she pressed the button to accept the call.
“This is the captain of the space cruiser, Destiny’s Heart. How can we help you?”
“Very posh,” Rico said. “I take it you both got away all right.”
“We did.”
“I’m glad. We’ll see you on Trakis Two.”
And the comm ended.
“Will we?” Milo asked. “Do we even know where Trakis Two is?” It was a big goddamn sky out there.
She reached out and touched the screen with her fingertip. “There it is,” she said. “Trakis Two.”
He leaned closer. It just looked like another dot on the screen to him. “How do you know?”
“I studied the star charts.”
“How did you get so clever?” he asked.
Her face turned serious. “Dr. Yang manipulated my genetic code to increase my IQ.”
He chuckled. “It doesn’t really matter how.”
“I know. I’m happy with what I am. I have free will, and I can be anything I choose to be.”
She was so bright. And her words filled him with a sense of infinite possibilities. The world lay before them, vast and new. He hadn’t wanted to come on this journey, and he’d thought they’d reached the end many times. But it was only just beginning. And with Destiny by his side, he was happy for the journey to never end. They’d make their own world where neither of them had to hide what and who they were.
“Do you want to explore the universe with me, Destiny?”
She turned so she straddled his lap, then flung her arms around his neck. “To the end of the universe and back.” She grinned. “But first we have to learn to fly this thing.”
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Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to my fabulous publisher, Liz Pelletier, for suggesting I write this series and revisit my Dark Desires world, albeit a few hundred years before Break Out, book 1 in that series, begins. And thanks to everyone at Entangled Publishing for all the support and the amazing cover, and especially my editors, Liz and Lydia Sharp, for their great work and advice.
Thanks to my marvellous critique group, Passionate Critters, for reading my stories and telling me what they really think.
And finally, thanks to Rob, my other and better half, for putting up with me constantly disappearing into worlds of my own making.
About the Author
Growing up, Nina Croft spent her time dreaming of faraway sunnier places and ponies. When she discovered both, and much more, could be found between the covers of a book, her life changed forever.
Later, she headed south, picked up a husband on the way, and together they discovered a love of travel and a dislike of 9 to 5 work. Eventually they stumbled upon the small almond farm in Spain they now call home.
Nina spends her days reading, writing, and riding under the blue Spanish skies—sunshine and ponies. Proof that dreams can come true if you want them enough.
If you’d like to learn about new releases, sign up for Nina’s newsletter here.
Don’t miss the Dark Desires Origins series…
Malfunction
Also by Nina Croft…
the Dark Desires series
Break Out
Deadly Pursuit
Death Defying
Temporal Shift
Blood and Metal
Flying Through Fire
the Beyond Human series
Unthinkable
Unspeakable
Uncontrollable
the Cutting Loose series
Falling for the Bad Girl
Blackmailing the Bad Girl
The Bad Girl and the Baby
the Order series
Bittersweet Blood
Bittersweet Magic
Bittersweet Darkness
Bittersweet Christmas
the Saddler Cove series
Handle with Care
the Things to Do Before You Die series
His Fantasy Girl
Her Fantasy Husband
His Fantasy Bride
the Babysitting a Billionaire series
Losing Control
Out of Control
Taking Control
the Melville Sisters series
Operation Saving Daniel
Betting on Julia
Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire
The Spaniard’s Kiss
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