Milo had such a sense of power and life to him. An aura glowing around him. She’d found herself smiling and had to clamp her lips together in case she gave him away. He’d watched her in return, one dark eyebrow raised. And she’d forced herself to look in the opposite direction. Then Dr. Yang had gone to talk to him and that had given her the perfect excuse to ask Silas who he was. Very casually, of course. She’d been careful not to reveal that they’d met or how. She was learning subterfuge. Did that make her a bad person?
Silas had said Milo was one of the representatives from Trakis Two, but other than that he didn’t know. Apparently, he was a bit of a mystery. Not a crew member like the other representatives. She was working out who everyone was. The crew members wore a uniform of black pants, black boots, and a shirt, different colors for different roles—Dr. Yang’s was red because she was a scientific officer. Then there were the workers. They wore jumpsuits like hers, but beige. And most of them did not seem happy. She’d seen an argument break out; the man had thrown down his tools and demanded to see who was in charge. He’d been marched off somewhere.
Then there were the men like Silas. They wore green jumpsuits and carried weapons.
Lastly, there was her and there was Milo. Both different. Her in her yellow jumpsuit and Milo in his blue pants and black, tight-fitting shirt. She liked that they had something in common.
Even if she was never going to see him again.
Because she was locked in a cell.
An idea had been building in her mind since she’d gotten back from the trip outdoors. Silas had promised her that he would be back tomorrow to take her out again. How difficult would it be to slip away from him then? She was fast. She’d just have to pick her moment. Maybe when they were close to the forest she could disappear into the trees. She wouldn’t go for long, just a few days or even hours. She could climb the mountain, paddle in the lake. Explore this new world. Maybe visit Milo in his shuttle. Once the idea entered her mind, she couldn’t get it out again.
A faint banging sound drifted down the corridor, and she lifted her head to listen. Then it was gone. Maybe just her imagination.
She backed away from the door until the cot bed hit the back of her legs, and she sank down. Resting her head in her hands, she tried to clear her mind and gain some measure of peace and acceptance.
At the sound of running footsteps, her head shot up. She didn’t have time to move as the locked door was suddenly flung open from the outside and Milo appeared.
Again? Was he in trouble?
His eyes widened as he caught sight of her.
Destiny jumped to her feet, just as another man appeared behind him, and she stopped her forward momentum. He was as tall as Milo, with dark hair and golden eyes. He wore a crew uniform with a yellow shirt. This must be the same man she’d seen him with before, but from a distance. Her gaze shifted between the two of them as they moved farther into the room and the door closed behind them. Milo turned briefly, pressed his hand to the door, and it closed. He moved to the right of the door while his partner moved to the left, and they both pressed their backs against the wall. Milo raised his finger to his lips, and she clamped her mouth closed, while excitement fizzed inside her and words welled up in her throat. They were definitely in some sort of trouble.
“This was a really bad idea,” the stranger said.
“Yeah,” Milo growled, “and let’s not forget that it was your fucking really bad idea. Now shut up.”
They did. Both of them going still.
Destiny sat back down and clasped her hands on her lap. She could hear more people in the corridor now. The sound of several running boots. She held her breath, but they didn’t slow, just kept going straight past her cell. She waited until the sound had disappeared in the distance and then waited some more. Her gaze flicked between the two men, then to the door, and back to Milo. He grinned, and she felt a smile tugging at her own lips.