stomach churned.
The words had been uttered aloud.
It’s over. If I’m not dead by the end of the day, I’ll never see Hysterian again. He’ll hate me as much as I should be hating him. She didn’t know why that made her miserable.
“I don’t know how much longer I can keep it from the captain.” Pigeon kept talking.
“He doesn’t know?”
“He probably suspects something isn’t right, but I’ve been manipulating and destroying your data as it comes. I’m not running the tests you need to help you heal. It’s why you’re still here. He’s been believing my excuses, but I don’t know how long I can keep it up before he finds out. He’s…not well. We need to get you off this ship. Now.”
Alexa’s heart raced. She couldn’t leave. How would she manage that? She could barely think straight, let alone walk off this ship without Hysterian noticing.
“I have a guy outside waiting who will take you and hide you, at least long enough for you to get on your feet, but we have to leave now, if possible.”
She tried to nod, but her head decided to split open instead.
Pigeon glanced at the door again. She wanted to tell him that Hysterian had access to security feeds, and just saying the words out loud was enough to fuck everything up, but it was too late.
Pigeon put his arm under her back and helped her sit up. She clutched the edge of the pallet, trying not to faint as he pulled out her IVs. When he was done, he helped her into her jacket, covering up her arms. He kneeled and put on her boots.
“You’ll…have to come with me,” she managed, slurring. “Not safe for you either anymore.”
Pigeon nodded.
It broke her heart. “I’m sorry.”
He stood, grabbing her hands. “Don’t be. I don’t know why you put yourself in this situation, to begin with, but I’m sure you have your reasons. I know you’re careful and cautious. So I’m sure you knew the risks. I just wish… I wish you would have told me.”
“Couldn’t risk it,” she swallowed. “I care about you.”
Pigeon’s face fell. “I care about you too, Dear. You remind me of my daughters.”
Her heart flooded with emotion, and her chin fell to her chest. It was too painful to hear, to cry even.
“None of that now,” he said, curling his arm under her shoulder. “Time to get you to safety.”
He hauled her against his frame and guided her to the exit. He checked the corridor twice before leaving the medical lab.
She tried not to faint.
They managed to make it to the stairs, and from there she had to work up the strength to bear down on her feet and use the wall while Pigeon kept her upright. By the time they made it to the bottom, they were both sagging. Alexa peered down the long hallway ahead of them and the hatch at the other end.
They were never going to make it.
But it wasn’t about her anymore, it was about Pigeon’s safety too. Hysterian might have told her he’d never harm her, but he never said such words to any of the other crew… Not that she knew of.
Hobbling along the wall, she and Pigeon made it to the armory, the menagerie. She looked into her work space for the last time as they drifted by. Her eyes landed on the male locust curled up sleeping in his enclosure on the other side. Alexa turned away. They made it to the hatch.
Pigeon set her against the wall, and she slid down as he moved the panel to type in the ship’s security code. She tried to catch her breath.
We’re going to make it. Hope and fear, and another dose of misery, filled her.
The hatch opened.
Hysterian was on the other side.
“Captain...” Pigeon said, straightening.
Alexa’s eyes fell on the Cyborg blocking their path. Tall and decked, with his white hair once again perfectly held away from his face—she didn’t need to see his mouth to know he wasn’t happy.
“What’s going on here?” Hysterian said cooly. “What in the ever-living hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I was taking— That is— Alexa needed some air—”
“We’re leaving,” she whispered. She wasn’t going to let Pigeon take the fall. This wasn’t his battle. It was much too late for lies.
The next thing she knew, she was in Hysterian’s arms, and he was carrying her back into the ship. “Like fucking hell you are.”
“Captain!” Pigeon chased after them. “Please.”
Alexa wrenched her eyes closed when Hysterian spun to face