Kyro - A.G. Wilde Page 0,79

to this and to think he hadn’t been working alone all along...

A sick feeling developed in her belly and she fought to keep the contents of her last meal from churning in her stomach.

“Let me go. I don’t know how much he paid you but...” Would her credits even be enough to pay them for her release? She doubted it. “...I could pay you more.” She’d work three jobs if she had to.

There was a moment of silence before sounds like wheezing reached her ear.

They were laughing at her.

Anger panic and frustration rose within her.

“Please.” She hated to beg but if it was what she needed to do so they would release her. She would. “I’ll give you all the credits I have now. Just—”

The wheezing sounds continued. “Foolish jekin,” one said.

“It is not money that makes us work for the boss,” the other said. “No amount of credits will set you free.”

What?

Another sound reached her ear and the wheezing stopped.

“We leave now.” Someone else was boarding the shuttle and the voice sounded familiar.

No.

It couldn’t be.

As the shuttle moved, she felt as if her insides fell to the back of her body.

They were airborne.

“Remove the material,” said that oh so familiar voice.

The yeti promptly did as he was told, and she heard a rip before the front of the material peeled away.

Warm light flooded her eyes, causing her to squint as her vision adjusted.

A wide, bejeweled grin was the first thing she saw, plastered on the face of the alien sitting across from her. Only this time, it didn’t seem like a friendly grin. This grin was completely sinister.

It wasn’t Shive that was sitting in front of her.

She didn’t understand.

“M’Agunt?”

35

Kyro walked behind the living quarters to sit in a quiet alcove amidst the fawni trees that grew there.

Every synapse in his brain was trying to tell him to move his legs and head to one specific place...Evren’s home.

He wanted to see her.

It was an urge unlike any other.

But he shouldn’t. They had already said goodbye.

It had broken his heart into pieces, standing there while she’d closed that door, even though it had been his choice for her to do so.

Even though he had been the one to push her away.

It hadn’t made it any easier.

Still, he’d held his part of the bargain. He hadn’t contacted her. He’d even deactivated his datapad.

He’d stayed away.

Until now.

He found himself standing and heading in the direction of her quarters, his feet moving on their own accord.

He had to see her again, just to check that she was all right.

He was walking up to her door in the next few minutes, trying to find something to say to her as reason for his visit when he paused in his tracks.

The door to her apartment was slightly open, the inside dark.

Why had she left it open like that?

Something about it didn’t look right at all.

Creeping up to the door, every muscle in his being primed for attack, he slid the door open with his boot.

Darkness and silence greeted him and Kyro frowned.

It didn’t seem as if she was home. But her door had been left open. He doubted she had been that careless.

Stepping into the apartment, he slid back the door to the slightly closed position, his ears perked for sound.

There was none.

It was eerily quiet.

Flipping out his datapad, he activated it. The device lit up immediately.

There were no alerts from her security system. No forced entry. There were only some messages he’d have to check later.

Lifting his head, he surveyed the area once more.

The living space looked so dead without her in it that he felt his heart wring. It was like a view of what his life will be like in the next few months. Empty.

Had she left for the Hub already?

Moving through the room, he headed to the sleeping area, his steps quiet in the silent room.

As he looked around the room, his heart clenched further.

There was nothing in there. A look in the chest revealed that all her clothes were removed as well.

It confirmed his fears.

He’d missed her.

She’d left for the Hub.

A strange pain pulsed inside him and he didn’t know where it was coming from. It seemed to form behind his life-organ and spread through his chest.

He knew she’d planned to leave, so why did her physical absence hurt so much?

He was just about to turn and leave the room when he heard a sound.

Kyro’s head snapped to the direction of the bathing room. The sound had been slight, but he