That blue lady was probably pissed I’d gotten away and was searching for me. Transport would be the last place I’d go. I knew nothing about space ships except what I saw on TV. It wasn’t like I could steal one and fly out of here. If I could find the ignition, I’d probably crash before I got twenty feet off the ground. And if I miraculously made it out of the bubble… I assumed there was some kind of hatch or something… I had no idea where I was going. Did they take gas? Were there refill stations in space?
Maybe I could find a nice space pirate and pay him—or her—to get me out of here.
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