his head, the anger draining out of him. Lainey was gone and Pergith had set a course for Xanthia. It was over.
"I will have Jerva remove the restraints immediately," Pergith said quietly.
Micah nodded, his face impassive.
Pergith spread his hands in a gesture of appeal. "I am truly sorry about the restraints."
"So am I."
Pergith swore under his breath, irritated by his friend's sullen attitude. Zermicazyne had been a good friend; he would be a formidable enemy.
"I will send Jerva to you," Pergith said, and left the room, fearing he had lost his best friend.
Micah sat on the edge of his bunk, staring at the floor. He was going home, but he felt as if he was being sent into exile, away from everything he loved.
Lainey... He felt a tightness in his chest, a thickness in his throat. Lainey. He remembered the first time he saw her. She had been wearing black pants and a pink sweater, and he had thought her quite the prettiest creature he had ever seen.
He closed his eyes and her image rose in his mind, so vividly that he could almost smell the fragrance of her hair, see the love shining in her eyes, hear the sound of her voice.
With an effort, he banished her image from his mind. She was no longer a part of his life, he thought bleakly, but she would always be a part of his heart.
He stood up as the door to his quarters swung open and Jerva entered the room. Wordlessly, Micah held out his hands and Jerva removed the restraints.
"Commander Pergith requests that you dine with him," Jerva said, tucking the restraints into his jacket.
"No."
"As you wish, Commander. Shall I have something sent in?"
"No."
Jerva stared at him for a moment, then left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
With a sigh, Micah stretched out on his bunk and closed his eyes. She was gone, and his life would never be the same again.
Part One Chapter Twenty
"Lainey! Thank God! Where have you been?" Dolores St. John wrapped her arms around her daughter and hugged her tight. "We've been so worried."
"I'm fine, Mom."
"Get her inside,Dee ," Ralph St. John said, hovering over the two of them. "I'll get some coffee."
"Come in and sit down, dear," Dolores said. She shepherded Lainey into the living room, settled her on the sofa, and covered her with a blanket.
"Here, sweetie," Ralph said, handing Lainey a cup of coffee laced with brandy. "Drink this."
Obediently, Lainey took a sip, coughed, and drained the cup.
"Lainey, can you tell us about it now?"
She nodded, then burst into tears. "Here, now," her father said, gathering her into his arms as if she were still his little girl. "Go ahead, sweetie, cry it all out."
And she did, releasing all her unhappiness, all her heartache in a flood of tears that scorched her eyes and did almost nothing to ease the pain in her heart. And all the while her father held her and rocked her.
When her tears finally subsided, she slid off his lap onto the sofa. "Sorry, Dad," she said, sniffing. "I didn't mean to drown you."
"Don't be silly." Ralph thrust his handkerchief at her. "I'm waterproof. You ought to know that by now."
Lainey smiled in spite of herself, then blew her nose and dabbed at her eyes.
For the next half hour, she related what had happened up at the cabin and on the spaceship. Fresh tears welled in her eyes when she reached the end of her story.
"And now he's gone," she said mournfully, "and I'll never see him again."
"What happened to the bodies?" Ralph asked.
"The bodies?" Lainey shuddered, remembering the charred remains. "I don't know."
Delores and Ralph exchanged glances, then Ralph cleared his throat. "We weren't going to say anything, Lainey, but maybe you should know. A man came here the same night you and Micah were attacked. He held us at gunpoint for twenty-four hours."
"Gunpoint! Who was he?"
Ralph shook his head. "I don't know. He wore a ski mask, but I'd guess he had something to do with the two men who followed you to the cabin. I think he came here to wait in case you got away and came home. I don't know. He got real fidgety when you didn't show up. He kept looking at the phone, as if he was expecting a call. He even picked up the receiver a couple of times, like he was checking to make sure the phone was working." Ralph took a deep breath and let it out