Page 8 of Zayrik

Not now. Not her.

A thief. A stranger. And exactly the kind of problem I wasn’t looking for, but might’ve just found, anyway.

I could sort through the rest of it later.Deny it. Fight it. Burn it down.

But right now?

Right now, I had bigger problems.

Like explaining to station security why I was harboring the fugitive they’d just declared a system-wide alert for. So much for a quiet night.

3

Zayrik

THE MOMENT I LIFTEDoff, I knew it wasn’t going to beclean.

Station control wasn’t just sending the usual docking warnings. They were scrambling security forces.

I didn’t wait for an official response. Didn’t askwhythey were this eager to keep one half-dead thief grounded.

Didn’t care.

Because the moment my ship’s thrusters fired, the alarms started screaming.

‘Unauthorized launch detected. Docking Bay Seven, lockdown initiated.’

I sighed heavily. Of course it is.

A firm voice cracked over the comms. “Vessel, you are in violation of station flight protocol. Power down and prepare to be boarded.”

I flipped a switch, cutting the comms.

Not happening.

Something in my gut, maybe the same instinct that kept me alive on covert missions, was screaming that handing her over wasn’t just a bad call. It’d be a betrayal. Of her. Of myself. Of the kind of man I swore I’d be.

I SLAMMED THE THROTTLEforward. The ship shuddered, groaning as she pushed against the station’s automated docking clamps.

“Come on,” I muttered.

A violentsnaprattled through the ship as the clamps gave, sending us lurching forward. The sudden momentum jerked my injured passenger.

She shifted with a weak murmur, but didn’t wake.

I didn’t have time to check her.

A targeting lock flashed red on my display.

Then the first shot hit.

The whole shiplurchedas a direct blast slammed into the rear shields.

Son of a—

I twisted the controls, forcing the ship into a sudden roll as the second shot streaked past,too damn close.

So, this wasn’t a warning barrage. This was a kill order.

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