Page 125 of Star Claimed Omega
He dropped his voice so only she caught it.
‘What about what we shared?’ His timbre cracked despite the steel in his spine. ‘Was I just a mission to you?’
She gazed at him with a sad, beautiful,fokkin’ expressionon her face.
‘Like I said, my love,’ she murmured, ‘I don’t have a choice.’
‘You could’ve shared this with me.Fokk, Soleil. I would’ve helped you.’
‘Nada. It might have killed us both.’
She tapped the rippling nanite cuff on her wrist, and a holo rose from it.
It flickered, then bloomed into full screen.
A face peered out at him.
A smug, slick-faced man who resembled Varnok grinned into the chamber like a venomous god.
His eyes swung to his Gage.
‘Told ya, Varnok. With Scarletta’s help, we’d make it happen.’
His malicious eyes slitted to Santi. ‘We finally meet Santiago Alvarro. My name is Vern Gage. You never knew what you were keeping warm in your bed. Pretty, isn’t she? Shame and a bitch finding out she was never yours to start with.’
Santi’s vision blurred with white-hot rage.
He wanted to drive his fist through the holo, atomizing every particle.
Miral,he whispered through his neural node, his jaw clenched so tight it hurt,trace the comms. Vern’s signal. Now.
Already on it,Miral snapped back.The residual spike’s real-time; he’s somewhere close, masked, piggybacking the Sombra’s radio bands. I’m isolating. If you can get five seconds of disruption, I can override the link.
I need those moments,he said, his voice a quiet storm.Or I lose her.
Reaching into her bag, Soleil pulled out a cross-chest commando-grade belt.
He recognized the tech as military-issue, high-command tier.
His gut clenched.
She handed it to Varnok.
‘Sofokkin’ proud of you, Scarletta, only you would have pulled this off,’ Varnok rasped, fastening the belt with practiced ease.
He tapped a hidden button on the buckle.
The belt hissed, releasing a cloud of metallic vapor.
Crimson micro-filaments stitched across his frame, encasing him in burnished armor with crimson node-lights pulsing like veins.
Anti-grav boots sibilated beneath him, the HUD helm locking into place with a serpent’s whisper.
The bomb still pulsed in Soleil’s hands.
Santi stared at it and her, frozen.
He’d fought in the outer rings, capturing Rift Wights and void-eaters.
