BooksBarbecue
Back Containment
Chapters (48)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  47. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  48. Copyright

One of the guards brandished his stun gun, and I lunged at him, bringing the heavy metal cuff down on top of his wrists. He shouted in pain and the gun clattered to the floor. I hurled myself at the comm screen. “Dad!” I pleaded. “If you love me at all, if you never listen to anything I say ever again, trust me on this. That ship has to be destroyed!”

He stared at me, his face an agony of indecision.

And then the stun gun blast hit me from behind, and I knew nothing.

SEVEN

WATER DRIBBLED ON MY FOREHEAD, and I moaned in response. Two stun gun blasts in as many hours had left me disoriented and woozy. Slowly I blinked to find Cage bent over me, concern flooding his face as he let water drip from his fingers. “Hey,” he said softly. “Welcome back.”

“Cage!” I gasped, or tried to. I shot straight up, and the world lurched with me. If his strong arms hadn’t come around me, I would have kept going right off the other side of the bench.

I struggled for words, questions, but my mouth still wasn’t connecting to my brain. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift back to the conversation with Dad. That wasn’t how I’d imagined our first encounter. I’d thought I’d have to tell him how Mom died and what happened on Sanctuary, but Mars Mining and Omnistellar had taken care of that for me, really the only thing I was grateful for. Everything else about the conversation was a total disaster. Instead of understanding, Dad had parroted the company line, just like Mom. And instead of being helpful, he’d yelled at me.

Still. He had a right to be angry. I’d let him think I was dead for three weeks.

Rage crested in my throat, so sudden and powerful it sent a wave of dizziness washing over me. Yeah, I’d let him think I was dead. My survival had come about no thanks to my parents. After all, they were the ones who’d chipped me, hid my power, and lied to me about anomalies my entire life. And for what? Dad hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with answers.

And of course, none of that mattered if the aliens arrived to kill us. I groaned, pressing my hands into my eyes so lights burst behind my closed eyelids. I was starting to feel normal again, and I wasn’t sure I welcomed the sensation. “Where’s Rune?” I managed.

“Asleep.” He tilted me gently so I could see her curled against the wall. “They finished questioning me and must have brought me back shortly after you left. She was out by then. She needed the rest. I don’t think she’s stopped in days.”