I muted my comm device so Jasper wouldn’t give us away if he called. Cage’s broad chest pressed against my back, one of his hands cupping my arm as if he could shove me somewhere safe if we were discovered. Unbidden, my thoughts returned to Sanctuary, where Cage and I had huddled under my bed as an alien stalked through the room. He’d clutched me as if he could shield me from its claws, and we’d both trembled, white-lipped and petrified, until it clattered away. Bile rose in my throat at the memory. My breath came in short gasps, my heart racing. My God, if we couldn’t stop the signal, if we couldn’t—

A loud crash reverberated through the suite.

Someone bellowed. Feet stampeded. Cage and I slid from under the bed in time to see a figure in a black suit bearing the Mars Mining logo dash out the door. Cage grabbed my hand and half tossed me into the air, catching me and breaking into a run—a full-on, superpowered burst of speed that plastered my skin to my skull and left my eyes watering. A second later, we were in the corridor. “I’m going back for Rune!” he shouted, vanishing before I responded.

Damn it! I paced the hallway, searching my training for answers. What did you do when you faced an unstoppable force that outnumbered and outarmed you? Especially when you had no idea where your compatriots were. Omnistellar hadn’t given me any answers. They’d always led me to assume I’d be on the unstoppable side.

A burst of flame from the suite told me Alexei was awake and moving. A second later, Cage returned, dropping Rune and Imani in front of me. Alexei, Jasper, and Reed bolted after him. “Go!” Jasper yelled. “Make for the service door at the end of the hall!” He pulled the doors shut behind us and blasted them, crumpling them against each other, effectively locking the Mars Mining goons inside for the moment.

“Wait!” Imani cried. “Mia!”

Mia shimmered into view behind her, blood dripping from her bottom lip. “I’m here.”

Alexei scowled. “He hit you.”

“I hit him back, and he’s not getting up.”

“What is wrong with you?” Reed screamed. “Run!”

The doors behind us shook. Cage blasted across the hall, Jasper racing full tilt behind him. A scan of Jasper’s thumb opened the service exit. Other doors opened behind us, curious tourists glancing out and exclaiming at the commotion.

We clambered into the stairwell, Jasper in the lead. “Your family must have called them,” Mia accused as we raced down the stairs.

“Never!” Jasper snarled.

“We weren’t exactly subtle in getting here.” I shouldered past Mia and raced after Jasper. “Now that Mars Mining knows we’re alive, they’ve almost certainly broadcast our info to bounty hunters. We could have been spotted by just about anyone on our way to the hotel, and from there it’s just a matter of getting Tourism Rouge’s permission to bio scan for a big group of teens.” Mars was a great place for collecting bounties, and a great place to vacation after you claimed one. I cursed myself for not considering it sooner. Mars Mining would have flagged our names, or at least those of us they knew about, the second we escaped.