I jumped up and shoved Declan into the railing. “You!”

“No. I had nothing to do with this.” He held up his hands. “I swear. But please, let me handle it.”

I was pushing past Declan before I could think, to dive back through the window into my bedroom.

Declan grabbed my arm, and I gasped. I’d moved fast, yet he’d managed to catch me?

“Calm down,” he said. “We have to think.”

“My mother is in there.” I wrenched my arm away and sprinted through the apartment. This time I was too fast for him to catch, but I froze when I hit the living room. Mom was sitting on the couch wringing her fingers, but she hadn’t answered the door.

For the second time in under an hour, I was confused. The only people in the building that IAF would be here for were us. I was pretty sure of it.

Mom shook her head slowly and pointed up at the ceiling.

The pounding came again.

Thump. Thump. Thump. “Interplanetary Armed Forces. Open up or we’ll be forced to break down the door.” It wasn’t until I heard the voice that I realized it was still too soft. IAF—Interplanetary Armed Forces—was here, but not at our apartment. They were upstairs.

Telly and Frank lived up there. They weren’t Aunare. They were just an older couple with too many cats.

Footsteps sounded overhead. The officers yelled. My palms started sweating.

IAF couldn’t do this. Not to them. Telly was sweet, and Frank wouldn’t hurt anyone.

The sound of something shattering and a thud had me moving across the room.

“No, Maité,” Mom said. Her knuckles were white as she twisted her hands. “It’s too late for them. You have to leave it be.”

“I can’t. This is wrong. I have to go help them.” Another thud had me racing for the front door, and then all of a sudden, I was on my back. I tried to move, but Declan’s legs were pinning mine, and one of his thick arms was across my shoulders, firmly pressing me into the floor. “What the hell are you doing?” This guy was about to be on my shitlist. I didn’t care if he was here to help me. Not anymore.

His smile was gone. “If I let you up, are you going out there?”

What was his problem? “Of course I’m going out there. They need help.”

“Then I can’t move.”

I ground my teeth as I tried to rein in my temper, but he was pissing me off. Didn’t he get that Telly and Frank were nice, innocent people? Whatever was going on in their apartment, I was sure they didn’t deserve it. “Get off me or I’m screaming.”