“Traumatic?” Ahiga grunted. “No. This isn’t how it’s done, but Declan personally requested you be remanded into my custody. That means I decide how I handle you. It’d be best if you never, ever questioned me again.” His words held a whole hell of a lot more than a hint of threat. “Get in the car.”

The words had a bit of a snap to them, making me think I was pushing his patience level, but he mentioned Declan putting me in his custody. Declan’s move, not Jason’s. Did that mean that he was an ally? I wasn’t sure. Maybe the interrogation was clouding my judgment. Maybe Ahiga was a good actor. He’d have to be to play both sides.

I climbed into the car and took a deep breath to steady myself. Three out. Three in. Six out. Four in.

He passed me a packet of wipes and a protein bar as soon as he got in the driver’s seat. “You’re getting my ride dirty.” He pushed the power button, and we lifted three feet in the air.

My back slammed into the seat as he weaved the AHV through traffic.

I stared out the window as the Albuquerque sights blurred by. It’d been my home for a long time. Not anymore. If I had anything to say about it, this would be the last time I’d be on Earth. Hopefully, Abaddon would be a short stop on the way to somewhere better, and this wasn’t the beginning of the end, but I knew better than most that hoping for something wasn’t going to make it happen.

Chapter Thirteen

Ahiga was all business once we got to the SpacePort. He dropped me off at a cryo processing center, where I was given clean clothes and taken to a bathroom to shower. I got the feeling that it was mostly to get ready for the cryo chamber, but it also seemed like the nurse who was logging me thought I was diseased. She walked behind me, disinfecting everything I touched. Her muttering as she cleaned up would’ve normally bugged me, but not today. No. Today had already gotten as bad as it could get.

Abaddon. I was getting sent to Abaddon.

As I stepped under the hot spray of the shower, my body felt like it belonged to someone else. I wished that I could be anyone else or that this was a dream that I could wake up from. But I could only be Maité Martinez right now, and this was my life.