Fifteen minutes later, I watched on the monitors as Abby approached the box from the propulsion station’s side. She’d already crawled down the vent to where she’d first seen the box. I could not ascertain its nature from that angle, nor was it responding well to standard scans.

I’d taken her to the next duct panel in the line and asked her to crawl back through it so I could see the opposite side of the object.

What I’d seen had made my heart stick in my chest, my blood suddenly so thick it felt like glue trying to slog its way through my system.

Siren’s symbol. My legion’s enemy. My brother’s enemy. My enemy.

“Abby, get out of there now.”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Get out of there. Do not touch it. I am coming.” I ran to the open panel just as Abby’s feet appeared. She kept moving backward, her feet lowering into the room, followed by her legs, her thighs, that luscious, round ass.

Not wanting to wait, I reached up and lifted her the rest of the way down. Once she was safely back in my arms, I crushed her to me for a few seconds.

“What’s wrong?”

“That symbol on the side is from the Siren legion. They are dangerous enemies.”

“Well, that’s not good.”

“No. The swirling red lights are a timer, and it is counting down. I have been unable to scan the contents, but we must assume it is an explosive device.”

“Oh, shit.” She pulled back and looked up into my face, alarm clear in her wide eyes and her dilated pupils. “How long? Will it destroy the whole ship? Can you turn it off? Or shoot it out into space?”

“If my calculations are correct, it is set to detonate about two hours after our arrival on Rogue 5.”

“What? I don’t understand. Rogue 5 is still hours away.”

“They are trying to use me to destroy my brother, the leader of our legion. This is his personal ship. After our arrival, it will not go into the public docking bay but deep inside Styx territory. Many of our people would have died had we not played your game, had the Siren device remained hidden.”

“So, what are we going to do?”

“You are going to come with me and buckle into your seat. I am going to stop this ship and contact Styx for instructions. Most likely he will send a team to evacuate us.”

“Why not keep going? If we meet them halfway, it will be faster.”