The place was like a strange ghost town. Buttons still blinked different colors on multiple screens and panels. Weird noises came from out of nowhere to freak me out. All of the writing was strange. Thanks to my NPU, if I stared at it long enough, the meaning would kind of drift into my mind like a soft breeze brushing past my brain. The sensation was weird as hell, but I was thankful for it. Seeing controls for elevators and life support didn’t scare me as much as looking at a bunch of alien symbols would have. Cormac stood nearby, at another section of the control room, probably looking over weapons or something. Maybe trying to send a message? I had no idea.

“This is unreal.”

“I wish that were true, mate. I would never bring you to a place such as this.”

“I don’t mind. I think it’s amazing.” I was in an alien base. On an alien planet. In another part of the galaxy with the sexiest, hottest, most protective male I’d ever met. And he was mine. I still had to pinch myself to believe it. Everything in my life had changed. Everything.

So. Damn. Cool. Scary, but amazing. I knew if Cormac was not with me, I would be terrified. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about that. The man—alien—barely allowed me out of his sight.

Thank god. I really didn’t want to die from a terror-induced heart attack before I was twenty.

Using my gloved hand to clear away more of the console I stood over, I studied the flickering lights and tried to intuit more alien language.

“Gods be damned, the comm controls are encrypted.”

“Can you break the code or bypass it or something?” Wiping away another small section of debris, I looked over my shoulder to find him scowling at me.

“I am a warrior and an assassin. Enforcer, smuggler, occasionally, a thief. This is not something I can do. I am sorry, mate. I have failed you. We will have to hope the escape pod’s beacon leads Styx to us.”

His shoulders slumped, and he looked…upset? I needed to distract him. I couldn’t stand to see him chastising himself so harshly for something neither of us could do. Holding my hand out to him, I tilted my head and willed him to see the smile inside my helmet. “Come here, mate. We are still alive. Neither one of us is hurt. This has been an incredible adventure so far. You have taken excellent care of me.”

“You should be safe on Rogue 5.” Despite his protest, he walked toward me and took my hand. I pulled him as close as I could get him, content when his arm came around me and his hand rested on my hip. God, his hands were big.

I loved his hands. What he could do with them.

Focus, Abby.