pants.

She brushed her hands down the material and held his gaze. “How do I look?”

“Very attractive.”

“I wish I had something better to wear to meet your dad. He’s going to think I’m a refugee…which I guess I am. I had to leave all my belongings on the station.”

“We’ll get you suitable clothing once we reach Garden.”

“That’s the name of your planet?”

“Yes. My father waits. Are you ready? His name is Mavo.”

She gave a sharp nod but he glimpsed a little fear in her expression.

“No one would dare do you harm, Venice. I’d defend you against anyone—and that includes my father. You’re mine to protect.”

Venice felt a little stunned at the vehemence of Deviant’s promise. It did alleviate some of her nervousness though. He touched the pad for seconds and it opened. A tall black-haired cyborg entered. His green eyes were piercing as they studied her from head to foot. The door closed behind him and he paused just inside.

“Father, this is Venice.” Deviant stepped to her side and gently curved his arm around her waist. “This is my father, Mavo.”

She smiled. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.” She held out her hand, hoping the gesture wouldn’t offend him.

He stepped forward and took her offered palm, grasping it gently and shaking it twice. He didn’t release it though. Instead, he looked down and frowned. “Real or artificial?”

She remembered his voice from the brothel. Now he just wasn’t dressed like a pirate. “Real. My left one is artificial, and both of my legs.”

“May I?” He released her hand.

She offered him the left one. He took it, studying her fingers. “Amazing. Earth has really advanced medically since we left. It feels genuine.”

“It does. I can’t tell a difference from my right or left unless I get cut. It hurts but I don’t bleed on the left side. It heals really fast too.”

Venice studied Mavo. He looked too young to be Deviant’s father. She could see a resemblance though with his facial features. They had the same chin, lips, and nose. The eye colors were different and so were their skin tones. Mavo was a much lighter shade of gray. His green eyes were pretty but she preferred Deviant’s brilliant blue ones. The cyborg released her hand.

“Convince me you don’t work for Earth Government.”

Deviant answered before she could. “We discussed this, Father. Scan her body and check Earth laws. I believe her.”

Mavo frowned, switching his attention to his son. “You’re motivated to believe her. I’m worried about your safety, and that of our people.”

“I will take responsibility for her.”

“And if she is a spy?” Mavo sighed. “It could cost you your life, along with risking our entire planet. We don’t want to go to war with Earth.”

“Earth Government will kill me or put me back into the facility where they were stealing and selling my blood, if they ever get their hands on me,” Venice informed him. “They kept me there for four years, drugged up, and under the care of androids. Do you think I ever want to go back there? One full scan and they’ll know who I am and what was done to me. All this body work is illegal. I’m not a person anymore, according to Earth laws. They can order me destroyed like I’m some kind of outdated piece of machinery someone patched together out of spare parts.

“I can’t ever go back, nor do I want to. I’m also terrified of what they’ll do to my sister. She was the one who kept searching for me, despite being told I’d died. They’ll kill her if EG is ever given evidence that I’m alive, because it will be proof against her that she helped me escape. That would be considered a terminal crime.”

“Won’t she be blamed anyway?”

“No. They’re probably suspicious of her but as long as I don’t turn up alive, the blame could shift to rebels who attack those kinds of facilities to make them lose profits. Rebels would have killed me and disposed of my body, just so my blood couldn’t be sold any longer. Only a family member would bother paying for extensive surgery to get me back on my feet.”

He continued to stare at her with a frown.

“She paid an organization called Angels to help retrieve me. They’re on government hit lists, considered a terrorist group, like the rebels are. The difference is, most of their members are medical professionals who are tired of seeing people like me killed or used until death. They patched me