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  She turned back to Six who was still staring at her in puzzlement.

  “Commander,” he said. “I do not understand.”

  “You don’t have to,” K said in a harsh whisper. “It’s done now. It’s all…over.”

  Then the world spun around her and she crumpled to the ground.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  “There! There it is—didn’t I tell you there was a ship coming out of Midas?” Loki stabbed a finger at the viewscreen where a tiny, shiny black dot was rising off the rocky, barren little world. “It’s a Purist ship—an older model too.”

  “Like the one that was stolen from the royal docks?” Rolf stared at it with interest.

  “She stole a ship from the royal docks?” Boone looked at Loki’s new touch partner in surprise. They had known that K had gotten off planet somehow—the Empress had declared that she no longer felt the presence of her daughter anywhere on Eros—but nothing had been said about a ship being missing.

  “Well, she is a princess with a claim to the whole planet so technically she didn’t steal anything,” Loki pointed out. “But yes, my man Rolf here was in touch with Eros this morning and he found out through the grapevine that the ship was just reported missing today.”

  “I’m a mechanic,” Rolf explained. “Like to keep my ear to the ground about anything to do with ships. Apparently the master of ships knew the Purist vessel was missing but he was afraid to report it.”

  “He should have spoken up right away,” Loki said primly. “Now the princess is almost a standard week ahead of any pursuit the Empress can put out. Mr. Master of the ships will be lucky to keep his head.”

  “That princess is K,” Boone reminded his pilot in a surly tone. “You know—the woman I love? The one who might be flying by right under our noses right now while you and Rolf debate the fate of some minor official back on Eros?”

  “Well what do you want me to do?” Loki demanded. “I’m not a mind reader—I can’t tell if it’s her aboard.”

  “Scan the vessel,” Boone said. “Read for life signatures.”

  Grumbling, Loki did as he was told. As the instrument panel lit up, he read the results moodily. “Just one life signature aboard,” he reported. “But it might just be a lone Paladin doing some kind of drill.”

  “Hail the ship,” Boone directed.

  “What? We’re still damn close to Midas, Boone! If it turns out not to be K, we might as well be putting a big ‘Please attack us now’ sign on the side of the ship.”

  “Do it,” Boone growled. “Damn it, Loki, just hail it. Now.”

  With poor grace, Loki did as commanded. There was a long moment of silence and then a familiar face popped onto the viewscreen.

  “Shayla?” Boone stared at her in disbelief.

  “Boone?” She started crying. “Boone, is that really you?”

  “The one and only. Goddess, it’s good to see your face!”

  “Yours too! Oh Boone, I thought I’d never see you again.”

  “You’ll be seeing a lot more of the big lug in a minute,” Loki said. “Stand by to be boarded.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” Shayla whispered, her eyes shining. “Come as quick as you can.”

  “We will,” Boone promised. He looked at her uncertainly, hoping against hope that Loki’s life signature scan had been wrong. “Shayla, is there anyone else with you onboard?”

  “No.” Shayla shook her tear streaked face. “No, Boone. I’m all alone.”

  Boone felt his heart sink but he had no time to grieve. Loki was already setting an intercept course with the stolen Purist ship. Almost before he could think they were locking an airlock onto the other ship’s entryway and his little sister was running into his arms.

  There was, of course, a lot of kissing and hugging and a lot more tears on both sides but though Boone was happy to have his sister back, he couldn’t stop himself from asking about K. What Shayla told him chilled his heart.

  “So she made you leave her there?” he asked for the tenth time. “Just leave her there and go?”

  “I’m sorry, Boone—I told her you wouldn’t want me to.” Shayla looked ready to cry again. “But she pushed me into the ship and said…she said…”

  Boone frowned. “What exactly did she say, Shayla?”

  “She said she was done for.” Shayla shook her head. “I don’t know what she meant by that except that she also said she was in…in pain.” She bit her lip, looking up at Boone. “I’m sorry, Boone, I should never have left her, no matter what she told me.”

  “No, it’s all right. K knew what she was doing.” He tried to make his voice gentle and his heart swelled with love and joy to see his little sister again. But it was a bittersweet reunion. The thought that K was stuck back on Midas somewhere, a captive or dying or both made him crazy inside.

  “Boone—”

  “I can’t stand this.” He stood up and started pacing. “She’s hurting—maybe dying. And she’s stuck on Midas, where—”

  “Where we can never get to her,” Loki finished for him. He shook his head. “Forget it, Boone, you know there’s no way.”

  “I have to get to her.” Boone ran a hand through his hair. “I have to.”

  “And what can you do for her if you do?” Loki demanded. “I know you’ve been tinkering away in your lab but do you have anything that can help her through her cycle yet? Any way she can take off that damn ugly suit without going into full feral sex mode?”

  “Not yet,” Boone admitted heavily. “I mean, I have something I think could work but I haven’t had time to test it yet.”

  “Well, even if you did have a perfected formula, there’s no way we can get her off Midas by ourselves,” Loki pointed out. “Anymore than we could just waltz in and get Shayla. K is probably under a very heavy guard.”

  “You don’t understand—I have to try.” Boone shook his head. “She’s been contaminated, Loki—they’ll kill her for it. Purge her. I have to get to her.” He started for the airlock but Mom, who had been standing silently in the corner, put a hand on his arm.

  “Where are you going, Boone?”

  “To get K. I’ll take the Purist ship and go back by myself,” he said fiercely.

  “That’s suicide and you know it,” she said quietly.

  He shook off her arm. “At least K won’t die alone.”

  “Boone, no!” Shayla was crying again. “Please, I thought I’d never see you again and now I’m losing you five minutes after I found you.”

  “Actually, I found you,” Boone reminded her gently.

  She shook her head. “Whatever. You can’t go down there alone—you don’t know what it’s like. Mom’s right—it’s suicide.”

  “Shayla, please try to understand.” He took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “I love K and you don’t abandon people you love. I can’t leave her down there alone anymore than I could leave you. So I have to go.”

  Shayla began sobbing harder. “Boone, please…please…” But she couldn’t get out any more. Boone hugged her hard once and then started to leave.

  “Whoa—hang on now. There’s no need for such desperate heroics,” Rolf said soothingly. He had been standing beside Loki, with his arm wrapped around the smaller man’s waist. Now he came forward and put a hand on Boone’s shoulder. “Maybe I can help.”

  “How?” Boone demanded. “What can you possibly do in this situation?”

  Rolf shrugged. “Not much myself, I admit. But like I told you before, I know some people.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  When K woke up she saw a familiar pair of black-on-black eyes staring into her own. Black with not even the thinnest sliver of white around their outer margins.

  “High Sentinel!” She sat up on the thin metal cot with a gasp.

  “Good evening, K. I understand you’ve been using my name in vain.” He raised one thin eyebrow at her and scooted the plain metal chair he was sitting on closer to her cot. They were the only two pieces o