Planet Athion: The Complete Series by Angel Lawson
50
Alex
When word passedover the airwaves that a midwife was seen on an outpost helping a pregnant woman, we started paying attention. Rumor, even in space, can be deadly. Especially when Mercy’s life and freedom are on the line.
That’s when Dimka assessed our fuel and decided we could punch it, getting there days earlier. We’d be almost out when we got there—definitely running on fumes--but there wasn’t much choice. We needed to get to her before anyone else did.
Once the ship docks and the door opens between vessels, it’s only seconds before the three of us are pushing through the door to get to our girl. She waits in the opening, wavy red hair twisted in a knot on top of her head. Her shirt has a wide collar, accentuating her neck. My eyes scan down her, making sure she’s okay. Absorbing her being. I don’t miss Damon standing inches behind her, one eyebrow raised. He looks one million times more relaxed. There’s zero doubt why.
By a stroke of luck, I get to her first, wrapping her in an all-engulfing hug.
“Thank god you’re okay,” I mumble in her ear. She trembles in my arms and I glance over her shoulder at Damon. “Thanks, man.”
He nods, hands casually tucked in his pockets.
I pull back, knowing I can’t hog this homecoming, and cup her face in my hands.
“I’m so sorry,” she says. “Kane…he…I didn’t know.”
“Of course, you didn’t,” I say, stroking her hair. I lean into her and give her a kiss. “That bastard won’t get away with this, I promise you.”
As much as I hate it, I step away, giving her a chance to reunite with Kai and Dimka. I move toward Damon and hold out my hand—he grips it and pulls me into a tight embrace.
“I can’t tell you how scary it was—losing her like that,” I say to him quietly. “One minute she was there—the next, gone. Vanished.”
“The Master probably had this planned for months.”
“I hate that asshole.”
Damon laughs. “Me, too.”
I smile, but not just with him. I smile because Mercy is smiling and my brothers look better than they have in ten days. I smile because I don’t want them to know about the transmission I spotted last night while everyone else was asleep. I’ll tell them, but not yet. Not before everyone has a minute to decompress and catch up.
I’ll tell them in the morning, I say to myself, as Damon claps Kai on the back and shakes hands with Dimka. I’ll let them know about the bounty on Mercy’s head.