Without Hesitation, Talia Jager [warren buffett book recommendations txt] 📗
- Author: Talia Jager
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“Where is Caspar’s ship now?”
“Here.” Briar pulled something up on the screen. “Once someone came to them to fix their engine, they went to the station for more repairs. They just left that station. He’s heading this way.” She pointed. “We can intercept around the time we’d be waking up.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Also, I picked out an AI. She was delivered onto the ship. I’ll get her ready when I have a minute,” Briar said like setting up an AI was the easiest task in the universe.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Everleigh
The door closed behind us and Kaci immediately took my hands. “What’s wrong?”
“What happened today…”
“Everyone is okay.”
“You were in danger, Kaci.”
“All of us were.”
“But you don’t deserve it.”
“That’s over. We got away. Let’s focus on what we have to do now.”
I didn’t know if I liked that she brushed it off so easily or if it infuriated me. “It should be a simple in and out.”
“You’ll come back?” she said.
“I will.” I really wasn’t the least bit scared. She seemed more than just worried about me. “Is there something else on your mind?”
“I kissed Huxley.” Guilt flashed in her eyes.
I held back a chuckle. “You did?”
“To get him out of there. It was just a cover though, I—”
I cut her off mid-sentence with a kiss. She instantly kissed me back. Hungry and deep kisses. My hands found the small of her back and pulled our bodies flush against each other.
“Anything else you want to get off your chest?”
“Just this.” She pulled her shirt over her head.
My eyes mapped over her exposed flesh and rested on her beautiful breasts. “Damn.” I bit my lip. Unable to control myself, I lunged forward and seized her lips in a heated, feverish rush.
My hands roamed the vast expanse of her back and traced her curves. Her skin was smooth and warm. Pulling away, my eyes locked with her bright blues. I ran my thumb over her swollen, moist lips.
I kissed along the side of her neck, memorizing the smell of her hair and taste of her skin. Pressing her up against the wall, I moved my thigh in between her legs. She gave a low hum of approval and grinded her body against me, which set my body on fire. Her hands went under my arms and her fingernails dug into my back before she pulled me closer. Trailing kisses along her jaw, under her ear, and across her chest, I led her to my bed where I lowered her down.
After a while, we stopped kissing and she curled up in my arms and fell asleep. I held her all night, hardly sleeping. My mind was in overdrive thinking about how we barely escaped the Authority. They weren’t someone we could kill to keep them from coming after us. We couldn’t pay them off either. To them, we were criminals. It was either stay on the run or be locked up. I knew I should keep my distance, but I couldn’t. She smelled like the most perfect day, a dream come true. Happiness. I knew I was being selfish. I just didn’t know how to stop.
Morning came too fast. We dressed in silence while Nero chased around this stupid toy Briar had bought him at the space station. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail to keep it out of my way. “Food?”
“Too nervous,” Kaci answered.
“You should have something.”
“I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“There’s really nothing to worry about,” I tried to reassure her.
Our eyes met and she nodded, but something made me think she wasn’t just worried about me planting the bomb.
“Is there something else going on?” I asked.
“No. I just don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t.” It wasn’t a lie. I was hers. I would always be hers. Whether or not I could be with her was another story.
Over the intercom, Briar’s voice told us that we were close.
“Go,” Kaci said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Zabe walked onto the bridge with a sleek silver canister in his hand. “It’s finished.”
“It’s so small,” Kaci stated.
“This gorgeous thing will destroy the ship.” Carefully, he placed it on the table. “All you have to do is get it to the core of the ship. It’s magnetic, so you can attach it to pretty much anything there. Then you get out of there. Briar can set it off remotely as soon as you jump back. We’ll then have thirty seconds to hightail it out of the way.”
“Let’s do this.” I picked up the device.
“They will be able to detect us. We won’t stay stationary, we’ll have to randomly move around, but we’ll stay in jump range,” Huxley said.
“Almost through his security,” Briar reported. “Caspar upgraded since the last time we hacked in, but I’ve got this.”
I didn’t want to say anything to Kaci. I knew if I did, she’d worry more, but I didn’t want to go without a single word just in case something did happen. Apparently she felt the same way because she closed the space between us and planted her lips on mine for a long minute. It wasn’t a passionate or gentle kiss, but it was one that left my lips wanting more.
Glancing at Huxley, I said, “Keep your hands off my girl.”
He let out a loud laugh and Kaci turned bright pink, while the other two looked confused.
I stepped into the jump circle, keeping my eyes on her, and when Briar gave the okay, I pushed the button. Suddenly I was in the core of Caspar’s ship.
With no time to waste, I wove in between the machinery and placed the device right on the central computer. Just like Zabe said, it stayed there. Easy. With a nod of satisfaction, I placed my finger on the jump device, but before I could press the button, a voice came through my earpiece, “Ever?”
“Yeah, Briar?” I whispered.
“Akacia took the other jump device. There’s a gun missing, too.”
“Fuck.” What was she thinking? That was a stupid question. I knew exactly what she was thinking. Revenge. Personal revenge. She wanted to be the one to actually kill him.
This was what she was holding back.
I should have seen it coming.
“Can you tell where she is?” I asked, desperate.
“Not for sure. My guess is she’s going for the bridge.”
“I’m going after her.”
“Be careful, Ever,” Briar said.
Seconds later, I heard gunshots.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Akacia
I landed in an unknown room. Nobody had taught me how to use the jump device, so I had to guess at some of the settings. I had to find Caspar and fast. I wanted to be the last face he saw before he died.
As I rushed through the corridor, I passed a room with large windows that looked to be a lab. I stopped and after making sure nobody was inside, I entered.
One wall of the room was lined with large cages, about ten of them. I saw a flash of movement in the last cage. I crept closer and saw a human-shaped figure.
A low growl appeared to come from him. Curiosity got the best of me and I took a few more steps toward it. The closer I got, the more I realized this creature wasn’t human. Fur sprouted in patches all over his body. One of his hands looked normal and human, while the other was a paw.
Suddenly, he let out a loud growl and started banging on the cage. Drool dripped from his sharp, canine-like teeth. Looking in his tortured filled eyes, I had no doubt that this was an experiment gone wrong.
I backed away from the feral creature in the cage. Once I was far enough away, the creature calmed back down. I turned to the computer.
After a few keystrokes, I was searching through Caspar’s files, trying to find out what he knew. My heart picked up its pace when I saw one labeled Splicers. Opening it, I found pictures of people that I could only assume were Splicers in cages. Looking back at the metal boxes, at the creature in the corner, something clicked and my stomach churned. I realized the reason Ever reacted in the tunnel on Terronda the way she did had to be because she was kept in one of these cages at some point. I couldn’t tell if she was one of the ones pictured, but it made sense.
Rage filled me. I picked up the heaviest thing I could find and pounded the screen, cracking it. Of course that wouldn’t do anything—the files were stored in a central computer—but it felt good. The bomb would take care of the files.
It took a ridiculous amount of time to find the bridge. I thought for sure I was going to die in the explosion, but I couldn’t go back. Caspar was on the bridge with one of the guards that tortured me.
“It’s definitely the Nirvana, but they keep moving. They know we can see them,” the guard said.
Caspar sighed like he was annoyed. “Should have killed them when I had the chance. As soon as you can, fire on them. Once their ship has been destroyed, I want to fill the cages with Splicers, kill the rest, and personally go to Valinor. I will get what I want.”
“Like bloody hell you will,” I said, stepping into the room with my weapon drawn.
After Caspar’s initial shock, a sly smile spread across his face. “Empress. Miss your time here?”
Everything around me faded away. Caspar’s smile reminded me of how he looked at me when he or his men were torturing me. In my mind, I saw the chain being swung around in his hand. The basin of water. The chair I had sat in while being beaten. The cages where they kept Splicers. My hand trembled, but I kept it pointed at him.
“Have you ever used one of those before?”
I tightened my grip. What was I waiting for? Why didn’t I just shoot him?
“You pull that trigger and you make yourself a criminal. You will always be looking over your shoulder. Maybe that’s what you want. You know you’re a freak now.”
Fury poured through my veins and I pulled the trigger. First at Caspar, then at the guard when he went for his gun. They both went down, someone shouted, an alarm rang out and I could only stand there and watch the blood pool around their bodies.
Ever burst into the room with eyes wide and searching. When they landed on me, her face relaxed. She looked past me to Caspar and the guard.
Loud yells came from down the hallway. Ever took my hand and in seconds we were back on the Nirvana.
“Give me the gun,” Ever’s voice sounded far away. “Kaci…you’re safe.”
My hands trembled but I couldn’t seem to let go of the gun.
“Maybe it’s best if you guys leave now.”
“We’re not leaving, Ever.”
“You don’t have a choice. I’m ordering you to!” she yelled.
Huxley opened his mouth.
“Now!”
Nobody moved. Ever let out an exasperated sigh and turned back to me. “Kaci? Can you hear me?”
I could, but it felt like I was under water and she was calling to me from the surface. My chest started to constrict. Everything
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