Jeth’s heart hammered in his ears like rapid missile fire. The two cases had been a show, a final act of humiliation designed to give Hammer the satisfaction of winning.

Again.

The sudden, sure realization that everything he knew and cared for was about to end hit Jeth, and he almost swayed beneath the rush of terror. He wanted to cling to every precious second left to him, which he could feel slipping away like sand through his fingers.

“What do you mean, a liability?” he managed to say at last.

“Your sisters, of course. I’m quite certain that, even if you did feel some genuine loyalty to me, it wouldn’t remain in the face of what awaits them.”

Jeth held his breath, fear turning to outrage.

“Normally,” Hammer continued, “I would offer you a lifetime guarantee of their safety and well-being in exchange for your loyal service. It’s an effective bargain, as I’m sure Daxton here can attest to. Isn’t that right, Dax?”

Jeth risked a glance and saw Dax bristling beneath the outward mask of calm and compliance he wore. So, the story was true. Not that it mattered.

Then again, maybe it did matter, just not in the way Jeth had thought. Hammer was right; he should’ve realized Dax would never show any disloyalty while his brother remained in danger. Even if Dax did sympathize with Jeth’s plight, in the end he would always chose to protect his family over anyone else. Jeth couldn’t blame him for that. He would’ve done the same.

But just because he understood what Dax had done didn’t mean he was going to lie down and take this, either. If I’m gonna die anyway . . .

Jeth leaped sideways, going for the gun strapped in a holster on Dax’s hips. His fingers closed around the hilt, and he bent his knees, ready to roll and come up firing.

A foot struck him in the back. Jeth heard Sergei’s laugh as he fell. But Jeth still had the gun. He clambered to his knees, struggling to release the safety in time to fire. His body was so tired from the torture, his fingers clumsy.

Hammer kicked the gun out of Jeth’s hand with an almost lazy motion. A furious howl tore from Jeth’s throat, and he flung himself after the gun, heedless of the stinging in his knuckles or the danger posed by the giant man looming above him.

“Get him,” Hammer said.

Dax planted a knee in Jeth’s back, pinning him as Sergei came over to help. Together they hoisted Jeth to his feet. Hammer opened one of the cases, revealing the clear-colored implant. He set the other case aside.

“Put him on his knees,” Hammer said.

Sergei and Dax forced Jeth down, pulling his arms behind him so he had no choice but to lean forward.

Hammer took a step closer. “Bend his head.”

Jeth fought the hands pushing his chin toward his chest. His neck muscles screamed as he strained against the inevitable force.

“Hold him still.”

Jeth felt the point of the needle touch the back of his skull, probing for the architecture. His hair had grown enough to obscure the opening.

He closed his eyes, still refusing to give up the fight even as a voice whispered over and over in his mind—This is it. The end, the end, the end. This is it.

BOOM!

The room shook so hard pictures fell from the walls and a decanter of liquor on a nearby table plummeted to the floor, shattering. The pressure on Jeth’s arms loosened as Dax and Sergei were knocked off balance.

“Something hit us,” said Hammer.

The ship rocked again with another fierce blast.

“We’re under attack,” Sergei said.

“That’s impossible,” said Hammer. Yet even before he finished speaking, they heard the unmistakable sound of distant gunfire.

Jeth pushed against the hands holding his head, and this time they gave way. He looked up at Hammer’s annoyed expression.

“I can’t get a straight answer from anyone,” Hammer said, touching the back of his head where the red implant sat nestled against his neck. He motioned to Sergei. “Go find out what’s happening. Take the others with you. Dax and I will finish here.”

Sergei let go of Jeth’s arm at once and trotted from the room, drawing the gun from his belt. Before Jeth had a chance to react, Dax grabbed him by his wrists and lifted his arms again, forcing him to bend forward.

“Hold him,” Hammer said, stepping near.

Jeth struggled, but it was no good. Whatever was happening outside wasn’t going to get here in time to save him.

Once the implant is inserted, it can never be removed.

Hammer finally found the hole in Jeth’s skull. The touch of the implant’s stem against the architecture sent a wave of pain cascading down his spine, the feeling intensified by his terror.

He closed his eyes and stopped struggling.

The end, the end, the end.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.

This time the sound wasn’t from outside the ship, but close, the loud eruption of gunfire. The door slid open and more bullets ripped through the air. The hands holding Jeth released him, and he fell forward, his face smacking the ground. He rolled over at once, his mind and body focusing instinctively.

Two people charged into the room—Sierra and Lizzie, both armed. No time for relief, Jeth jumped at Hammer, who’d been shot in the arm. He grabbed the gun from Hammer’s holster, released the safety, and racked the slide in one smooth motion. Then he pressed the barrel to Hammer’s temple.

Hammer froze, a big man reduced to cowering. He raised his hands in surrender. Do it now! a voice screamed in Jeth’s mind. Finish this. Once and for all. It would be so easy, a slight increase in pressure and the bullet would eject from the barrel, tearing a death hole through the man’s brain.