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His much bigger body floated at her, his gloved hands gripping her before they roughly collided, and he yanked her tight against his chest. She felt them turn in the air as Free wrapped his body around hers. They hit something, him taking the brunt of the impact, but his hold on her didn’t loosen.
Marisol clung to him, burying her face against his exposed throat. Emotion muted her as she fought back the urge to sob. It was really Free. He was alive, holding her, and they’d found each other again.
“I was afraid to believe it when Big and Fig told me you were out here.” He held her tighter.
“I died,” she blurted out. “That’s why I wasn’t able to get off Barlish station and meet up with you.”
“What?” He used his hold on her to pull back until their faces were inches apart.
“I died. I just didn’t know it. I’m a clone. My gramps didn’t even tell me what happened or what he’d had done to me. I only found out recently and started immediately plotting our escape from Clone World.”
His shock was clear as his beautiful blue eyes widened.
“I thought you changed your mind about being with me when I didn’t get a message that you were waiting for me to escape my security detail and eject in a pod you could pick up. I died just hours after reaching Barlish, and my body got shipped to Earth for an unblanked body to be grown,” she told him.
He studied her features, staying nothing.
She felt a little fear. “Does it matter to you that I’m a clone now?”
“No. We were there waiting for you to contact us. I thought you’d changed your mind.”
“I would never do that. All I wanted was to be with you. Free…” She burst into tears and lunged, hugging him tight again and burying her face back into the warm skin of his neck. All Marisol wanted to do was cling to him and never let go.
“I have you,” Free whispered in her ear. “We’re together now. No one and nothing will keep us apart.”
“Excuse me,” MC-1 interrupted. “I take it that you’re a clone?”
Free tensed against Marisol.
“They are clones, too,” she muttered against his skin, breathing him in and still not wanting to let go. “My medical team of four was assigned to care for me. Two more are in the cockpit. I had to take them with me, or Gramps probably would have killed them in a fit of rage after he realized I’d escaped.”
Free kept hold of her but shifted his head, probably to get a better look at the two clones strapped to the couch. “Yes. I’m an F Clone, formally known as Freak. You may call me Free. That’s the name I go by now.”
Marisol didn’t bother to look at the clones Free was speaking to. She really didn’t care how they reacted as long as they didn’t attack. They didn’t.
Free squeezed Marisol. “We have to leave right now. The pirates sent out a hail with clicking sounds.”
“What does that mean?” Marisol didn’t understand.
“I think it’s a language or code they use to avoid drawing attention from the authorities in the next system. I saw the damage to your shuttle as I docked with you. We need to abandon it and go on my shuttle now. Time isn’t on our side. More pirates will be coming.”
“You seemed to have kicked their ass. Why would they come back?”
Marisol felt irritated with MC-1. It wasn’t his place to question Free. Yet…he was.
“We’re out of normal shipping lanes, and they will be desperate to steal shuttle parts and cargo from us.” Free patiently explained. “The pirates just underestimated us by only bringing two teams to attack. More will be coming. We need to leave.”
Marisol hated letting him go, but she understood the danger. “We brought plasma.”
“I saw two stasis pods. Are more clones inside them?”
“No.” Marisol pulled back finally, enough to look at Free’s handsome face. She couldn’t get enough of seeing him. “They are just part of a ruse we used to escape Clone World. Do you have a use for them?”
“No. Leave the pods.” Free turned his head, staring at the two clones on the couch. He raised his voice. “Grab what you can and head toward my shuttle. We need to be gone in two minutes.”
“Who are you?”
Marisol twisted her head, seeing MC-2 floating near the open cockpit door. “We don’t have time for explanations. More pirates are inbound. Grab one of the plasma crates from the cargo bay. We’re switching shuttles. This is Free. He’s the clone I told you about.”
