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They were all quiet for a second, the weight of their dark past hanging over them.

“Hell,” Ry muttered.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor. They all turned and saw Nissa heading their way.

“I have information for you,” she said. “Sayer ran a deeper search on Ms. Jones.”

“What did he find?” Dare said.

“Not a lot. She’s hid her past pretty well. She’s from a world called Mase.”

Ry shook his head. “Nasty place. An edge world in the Triad quadrant. Gangs, crime, self-styled crime lords. They deal in anything—drugs, weapons, slaves.”

“Sounds lovely,” Justyn said with a wince.

“Most people are in service to gangs—willingly or unwillingly,” Nissa said. “Kids aren’t raised by families, they’re raised by the gangs. And it’s dog-eat-dog. Everyone fights for every single scrap they have before someone else takes it, or the gang comes looking for you. Either to make you join and fight, or if you’re a woman…well, you can imagine.”

Dare’s hand curled into a fist. So Dakota had grown up in hell, learning how to survive.

“The most recent info Sayer could find was on a business she started with some guy called Chris Tarron.” Nissa’s nose wrinkled. “They were trading in antiquities. After six months, the guy stole the entire business from her, and left her with nothing.”

Dare went very still. He waited until his anger had subsided a little. “I’ll question her some more. She took a hard blow to the head. I have her under the med scanner now, but she needs more time to heal. She’s tough, stubborn, and prickly.”

“Hmm, the best type of woman,” Justyn said with a grin.

His wife smacked him on the back of the head.

“Once she’s healed, I’ll talk to her.” Dare’s voice hardened. “I will get the truth out of her.”

“She’s not…particularly trustworthy,” Nissa said. “Based on her upbringing, I think she’ll fight you every step of the way.”

“Good.”

But he had no desire to break her. Dare loved to bring pleasure to a woman, to watch her go beyond her limits. He wanted to see if he could tame this one. Dakota Jones might just be the ultimate challenge.

He turned back to the med bay doors and they opened. As he stepped inside, he came to an abrupt stop.

The bed was empty. The electro-cuff was dangling off the side. The other door to the med bay was open.

“Dammit!”

As he strode out of the med bay, he felt a strange mix of anger and admiration.

But the biggest thing he felt was the challenge.

Dakota stumbled down another corridor. Her head was throbbing, her vision was blurry, and she was lost. She pressed a hand to her forehead, and as a sharp pain stabbed through her head, she felt her stomach do a slow, sickening roll.

She had no plan, and no idea where she was going. She just knew she had to protect the map and get away from Dare.

She rounded the corner and pressed one palm against the smooth wall to stay upright. This time, she really thought she was going to be sick. She breathed through her nose until she felt better.

Slipping a hand inside her shirt, she clasped the holo-orb. Her entire future was right here. She’d worked so hard to escape her homeworld and make a life for herself, but every time, she’d been knocked down. She felt a muscle beneath her eye twitch. Chris Tarron, the fucker, had been the last in a long line of bastards who’d duped her. They’d opened an antiquities store together, built up the business, shared each other’s bed a time or two. She didn’t believe in idiotic fairytales like love, but she’d thought he was decent enough, even if he was selfish between the sheets.

Until he’d tricked her. She’d discovered the deeds and bank accounts to the business had all been changed to his name. He’d booted her out and left her with nothing.

Her fingers tightened on the orb. Not this time. This time, she was protecting what was hers.

She stumbled around another corner. After she found the treasure, maybe she’d get a ship like the Sky Nomad. A ship that was all hers. Dakota Jones—starship owner. It had a nice ring to it.