to Flint. She climbed off the med bed and walked to the cleansing room. Inside she surveyed her reflection in the mirror.

She looked like hell with her long blonde hair in messy clumps, red, swollen eyes and a nose to match.

She dropped the blanket, went into the cleansing room and stepped into the cleaning unit. She scrubbed every inch of her skin. Doc had given her a toothbrush, which she used, and then removed a med outfit from the cabinet. They were all in large sizes to fit the cyborgs . The shirt was huge and the pants wouldn’t stay up. She discarded the pants.

The cargo area was empty when she stepped out of the cleaning unit. She was pretty sure no cameras were in the cleansing room. She’d half suspected that Iron would be waiting outside the door to check on her. The med shirt fell to mid-thigh. She walked to the med bed on shaky legs, feeling weak from days of running a fever. She surveyed the large cargo area.

She’d rather die than belong to Iron. The idea of begging Flint again came to her. She’d do anything if he’d just buy her back. She knew they would have safeguarded the other pods. Escaping the ship wasn’t a possibility but she just had to reach him.

She remembered the way to his quarters from the med bay. Her wet hair dripped down her back and dampened the med shirt. She took deep breaths. How long would she have before Iron became aware that she’d left the area? Was he watching her now? If he was she wouldn’t make it out of the cargo area.

She took a few more breaths and then pushed away from the med bed and sprinted for the doors.

They opened automatically at her approach. She’d half expected them to be locked. She ran straight into the lift. She hated the damn things but it was the fastest mode of travel on the ship and she didn’t have time to hunt for hatches.

Mira waited for pain to hit her from the shock implant but it didn’t. She hit the button for the level of Flint’s quarters. The lift moved and she gritted her teeth. They really need to fix this thing , she thought.

It moved too fast, was too jarring, but when it stopped relief hit her when she saw that no security waited to grab her in the corridor.

She moved quickly. She was terrified that the implant would shock her at any second or that a cyborg would show up to stop her. Flint’s quarters were easy to find. Staring at the door, she didn’t know how to get the damn thing open since he’d never given her access to it. She put her hand over the replaced scanner pad but it didn’t admit her. She used her palms to beat on the door.

Nothing.Tears blinded her for a moment. Flint was either in there and didn’t hear her because the walls were too thick or he was out. She heard heavy boots hitting metal, telling her that someone was coming.

She had nowhere to go and nowhere to hide so she just stood there waiting as the sound grew louder.

“Understood,” Flint sounded pissed. “Make sure the pods are locked down. Do a search of the ship.

Scan for every life sign on the ship and confirm—”

He turned the corner and saw Mira. He was gripping a device over his ear. He froze—just his eyes widened. A frown marred his features. “Cancel that. I found her. She’s on level six. I have her.” He paused. “Yes, inform Iron where she is. He can collect her.”

She noticed the other two cyborgs behind Flint who had stopped walking when he did. Flint looked furious as he dropped his hand from his headset. “The life pods aren’t on this floor. Did you get lost in your second attempt to flee the ship?”

She ignored the other cyborgs . “I wasn’t trying to escape. I was looking for you. That’s why I was pounding on your door.”

Cold eyes narrowed. “Iron is on his way to return you to Med. You’ll be locked to the bed this time until Doc releases you after his sleep cycle.”

Mira stared up at Flint. “Please don’t do this. I won’t try to escape from you again. Don’t sell me to Iron. Please. I’ll pay you back what I cost you when I ran. I have the money. I’ll give you everything I have, Flint. Hell, you’ll make a profit.