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Chapter 15

Jude nestled Octaviabeside him in the Cobra, his arm around her shoulders, keeping her close.

“We’re all good,” said Tobias from the front seat where he was driving. “No one’s on our tail.”

“Let’s keep it that way,” said Jude. He wanted Octavia back safe in the bunker, where he’d keep her forever.

“How did you find me?” she whispered.

“The message you sent,” said Jude. “I traced it here.”

She raised her head and smiled. “I should have known you’d find out where I was.”

“I was never going to stop looking. I knew you were out there somewhere.”

“All we could see was bare earth when we scanned this area,” said Tobias. “The State wanted to trade you for our surrender.”

Octavia’s head rose. “Commander West said that’s what he was planning to do.”

Jude encouraged her to relax by stroking a hand down her arm. “We played along, and talked about a negotiation.”

“And all the time we were on our way here,” said Tobias. “They didn’t see it coming.”

“The Dinnorms are not as smart as they think,” said Jude.

“Where is here?” asked Octavia.

“The far side of Alpha zone five,” said Jude.

“And the others? Heath and Malachi?”

“Safe. We got them, and some other prisoners, just before they were about to be executed on a death wall.”

“I heard about that. I figured you might have something to do with it.”

Jude’s eyebrows rose. “How did you hear?”

“I escaped my cell. I found a data room and spent time scanning the comms networks. Their tech is out-of-this-world advanced. It took me a while to figure it all out.”

Jude tightened his grip around her. Of course she escaped. She was his superwoman. “Did you hear anything useful?”

“I think so. I sent recordings to my message box. I hope they got through. The security in there was tight.”

“I’m sure it will be useful.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. His heartbeat was only just returning to normal now that she was in his arms. He’d come so close to losing her. “We’ll get you to the medical bay when we get back and treat your injuries.”

“I probably feel better than I look.” Octavia grimaced as her hand skimmed across her bald head.

“Don’t worry about your hair,” said Jude. “It will grow back.”

“They were going to mind wipe me,” said Octavia softly. “Commander West wanted me to work for him. He wanted me to be his pet.”

Jude gritted his teeth. “I’m glad they failed.”

“I had to punch him a few times to convince him it was a bad idea. I’m no one’s pet.”

Tobias gave a startled laugh. “That’s something I’d love to have seen.”

“He can’t bother us anymore,” said Jude. “You’re safe now.”