Contents

Copyright

Dedication

Title Page

1- Then

2- Now

3- Then

4- Now

5- Then

6- Now

7- Then

8- Now

9- Then

10- Now

Also by Theresa Kay

About the Author

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Text copyright © 2014 Theresa Kay

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Published by Theresa Kay

www.theresakay.com

Cover design by Nicole Spence at Cover Shot Creations

www.covershotcreations.com

To Lenore, thank you for your last minute help with this. I hope this dedication makes up for ripping out your heart, stomping on it and leaving it bleeding on a planet far, far away…

DARK EXPANSE

(A Bright Beyond Prequel)

By Theresa Kay

1- Then

The first time I met Thomas Markham I punched him in the nose, right between his ice blue eyes. In my defense, I’d had a bad day and he acted like a complete asshole.

It was the first day of school and my first day in that school in particular. Two weeks before the beginning of my freshman year, my dad got reassigned to the newly expanded M-Station in the Hadrall Quadrant. A great opportunity for him, but not so much for me. It required us to move immediately. I had three days to say goodbye to my friends and pack up my room before my whole family, mom, dad, my little brother and me, had to board a ship that would take us to our tiny new living quarters light years away.

My morning hadn’t gone well. Although my parents were both in the corps, we’d lived on planet before and I’d gone to a civvy school, which was nothing like the regimented on station school, and I was already struggling to fit in. My math teacher was a conceited jerk. Most of the other kids had known each other since they were in diapers and had already formed their little cliques. Even worse, I was stuck in a class with a bunch of kids whose parents far outranked my own. And just to top it all off, I was smaller than everyone else and my parents hadn’t been able to afford to buy me a new bodysuit, the required uniform, and I was stuck with a secondhand one.

So there I was, already pissed about the whole moving thing and feeling out of place amidst all the officer’s kids, when this blond-haired, blue-eyed guy strode across the multi-room. Two other boys flanked him, both as prissy perfect as he was, not a single hair out of place.

His eyes flicked up and down, taking in the cuffed legs and rolled sleeves of the stupid gray bodysuit and pausing at my face. He smirked. “Hello, new girl.”

The two nimwits beside him hadn’t even gotten to my face, much too busy staring at my boobs.

I scowled at all three of them and crossed my arms over my chest. “How original. I haven’t heard that ten times today already.”

“Aren’t you a spunky little thing.” He winked.“What should I call you then? How about small fry?” He made another slow perusal of my body with his eyes. “Though there are at least a couple things not so small— ”

And that’s when it happened. All the frustration and anger that had been brewing from the moment I heard about the move just exploded. Almost without thinking, my fist swung forward and made contact with his nose.

“My name is Eva.” I spun on my heel and walked away from the trio without another word, a nasal sounding curse from blondie and the laughter of his cohorts ringing in my ears. My knuckles stung, but damn it felt good.

When his two lackeys showed up in my next class, I slumped down in my desk a little, hoping they wouldn’t notice me. Of course, they walked right up to me.

“Hey little spitfire, I’m Nathan,” said the taller, black-haired one. He jerked his finger at the other guy. “And that’s Harvey.”

I sat up a little straighter. It didn’t seem like they were mad about it. In fact, both of them looked pretty amused.

Harvey grinned. “Great shot out there girlie. First time I’ve ever seen someone put Thomas in his place like that. I think we’ll keep you around to shut him up. How about it?”

Before I could respond, my comlink dinged with an incoming message: “Ms. Braebel, report to the office immediately.”

“Well boys, I guess I’m off to face the music.” I gave them a jaunty salute, but their smiles had faded and they didn’t say anything else.

My day got even worse when I got to the office and found out that Thomas’ father was General Markham, not only my father’s boss, but the commander of the entire station, the M in M-Station and I’d broken his son’s nose.

Really, a broken nose wasn’t that big of a deal, a pain pill and a single dose of boneknit and it would be as good as new. You wouldn’t know that from the look on the General’s face, though. He showed up in the office only minutes after my arrival and spent most of his time there trying to kill me with his stare. That is, when he wasn’t sending the same disgusted glare at his son for lying and saying it was an accident.

I’m still not sure what made Thomas lie for me that day, I had punched him over a relatively benign comment. My actions gained me the ire of the General, but I’d also gained three new friends. The three boys adopted me into their group and the four of us developed a bond that would take us through high school and beyond.

2- Now

My sharp intake of breath pulls Nathan’s eyes to me, a questioning look on his face.

“What’s up spitfire?”

I shake my head. I’ve worked hard to earn my place here at flight school and I’ve even managed to earn the position of squadron leader. I can’t let him get to me now. I point across the room to the stark white uniform moving among the black-garbed pilots. Nathan narrows his eyes and scowls glancing back and forth from the pale blond form to me. His hand finds mine under the table and he gives it a squeeze. I take a deep breath and squeeze back.

Harvey, oblivious as always, grins and shoots up from the bench. “Hey, Tommy! Over here!” His voice rings out through the mess hall and almost every face in the place turns to our table. He waves his hand over his head frantically.

Thomas returns his wave from across the room with a smile and starts wading through the room, the sea of black corps issued bodysuits parting to let him through. What is he doing here? I mean, I invited him but…I can’t believe he actually showed up.

I grab Harvey and pull him into his seat “Sit down! Everyone’s staring.”

Harvey slings an arm over my shoulder. “Eva, my dear, everyone was staring anyway. It’s not every day that a newbie girl gets one of the best training scores ever and attains a squadron leader position right out of flight school. And such a tiny little thing at that. Plus you’re sitting next to the most attractive guy in the place.”

I elbow him in the side. “I’m not that tiny.”

“Ah, but at least you admit I’m attractive.” He grins and winks, brown eyes twinkling.

“Yeah Harv, about as attractive as one of those Greesers. Now scoot over so I can sit down,” says Thomas a brief flash in his eyes when he takes in Harvey’s arm across my shoulders. A soft smile appears on his lips and the next words are quiet and meant only for me. “Sorry I’m late. Congratulations.”

I hold his pale blue eyes with mine and my cheeks heat. “Thanks.”

He was a cute boy who has grown into an incredibly attractive man. Not that Harvey isn’t, but he’s got nothing on Thomas’ perfectly mussed pale blond hair and eyes so icy blue you’d think they’d be cold. They aren’t of course. In fact, right now they’re rather heated… and still pinning me to my seat.

Nathan speaks up and I finally manage to tear my eyes from Thomas.“So you’ve heard then, even in that fancy commander school? Our little spitfire is the best of the best. I’d wager she’s even better than you Tommy boy.”

“I’m sure she is.” His words, soft and warm, are directed to me. When I raise my eyes, he is still looking directly at me and hasn’t even moved to sit in the spot Harvey made for him.

Why is he even here? I sent the vidmail over a month ago and haven’t heard a word from him. After all we went through, the promises he made…and he has the nerve to show up here and act like nothing has changed? I’ve spent weeks planning out what to say to him, crafting the perfect verbal barbs to cut him, to hurt him, to make him feel like I do. And now he’s here, right in front of me and I’m completely tongue-tied, trapped in the intensity of his gaze. Maybe I should just punch him. That worked out so well for me before.

But then he sits and the spell is broken as Nathan reaches across and ruffles his hair roughly and Harvey slings his other arm around Thomas.

“I must say Tommy boy—”

“Stop calling me that.” There’s a hardness to his words that doesn’t match the smile on his face and now that I look closer I can see he looks strained. “And would you please sit the hell down?”

Nathan backs up with his hand up by his shoulder. “What’s got you so touchy?”

Thomas’ eyes dart around the mess hall. “I’m not supposed to be here and you’re just calling attention to me.”

“Hate to break it to you man, but the ghost uniform is what’s doing that,” says Harvey. He pulls his arm away. “Why’d you show if you didn’t want to be here?”

Thomas’ shoulders slump. “That’s not what I said.”

Nathan narrows his eyes. “Seems to me like the high and mighty Thomas Markham has decided he’s too good for us now. I dunno Harv, when’s the last time you got a vidmail from him?”

“A few weeks ago?” says Harvey, shrugging.

“He doesn’t write, he doesn’t call and then all of a sudden he shows up here in his pretty new uniform to what? See how the other side lives?”

Redness rises from Thomas’ neck into his face.“It’s not like that. My father—”

“Since when do you care what your father says!” Nathan is leaning across the table and his words, though low in volume, cut the air like a scream.

Thomas leans forward until he and Nathan are inches apart. He opens his mouth to speak, but I break in before he can say anything.

“Stop it. Just stop it.”

Nathan sits back in his seat looking sheepish and Thomas darts his eyes to me and presses his lips together before doing the same. The two boys nod at each other with a quick jerk of their chins.

“Now that that’s out of the way, let’s eat!” says Harvey, digging his fork into the lump of nutri-meat on his plate.

Nathan and I start eating too and an uncomfortable silence falls over the group. Tension vibrates the air between us and it’s all I can do to choke my rations down. Thomas is not eating. He simply sits and stares down at his hands.

As soon as my fork hits the table, Thomas jumps to his feet. “Eva, will you walk with me, please?”

We exit the mess hall and stroll down the hallway. Side by side but what feels like miles apart. Now that I’m not locked in Thomas’ eyes, my anger at him is starting to rise.

After a few minutes of uneasy silence, he finally speaks up. “Why didn’t you tell me Nathan was angry with me?”

I shrug. “I didn’t know he was.”

Thomas stops and reaches for my arm. “Are you mad at me?” His brow furrows. “Should I not have come? I thought….”

I pull away from his grasp and place my hands on my hips. “You thought what? You’d show up here two hours late for my graduation? To do what exactly? I sent you a vidmail a month ago and nothing, I got nothing, not even a congratulations?” I close my eyes and turn my head away from him. “And not a single word since. At least the guys heard from you more recently than that. And the grad invitation last week? I sent that on a whim, I didn’t think you’d even respond, much less actually show.”

“I’m sorry. After… you said you needed time and I’ve been in training. You know that. We’ve gone weeks without talking before. What—”

“Yeah, but I’d never sent you a vidmail to tell you I was pregnant before.”

The color leaves his face. “You’re pregnant?”

“Oh don’t pull that crap with me, Thomas. It’s not like you didn’t make your thoughts on the matter clear enough last time I saw you. You’ve been stringing me along for years, but I thought we were friends at least.” I spin away from him and start back toward the mess hall.

“Eva wait!” Footsteps pound down the hall after me and Thomas pulls me to a stop by grabbing my arm. “I didn’t get that vidmail. And I’ve sent you one almost every day this week to let you know I was coming.”

“What? I haven’t heard from you…”

He runs his hand over his face and sighs. “I can’t believe he’d resort to this.”

“Who?”

His jaw tenses. “My father.”

3- Then

By the time the four of us hit our senior year of high school, we were near inseparable. Parties, pranks or just hanging out, everyone knew that where one of us was, the other three weren’t far behind. We’d all joke and flirt, but I’d never developed romantic feelings for any of the guys. That is, until mid senior year. And of course, my heart decided on Thomas, the only one of the three I knew I could never have. Not only because at that time he already had a girlfriend, but because even then I knew that with his father’s position, Thomas was destined for better things than the rest of us.

Nathan knew, of course. I’d always been closest to him even within our little group and he was the one that always looked out for me, beating up the idiots who messed with me and even helping me out with my little brother when my parents were too busy. If I’d had any say in my heart’s decision, I would have ended up with Nathan. Solid, dependable and just an all around great guy, but both of our feelings were purely platonic. Believe me, we tested this theory with a couple drunken kisses and there was just no spark.

Graduation itself was entirely uneventful, but at the party afterward, things between Thomas and I started to change.

We were allowed the use of the multi-room for the party and some bozo had rigged it so it kept cycling between the gymnasium, a science lab and a star covered sky. Strange and more than a little disconcerting after a couple drinks. The alcohol was forbidden, but we were teenagers who just graduated and most of us, me, Nathan and Harvey included, were headed off to corps boot camp in the morning. Did they really expect us to be sober?

Last I’d heard, Thomas had made plans with Serena and wouldn’t be attending, so I had a few more drinks than normal. I was wedged between Nathan and Harvey on a bench, one arm around each of them, telling them how great they were and how glad I was that ‘my boys’ were headed to Urias with me when Thomas walked in.

“Thomas!” I sprang up and ran across the room, throwing myself into his arms. “You came!”

He smiled down at me, not bothering to release me from his arms. “Of course I did. I couldn’t miss seeing my favorite girl before she ships off now could I?”

I pressed my face against his chest, not so subtly inhaling the scent of his cologne. The tequila had nixed my stringent control over my feelings for him… and apparently my verbal filter. “Isn’t Serena your favorite girl?”

“Not at all.”

The heated conviction in his voice brought my face up until I was locked into his eyes. “Huh?” So eloquent.

Thomas chuckled. “Serena was….expected of me. I’m eighteen now. I’ve graduated and tomorrow I’m off to command training. He has no say in my life now.”

Slowly, the connections formed in my brain. “Your father? He wanted you with Serena?”

“Yes.”

“But now… you don’t want to be with Serena?”

“No.”

“Huh.” I nodded my head. My tequila numbed brain was still chugging along, and my heart decided to take advantage of its distraction to take control of my mouth. “Do you want to be with me?”

He leaned down and rubbed his nose against mine. “I was hoping to make a slightly more romantic declaration, but yes, Eva. I’ve always wanted you.”

Brain and heart worked together this time to grab his shirt, pull him down and slam my lips to his. His mouth twitched into a smile under mine and then he wrapped his arms tighter around my waist and deepened the kiss. I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair, bringing a rumble from his chest, and then nipped at his lower lip and pressed my tongue into his mouth. The taste and smell of him overwhelmed everything else and my fingers had started inching down the zipper on his bodysuit before his hand came up and stopped me.

Nothing quite like being drunk, making out with the guy of your dreams and trying to undress him in public only to realize the entire room is staring at you. Flames filled my cheeks and I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my face into Thomas’ chest. “Shit. I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for.” He raised my face with a finger under my chin. “I’m ecstatic that you’re so enthusiastic about it.” Then he threw his head back and laughed.

I narrowed my eyes. “Watch it Mister Markham. Your nose knows what happens when I get angry.” I giggled. “Nose…knows…”

He reached up to cover the body part in question. “Does it ever.”

Blissfully grinning, my lips still red from our kiss and with Thomas’ arm around my waist, we made our way over to Nathan and Harvey.

“’Bout time,” said Harvey.

“Interesting timing,” said Nathan.

Thomas dropped his shoulders and hung his head. “I know Nate. You know how it is with him… I couldn’t do this before now.” He turned to me and smiled softly. “But I’ve been wanting to for ages.”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “We all knew it was coming. You best be good to our girl though Tommy.”

Another smile for me. “I will.”

Then we sat, the four of us together for the last time in what would be over two years, laughing and joking for the rest of the evening. Thomas and I didn’t spend any time discussing how we were going to make us work, just left our relationship with the declaration and the kiss and assumed we could make it through anything. Before I stumbled off to bed, I saw Nathan and Thomas in a heated discussion. It ended with a handshake and a man hug, so I figured they must have worked out whatever it was.

The next morning Nathan, Harvey and I shipped off to boot camp on Urias, a varied terrain on which we’d be run ragged for the next six months and on which there were only rudimentary communications set up. Thomas wasn’t able to come say goodbye in person. He simply sent a group vidmail to the three of us, wishing us well and telling us to be safe. No special message for me, no declarations of love, but he did remind Nathan to ‘take care of our girl.’

I wouldn’t see Thomas again for almost a year.

4- Now

I take a step backward. “Your father? I thought you were done with him. What would he have to do with this?”

“He must have intercepted the message. He…wouldn’t have wanted me to get it. Dammit!” Thomas’ fist flies into the wall and he curses again. “Why can’t I just live my life!”

Pulling his hand to me, I examine his reddened knuckles and then press my lips to them. “I’m sorry…”

“No no no.” He places a hand on either side of my face and shakes his head. “Not you. Not the baby. I’m just angry with my father.”

“But—”

The hard press of his lips silences me. Not exactly a kiss of passion, more born from determination. He pulls away much too soon and locks his eyes with mine. “I know what you’re thinking, but I’m thrilled about the baby Eva. I’ve never wanted anything else but to marry you and have you be the mother of my children. The timing isn’t great and it’s not going to be easy but… I couldn’t be happier.”

I can’t help the tear that leaks from my eyes and trails down my cheek. I’ve been crying too much lately, but this single tear is one of joy, very different from the soggy, snotty mess I left on Nathan’s shirt a couple days ago. “You’re sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” A mischievous glint enters his eyes. “In fact, I didn’t come here just to see your commendation.” Thomas releases my face and fumbles around in his pocket. When he pulls out a small, black box and lowers to one knee, my heartbeat speeds up and a lump starts climbing up my throat.

“Eva Braebel, you introduced yourself to me by breaking my nose and though that was painful, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. It showed me your spunk and your strength, the two things I admire the most about you. For years I watched you, waiting for the day I could make you mine, but when the time came, it was you who claimed me. But you claimed my heart long before that first kiss and, if you would have me, I’d love nothing more than to be your husband. . .,” he reverently places one hand on my stomach, “. . .and a father to our children.” He opens the box to reveal a gleaming ring. “Will you marry me?”

Before I can answer, there’s a loud whoop from behind me and a couple seconds later, I’m lifted into the air from behind and swung around in a circle.

“Congratulations!” says Harvey. “When’s it happening?”

“Harv, you haven’t even given me a chance to answer him.”

Like an eager puppy, he nods. “But of course you’re going to say yes, right?”

I laugh at the glare Thomas is sending at our friend and push his cheek so he’s looking at me instead. “Yes. I’m saying yes.”

It’s Thomas’ turn to pick me up and spin me around. He doesn’t stop at once, though, just keeps going around and around until the hallway is a blur around me.

My stomach lurches and I slap at his back. “Thomas! Stop spinning the pregnant lady, morning sickness isn’t just in the morning.”

He immediately stops and sets me on the ground, using his hands to steady my shoulders. “Sorry.”

“Pregnant!” I’d completely forgotten that Harvey didn’t know yet.

I nod and Thomas pulls me into his side, a large grin spreading across his face.

Harvey whoops again then looks over our shoulders. “Nathan! Have you heard! We’re gonna be uncles! Well, honorary ones at least, right guys?” He gives us an exaggerated glare, but can’t hold it for very long before he smiles again.

“I’d heard,” says Nathan simply.

A jolt of tension goes through Thomas and he glances down at me. “You told Nathan?”

“He’s my best friend, of course I told him.”

Clueless to our whispered conversation Harvey continues talking. “And do you know what else? We’ve got a wedding to plan!”

Loud chants from the mess hall prevent Nathan from responding.

I grab Thomas’ hand and pull him back to the mess hall. “They’re calling my name. Time for you to dirty up that pretty white suit of yours. No ghosts allowed at a pilot party.”

Harvey trots into the room ahead of us and announces me while Nathan follows behind silently.

5- Then

The four of us may have all joined the corps at the same time, but Thomas was put on the fast track for a command position. With his father a General, he could pretty much write his own career with very little effort. After graduation, Thomas was part of a completely different world. While Nathan, Harvey and I went to boot camp, Thomas sat in classrooms to learn strategy. While we slogged through the jungle and roasted in the desert, Thomas sat at fancy tables with other commanders.

The six months of boot camp were some of the hardest of my life. There weren’t many females willing to enlist and my size and gender caught me a lot of flack. I don’t know if I could have made it without the support of Harvey and Nathan. When I wanted to quit, Harvey gave me encouragement. When the other guys hassled me, Nathan’s fists shut them up. And Thomas… except for the occasional vidmail I barely heard from him. Could have been the crappy communications system, though.

As soon as I completed boot camp, I put in for a flight school position. It was a long shot. The program was tough to get into, but I’d always dreamed of being a pilot. Nathan and Harvey applied too, but it was Nathan who made me promise to go without them if need be.

While awaiting a decision, I was stationed with Harvey on Epyson, a newly settled planet in the Panatra Quadrant. Basically, we were glorified guards and gofers. When we weren’t standing outside the mayor’s office, we were patrolling the streets of its only city. Occasionally we were asked to go fetch supplies from the off planet station, but overall it was a fairly easy and low-risk assignment.

Nathan was sent to the front. The Greesal, large insect-like aliens the corps had been fighting off for decades, had advanced into the Orea Quadrant and even taken a few of the planets there. He spent three months on Ibia playing tug of war with territory lines until an injury got him sent to a medical facility near me in Panatra. I was a nervous wreck for weeks until I finally got word he would recover though his right leg would be more metal than flesh.

My flight school acceptance letter came about the same time, along with Nathan’s and, surprisingly, Harvey’s. Our little trio would be together again.

My communications with Thomas had picked up after boot camp and we exchanged vidmail a few times a week, neither one of us mentioning our, at that time, seemingly failed attempt at a relationship. I was just happy we were still friends. Experience had changed me and I didn’t think Thomas would have any part in my new life. I thought he felt the same. It was three days before I was to leave Epyson to head to flight school when Thomas popped back into my life, over a year since I’d last seen him.

Harvey dragged me to the launch pad with the promise of a surprise. I didn’t expect much, he’d never been very good at keeping secrets and if it were something big, he’d have already blurted it out.

“This better be worth it Harv. I could be sleeping right now.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure you’ll find this much better than sleep,” he said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes. “After a sixteen-hour shift, there’s nothing better than sleep.”

A voice spoke up from right behind me, his breath caressing the back of my neck. “What about a visit from an old friend?”

I jumped and spun around. “Thomas!”

His hair was longer, at least a day’s growth of pale blond stubble lined his face and he was dressed like a civvy. Except for the twinkle in his eyes, he looked exhausted. But he was still my Thomas and I jumped into his open arms without hesitation.

He buried his face in my hair. “It is so good to see you, Eva.” A throat cleared behind us. “And you too Harvey.”

Once Thomas set me down, I whirled on Harvey and punched his shoulder. “You bastard. You could have at least warned me to take a shower or something.”

“Violent as always I see.” Thomas laughed. “I wasn’t even sure I was going to be able to make it until two hours ago. I told him not to get your hopes up. I knew there’s only so much secrecy Harv can handle.”

Harvey sighed and all three of us cracked up. It was just like old times, minus Nathan of course.

We headed to a local restaurant for dinner and spent hours just laughing and catching up. When Harvey begged off further drinks and said he wanted to head back to the barracks to sleep, Thomas grabbed my hand and begged me to stay. I agreed.

Three drinks later, we stumbled out of the restaurant and were walking under the star-dusted sky in a nearby park. Thomas grabbed my hand and led me to a secluded spot under the low-hanging branches of a tree. Even when we sat down on the grass, he didn’t let go.

“I’ve missed you,” he said softly. “It’s been lonely.”

“Try sleeping in the barracks with twenty snoring men, then talk to me about how horrible it is to be lonely. Speaking of the barracks, I gotta get back so I can sleep.” I moved to stand up, but he pulled me back down and I ended up in his lap.

“You’re drunk.” Goosebumps rose on my arms when his alcohol-scented breath brushed my ear.

I tilted my head back until I was looking up at him. “So are you.”

“You’re beautiful.”

With one hand I patted his scruffy cheek. “So are you.”

He burst out laughing and the next thing I knew his mouth was on mine. Gently at first and then pressing harder, until I parted my lips for him and his tongue slipped past them. I held tight to the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer until there was not even the slightest space between us. His arms moved down to wrap around my waist and his hands rested just above my ass for a moment before gliding down and adjusting my legs until I was straddling him. A groan, his or mine I’m not sure, vibrated against my lips as I ground my hips down. Thomas met me with a thrust of his own and that time I knew it was my gasping moan that sounded in the night.

He took the sound as an invitation and moved his mouth down to my neck, running soft, short kisses along the entire length while his hand worked at the zipper to my uniform, inching it down until just the top of my bra was exposed. Heat shot through me with each subtle movement he made. The rhythmic pulsing of his hips and his tongue slipping down between my breasts almost had me falling apart right there. None of my few previous sexual experiences even came close to making me feel like Thomas could and that was with our clothes still on.

He slid the zipper down until it was at my waist and then ran his hand over my stomach and around to my bare back. The other hand pulled down one cup of my bra and when his mouth hit bare skin there, a shudder worked its way up my body. His face moved back to my neck as I trembled and he said my name, half curse, half prayer, and then leaned his head back against the tree when my hands went to his pants. I got them unbuttoned and was about to pull the zipper when he stopped me. He covered my hands with his and pulled them up to his mouth, kissing the tips of my fingers. “Not here. Come back to my room with me.”

And that’s what I did. We spent the night in a cocoon of bliss, promises and declarations of love. Thomas told me his father was still pulling the strings in his career but that once I graduated from flight school, we could be together openly. We’d already waited one year so another one didn’t sound so bad. We’d have vidmail and he would try to get out to see me as often as he could. I went to sleep cuddled against his bare chest and content in his arms.

Hours later, I woke alone, no sign of Thomas except for a note on the nightstand.

I love you, Eva. Always.

6- Now

Harvey stands on the table with his cup raised. “A toast! To Eva Braebel,” he coughs into his fist something that sounds suspiciously like Markham before continuing, “The best pilot in the past…uh… the best pilot ever!” Tequila doesn’t help his eloquence either.

Shouts of ‘hear, hear’ sound throughout the room and every cup in the room goes up while I sidle closer to Thomas. He puts his arm around me and pulls me even closer, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of my head.

After the toast, a constant stream of faces stroll past my table some stopping to chat, some just patting me on the back and heading out. More than a few of them eye Thomas and then slide their gaze to me and then Nathan. He shrugs and I ignore it. Thomas’ jaw clenches every time. These men, my training class will make up my unit and I will be their leader. Harvey wasn’t kidding when he said I was the best of the best. I’d had the highest training scores in decades and I’m the only female to ever achieve the rank of squadron leader straight out of flight school.

It’s not like boot camp, though, these men respect me and I’d trust any one of them with my life.

Still a little on edge, Thomas smiles around at the other pilots offering their congratulations to me. This is probably a younger and more boisterous group than he’s used to, but he’s fitting in well enough despite the extreme gap in rank. The other pilots are warming up to him. Probably more because of the support of Nathan and Harvey and the fact that he’s got his arms around me, their golden girl, than any other reason, but I’ll take what I can get.

It’s down to around ten of us sitting around the mess hall when someone suggests moving the party down to the multi-room. Arms filled with bottles, Harvey runs ahead and beats everyone there while Nathan and Thomas walk with me.

When we get there, I know why Harvey ran ahead. The multi-room has been set to shuffle between scenes of M-Station, Urias, Epyson, and the star-filled sky of the simulators. Nathan catches up with Harvey and leans down to say something in his ear. Minutes later, the M-Station gymnasium, chem lab, and med station have been put into the rotation.

The remaining pilots stand side by side in front of me and throw their arms out to the side, half of them nearly falling over in the process. “Squadron Leader Spitfire, welcome to your life!”

They circle around me and each one gives me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. My face can hardly contain the grin that spreads across it. The guys must have been planning this for ages. I can’t believe Harvey didn’t let something slip and I tell him so when he reaches me.

Harvey actually blushes. “They didn’t tell me until about an hour ago.”

I laugh and place my palm on his cheek. “And you did a great job keeping quiet for that hour.” He hugs me harder and I have to blink back the tears in my eyes. Blasted hormones.

The last one to step up is Nathan. He leans down for his hug and that’s when the tears actually fall.

“You did this.” I shake my head slowly. “It’s wonderful. Thank you.”

“Anything for my little spitfire.”

I pull back and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. “I’m like a leaky faucet these days.”

Nathan’s gaze goes over my shoulder and then returns to me. “Are you positive that this is what you want?”

“What? A squadron leader position? It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

He closes his eyes and pushes a breath out through pursed lips. “No, I mean Thomas. Marriage…everything. I just don’t want to see that man hurt you again.”

“Are you talking about Thomas or his father?”

He thinks for a moment before replying, “Both.”

7- Then

Flight school was everything I’d hoped and more. It wasn’t even half as hectic as boot camp and there were only twenty people in my class. At first, as the only female, I had a little trouble, but once the others realized that not only was I competent and smart but that I was practically one of the guys, we all got along. It was a lot like high school actually, parties and late nights in between classes and exams. Of course, these classes were quite a bit harder. To everyone’s surprise, including my own, I excelled at everything. I’d always wanted to be a pilot and it turned out I had great instincts and a natural skill that had me at the top of the class throughout my entire time there.

The second half of the program meant a return to space. We were quartered on a small station on the edge of the Orea Quadrant. There were still simulations, but what I really enjoyed was the real time flying we got to do. Practicing maneuvers and formations was my drug. Even better, though remote, the station has a great communications array and I was able to keep in near-constant contact with Thomas.

About a month after I entered the on-site phase of training, Thomas let me know he was off to training of his own and would be out of touch for a while. Although a little disappointed I wouldn’t get to see his face in a daily vidmail, I told him I loved him and I’d be there waiting on the other end. Just like he’d always done for me.

Imagine my surprise when I saw him in a holovid on the news a few weeks later. He was standing next to his father at some awards ceremony and Serena, the same tall, willowy blond from high school, had her arm linked with his. During the clips of the ball afterward, a lot of camera time was spent on the two of them dancing together, he in a stark white commander’s uniform and she in a flowing ball gown. Her darker blond hair complimented his when she leaned her head on his shoulder and her ice blue gown was the exact color of his eyes. The commentators introduced her as ‘the younger Markham’s long-time girlfriend and newly announced fiancee.’

To say I was devastated would be an understatement. My heart shattered in my chest and it was all I could do to make it back to my quarters before completely losing it. I cried, I raged, and then I cried some more. When I pulled myself together enough to be seen, my first stop was Nathan’s door. There was no way Harvey could have kept something like this a secret.

Even my very loud and persistent pounding couldn’t make Nathan be in there, though, so my second stop was the commissary. Whether it was my red-rimmed eyes or my threat on his life, the guy on duty was convinced to give me at least three times more beer than I was allowed to have. Straight back to my silver-walled room I went where I proceeded to drink almost every drop.

I was pretty well drunk before Nathan found his way to my door.

“You knew! Bastard!” My fist went for his face, but he was easily able to dodge the blow and catch my hand.

He pulled me tight against his chest. “Yes.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me? Was this all some big joke to you guys? Watch Eva make a fool of herself?” Each question was punctuated with a feeble hit to his arm.

Nathan pressed his lips together and shook his head. “God no. I’d never want to see you hurt. I knew about Serena, but I didn’t know about your time with Thomas on Epyson until Harvey let it slip earlier. And I sure as hell didn’t know you two had been…whatever…since then.” He grabbed my chin and pulled my face up until I was looking at him. “If I’d known, I would have said something. Thomas knew that and that’s why he didn’t tell me either. I am so sorry little spitfire.”

There was no mistaking the remorse and pain in his voice and the tears started again. I threw my arms around his waist and sobbed on his shoulder while he rubbed small circles on my back and made soothing noises.

Nathan slowly walked me backward until my legs hit the bed and then lay down beside me and curled his body around my shaking shoulders.

Once I stopped crying, he gently wiped my cheeks with his fingers. “You’ll get through this. You’re the strongest person I know.”

Laying there, inches from his face, I studied his deep brown eyes. Not the startling blue of Thomas’ but still beautiful. I closed the distance between us and softly pressed my lips to his.

Nathan returned the kiss, just a gentle movement of his mouth against mine, but then he pulled back. “Eva, you’re my best friend, but I won’t let you use me to forget him.” He rubbed his nose against mine. “Besides, we’ve been here before and you’re like a sister to me. Even drunk, you had to have noticed you and I don’t have that kind of spark.”

It was true, his kiss gave me nothing but comfort, but his words still stung for a moment. And then I laughed and he did too.

“I’m a little mortified,” I said, giggling. “Let’s never talk about this again.”

He agreed and we changed the subject completely. Instead, we reminisced about our boot camp antics, the latest flight sims we’d completed and any other happy subject Nathan could come up with. Eventually, I drifted off to sleep with my head under his chin and his arm around my waist.

Sometime in the early morning, the sound of the door sliding shut woke me and I was alone with a headache pounding behind my closed eyes. Too hungover to care, I rolled over to my stomach and drifted in that space between sleeping and wakefulness.

Nathan’s voice outside my door caught my attention, but I could only hear part of what he said. “…dare you show up here!”

Some mumbled response.

Then Nathan again. “No….need you…just leave.”

Another quiet response and then even Nathan’s voice became too low for me to make out. A few minutes later the door slid open and so did my eyes. Nathan came in, sleep-tousled, shirtless and with a scowl on his face. A flash of blond hair caught my eye behind him, but it was gone before my tired brain could really process it.

Nathan pulled his shirt and boots on and smiled at me watching.

“Who that?” My pounding head wasn’t ready to form complete sentences.

He shook his head. “Nobody. Just go back to sleep.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. Later that afternoon when I finally dragged myself from bed in search of coffee, I realized it had been Thomas outside my door. I told myself I didn’t care and eventually that could have been true, but I had a vidmail from him waiting for me that evening when I returned to my room. Of course, I couldn’t resist opening it.

8- Now

Familiar arms wrap around me from behind. “Don’t worry Nathan,” says Thomas. “You’ve taken care of our girl for two years. It’s my turn now and that’s a responsibility I’m more than happy to take on.”

Still wary, Nathan nods. “It’s a pretty heavy responsibility. I can’t imagine your father is done trying to mess with our lives.”

Thomas’ arms go rigid. “I can handle my father.”

“I sure hope so.” Nathan shakes his head, kisses my cheek and walks away.

I lean back and tilt my face up. “Do you think the General is done with us?”

Thomas shrugs and kisses my nose. “Probably not, but I suspect he will find it a lot harder to stop us now that you’re the flight corps’ darling. Besides, even with all the obstacles he put in my way getting here, I did get here, even if I was a little late. Now that we’re together we can handle whatever he throws at us.” He nuzzles my neck. “Have I told you yet how utterly proud I am of you?”

“A couple times, but you could always tell me again.” We laugh and I rest my cheek on his head.

In this one moment, I am content. I’ve got Thomas’ arms wrapped around me, Nathan and Harvey at our sides and most of my flight crew around me. In this instant, I have everything I’d ever wanted.

Then, the multi-room slide show halts, the alarms blare, and my perfect moment falls apart around me.

9- Then

The vidmail explained almost everything. Some things I knew (the General hated me) and some things I didn’t (the General had actively worked against me for years). By the end of it, I just sat back in my chair with my mouth open. A relationship with Serena was expected of Thomas, but it was all a show. The two were good friends, both with overbearing parents, who’d agreed to keep up the facade until they could break away on their own. She even knew about me and Thomas (I’m not so naive I’d take his word on that, she was actually in the vidmail too).

Other connections I’d never imagined started coming together. Thomas’ constant pleas for Nathan to take care of me were an effort to protect me from the General. It wasn’t by chance I’d ended up in one of the toughest boot camps on a planet with horrible communications, and it was only Thomas’ influence that got Nathan and Harvey stationed there with me. Nathan’s assignment to the front after boot camp was no accident, but it was meant for me. The two boys agreed to switch my assignment for Nathan’s. Thomas’ haggard and exhausted appearance on Epyson when he came to visit me was because he’d traveled for days while trying to stay under his father’s widespread radar. His rapid departure that morning? Because the General had almost tracked him down and he had to draw him off me. Even the holovid was nothing but well-placed propaganda. If I hadn’t seen it on the news, a copy would have probably been delivered to me.

I was more than a little irritated that neither one of the boys had told me any of this before and there were quite a few curses I directed at both of them. But all in all, I forgave them. Now that my relationship with Thomas was out in the open, at least in our little group, both Harvey and Nathan were happy for us. Even though mine and Thomas’ daily vidmails were back in effect, flight school graduation couldn’t come soon enough. Thomas had managed to get assigned as commander of a newly built space station on the outer edge of the Panatra Quadrant and was just waiting until I completed training to request that my squad be assigned to him.

Two months before graduation, Thomas finally managed to come see me for the first time since our reunion on Epyson. I arranged a few days leave with my instructors and met him on Litherul, only a couple of jumps from the flight school station.

We had a lot of time to make up for, so for two entire days we wrapped ourselves in each other, barely leaving the bed, much less the room. Our third morning started out well enough, but it didn’t end that way.

My fingers traced lazy circles on Thomas’ chest and then trailed lower, following the trail of hair that started below his belly button until they wrapped around him. Still half asleep, he groaned and rocked his hips forward. The only invitation I needed. I gave one of his nipples a light bite and then climbed on top of him. He didn’t stay asleep for long, soon gripping my waist and matching each slow roll of my hips. Swiftly flipping me onto my back, he drove himself into me quick and hard until both of us were left trembling, sweaty and speechless.

He pressed soft kisses along my hairline and then one on the tip of my nose. “God, you’re insatiable. I love you. ”

I laughed. “I love you too.”

Thomas rolled off me and onto his back, pulling me over until I was cradled against his chest again. “You know in a few more months, we can wake up like this every day.”

I pushed up on one elbow and brushed his hair back. “You know I think I’d like that.”

“You think?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’d better make sure you know.”

Fingers digging into my side, he tickled me until I was so breathless all I could say was, “I know. I know.”

He laid his head back on the pillow. “You’d better.”

With me curled against him, we lay there in silence for a moment. Lost in thought, I didn’t even notice he said something until he lightly pinched my arm.

“What?”

“I said, we’ll still have to be careful for a while, though.”

“What do you mean?” I tilted my chin up so I could see his face.

“I’m a ship commander. I’ll be your commander.”

“Damn straight you’ll be my commander. You can command me anytime you want.” I slid my hand down his chest and then lower.

Thomas grabbed my wayward hand and pulled it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the center of my palm. “I’m serious Eva. We’ll both have jobs to do and I’ll be your superior officer. We won’t be able to be public with our relationship…for a while. I’ll have to keep up appearances and— ”

I yanked my hand away. “You mean you’ll still have to keep me a secret?” Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stood and reached for my bodysuit. “Does this mean Serena will need to be there too? Keeping up appearances and all, you’d need your fiancee, right? Probably have to share a cabin with her too huh?”

The burn behind my eyes threatened to turn into tears and I blinked rapidly while I zipped my bodysuit and went for my boots.

Thomas’ hand wrapped around my wrist and he pulled me up until I was looking at him. “It’s not like that at all and you know it. We have to take this slow and do things right.” He dropped my hand and shook his head. “This hurts for me too. I haven’t been able to protect you. I haven’t been able to be there for you. I want to give you everything, but I just can’t and that kills me. As much as I want to, we can’t just run off and get married and have a bunch of kids.”

“Yet. We can’t get married and have a bunch of kids yet. Right?”

His shoulders dropped and he looked at the floor. “I don’t know if that will ever be something we can have.”

Crack! My open palm connected with his cheek and he didn’t even bother trying to dodge it.

“Did you think I’d just be your secret lover forever Thomas? Like some kind of embarrassment you could hide when it suited you? I’ve been such a blasted fool.” I lost the battle with the tears and they fell freely down my face. My voice broke and I nearly choked on my next words. “It’s over Thomas.”

I ran out of the room, out of the building and directly to the nearest launch pad to catch the next flight out. It went in the completely opposite direction of the flight school, but the blank quiet of hyperspace was just what I needed. I spent the last two days of my leave hopping from planet to planet, ship to ship, until I found my way back to the flight school station.

Nathan and Harvey ambushed me in the mess hall and yelled at me for making them worry. I hadn’t even bothered to take a comlink on my little jaunt and all they knew was that Thomas and I had a fight and I disappeared. Their reprimand didn’t last very long as I started crying again and Nathan gathered me into his arms and led me back to my room.

Not just one, but twelve frantic vidmails from Thomas waited for me. I deleted every single one without watching them.

Nathan still lingered in my doorway so I turned my attention to him.“Tell him I’m safe and I forgive him, but I need time.”

He nodded and left, the door sliding shut behind him.

Three weeks later, I discovered I was pregnant. After at least ten false starts, I managed to record a vidmail informing Thomas and sent it off, the very vidmail that put into motion the horrifying events that were to follow.

10- Now

As a training station on the outer edge of a well-patrolled system, we have few outer defenses and even fewer weapons. On a night like this, trainers off station, the squad fresh from graduation and with more than half the unit passed out and the others too drunk to be much good, a drill would be unnecessary and perhaps even cruel. This is not a drill.

But then, what the hell is going on?

The overhead lights go dark, only to be replaced by the eerie red glow of the emergency lights along the floor. We’ve lost primary power.

Training kicks in and Nathan and Harvey move closer and the other pilots circle around. All of them look to me. Taking in their slightly unsteady positions and bleary eyes, I’m thankful I’m pregnant and couldn’t drink this evening. Although Nathan and Thomas haven’t had much to drink, I’m probably the only fully sober one of the bunch.

I swallow and clear my throat. The proximity alarms have been triggered. As well as the landing bay one. Primary power….has been cut? Unknown threat. Thomas squeezes my arms. In the event of an unknown threat, we need to secure a line of communication and work our way towards the command room. Should the command room be compromised, go towards the escape pods.

Each word that leaves my mouth straightens my shoulders and brings my voice under control. “Janning…. Yanak and Bridges locate and rouse the rest of the unit. They may not have heard the alarms.”

An uneasy laughter flows over the group.

“Clarke, Kendall, and Heven get to the training room and secure as many functional weapons as you can. Wainwright (Harvey) and Stone (Nathan) you boys are with me. I will head to the command deck and we will all reconvene there. Should I not arrive or should the command deck be compromised, immediately proceed to the nearest escape pod. ” I roll my shoulders and take a deep breath. “This is probably just a drill, but treat it like it’s not. Be quick. Be quiet and, above all, be safe.” The lie rolls off my tongue smoothly.

When the six men I’ve tasked with other things leave and it’s just me and my boys, I pull all three of them to me until we’re in an awkward huddle.

“This ain’t a drill,” says Harvey.

I nod. “I imagine if the primary power has been cut that means command deck has been compromised somehow. We’ll take it if we can, but I have no idea what we’re up against here.”

“Forget the command deck, you’re getting in an escape pod,” says Thomas.

I turn to face him and put my hands on his cheeks, forcing him to meet my eyes. “You know I can’t do that. I’m the squad leader. I can’t run at the first sign of danger and I sure as hell can’t leave my unit behind.”

“But…you’ve just tonight graduated from training…and we…you’re…”

I shake my head. “That doesn’t absolve me from this responsibility.”

Thomas looks over my shoulder, his eyes darting back and forth. “Harvey? Nathan? You can’t let her do this.”

“We have our orders,” they say simultaneously.

Thomas clenches his fists and takes a step back. “I outrank you. I outrank her and it is my orders that Eva be put into an escape pod before proceeding.”

Nathan steps forward, but I put a hand on his chest stopping him. “Now is not the time to pull rank, Thomas. You know nothing about this station and are in no position to be giving any orders. I need you behind me on this, hell in front of me if it makes you feel better, but I need your support here.”

“Fine.” A brisk nod from him has the other two circling around me, Thomas to my left, Harvey on the right and Nathan bringing up the rear.

We exit the multi-room and make our way down the corridor. At each branch, we stop and one boy carefully checks around the corner before we proceed. The alarms have quieted, but the red glare of the emergency lights still masks the hallway. Everything is quiet. Perhaps it was just a drill?

We reach the door to the command deck without incident and it’s still quiet.

Harvey snorts, but his voice wavers a little. “Good thing we didn’t let you send your wifey off to escape from a drill. She’d have never lived that one down.”

“Yeah.” Thomas’ voice is shaky too.

I place my palm on the reader beside the door and wait for it to slide back. The command deck is empty and it looks…normal. I move to step inside, but Thomas throws his arm out to block me and shakes his head.

“I’m going first. You said if it made me feel better…” He smiles and winks.

I laugh as he walks forward. Just as he clears the doorway, a sharp, stick like appendage comes from above, spears him through the shoulder and pulls him up and out of sight. My laugh dies in my throat and it feels like the air is sucked from the room.

“Thomas!” I’m through the doorway before anyone can stop me.

Once inside, I see the bodies. Two…Three… no, four lining the wall just inside the door. The command team.

I tilt my head back to find absolute horror above me. A greenish Greesal holds Thomas with one leg while he tries to wrench out of its grip… and yank himself off its leg. One arm beats ineffectively against the hard exoskeleton while he pulls his impaled shoulder downward inch by inch.

My next scream brings his eyes to me and he shakes his head. “Eva! Get out of here!”

Two more Greesal skitter across the ceiling, their insect-like legs clicking against the metal in a terrifying beat, but their presence barely registers as there’s a squelching noise and Thomas screams, a sound of blind agony. Another one of the Greesal’s legs has impaled him, this time through his stomach.

I jump on the control board and reach for him. The Greesal twists the leg in his stomach and pulls it out, only to send it right back in. Pinned to the ceiling by both shoulders, Thomas can do nothing to stop the flow of blood from his midsection. Just underneath him, the hot coppery liquid rains down on me.

Soaked in his blood, Thomas’ name explodes from my throat over and over and over. It is the only word I know.

White hot screeching pain erupts from my stomach as one of the other Greesal stabs me from behind. And then again. Two black sticks protrude from my front, one by my shoulder and another in my stomach. I don’t even care. Woozy and delirious from pain and blood loss, my head rolls back.

Crack! My head rocks to the side and I raise it. Nathan’s shaking me and screaming my name. Why aren’t I dead?

Nathan shakes his head and motions for someone else. Harvey appears in my vision and I give my boys a smile. It turns into a scream when they pull me forward off the spines. The world goes white with pain and then black as I pass out.

The next thing I now Nathan’s leaning over me buckling me…into an escape pod? How long have I been out? Where is everyone? Wait. No. No. I need to go back for Thomas.I struggle to push his hands away.

“You have to go Eva.” He glances back over his shoulder. “It’s not safe for you here. I’ve programmed the pod to fly to the medical facility I recovered in…it’s two systems over. When you get there, ask for Celeste and tell her I sent you. Just hold on.” Tears leak out of his eyes and trail down his cheeks. “I’ll find you when this is over. I promise.” His lips brush against my forehead. “Hang in there. Do it for me.” He looks away and squeezes his eyes shut.

“Harvey?”

A pained laugh. “You know Harv. He’ll be okay.”

I pat his clenched fist. “Thomas?”

He shakes his head. “But you’re going to be fine. You’re going to be just fine.” He presses one last kiss to my forehead and steps out of the pod. As the door slides shut, a broken sob breaks out of his chest. “I’ll see you soon little spitfire.”

My fragile hold on consciousness breaks and I surrender to the darkness.

A jerk. A jolt. A crash.

Light. Sound. Voices.

“Who is she?”

“No clue. Not a scrap of ID on her.” Nathan stripped it from me. Why?

“And the pod?”

“Markings obliterated on reentry.” I’m on a planet. How?

“All that blood hers?”

“No, but she’s severely injured. Two large bore stab wounds, one in the midsection and one in the left shoulder.”

“Well, clean her up and stick her in stasis for healing. I’m sure someone will be along to claim her before too long.”

“Will do, sir.”

Two days before my twentieth birthday, they placed my unconscious body into an unmarked metal tube.

My friends don’t know where I am.

These people don’t know who I am.

And I will float in the nothing of stasis until someone answers at least one of those questions.

My last conscious thought is of ice blue eyes.

Thomas.

Eva’s Story continues in Bright Beyond, a multi-part novella serial.

Episode 1 is out NOW and is available to borrow for FREE through Kindle Unlimited!

http://smarturl.it/BB_Episode1

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Also By Theresa Kay

BROKEN SKIES

Plagued by nightmares and panic attacks, seventeen-year-old Jax Mitchell cannot sleep without her twin nearby... and he’s been kidnapped by the E'rikon, an alien race who settled on Earth after an apocalyptic event known as the Collapse decimated most of the human population. Her fierce loyalty to her kidnapped brother drives her to rescue him at any cost even if it means employing the help of a teenage alien boy with questionable motives.

FRACTURED SUNS

(Broken Skies Book Two)

ANTHOLOGIES

“Stability,” a short story included in The Telepath Chronicles

Cora has spent most of her life in a clandestine medical facility, isolated from the world and content to submit to tests and experiments at the request of her keepers. Content, that is, until the day she discovers their end goal: breeding her to create a more stable telepath. So when an attack on the facility gives Cora her chance at escape, she seizes it. But as she gets closer to freedom and learns more about the world outside, Cora finds she doesn’t know whether she’d rather be outside or in—or whom she can trust.

"Six Days," a short story included in The Z Chronicles and also available separately.

The longest anyone has survived a zombie bite before succumbing to the madness is six days. That means, if she’s lucky, Sarah has four more days before she goes full-on flesh eater and she needs every single one of them. The life of her infant son depends on her finding an uninfected person willing to take him before she loses her mind. Her husband is dead, her son is depending on her, and the countdown is on.

"Protocol A235," a short story included in Dark Beyond the Stars

Beth is a maintenance tech on the Genesis, the spaceship that will carry her, along with fifty thousand other passengers, to a new home in deep space. But when she comes out of cryosleep to serve her thirty-day solo shift, she finds the ship in disarray, its systems malfunctioning. Worse yet, a previously undisclosed protocol has been put into effect. Protocol A235. And now Beth finds herself facing much more responsibility than she signed up for.

About the Author

The only person she knows who had a subscription to Writer’s Digest at eleven and was always excited to write research papers, Theresa has been putting words to paper since a young age. She writes predominantly in the sci-fi and urban fantasy genres. Residing in central Virginia, she juggles two kids, a husband and a full-time job in addition to her writing and in her free time she reads almost anything she can get her hands on.

Okay, enough talking about myself in the third person… I love interacting with readers, so if you want to shoot me a line, you can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Goodreads. Even if it’s not about my books, I like chatting about my (many) fandoms, books and reading in general, or just about anything really.

www.theresakay.com

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