Hunted by Theresa Beachman

Author:Theresa Beachman [Beachman, Theresa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-28T16:00:00+00:00

21

Heath landed the hopper. It took some maneuvering, but he concealed the modest craft inside the mouth of a small cave hidden from any drones. Before they left, he disabled the in-built trackers. He allowed himself a moment of satisfaction as they excited the ship, its legs tucked under the egg-like body like a sleeping cat.

He’d chosen a site next to hot springs. Steam rising into the evening air had alerted him to their presence and the possibility of soaking in hot water had been too tempting to resist. Stars peppered the violet shaded night sky in the same hint of color as Isa’s eyes.

He could still taste her and wasn’t sure it was something he could walk away from. She’d already saved his life more than once. The reality of offering her up to Buke was suddenly an impossibility. There had to be another way. He just had to work out what it was.

Isa took a deep breath beside him. “Smells piney. There must be Exorizza growing nearby. This is beautiful.”

She peeked at him through lowered lashes. “As long as you ignore the being marooned on an alien planet and feeling starving hungry part of the equation.” Her mouth cracked into a shy grin. He loved that she never complained, always made the best of things. The man who’d let her go was a fool.

He took her hand guiding her down to the beach. “Ship’s powered down. I disconnected the tracker. We’re good, for a while anyway.” He rubbed tender skin between his eyebrows. “I’m not convinced the ship being tracked is our problem.”

Isa had left his side and was picking up twigs for firewood. She paused in her collecting. “Why?”

Heath swung his small backpack off his shoulder and tipped it out on a small rock. He surveyed his paltry kit. He was missing something, he was sure of it.

Isa picked up the socks and waved them in front of his nose. “Looking for these?”

“Hey.” He snagged them from her grip and returned them to his backpack. “Enough embarrassment.” He shook his head but wasn’t able to suppress a smile. “My mom, gives me a new pair every time I see her. I swear I could set up a sock shop.” He released a slow sigh. Normally he gave them to Jack, but he hadn’t had the opportunity on this trip.

“What I’m looking for is some kind of tracker.” He gripped the lining and ripped it with a sharp tug, feeling with his fingertips for anything hidden that might have alerted the Games Master to their location. His search came up empty. There was nothing.

“A tracker?” Isa was watching him, a frown creasing her face, the gorgeous smile from when he’d kissed her gone.

Heath drove his hands through his hair. “The Games Master. How’d he find us? This planet is vast. It’s too coincidental that twice we’ve run into those drones. I mean I know there are hunts all over the place, but still. I thought—”

“They were tracking us?”

He nodded.

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