Page 99 of Bound By Stars
I swallow hard, holding her stare. “I think I’m falling in—”
The door shifts open, bright white light flooding in like a spotlight on the two of us. Four porters step in. Captain Nazari enters behind them.
I turn, blocking her. “What the—”
“Get dressed,” the captain demands.
I hand Wes her sweater. Two of the porters pull me away from the bed as I snatch my shirt off the floor. “Did my mother send you for me? This has gone too far.”
By the time I slip my arms through my shirt sleeves, the other two porters have grabbed Weslie, cuffing her wrists and pushing her out into the hallway.
She looks at her bound hands, to me, and then the captain. “What the hell is going on?”
“Let her go. I’ll come with you. She didn’t do anything.” I try to follow, but the porters catch my shoulders, holding me back.
“Weslie Fleet, you are under arrest under suspicion of acts of treason, destruction of property, and endangering the lives of the passengers aboard my ship.” Examining ILSA, Captain Nazari nods to a porter. “Bring the bot, too.”
I yank my arms free and march out to the door, following. “That’s ridiculous. Weslie has nothing to do with any of that.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” She pulls against the restraints as Captain Nazari follows.
He stops between us, facing Weslie. “The first-class escape pod bay was sealed off and destroyed at 3:10 p.m. by means of incendiary devices.”
The color drains from her face. Her chest heaves. “Reve.”
He was supposed to be there to meet her. I was so relieved she was alive that I had forgotten him entirely.
Captain Nazari turns back to me. “I’m sure she failed to mention that her father is in custody on Mars for similar acts.”
Captain Nazari shoves his tablet into my hands. A man with reddish-brown hair stares out of the screen in the inmate photo. There’s nothing familiar about him. Weslie looks nothing like him. The only thing they have in common is a last name.Name: Samuel Fleet. Family:Wife, Nova Fleet, Earth. Daughter, Weslie Fleet, Earth.I scan his list of offenses without reading them and lift my gaze to Weslie’s stunned expression.
“Jupiter. I don’t know what he’s talking about.” Her wide eyes are pleading.
I shake my head. “This doesn’t prove anything. Weslie would never—”
“He’s been writing to her since he got to Mars. Years of messages, written in code.” He slides his finger across the screen in my hands again.
“I haven’t communicated with my dad in years,” she shouts.
“Take her to my office.” Captain Nazari nods to the other porters.
They drag her down the hallway, but she twists and fights against their grip. “Jupiter, I swear!”
I take a step after her, but Captain Nazari blocks my way. Thrusting the tablet back into his hands, I shove past him, but strong hands clamp onto each of my arms.
“Jupiter. Her father was one of the men involved in the explosion in segment 7S that resulted in two fatalities. One of them being—”
I suck in a breath. “Andi.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Weslie
Six days to Mars
The metal cuffs are cold against my skin, but my body is on fire. Rage courses through me as I’m shoved into a small white room past the bridge. The two porters pause outside the door. Through the narrow opening, I can see one of them tap the brass-edged white star pinned to their vest.
My mind buzzes with all of Nazari’s accusations. None of it makes sense.
