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them shaking. Whatever he was thinking, she felt a sense of
dread. She wanted to save the men she cared for, but she
also wanted her freedom. Her best hope lay with Hawk, but
she did not want anyone to die for her. Life was important,
as important as freedom. Her heart was breaking and her
dreams were dying. Frantically, she tried to think of some
way to warn Hawk and to tell them to leave her behind. As
much as she wanted to go with them, she would not want to
live with selfish deaths on her conscience.
Time seemed to drag by slowly. Finally, her father's
communicator twittered its shrill call and things started to
move forward. Worried, Passion listened and watched as
her father scheme began to unfold.
She saw Hawk and Dragon exit the ship. Why in the
galaxy would Hawk allow Dragon to walk out into danger?
Passion's Escape Ashlynn Monroe Page 65
He had to guess that there was still a chance that her father
would try to kill him. Did the man have no commonsense
or did he also have some sort of scheme? All Passion could
do was watch and worry. Laser fire erupted around her. Her
father and his guards were under attack from the ship.
Cargo ships never had weapons; this one was a big
surprise. Raven pushed her under a table. When he moved
to shove her out of the way of laser fire, she saw him hit.
Passion screamed and crawled to her brother.
His arm would never be the same, but the laser had
made a clean cut. It had not gone through enough of his
arm for it to make the arm a loss. With some surgical
microbots and time, the muscle and skin could be regrown.
Raven groaned and Passion pulled him under the table with
her. He was unconscious from the pain and she would not
leave the big man to suffer more injuries.
The firing subsided for a moment, Dragon called into
the damaged house.
"Let the girl go and you will have your credits!"
Vulture responded.
"Seeing as the buyer has the resources to pay more for
such top quality goods the price just increased. I won't let
her go for less than two million credits!"
Passion's mouth fell open. Did her father just request
millions for her? As much as she hated the thought of
Passion's Escape Ashlynn Monroe Page 66
slavery, she would have been alright with it if she had had
hope of paying it back and buying herself free. Two million
credits was an impossible sum of money. If she was going
to be sold to someone, Hawk or Dragon would be better
than the gruesome slave traders in the port. She would be
lucky to live a year with any of the slavers. Her death
would most likely be from a social disease or a violent
john, not a pleasant outlook. Hawk seemed like a fair man
who appeared to have some respect for her, and her hope
now lay with him.
Passion called out to her father. "You are asking too
much! A hundred thousand is three times what you could
have gotten in the port. Don't let your greed cheat you out
of the money you need. Take the first amount, let me go,
and stay alive."
Vulture looked like he was considering what she said.
His response killed her hope that he had any commonsense.
"Two million and lifetime immunity from the emperor and
she's yours."
"Done." Dragon shouted loudly and with authority.
Had she just been sold to Dragon? It had never occurred
to her that Dragon would be the buyer. For some reason she
feared for it to be him. Hawk just seemed more real and
noble. Hawk would respect her desire for freedom. Dragon
Passion's Escape Ashlynn Monroe Page 67
would never comprehend it. Dread filled her. She tried not
to cry as she pleaded to her father.
"Please father if you want to sell me, sell me to Hawk. I
don't want to belong directly to the emperor's household.
Please father, if you are going to do this awful thing to me,
show me a small kindness." Tears finally broke free.
Something passed over her father's face. Regret or
sadness, it didn't matter because his words proved that his
pocket book was more important to him than his blood.
"Two million and immunity, I see it and the girl is
yours."
Passion felt light headed as she watched her father and
Dragon in the yard. The realization she did not want to
belong to him hit her with force. Fear spurred her to move.
She ran through the house and was out the back door before
anyone realized that she had fled. Passion knew the hills.
She knew how to survive off the land. Her legs carried her
swiftly through the tall grasses and sand. It was a harsh
place but Passion knew how to find water and food. She
could easily live in the wilderness for months. When she
had been a teenager, she had done that very thing.
She was almost up the hill, a little farther and she would
be out of the city. Freedom was in sight. A large body
tackled her. It was Hawk. Passion struggled. He held her
immobile and when he spoke, she wanted to laugh.
Passion's Escape Ashlynn Monroe Page 68
"It is done. You can leave. Dragon gave your father
what he wanted. This was the most expensive repair work
in history. Come Passion, Dragon will let no harm come to
you . . . I will let no harm come to you."
He let her up and did not expect her to run from him.
She ran as hard as she could but soon Hawk had caught her
again. Genuine confusion laced his words. "Why are you
running from me Passion?"
"I don't want to belong to Dragon. I want to be free."
"The deal is done. You belong to Dragon now. Come, I
will not let you run away to die in the wilderness."
Hawk gave her no choice. He threw her over his
shoulder and carried her to the ship. Passion gave up
screaming and kicking after realizing how useless it was.
She let her weight collapse in despair.
He stopped.
She felt him feel for a pulse. Satisfied that she was alive
he kept walking. Passion began to kick and scream again, it
was not helping, but it made her feel better.
Shoes suddenly appeared below her and as her eyes
trailed up the filthy pants. She realized that they belonged
to one of her father's men.
He spoke nonchalantly to Hawk. "Let me take care of
the kid."
Passion's Escape Ashlynn Monroe Page 69
Pain quickly radiated through her skull. Blackness
enveloped her into its terrifying inky embrace.
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Six
Groggy, Passion woke up with a terrible headache.
Darkness was the first thing she noticed. How long have I
been out? she wondered grumpily. Rubbing her eyes, she
realized that she was in her cabin on Dragon's cargo-
warship. Had night fallen already? She went to the small
observation window and looked outside. Gasping Passion
realized she was on her first fight into space! She was
going to kick someone's ass!
Her clothing was still bloody from her brother's wound.
Her flight into the wilderness had left her grimy too. She
looked for her things and found them just as she had left
them before her father's ill-timed return.
Smiling she went into the small cleanser and cleaned
herself and her clothing. She went through her things until
she found her lone feminine outfit. The top was a band of
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