*First Draft

His eyes are watching me, calculating. I know it even if I don't return his gaze. I feel it in my spine, my racing heartbeat, and how the tiny hairs in my arms are standing to full attention.

He doesn't call out my name again as I walk to the wall with the gun. I don't really know if I could pull the trigger. I'd like to think I could if my life depended on it. I reach down and grab it. The cold metal in my hands makes me feel safe, even if it is only a false sense of security. I'm not ready to let him loose as my back slides down the spiritless silver wall, and I curl my arms into myself and wait.

I'm not sure what I'm waiting for. His begging, maybe?

An apology.

Any human response.

"Will you kill me too?" I finally ask him, my eyes examining my boots.

"No," he answers quickly.

A swift response from Roman must mean something.

"You could be lying."

"I'm not."

I bite my lip. "You killed Ethan."

"Ethan had it coming."

He might not kill me, but he could hurt me and cuff me. There is a bounty on my head and Ethan said he was in some mercenary group. Credits is always a motivator among criminals.

"What will you do with me if I let you out?"

He doesn't answer right away. It takes him too long, in fact. That must mean something too.

"Nothing, Jade."

He knows it eased me when he had said my name before. Like a true predator, he's trying to lure me into his trap. He will use me again, I can feel it.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to settle my emotions.

Sighing, I ask, "Do you know how to fly this thing?"

"I can manage it."

"I want to go home. Back to Cerise."

"No."

Anger rises in my chest. It's the least he can do. "If you won't promise to take me back, then you can sit there and rot!"

I am prodding the beast, but I don't care. He needs me and right now, I hold his freedom in my shaky hands.

Calmly, he explains, "If I take you back to your planet, the GSA will come for you. Ethan knew you were there, don't you think others will too?"

No, I didn't think of that, but he's probably right. Why should he care anyway?

"Let me worry about that."

He is silent again.

"So, will you take me home?"

"No."

"Well, rot then." I say the words, but I don't move from my spot on the floor. He most likely knows I'm bluffing.

The waiting game is torturous. I want him to give in to my demands, even if they are dumb. There is truly nothing for me on my home planet. A job, but no family. No genuine friends.

I've always made the best of my life there. It was lonely, but I took on each day with a smile. I always told myself that happiness was a choice, so I threw myself into my job, and of course, I threw myself at the first human male to give me attention in years.

Squeezing my eyes shut and clenching my hands, I let out a frustrated grunt. Knowing the club, they probably already gave my job away. Inefficiency is not an option, and my not showing up for shifts would be unacceptable.

Would anyone even care that I was gone?

No, probably not.

I take in a deep breath. I hate feeling sorry for myself.

Things aren't so bad.

At the moment, the GSA doesn't have me. Roman knows how to fly this spacecraft. We can avoid each other and go our separate ways. I'll figure it out.

All I need is another job on another planet. I have a good amount of credits in an untraceable account. Plenty to get started. Magna had thought of that at least.

Things aren't so bad. There's still hope.

It all depends on Roman.

"If you won't take me home, then where will you take me?" I ask.

"Not Hestia."

Not Hestia. He is always so frustratingly vague.

"That's not very specific."

I twiddle my fingers together and lean my head back against the cold wall. The silence eats at me, one tedious bite at a time.

"Do you promise? You won't take me there to collect the bounty?" I ask pointedly.  A promise may not mean much from a criminal, but I need it.

"Jade, I promise I won't take you to Hestia or try to collect your bounty."

His answer is swift and easy. I wish I knew what it meant. He'd probably say anything to get me to cut him loose. Who wouldn't?

"How do I know you are telling the truth?"

"You don't."

That was an honest answer. He isn't begging me to trust him, or giving me pretty words like Ethan would have done.

If he was going to trick me, he could have promised to take me back home, and then go back on his word once I let him free.

The only way out of this is to trust Roman.

I have to work up the courage to face him again. To face Ethan again.

My stomach lurches when I think about how I'm going to get the damn key card.

I can't let Roman think that he has won, though. He has to give me something before I let him out, otherwise, I'm just proving that I'm a pushover.

Which I'm not.

I just…I need him.

"Okay, I'll let you out if you promise to take me somewhere safe, a place where I can start over," I relent warily.

"If you let me out, I will take you somewhere that the GSA won't find you. I won't…I won't hurt you."

My heart flutters in my chest as he vows not to hurt me. I bite my knuckles and contemplate it. His voice broke a little. Why did it do that?

"Is that a promise?" My voice came out squeakier than I meant it to.

"Yes."

"Alright." I swallow. I carry the gun with me as I make my way to Ethan. I've chosen to trust Roman, but that doesn't mean I'm going to completely let my guard down.

My heart speeds a little, but not as badly as I had anticipated. My reactions to him tend to change as my attitude does. Which is good, because ignoring unpleasantness is my superpower. Like right now, while I'm digging into Ethan's pocket for the key. It's easy to trick my brain into thinking Ethan is just asleep, just like I can trick myself into thinking Roman actually cares about me.

Once I find the card, I sigh in relief. With a deep breath, I work myself up to face the other obstacle in the room.

He promised not to hurt you. You and him had a connection. He needs you. He owes you.

"You need his thumbprint." Umm…what?

Roman whips me out of my self-talk, and I place the key card to my chest in shock.

I muster the courage to slowly push against the repellent energy and face him. It feels like swimming against a current, but I force it. When my eyes meet his, I'm stunned. He looks…tired. More tired than I have ever seen him. Another emotion begins to touch his eyes as he continues to stare at me. Relief, maybe?

I clear my throat. "So…I need to drag him to…"

Roman doesn't even bother answering me, but his lips twitch at my uneasiness. I sigh as I turn back to the corpse. Scratch that. Not a corpse. Ethan is just passed out and I need to pull him to safety.

I can do this. Just like that time I had to help a drunken Magna out of the bathroom. Ethan just had a few too many and…

I put my hands under Ethan's armpits and begin to drag him toward my target. It isn't really that far, his body…he…was lying close to Roman's legs.

He is heavier than he looks, and my breathing deepens as I struggle to slide him on the sleek floor.

Grunting, I carefully maneuver him around the pole. Roman is probably wondering why I'm being so gentle, but in my head, I'm caring for a drunken man who is asleep and I don't want to wake him.

I'm hairsbreadth away from Roman and his cuffs when I realize I left the flipping gun over where Ethan was laying.

Cursing under my breath, I turn around and head for it. I pick up the gun and cradle it to my chest, like a safety blanket and make my way to the prisoner.

Instead of going straight to unlocking the cuffs, I kneel in front of him. My lungs want to scream at me and goosebumps prickle my arm, but I ignore it.

Roman's black eyes search mine curiously. I lean in close and whisper in the most menacing tone I can manage, "If you break any of your promises, I will shoot you."

When I pull away, his eyes twinkle and he's biting his lip. If I didn't know any better, it looks like he is fighting a smile.

That would be something to see. Right now, though, I'm not in the mood to be laughed at.

Angry, I want to make my point. I move to lift the rifle but quickly bring it back down again.

Damnit, I can't even bring myself to point the gun at him to make it more threatening. What if I accidentally shoot him? Then I'll be stuck out here living in space until I run out of protein bars or fuel.

"If I break my promise, I'll let you shoot me," he says in his low sultry voice. I can also hear the humor there. Damn him.

"Okay. Just so we're clear," I say with an awkward movement of my hand.

I refuse to acknowledge that he is inwardly laughing at me. This gun is staying with me at all times. I'll sleep with it, eat with it, shower next to it. He'll be laughing to his grave if he tries anything.

I mutter these things under my breath as I make my way to the back of the pole. My fingers lightly graze Roman's skin while I scan the card on the cuffs. He gasps from my touch, but I dismiss the flutters in my stomach from his reaction. Shakily, I grab Ethan's cold hand, and place his thumb on the tiny screen and instantly, the device falls from Roman's wrists.

The moment it dropped, I instinctively pull the gun to my chest and scoot back.

Roman swings his arms forward and stretches his muscles. His bones crack, and I hold my breath as he lifts himself to stand. Oh, God. He's huge.

Wide-eyed, I stare at him as he turns to face me. When he saunters in my direction, I can't help but inch backward until my shoulders are pressed up against the wall.

His eyes bore into mine, and he smirks as he reaches down and easily grabs the gun from my trembling fingers.

My whole body starts to shake violently, and it feels like cold knives are stabbing into my lungs.

Closing my eyes, I expect him to put a bullet in my head, but instead, he murmurs, "You might hurt yourself."

Lifting an eye, I track him as he strolls to the bathroom and closes the door. I don't release the breath I'm holding until I hear the water from the shower turn on.

Burying my head in my hands, I settle my racing heart. I let out the murderer and I'm still breathing. 

If he wanted to kill me, he would have just done it. Right?

He told me I can shoot him if he breaks one of his promises.

But how can I shoot him if he took the gun?

A/N
Out of curiosity, do you think Jade should trust Roman🤔?