Free A Perfect Bond by Lee-Ann Wallace

dying, or hurt in accidents to have access to a device that would save their lives. Was that wrong?”
    He curled one hand around my neck, the warm skin of his palm, against my cooler skin.
    “No, kitten, it wasn’t wrong, but Cyakt Ralt will sell your device to those who can afford to have one, to those whose interest is only in themselves, and those who need it most will never know of its existence.”
    Anger started to burn inside me, a fierce heat in my chest, “You can’t know that.”
    “Yes I can. I know Cyakt Ralt, and I know how men like him run their businesses. By forcing you to sign this contract, he’s ensured that he has complete control of every aspect of its creation and what happens to it after. Your device will be sold at a price that ensures only the richest of people will be able to afford it.”
    I stared back at him. How did the medic on a ship and a man who I suspected stole things know a man like Cyakt Ralt? And how did he put into words something that had worried me from the moment I’d read the contract, but that I’d chosen to ignore? I’d been so desperate to work with nanites again. To have someone fund my device, I’d put my misgivings aside and jumped at the chance being offered to me. Now, I was losing all my hard work, I was losing my device, and unless I did something crazy like steal all my research and the schematics for my device, I would be back at square one.
    “How do you know Cyakt Ralt?” I asked Manik, curious how he could have had contact with my employer.
    He stared back at me for a long moment. I could see something working in his eyes, but I didn’t know him well enough, barely knew him at all, and I couldn’t read what it was.
    “You’re going to find out sooner or later, so I might as well tell you now.”
    His eyes had become serious with his words. The hand he had at my neck flexed, his fingers digging into me before he relaxed again.
    “Cyakt Ralt needed something that he couldn’t purchase, so he employed us to steal it. He’d approached the person that this information belonged to repeatedly, and had been rebuffed every time. We guaranteed we could get the information he wanted without the person it belonged to, knowing who had stolen it. He’s the kind of man, Ellie, who always gets what he wants one way or another. I can almost guarantee if you hadn’t signed his contract, he would have found another way of ensuring you worked on this project even if that meant kidnapping you.”
    Everything he’d said made my eyes widen as I stared back at him. The suspicion Prixy and I had that he was involved with Vrentis’ stolen research crashed into my mind. Vrentis had been offered an exorbitant sum of money to sell his development, but he’d refused, and then it had been stolen from him. They hadn’t just copied his research notes—they had wiped all data from his system and taken everything. Years of hard work had been lost.
    “Did you steal Vrentis’ research?”
    “Yes, we did.”
    My mouth dropped open at his complete honesty. I was shocked he’d admitted it to me. I was a scientist, and if someone stole my research, I’d be absolutely livid. I couldn’t understand why they’d want to steal someone’s research. Credits had to have been the motivating factor.
    “Why would you steal something for someone like Cyakt Ralt?”
    “Because we’re pirates, kitten, and stealing is what we do.”
    I didn’t get a chance to respond to his completely shocking statement because the door to my lab slid open and Stadden walked in with a laser weapon in his hand.
    “I thought I’d find you here.”
    Stadden’s voice was hard with anger. I could see the emotion in the tense line of his jaw and his fist balled by his side.
    “How did you get in, Stadden?” I demanded. I’d had him blocked from entering my lab when he wouldn’t leave me alone after we’d broken up. The computer should have recognised his face and kept the door tightly shut.
    “I