Read Online Taking Liberty by Jodi Redford - Free Book Online

vaporous cap of clouds scuttling across Aquatica’s surface. How ironic that minutes ago he couldn’t get away from the damn planet fast enough and now it was their only hope of salvation.
    They broke through the stratus of clouds. A patchwork quilt of rolling landscape spread roughly ten thousand feet below them. Hope started to blossom inside Lucus’s chest.
    Then the final thruster crapped out.

Chapter Seven
    The high-pitched scream of metal reverberated inside Rini’s ears as the Liberty crashed into a stand of cacti and continued plowing onward. While the ship racked and stacked dismembered cactus parts outside the viewing shield, Lucus battled with the reluctant brake.
    A boulder roughly the size of a small house loomed directly in their path. If the curses streaming from Lucus’s mouth were any indication, he must have noticed the rock the same instant she did. He attempted veering around it. Easier said than done with a runaway spacecraft.
    They collided with the boulder, the impact shearing off the left wing. The ship spun, executing several mad three hundred and sixty degree circles. Once the star cruiser coasted to a halt Rini groaned and dragged her head from the seatback, her vision blurry from the ship’s spinning-top routine. She stared at Lucus, trying to determine which of the two figures wavering in front of her was the real him. “Are you okay?”
    He unclipped his harness and staggered from the seat, peering around the bridge like he couldn’t believe he was still alive. Shaking his head, he looked at her. “Yeah. How about you?”
    â€œI think so.” Unsnapping her harness, she did a quick inspection for damage. Other than her double vision and the red crisscrossed welts where the straps dug into her torso, she seemed in overall decent shape.
    She lifted from the seat and took an unsteady step. Her upper body swayed in the opposite direction of her feet and she stumbled into the control panel.
    â€œYou’re walking like my brother after he’s imbibed one too many cases of beer.”
    â€œIt’s my head.” She clamped a hand on either side of her skull. “It won’t stop spinning.”
    â€œThen park your butt for a minute while I check things outside.”
    â€œNo, I’ll go with you.” Dropping her hands, she shoved away from the panel and almost fell over.
    Lucus grasped her shoulders and edged her sideways until her rear end nudged the arm of the copilot’s seat. “Stay put. You’ll do neither of us any good if you fall out of the ship and break your neck.”
    Okay, he definitely had a point. Grudgingly, she watched him march off. Both of him. “ Ugh .” Wincing, she massaged her temples. It really sucked having the same side effects that came from six rounds of margaritas, only without the accompanying buzz.
    After giving her head five minutes to rest, her vision cleared enough for her to risk standing. When her legs remained sturdy, she decided to join Lucus and assess their dismal situation for herself. With the electrical system officially out of commission there was no way of opening the debarking doors. Fortunately—or not—a large gaping hole took residence in the same spot the wing used to be. The cock-eyed angle of the ship made it a fairly easy drop to the valley’s floor. She followed the loud grumblings coming from somewhere near the front of the star cruiser and spied Lucus bent at the knees, glaring at the severed wing.
    â€œOh man, it’s going to take a lot more than duct tape or Super Glue to fix that puppy.”
    Lucus looked up and his gaze stalled on her chest. Glancing down, she noticed her black tank top clung snugly to her skin, courtesy of the dunking in the general’s death tank. She crossed her arms over her breasts.
    Dragging his attention to her face, he pushed to his feet. “Not that it matters. Without the system control, we can’t