Working for Demetrious was like running headfirst into a brick wall. The old pirate enjoyed solving every problem with overwhelming violence. At least, that is what Demetrious wanted people to think. Edward had been studying the pirate's tactics and realized there was a deeper man behind the mask. They would never be friends, but that didn't mean the pirate could teach him something before he found a way to escape. Escape consumed Edward's thoughts. He had to find a way back home. Back to Kalypso. Back to her. Whatever it took. Whatever evils he had to commit. Edward was coming home. He was going to hold Mercedes in his arms again. This time he would never leave. Big brother was out of the picture, and that spelled opportunity. There would never be a better time for Christian to win over his father. His older brother was finally gone. This time maybe for good. Who would have thought that Holston Zakarian had the stones to sacrifice one of his own children to save face? Christian vowed to remember the lesson. The next one getting led to the slaughter wouldn't be him. Mercedes was a ticking time bomb. Edward was the love of her life. There was no scenario Mercedes could conceive of where she wouldn't choose him above everything else. Now he was gone again. She knew Edward hadn't been captured by pirates. He'd been offered up like a sacrificial goat to them. Something to quiet the unrest and bring additional support to the war effort. She didn't care about any of that. All Mercedes wanted was Edward, and she was going to find out what happened to him. Monsters aren't born. They're made. Holston Zakarian was a master when it came to the numbers. He couldn't code or engineer his way out of a wet paper bag, but what he could do was make the numbers sing. If anyone could spin a credit out of thin air, it was him. Every single company he invested in was profitable except for his own. Funds were running out, and everything rested on their newest invention. Gateway technology will change the galaxy. Thomas only cared about one thing. It dominated his every thought. From the moment he stepped out of bed, his mind was working on the problem. At night it was all he dreamt about. His vision was so close to fruition he could taste it. If only his partner could keep up his end of the deal. The credits needed to flow. The battle for the soul of the galaxy continues.