Alexia would survive because she had to survive. He would save her because he had to save her. It was as simple as that. Kneeling beside her, he unstrapped her mask and cradled her chin in his hand. “Hey, beautiful, it’s me—Rick. Time to go.” She didn’t respond, but it didn’t matter. It was time to go, so that’s what they were going to do. “Alexia? Listen to me. You want to find your brother, don’t you? We can’t do that here. We need my ship. We need Sensie.” “Sensie?” She opened her golden eyes for the first time since his arrival. Then she said in a soft voice, “Cowboy?” His throat closed with emotion. Cowboy. It was so much better than “wrangler”, or even “captain”. Better than anything, really. “Yeah, it’s me. Your cowboy.” “I’m so sorry. So, so sorry.”
