Running Toward Home Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Other Bella Books by MB Panichi

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Bella Books

  Copyright © 2014 by MB Panichi

  Bella Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 10543

  Tallahassee, FL 32302

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  First Bella Books Edition 2014

  eBook released 2014

  Editor: Cath Walker

  Cover Designer: KIARO Creative Ltd.

  ISBN: 978-1-59493-400-1

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Other Bella Books by MB Panichi

  Saving Morgan

  Acknowledgments

  I want to thank my wife, April, for all her love and support and for having the patience to live with a distracted and preoccupied writer. Thank you, sweetie. I love you! Thanks to my family and friends for all their love and support as I follow this dream path, and to the BABA’s for always being just an email or a phone call away! All of you rock!

  Huge thanks go to my editor, Cath Walker, for her wisdom and guidance. Cath really helped tighten up the manuscript and make this book work. And always, thanks to Bella for continuing to take a chance on me!

  About the Author

  MB Panichi lives in Richfield, Minnesota in a little house on the corner with her wife and three dogs. Running Toward Home is her second published book and is the sequel to Saving Morgan. MB holds down a day job as a QA Analyst and Software Developer. She still obsesses about her drums and her old “heavy metal” band days. When she isn’t watching the dogs she is either reading or writing or spending time with her wife.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to everyone who is a sucker for adventure, romance and a good story. This is for all of you, and I truly hope you enjoy the ride.

  Chapter One

  The candy-red MicroCruz Racer 3500 air car streaked through the summer sky, flying in the sky lanes over the plains of the North American Midwest. The car’s sleek lines drew a thin, fast-moving shadow over the fields below.

  Morgan Rahn leaned back in the leather passenger seat, legs stretched out under the brushed aluminum dashboard, one arm draped across the padded center console, her fingers entwined with her girlfriend’s. The air vents feathered her dark hair off her face. She reveled in the feel of the outside air on her skin, even if it smelled vaguely of dust and the exhaust fumes of vehicles they passed. Morgan squinted against the light and smiled at the heat of the sun warming her skin through the car’s moon roof.

  She cast a glance at Shaine Wendt, who drove the souped-up air car with comfortable ease. Shaine nodded her head absently in time to the music playing on the sound system. Morgan appreciated the lines of Shaine’s strong hand guiding the joystick with exacting control, long fingers wrapped around the silicone-coated chrome. Her rippling arm muscles slid beneath smooth skin as she shifted the controls.

  Shaine was so beautiful, Morgan thought, all angular lines and strength. Her thick red hair was spiked barely an inch high and cut closely at her neck and over her ears. Broad shoulders stretched the tight black T-shirt she wore. Even sitting, she was tall. Morgan loved the stretch of her long legs in tight leather. Shaine still carried herself with the confidence of the military commando she’d been a decade ago. Morgan squeezed Shaine’s hand, as always amazed at the warmth and comfort of her grip.

  Shaine grinned. “Having fun?” she asked.

  Morgan smiled. “Absolutely.”

  Shaine said, “If you think this is great, you oughta try a road-trip on an open-cockpit air bike.”

  Morgan shook her head. “No thanks. This is about as open-air as I plan on getting.”

  Shaine laughed.

  Morgan turned back to the window, fascinated by the view. She was a spacer—born and raised on the Asteroid Belt’s many mining facilities and on Moon Base. Like most true spacers, her skin was smooth and very pale because of the lack of exposure to true sunlight and weather. Her straight black hair fell just to her shoulders, feathered away from her face. Her bangs fell in wispy strands over wide gray eyes.

  She couldn’t wait to be able to sit in the sun. She wanted to feel the warmth of it on her skin and to experience what she’d only read about or seen in vids. This was only her third visit to Earth. She didn’t really remember the first time—she’d been barely five years old. Her parents had taken her to the North American West Coast to visit her mother’s relatives. Her father said she’d played in the ocean and loved it. She wished she could remember more than vague images of blue sky and water.

  Her second visit had been a few years ago, with her ex-girlfriend Gina, and it was an experience she would rather forget. Gina took her to New York City, so Morgan could experience a “real” city. Morgan freaked out, overwhelmed by the press of people and the assault of unfamiliar smells and tastes and images. Instead of trying to help her adjust, Gina teased her and made her feel even worse.

  Her third visit, only weeks ago, she had been running for her life with Shaine. There hadn’t been time for sight-seeing or lying in the sun. This time, Shaine was taking her to a much quieter, less intense place—not an adventure and not an overwhelming experience.

  They were headed to the organic farm Shaine’s family owned, in the Territory of Iowa in the United Federation of the Americas. Shaine promised she would introduce Morgan to all the horses, cows, chickens and goats, but she wasn’t sure she was quite ready for that.

  In their short few weeks together, Shaine hadn’t revealed much about her youth. She tended to talk more about her years in Earth Guard, and, occasionally, the time she worked for Mann-Maru Universal’s corporate Security Department, though rarely about her time as an agent in Rogan’s covert Security Group.

  As they sped through the sky lanes toward the farm, Morgan found herself thinking about what it would have been like to grow up on Earth. She could hardly imagine living in a place where there was so much empty space or so much freedom to move a
round. She wondered how Shaine felt about her life here.

  As the fields and farmland flew past, she turned her head to study Shaine’s sharply-featured profile. Her expression was relaxed, with a hint of a smile on her lips. Shaine’s hair had grown out over the last month. Morgan slipped her hand from Shaine’s and ran her fingers through the thick strands.

  Shaine sighed, leaning into the caress with a contented purr.

  Morgan traced light patterns at the base of Shaine’s neck, twisting lightly into the short hair. She asked, “Are you excited to see your family?”

  Shaine glanced over briefly before returning her attention to the heads-up display of the sky lane projected in front of the driver’s side windshield. There wasn’t much traffic. In the last hour, they’d passed a handful of passenger cars and a single cargo transport.

  Shaine nodded. “Yeah, I am.” A wistful smile creased her lips. “It’ll be good to have a chance to visit, to connect again. It’s been too long.”

  “How long?”

  Shaine sighed. “A little over three years,” she admitted. “I was going to go back after I left Rogan’s Security Group, before I settled on Moon Base, but things didn’t work out. I think I avoided it because I didn’t want to talk to my family about what I was doing in covert security. Mom would ask too many questions.” She shrugged. “She probably still will.”

  Morgan processed that. “What about after you were discharged from the EG? You spent time here after that, didn’t you?”

  “While I was learning to walk again?”

  Morgan heard the bitterness in Shaine’s voice and noticed the tension as she adjusted her grip on the joystick.

  “Yeah, I was here. I don’t think I would have made it through all that physical therapy without their support. My nephew Toby was my little angel through it. He was the only one who could convince me it was going to be all right, that there was a reason to move ahead.” She frowned, lost in memories. “It wasn’t just losing my leg. It was losing my squad mates, and trying to accept that there wasn’t anything I could have done to save them. It took a long time to be okay with the fact I was still alive.”

  Morgan’s heart broke for Shaine, for the pain reflected in her eyes. She caught Shaine’s hand and brought it to her lips, gently kissing her knuckles.

  Shaine murmured, “I think I’m looking forward to seeing Toby the most.” Abruptly, she shook off the darkness and a grin lit up her face. “He’s gonna love you, Morg.”

  “I hope so. I hope they’re okay with me being there.”

  Shaine laughed. “Oh, no worries about that. Mom and Leese will be absolutely out of their minds that I’m actually bringing someone home. They’ve been pissing at me about it for as long as I can remember. They’ll probably make you as crazy as they make me.”

  Morgan raised a brow. “You never brought anyone home?”

  Shaine shrugged. “Wasn’t any reason to.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t have dates falling at your feet.”

  “Who said I didn’t?” Shaine grinned. “I just didn’t have any reason to bring anyone home.”

  Morgan wrinkled her nose, knowing Shaine was tweaking her. Still, she wasn’t entirely sure where their relationship stood.

  Morgan turned back to the window. She felt like she and Shaine were more than just casual lovers. She felt a deeper connection to Shaine than anyone she’d ever been with. She trusted Shaine with her life, quite literally. More and more, she also trusted her with her heart. Was this what it meant to be in love? Did it mean anything special that Shaine was taking her home to meet her family? Did it mean that they were serious? That maybe they were forever?

  Or was this just a convenient place to go to get away from the media hounds that had latched on to her since they discovered her hidden birthright?

  Her birth father, Tarm Maruchek, was one of the most wealthy and politically connected men in the world. As founder and CEO of Mann-Maru Universal Industries, he had indirect control of millions of workers’ lives. His corporation owned more asteroid mining facilities than any other. Mann-Maru ran Moon Base Security and Operations, as well as the space docks and the ships’ maintenance crews at Moon Base, from which supplies were routed between Earth and the Asteroid Belt facilities.

  Morgan worked for Mann-Maru as a Ships’ Systems Mechanic for over a decade before her best friend, Digger, had become the victim of terrorists out to destroy Mann-Maru. Digger’s death was the catalyst that caused her to learn the identity of her birth father and made her a target for her father’s lifelong enemy. Shaine saved her life, but the sudden changes left her whole existence in flux.

  Two months ago, she’d been an average worker on Moon Base. She spent time with her friends, worked and played rec league grav-ball. She was content with her life. It had been a very normal, ordinary existence. Vinn and Elise Rahn had adopted her as an infant when they couldn’t have children of their own. Knowing she had been adopted, she’d grown up loved and cherished, even after Elise was killed when Morgan was twelve. She and her dad had grown closer, taking care of each other over the years. Now she knew that Vinn and Elise had known of her true parentage all along, but had never told her. The betrayal still hurt, but she understood why they decided to keep their secret.

  So much change. So many lies to try to process.

  On top of that, the tabloids had pounced on her, poking into her life, speculating about her relationship with Tarm Maruchek, speculating about her personality and her past. It was big news that Tarm Maruchek had an heir besides his son Garren, her older brother.

  Everything about Tarm Maruchek was news. He was active in politics. Mann-Maru Universal Industries was one of the largest corporate entities in the solar system. Everything Tarm Maruchek did had an impact on the business world. Morgan hated that she had become part of it. She tried to ignore the press, but so far, that wasn’t working so well. Reporters had been harassing her day and night on Moon Base, and she’d had enough.

  Now they were escaping to Shaine’s family farm.

  Maybe it meant something more that Shaine was taking her home, and maybe it didn’t. She frowned inwardly. Did she want forever with Shaine? She’d never needed it before. Before Shaine, she’d never considered love a forever thing. An obsessive, needy, desperate thing, sure. But she’d never had a relationship she could equate to the relationship her mom and dad had.

  She and Shaine had settled into a comfortable togetherness. Morgan realized they’d been inseparable for the past month. They hadn’t spent one night or day apart. I don’t want to be without her, or away from her, or separate from her.

  It was odd, really. She always had her own space and believed she needed it. Now it felt wrong to be alone.

  It wasn’t that she and Shaine talked constantly. A lot of nights they relaxed on the sofa with the vid screen on or reading. Usually Morgan lay across Shaine’s lap, while Shaine’s long legs stretched out on the ottoman. Or they curled up in bed, always touching in some way. It would be good, spending time with Shaine and her family. Morgan smiled to herself.

  Shaine asked curiously, “What?”

  “Nothing. Just thinking.”

  “About?”

  Morgan grinned. “That I like being with you.”

  Shaine flipped her a surprised and very pleased expression. “I like being with you, too, baby.” She captured Morgan’s hand and held it on her lap. Morgan reveled in the warmth of Shaine’s thumb rubbing lightly on her skin.

  Shaine sped past a handful of farm and transport vehicles lumbering along at ground level. They passed a holographic mile marker, and Shaine grinned, pointing. “That’s our marker. This is our farm. It’s only another few kilometers to the house.”

  “I knew you were more excited than you let on,” Morgan accused.

  Shaine chuckled and pushed the joystick forward. The air-car surged ahead. Moments later, Shaine dropped out of the upper sky lane to hover just above the ground, slowing down to guide the Racer off
the road and onto a long wide drive that ended at a clearing circled by a sprawling house, barn and sheds.

  Shaine smiled, relieved to finally be home. The house seemed a little more weathered, the gray trim chipped and the redwood siding faded. The main part of the house was a traditional two-story farmhouse. Solar panels covered the south-facing roof. A two-story dome-home was added onto the east side, connected to the main house through a short, windowed breezeway. The barn and working sheds were set back on the opposite side of the clearing, facing the house.

  Shaine noted several vehicles parked haphazardly on the gravel between the house and the sheds. She recognized the two well-used air trucks, one currently filled with a load of hay. She didn’t know the multipassenger air car or the small red commuter car. Near the house, a shiny black air bike rested in the shade.

  As Shaine eased the Racer closer to the house, a lanky, sun-bronzed teenager with long red hair came running from one of the sheds. A huge, shaggy, black dog romped at his heels. The teen waved as he sprinted toward the car. He was shirtless, wearing loose work pants and boots. He ran to the car as Shaine pulled to a stop, not even waiting until she’d shut down the engine before he opened her door.

  “Shainey! You’re home!” he yelled, pulling her out of the car and into a bear hug.

  “Hey, Toby!” Laughing, Shaine lifted him up and twirled him around as though he were still six years old.

  The dog pranced around them, barking incessantly, his tail practically wagging off his furry behind. Setting Toby on his feet, she shook her head. He was as tall as her. “Holy shit, T, you grew!”

  “I know!” he responded, patting her on the head. They giggled like kids. He said, “Grandma’s got dinner on. She’s been going nuts. Mom’s in the house too. She said she’s gonna kick your ass for not coming home sooner. Dad and Gramps are in the field, they’ll be back in a while. Who’s your friend?”