Breakout Read online

  PRAISE FOR THE DRED CHRONICLES

  Havoc

  “There’s so much action, so much adventure, and more than that, it’s great writing.”

  —USATODAY.com

  “Spectacularly and spellbindingly perfect with high-octane action that keeps you on the edge of your seat and a romance that is surprisingly sweet and tender in a harsh and unforgiving setting . . . This is honestly one of the best SF romance series I have read.”

  —The Book Pushers

  “[A] fast-paced space adventure . . . A raucous tale of grit and gumption.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Ann Aguirre doesn’t let up on the pace in this action-packed second installment.”

  —The Qwillery

  “If you like science fiction with plenty of action and drama, blood and gore, and sequences you can see playing out in a J. J. Abrams blockbuster, then pick up this series.”

  —Drey’s Library

  Perdition

  “Aguirre revisits the classic idea of survival within an anarchic, violent society, offering protagonists whose moral gray contrasts with the stygian dark of those around them. Sirantha Jax fans may be intrigued to see what befell Jael after his ill-considered actions there, and new lead Dred is a strong linchpin for a promising new series.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “I didn’t think Ann Aguirre could top the [Sirantha Jax] series, but she definitely did with Perdition . . . The themes of the book were thought-provoking and gripping because it really explores the nature of what it is to be human in a place like Perdition, but also the nature of good and evil . . . Overall, the fast, hectic pace, the intrigue, and the great characterization made this a breathless and amazing read.”

  —The Book Pushers

  “Perdition will give you no time to breathe, but it will make you appreciate your freedom . . . It will also make you care for its characters despite their awful and violent histories.”

  —The Nocturnal Library

  “Definitely a must for fans of Aguirre’s Sirantha Jax series or Joss Whedon’s Firefly.”

  —Vampire Book Club

  PRAISE FOR THE SIRANTHA JAX NOVELS

  Endgame

  “Infusing love and war together to make a pulse-pounding, heart-breaking read, the Sirantha Jax series . . . will remain on my keeper shelf for some time.”

  —Under the Covers Book Blog

  Aftermath

  “Highly satisfying . . . Aftermath has all of the heart, soul, adventure, and sense of wonder that you could ask for in a character-driven series like this.”

  —SF Site

  “Aguirre’s writing is tight, and the characters have plenty of depth . . . [She] is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers, and Aftermath is a big reason why.”

  —ScienceFiction.com

  Killbox

  “Fraught with action, farewells, and sorrow, fans of this series won’t be able to put Killbox down.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “An epic space opera . . . Five out of five stars!”

  —The Book Pushers

  Doubleblind

  “One of my favorite aspects of this series is Jax. I love her as a heroine, and this book really allows Jax to shine.”

  —Smexy Books

  “Ann Aguirre tells a good story, plain and simple . . . Doubleblind was a fantastic installment in the series . . . immensely satisfying.”

  —Tempting Persephone

  Wanderlust

  “Fast-paced and thrilling, Wanderlust is pure adrenaline. Sirantha Jax is an unforgettable character, and I can’t wait to find out what happens to her next. The world Ann Aguirre has created is a roller-coaster ride to remember.”

  —Christine Feehan, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  “Aguirre has the mastery and vision which come from critical expertise: She is unmistakably a true science fiction fan, writing in the genre she loves.”

  —The Independent (London)

  “A thoroughly enjoyable blend of science fiction, romance, and action, with a little something for everyone, and a great deal of fun. It’s down and dirty, unafraid to show some attitude.”

  —SF Site

  Grimspace

  “A terrific first novel full of page-turning action, delightful characters, and a wry twist of humor.”

  —Mike Shepherd, national bestselling author

  “An irresistible blend of action and attitude. Sirantha Jax doesn’t just leap off the page—she storms out, kicking, cursing, and mouthing off. No wonder her pilot falls in love with her; readers will, too.”

  —Sharon Shinn, national bestselling author

  “A tightly written, edge-of-your-seat read.”

  —Linnea Sinclair, RITA Award–winning author

  Also by Ann Aguirre

  Sirantha Jax Series

  GRIMSPACE

  WANDERLUST

  DOUBLEBLIND

  KILLBOX

  AFTERMATH

  ENDGAME

  The Dred Chronicles

  PERDITION

  HAVOC

  BREAKOUT

  Corine Solomon Series

  BLUE DIABLO

  HELL FIRE

  SHADY LADY

  DEVIL’S PUNCH

  AGAVE KISS

  Cowritten as A. A. Aguirre

  BRONZE GODS

  SILVER MIRRORS

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

  BREAKOUT

  An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author

  Copyright © 2015 by Ann Aguirre.

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

  For more information, visit penguin.com.

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-18703-0

  PUBLISHING HISTORY

  Ace mass-market edition / September 2015

  Cover art by Scott M. Fischer.

  Cover design by Lesley Worrell.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons,

  living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Version_1

  To Karen and Maja.

  This book wouldn’t exist without you two.

  Thanks for everything.

  Contents

  Praise for the Novels of Ann Aguirre

  Also by Ann Aguirre

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1: Slaughterhouse Six

  Chapter 2: Improv Rules

  Chapter 3: Scavenger Hunt

  Chapter 4: Must Be a Hex

  Chapter 5: Salvation in a Can

  Chapter 6: Finders Keepers

  Chapter 7: Hunting for Payback

  Chapter 8: Truths Writ in Blood

  Chapter 9: Dead Man Walking

  Chapter 10: Monsters and Darkness

  Chapter 11: The Knife of Failure

  Chapter 12: Con
fession, Cleansing, Cruciation

  Chapter 13: Wickedness Burns Like Fire

  Chapter 14: More Than Life Itself

  Chapter 15: A Pretty Web of Scars

  Chapter 16: A Different Way to Die

  Chapter 17: Competitive Thrust

  Chapter 18: The Chained Queen

  Chapter 19: Shit, Meet Fan

  Chapter 20: Topsy-Turvy

  Chapter 21: A Pox on Their Houses

  Chapter 22: Mission Impossible

  Chapter 23: Last Resort

  Chapter 24: The Worm Turns

  Chapter 25: A Long Silence

  Chapter 26: Conspiracy Theory

  Chapter 27: Likelihood of Catastrophic Failure

  Chapter 28: All Hands on Deck

  Chapter 29: Fly or Die

  Chapter 30: Nice Knowing You

  Chapter 31: Mercenary Behavior

  Chapter 32: Down-Cycle Mutiny

  Chapter 33: Negotiation Failure

  Chapter 34: To Live or Die

  Chapter 35: The Fun Never Ends

  Chapter 36: Give Me This Much

  Chapter 37: If Dreams Come True

  Chapter 38: Future Perfect

  Chapter 39: Not in the Stars but in Ourselves

  Chapter 40: Unchecked Momentum

  Chapter 41: Calm Before the Storm

  Chapter 42: Loose Ends, Frayed Knot

  Chapter 43: Strange Days

  Chapter 44: We Have People for That

  Chapter 45: Gehenna Forever

  Acknowledgments

  First of all, thanks to Laura Bradford. We’re heading toward eight years together, and that’s amazing. Thanks for being a wonderful partner and friend.

  Next I must mention Anne Sowards. This book heralds our second completed SF series, and it’s been such a pleasure. I’ve learned a great deal and greatly appreciate all of her hard work, expertise, and dedication. Likewise, thanks to the Penguin team for all of their efforts. I need to tip my hat to Bob and Sara Schwager, who have been my copy editors. They do such a fantastic job; it has truly been a privilege and an honor.

  Sometimes my friends are all that keep me going. This was a tough year, but because so many amazing people believe in me and encouraged me to keep going, I made it through. Words are inadequate to express how much that support means, but . . . Megan Hart, Lauren Dane, Vivian Arend, Bree Bridges, Donna Herren, Rae Carson, Veronica Rossi, Colleen Houck, Yasmine Galenorn, Courtney Milan, Kate Elliott, Sharon Shinn . . . thank you all so much.

  To my beloved children, thank you for taking care of Christmas. Writing Breakout ransacked me, so I was too sick to do most of the things that I usually do. Because you guys are awesome, our holidays were still wonderful. It was touching, humbling, to sit back and see what competent, responsible young adults you’ve become. Thanks also to my husband, Andres, for making my dreams come true, no matter how difficult or improbable. I love you all.

  Finally, thanks to my readers. My initial plan was to leave Dred and Jael drifting in space with a more open ending, so the reader could decide what happened—if they made it out or if they died together—but I decided that was a cop-out. Therefore, I hope you’re as pleased with the end of their journey as I am. Truly, again thanks for staying with us all this while.

  1

  Slaughterhouse Six

  Chaos reigned in Queensland, and Dred was too tired to come down with an iron fist. There were occasions when even the Dread Queen couldn’t salvage a situation. As Dred surveyed the damage in the main hall, she concluded this was one of those times. There were only twenty men left, and half of them were already wounded.

  If they were in better shape, they’d probably argue about the alliance with Vost. But making a deal with the merc commander offered the best chance of surviving Silence’s retaliation. She reflected that the chances still weren’t good, considering that Vost only had two soldiers left.

  Currently, they’d set up a microcamp on the other side of the room. Her own men gave them a wide berth as the unwounded ones tried to clean up. The smell of blood was overwhelming. I’m so tired. But she couldn’t show her exhaustion as Tam strode up; over the past turn, she had relied on him for intel.

  “Report.”

  “Casualties were steep, and our defenses are compromised. We can’t hold here long term.”

  So they needed to consider a strategic withdrawal. Strange, not so long ago, she was struggling to hold the territory she’d claimed. Now she had to cede it.

  “Any word on how Silence fared in the last battle?”

  Tam shook his head. “I’m sure there are more than I saw on my last run, but many of her killers have gone to ground.”

  With a sigh, Dred beckoned the rest of her advisors though calling them friends was probably more accurate. Calypso reached her side first. The former mistress of the circle was bloodstained, but she looked as steady as ever, filling Dred with gratitude. Martine came next, a small, sharp-toothed woman that Jael called “bright eyes” because even Perdition hadn’t been enough to break her. Jael strolled up last, and her heart twisted at how weary he looked. Somehow, his exhaustion was harder to bear than her own.

  “We’ll work on it more tomorrow,” Calypso said, surveying the wreckage.

  Jael glanced around the hall. “We’ve done what we can for now.”

  Martine traded looks with Tam, then said, “I’ll leave a skeleton crew on watch. Tam, dismiss the rest. They need sleep, or they won’t be able to fight later.”

  “On it,” Tam said, moving toward the men who looked the worst.

  Dred registered the way Vost watched, almost as if he could hear what they were saying even at this distance. “Warn the sentries to be wary of the mercs.”

  “Roger,” Martine said.

  “Everyone report to my quarters once you’re finished here.”

  A series of nods came in response, then Dred headed off. She wanted first crack at the san. It felt like forever since she’d bathed, longer since she’d slept. Jael followed her, a quiet guard at her back that gave her more security than she’d cared to admit. Vost watched their departure with a laser gaze, but Dred didn’t give him the satisfaction of turning.

  That’d be like acknowledging he’s a threat.

  By the time she finished, the others had assembled. Dred checked the lock on the door, then she settled on the bunk. Jael flung himself next to her while the rest took turns in the san. She started a little when he rested his head in her lap, unaccustomed to his unfaltering affection. Dred stared down at his fair hair, then, slowly, she lowered a hand to rest on the nape of his neck.

  “Sweet,” Martine teased, but the other woman was smiling.

  Tam sounded tired when he admitted, “I don’t have a contingency plan.”

  The door chime sounded before she could respond. Keelah was outside, slightly wounded but bearing up better than Dred expected after the loss of her mate. “May I come in?”

  “Of course.” She stepped back and activated the lock again.

  “I wanted to waste no time in lodging a protest against this alliance. Vost and his thugs cannot be trusted,” Keelah said calmly.

  Calypso and Martine were nodding.

  “He has docking codes.”

  The debate went on for an hour, and Jael dozed off in the middle. Finally, Dred said, “Enough. The decision’s made. I won’t recant or apologize.”

  Keelah stirred, as if to leave, but Dred shook her head. “It’s safer here. Get some sleep while you can.”

  Despite her own advice, she was the last one to doze off—and the first to awaken at the sound of shots fired.

  Since there were so many people crashed out on her floor, it took longer than it should to arm up and stumble out the door. At first, she thought her men were attacking the mercs or vice versa, but in the co
rridor, she recognized the thin, silent shape of Silence’s killers. Dred chased one down the hall, chains ready, but the man slipped away into the dark. Every which way she turned, the murderers retreated, refusing to do battle.

  The others joined her, rubbing sleep from their eyes.

  Vost and his men had chosen to sleep in the main hall, so they’d downed a few of the assassins, but the dorms . . . as Dred stepped in, her stomach turned over.

  In complete silence, her people had been slaughtered. The tongueless killers had cut so many throats during downtime that the floor was awash in red. Most died clean, but a few held on for hours after, choking on their own blood. There was no medicine, nothing to ease their pain, and Dred moved among them with grim determination, performing so many executions that she thought her name hereafter must surely be Mercy-Killer.

  I have lost everything.

  When the dying stopped, there were only a handful of survivors. In this instance, Dred’s favor had literally saved their lives, so Jael, Tam, Calypso, Martine, and Keelah lived while good armor, reflexes, weapons, and mods saved the mercenaries. Everyone else is gone. If she weren’t so numb, she might be brimming with self-recrimination, but the sentries had no chance against such practiced stealth. Before, there were traps and mechanisms left from when Ike set defenses in place, but the mercs had destroyed or disabled them all. It was hard not to hate the surviving mercs when they emerged a few minutes later. She bit back a curse and went to do what she must.

  The clanging of the pipes had never seemed so loud to Dred before. With so many voices permanently silenced, her territory felt cavernous. Dealing with the dead was excruciating, exhaustive work, and they struggled with it for hours. Many of the bodies, she shoved down the chute without knowing their names or stories, if they’d left families behind or whether those they’d known before had forsaken them when they were judged too dangerous to walk free.

  Beside her, Jael swiped a trickle of sweat and left behind a dark streak that was part corpse blood, part grime from the murkiest seams in the station. “Almost done.”

  She nodded. There was a stack of ten dead Queenslanders behind them, and she heaved silently alongside him until the last of them disappeared. Dred dusted her hands, knowing she wouldn’t feel clean even after she showered. Certain things crept down beneath your skin, leaving a stain that could never be scrubbed away.