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“Ashford, trying to track you down?” Holden asked, but Bull ignored him and answered the call

“Bull here Ruiz, I—” Bull started, then stopped and just listened He grunted a few tiations When he finished the call, he dropped the hand ter at it His brown skin, recently gray with sickness, had turned almost white He reached up with both hands to wipe ahat Holden realized with shock were tears Holden would not have guessed the

“Ashford,” Bull started, then began a long coughing fit that looked suspiciously like sobbing When he’d finally stopped, his eyes andout of his pocket and wiped most of it off, then said, “Ashford killed Sam”

“What?” Holden asked His brain refused to believe this could be true He’d heard the words clearly, but those words could not be, so hebreath, gave his face one last ith the rag, then said, “He brought her up to the bridge to ask about the laser mods, and then he shot her He ineer”

“How do you know?” Monica asked

“Because that was Ruiz on the line just now She wants us to get her the hell out of there,” Bull said Alone fro breath “She knows Ashford has coone around the bend, but what can she do?”

Holden shook his head, still refusing to believe it Brilliant little Sam, who fixed his ship, as Naoood-natured crush on That Sa man’s hands were curled into fists, his knuckles a bloodless white

“We have to hold this ground,” Holden said, hoping to head off A falls apart”

“Then you kill hily flat and ehteouskill him, or so help me God…”

Holden felt a sudden nausea almost drive him to his knees He took a few deep breaths to push it back This hat they had to offer to Sam’s memory After all she’d done for theue Sam, who as far as he knew had never hurt another person in her life Would she want this? He could picture her there, telling Amos and Bull to put their testosterone away and act like adults The thought almost made him vomit

Monica put a hand on his back “Are you okay?”

“I have to tell Naomi,” was all he could say, then he pushed her hand away and walked across a floor thatship

Naoer She cried, but didn’t deh her tears, but didn’t say Ashford’s once It seeht reaction It seeently hen Bull cluer, but sed it

“What?”

“Look,” Bull said, rubbing his buzz cut with both hands “I know this is a shitty tio froone, and she was pretty central to our plans…”

“I understand,” Nao like they were having a conversation in some kind of code he didn’t understand “Go where?”

“With Saot,” Bull said