The Star Thief (13 page)

“It never is, is it?” Damn him, he knew exactly what to do with it. Heat curled lower in her belly, and she forced herself to ignore it.

“This seems pretty personal to me.” His hands drifted lower, splaying across her stomach. She swayed, tugging him to the bed. She was running out of time.

And then he sucked in a breath. “What the…” His eyes widened a split second before he collapsed on the mattress.

Sound asleep.

ELEVEN

Renna pulled her clothes back on as Viktis snored loudly, his bare legs draped over the side of the bed. The man would sleep like the dead for at least another hour. A dash of sleeping powder from Antivia Nine when she’d brushed out his whiskey glass with her sleeve had done the trick. That poison bracelet had been a very good investment.

Her body still hummed from the Ileth’s touch, and she ignored the heat pooling between her legs. She quickly pushed away the tiny bit of disappointment that curled through her. It had been way too long since her last fling; some good, old-fashioned stress relief might have been nice. Romping in bed with a handsome man was never a hardship, but she was on a job and it was time to get what she’d come for. The cold shower could come later when she was safe on the
Athena
.

The desk was the only part of the room Viktis kept tidy. She slid into his chair and pulled open a few of the drawers. Nothing but a worn notebook with a list of past jobs and a few ratty receipts. Not surprising. Viktis had always kept most of his info on his tablet.

She picked up the device from its stand and switched it on. Encrypted, of course, but easy enough for her to hack. Less than a minute later, she was scanning through his messages.

“Dammit.” The message she needed had no identifying data, no electronic signature she could use to track down the sender. A few clicks later, she discovered the company who’d contacted Viktis, NavStar Industries, was a front. She didn’t recognize the name, but the information still might come in useful later, so she sent the rest of his messages to her own device. She’d go through them back on the
Athena
. Never hurt to know what the competition was up to.

Renna sighed and tucked the device back in its stand on the desk. Well, that’d been a waste of time. She turned to stand, and her fingers knocked into a pile of notes. A piece of paper fluttered to the ground.

Well, well, what was this? The paper was heavy and smooth against her fingers as she picked it up. Dr. Draven Navang. Bioethics and Biotechnology Specialist. NavStar Industries. The name and company were stamped in embossed black ink, and in the corner was a small logo: an eye with a two spears bisecting it.

Renna stiffened. Where had she seen that logo before?

But the flicker of recognition died, and she shrugged. Maybe it would come to her later. She tucked the card into her pocket and got to her feet. Across the room, Viktis grunted in his sleep, and she smiled. He was going to be so frakking pissed at her when he woke up. Good thing she wasn’t the kind of girl who held grudges, or he’d be in serious trouble right now.

But despite the urge to get back at the merc for trying to kill her, the
Athena
’s crew was locked in the brig, and Myka was still in hiding. It was time to get the hell out of here.

Renna unlatched the door and peeked into the hallway.
Empty
. She crept down the passageway, her boots making no sound against the metal floor. It would be easy enough to find her way back to the hatch, but what might be a little more difficult was calling back Viktis’s mercs and escaping the spaceport before they realized they’d been scammed.

The bridge lay straight ahead, and a smile curved her lips at the squat console sitting in the middle of the space. That would do just fine. Her fingers flew over the keypad as she hacked the propulsion system and disabled the ship’s engines.

Viktis and his crew were dead on the ground. Perfect. By the time he got the ship working again, the
Athena
would be long gone.

Now all she needed to do was program a simple recall message in the merc’s communicators and set it to go off in sixty seconds, so she had enough time to get back to Finn’s ship. There. A few taps on the console and it was done.

She peered down the corridor, then sprinted for the cargo ramp. Outside the ship, the fuel station was shadowy and silent, and Renna sucked in a deep breath. Viktis neutralized. Check. One team rescue, coming up. She paused. Team, huh? Since when? Most of those people hated her or, at least, didn’t trust her further than they could throw her. She wasn’t part of their team. She was on her own. As usual.

Renna shook her head and started toward the
Athena
. A moment later, a low tone sounded throughout the warehouse. Dammit! She darted behind a stack of crates, dropping low to hide from the gang of mercs who stomped down the
Athena
’s loading ramp.

One…two…three…. Shit. She had no idea how many were left on the
Athena
. Dealing with them herself was going to be tricky.

Renna crept from behind the boxes. She was running out of time. She needed to move now. Sprinting on silent feet, she sneaked through the landing hangar and back onto the
Athena
. Men’s voices echoed from the other side of the ship, and she crept in the opposite direction, toward the lower deck.

Laughter rang out, and she froze, pressing herself against the wall. A few more men stomped down the ramp, some chuckling, some grumbling, as they returned to Viktis’s ship. Once their voices faded, she moved again, making her way to the stairs.

Get Finn and his crew free. Get the hell off this planet.

She took the stairs slowly, making no sound. Carefully, she peered around the hatch and into the brig.

Dammit. The meaty mercenary was still there, leaning against the wall, picking his fingernails with a knife. Renna pulled back and chewed her lip. She had two options: attack the guy and hope she took him by surprise, or trick him into returning to the ship. She probably couldn’t take the guy without a weapon, so that left option two. Her stomach jumped, and she took a deep breath. It was now or never.

She marched into the room like she was following orders.

Mercenary Man jumped as she entered, gripping the knife and glaring at her.

She kept her whole body at ease, smiling her best I’m-in-the-mercenary-club-too smile. “Relax. Viktis sent me.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “Oh?”

“Didn’t you hear the recall tone? They found the kid. Viktis wants you back on the ship.”

“And who the hell do you think
you
are?” He shifted on his feet, his gaze flicking to the
Athena
’s crew still behind bars.

Renna flipped her hair, focused on keeping the man’s attention. “You saw me leave with Viktis. We go way back. I’ve agreed to help him with this haul…and a few other things.”

Someone whispered “
bitch
” from the brig, but she ignored it.

His suspicion was almost palpable. “Yeah? So where’s Viktis then?”

“On the bridge getting ready to take off. You want him to leave you behind?” Renna turned to go with a shrug. “Whatever. You don’t believe me, that’s your problem. You can stay here and wait for the Marines to find you.”

The man frowned, then slid his knife back in its sheath. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Renna let him go first out the door, grabbing one of the crew’s pistols from the officer in charge’s desk. She slipped it into the waistband of her pants before following him back to the cargo ramp. She’d only use it if she had to.

The merc stepped outside the ship, but she paused, pressing her finger below her ear like she was taking a call on her communicator. “Right.” She paused for a beat. “I’ll make sure.” Another pause. “Yes, he’s on his way now.”

The man turned. “What was that?”

“Viktis wants me to search the captain’s quarters, but he wants
you
back on the ship to help with prep. I’ll be there in a minute.”

He shrugged. “Whatever the boss wants.” Without a glance back, he tromped down the gangway and disappeared into the docking bay.

Renna spun on her heels and slammed a hand against the hatch panel. As soon as it started to close, she dashed back down the deck to the brig.

“What the hell is going on?” Finn demanded as she fumbled with the lock on the cell.

“I just saved your asses. We need to get the hell out of here now before Viktis’s crew realizes what’s going on.”

“Everyone! Stations, now! Prep for takeoff.” The crew streamed from the room, running to various parts of the ship.

Renna ran behind Finn and Keva to the bridge where the two immediately began shouting commands.

Seconds later, the whir of the engine filled the ship. “Flight status, Lieutenant?” Finn demanded.

Keva’s fingers flew across her display. “Take off in forty-five seconds.”

Around them, the ship rumbled and vibrated as the engines warmed. Renna’s stomach jumped as the ship surged into motion, speeding away from the spaceport before beginning its ascent back into the stars. They were safe.

Captain Finn finished giving his orders, then leaned back against the railing beside her, his arms crossed. “What did you do?” he asked. “What happened to the merc?”

“Don’t worry about it, Finn. I took care of him.”

“You were gone for almost an hour.” He sounded sullen and annoyed.

She blinked at him. “Is there a problem? I thought you’d be happy I was finally earning my payment.” Renna turned to walk away, but Finn grabbed her arm.

“Did you sleep with him?”

Renna gritted her teeth and slung his hand off her. “By the stars, why do you even care? You already think I’m a whore, remember?”

Finn’s lips thinned. “I didn’t think you’d come back.”

Renna arched an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know why you keep making those kinds of assumptions. It’s obvious you don’t know anything about me, Captain. Not anymore.”

He shifted his weight, eyes sliding away from hers. “Well, whatever you did and however you managed it, you have my thanks. We managed to escape with the boy and with no casualties. Where is Myka by the way?”

Her lips parted. The last thing she’d expected was for Finn to thank her, even if he was obviously uncomfortable doing it. “He’s down on the officer’s deck, locked away tight. I’ll go get him.”

“I want to see this,” Keva muttered, getting up from her chair and following them through the ship.

Renna’s stomach tightened as she picked her way through the clothes and bedding that spilled from the rooms out into the hallway. The mercs had been ruthless. Mattresses had been ripped to shreds, and any furniture not bolted down had been toppled. Even locked doors had been sliced through with lasers, leaving only twisted metal.

Exactly how much was this kid worth to them?

She thudded down the stairs to where she’d left Myka and froze in her tracks. Blood roared in her ears as she stared at the metal screen covering his hiding place. The panel was bent and seared, ripped through like a piece of paper. Renna dropped to her knees and touched the navy fabric snagged on one of the jagged pieces of metal. Myka’s new pants.

“You hid him there?” Keva asked.

Renna stared at the hole, ignoring the other woman. Acid burned the back of her throat. How had they found him? Had he been so terrified he’d given himself away?

“He’s gone,” she whispered, yanking the metal screen away and peering inside to make sure. Metal glinted on the floor, and she reached for her nanospanner with a shaking hand.

“What do you mean he’s gone?” Finn’s voice was low and dangerous as Renna rose to her feet.

Her hands trembled, and she clenched them into fists. “Somehow they found him. Took him.” First on Hesperia and now the ship. What was it about Myka that drew these people to him? What did they want with the boy?

Renna’s mind raced. They had to go back. Had to find him. How the hell had the mercs gotten past her with the kid?

A muscle jumped in Finn’s jaw as he glanced at the destruction around them. “So your whoring around did nothing to help us. And now they’ve got the kid.” His voice went flat. “Or was that all part of your plan? Act like you’re playing along with the pirate when really you’ve had this worked out all along? How else would the mercs have known where we were refueling? Or where Myka was hiding?”

Renna’s fingers itched to grab the gun from her belt. So they were back to this again. Gods, this man had more mood swings than a pregnant woman. “You think I betrayed you? That I gave up the boy for a fat paycheck?” She glared at him, her temper slipping farther out of her control. “If that’s the case, why would I have come back to free you? Why not stay on board and escape with Viktis?”

He dismissed her with an angry shrug. “Because it looks better this way. Because we can’t prove you had anything to do with it. But I know the truth. I know you’re only in this for the money. Like always.”

“I’m here because I didn’t have a choice,” Renna growled. “But now that I am, the only thing that matters is getting Myka back. With or without your help.”