Page 79 of Radiant Exception
“I didn’t realize the captain knew the word ‘please,’” Cassidy growled. The fact that he was so threatened by Vaughn pleased me. However, he had no idea the biggest threat of all was sitting right in front of him.
“He can message me all he wants. He knows he’s lost. He only cares because of his pride,” I lied, stowing my comm back in my pocket.
Needing to keep a close eye on Cassidy until we reached Ganymede, I took a deep breath before enacting the final stage of our plan.
“I need to catch a few hours of rest before we land,” I told him, stretching as I rose from the couch. “Will you help me fall asleep?”
It was more important now than ever to keep up the charade of the future I’d promised to share with Cassidy.
His eyes lit up at the offer. “Of course!” He scrambled back from his desk. “I’ll ask Rion to cover for me until we’re closer to port.”
In order to continue to go along with the ruse of a budding relationship with Cassidy, I’d had to endure letting the sick fuck be somewhat physical with me. At the very least, he seemed to understand how delicate I might be after ending things with Vaughn, so he’d been respectful enough to let me lead the way.
As we made our way through the ship, up to Cassidy’s room, I twined my fingers through his, wishing they were Vaughn’s, missing how much bigger and warmer his hands were, compared to Cassidy’s slim fingers and somewhat clammy hold.
Once inside, I stripped down to my regular nighttime wardrobe of a tank top and panties. I didn’t relish having to literally andfiguratively get into bed with Cassidy, but with only hours to go until he’d be exposed, I would have done anything to make sure this mission succeeded.
“You sure you don’t want to depart at Ganymede? I’ve got plenty of Meridian contacts that could get us back to the inner system,” Cassidy asked as he slipped into the bed first. I’d made sure that I took the side of the bed closest to the door, rather than against the wall of the ship, like I preferred in Vaughn’s quarters. I couldn’t stomach the thought of feeling trapped in the bed next to him.
“We’ll be okay. Other than the couple of messages I showed you, the captain’s left me alone,” I told him as I swung my legs onto the bed, slipping them under the covers.
“Probably realizes it’s not worth losing the pay for this run if he pisses you off.” Cassidy snorted.
If he knew the captain at all, he’d know that Vaughn would be far more concerned with the rest of his crew being out the money, rather than himself.
“Probably,” I agreed through a yawn.
Cassidy tentatively slung his arm over my waist, gently pulling my back to his front. I suppressed a gag at the feel of his arousal against me.
“You don’t need to worry about Vaughn, L,” Cassidy whispered, nuzzling against my hair. “When we get back to Phobos, I have a feeling he won’t be a problem for much longer.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat at the clear threat. Trying not to betray my intentions, I looked up at Cassidy, mustering as muchsincerity as I could manage. “You don’t have to do anything. Just the fact that I’m leaving with you will be enough.”
Cassidy leaned in and placed a gentle kiss along my jaw. “It’s always been you, Lark. Even X couldn’t keep us apart.”
I took a deep breath, mentally reminding myself that if I slapped him, it would ruin everything, and what he had coming would be worth the wait.
“Try to get some sleep, babe,” he instructed.
But the sleep wouldn’t come until I was safely back in Vaughn’s arms.
“Approaching port,” Vaughn’s authoritative tone came over Cassidy’s comm while we were grabbing a quick breakfast together in the mess. I hadn’t left his side since I’d gotten word from Vaughn that everything was a go. “Report to your stations,” he ordered.
“We better go,” I told Cassidy as I took our empty dishes to the sanitizing station.
Hand in hand, we walked down to the lower level, pausing in front of his office.
“Come find me when we land. I know a great place where we can grab some food while the ship is unloaded.”
“Can’t wait.” I provided a saccharine smile as he leaned in to give me a peck on the cheek.
My stomach was roiling with nerves as I departed at last to make my way to the engineering bay…the smile still wreathing my face, but for reasons entirely different than Cassidy could surmise.
Cassidy Paulson, aka the Phoenix, and his congregation of criminals had taken almost everything from me, and I was about to return the favor.
There was a lot to smile for, after all.
Thankfully, the docking procedure for a ship as new as theRadiantwas almost completely automated, unless something went wrong. But the universe was smiling down on us that day, clearly aware of the justice that was about to be brought to the scourge of the system.
