Page 12 of Smuggler's Beauty

“None taken. This isn’t exactly what I signed up for either.” She managed a small smile and reached for one of the cookiesVeronique had left on the table. Evelyn took a small bite, her eyes closing as she made a distracting little yummy noise that made every part of his being spark in awareness. He shook his head to refocus his attention on the matter at hand.

Inappropriate.

She was speaking again before he was done chastising himself.

“For what it’s worth, I want to meet Vinnie,” Evelyn said. “I need to understand some things, and it sounds like she’s the quickest avenue to answers.”

“I don’t think we should just blindly hand you over to a random party,” Aiden said. He tamped down on the guilt that surged in him at the brief thought that just going through with the drop as planned would solve so many of their problems. He preferred being able to sleep at night. “Who knows why they want you, or how they knew how to find you? We don’t know Vinnie’s motives, or if she’s working for herself or another agent.”

“Vinnie’s not a random party,” Veselko objected. “But I concede the rest of your points.”

“How well do wereallyknow her?” Aiden said. “Just because her payments always clear doesn’t mean she’s trustworthy.”

“To be fair that’s often the bar we try to clear,” Cairn said. “That and ‘can they keep their mouths shut’ are the general standards for the people we work with. And she can. Vinnie’s never snitched or sent us a contract that didn’t pan out in the end.”

“That’s an important qualifier,cher,” Veronique said. “I’m still finding dog hair all over the hold.”

Cairn grinned at his wife. “Yeah, but that’s a small price to pay for the experience of hauling all those dogs off that planet. Who else gets to play with fifty puppies at a time?”

Veronique just patted his arm and rolled her eyes. Lillian and Elenor started clearing the dinner dishes that had been left on the table.

“This could get very dangerous, very quickly.” Nannette had been grimly staring at her coffee cup since Evelyn finished her story. “We need to be careful, whatever we decide to do. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to pick up some things to disguise her on 14 And.” She assessed Evelyn, squinting her eyes. “You ever think about being a red head?”

“Nope, but if you keep feeding me those cookies, I’ll wear whatever you suggest on my head. Hat. Wig. Dye,” Evelyn said, happily reaching for another.

Lillian laughed from the sink. “That’s it. Drive a hard bargain.”

Evelyn grinned. “I’m a cheap date, too.”

Aiden had to stop himself from pondering the possibilities of that statement. He was hyperaware of all of Evelyn’s movements. The obvious sensual enjoyment she was experiencing from the cookies made the prospects of enjoyment from other activities ping across his mind’s eye like a horny game of Frogger.

Focus.

“Forewarned is forearmed. We need to try to dig up as much as we can on Vinnie before we get to the rendezvous point. See if we can determine any alliances, any motivations. Veselko and Tariel, can you hit your contacts up, see if there’s any chatter? We have a few days to iron out the approach.”

“I can see what I can dig up. I need to hit up a few folks anyway, try to set up some runs for next month,” Veselko said. “Should be easy enough to slip Vinnie into the conversation.”

Tariel took off his glasses to polish them. “I’ll start a file.”

Evelyn yawned, hiding her mouth behind her hand. “Sorry. You wouldn’t think I’d be tired, all things considered.”

“You’ve had a shock,” Lillian said. The dishes had been conquered. She walked toward Evelyn with her hands extended. “Come with me, kiddo. We’ll set you up in one of the guest rooms.”

“Thanks, Lillian. I’m sure the accommodations will be far more lovely than my pod chamber. Did you decorate the ship? It’s gorgeous.”

Aiden watched his mother lead Evelyn out of the galley as they chatted about the aesthetics. He stayed focused on the door even after their voices faded.

“I like her.” Cairn broke the silence. “She’s steady. And funny.”

“She’d have to be, growing up like she did. It’s the only way to cope without going batshit,” Nannette said. “I need to work up a security assessment for her. See how much of her inevitable royal training stuck.”

“Steady and funny. We can work with that,” Veronique said. “And I get the impression she prefers to slide under the radar. Shouldn’t be a problem getting her set up with some essentials on 14 And.” She patted Cairn on the shoulder. “Take me to bed,cher. I had a long day waiting for you.”

Cairn grinned and happily followed his wife to their quarters. The others trickled out one at a time, until only Aiden remained in the galley, absently juggling pieces of torn napkins, his thoughts on Evelyn.

CHAPTER SIX

Evelyn stared at the ceiling.Despite the bone-deep exhaustion she felt, sleep eluded her. She should have had no problem falling asleep after expending so much energy Amplifying Aiden in the medivessel, not to mention all the carbs she’d consumed.