Page 85 of Smuggler's Beauty

“I wish I knew what I did to get on Nannette’s bad side,” he said. “And possessed a time machine.”

“She’ll calm down,” Elenor said. “She really is very reasonable under normal circumstances.”

“She’s quite protective of us all. This is a risky undertaking. I’m not surprised she fried a circuit or two,” Aiden said.

Mathias nodded. “I get that. I even respect it — both the protective instincts and the fire. I just wish it wasn’t aimed at me. Or that I were in flame-retardant clothing.”

Elenor snickered. “I’ll go find a fire extinguisher.”

“You seemed to be holding your own,” Aiden said. Seeing Mathias and Nannette go at each other so heatedly confirmed what he’d noticed before and cooled any jealousy Aiden still felt.

Pretty clear he’s not into blondes. Thank fuck.

The corner of Mathias’s mouth flicked up. “I may enjoy poking the bear. A little.”

“Secret’s safe with me,” Elenor said. She gestured at the table. “So, tell us about these maps.”

“Right,” Mathias said, clearing his throat. “These are the locations that Corvinia wants you to deliver arms to. They’re further from any of the military outposts that Emil has installed. She’s spent years slowly luring the enlisted population over to her cause, and they’re ready to take the bases when Evelyn makes her declaration. These locations,” he said, gesturing to points circled in red marker on the maps, “are largely rural farming communities. They’re strategically important — armies march on their stomachs — but they’re not especially well guarded.”

“Hence the need for arms,” Aiden said. “Vinnie wants them able to fend off an attack if Emil tries to take them over in an attempt to starve out the revolutionaries.”

Mathias nodded. “Exactly. Most of these folks don’t have any training, which is Nannette’s major objection. They know how to keep pests off their land, keep their chickens from being raided by predators, and such, but that’s it.”

Elenor tapped her hand on the table, considering. “How much training could they conceivably get in the timeframe we have?”

“Realistically? Not much. But some is better than none,” he said.

“What’s the situation in the cities look like?” Aiden asked.

Mathias blew out a long breath. “Discontented. Folks aren’t happy with the regime, but they’re not organized. There’snothing for them to rally behind. Being against Emil isn’t enough; they need to beforsomething, someone. They’re afraid and need to see someone with things to lose speaking out. One spark will set this thing on fire, I’m sure of it.”

Evelyn.She’d sure as shit set Aiden aflame. He had no doubt the planet would rally behind her. Now he just had to do everything he could to get her to believe it, too.

Nannette stomped halfwaydown the hallway to the kitchen. By the time she arrived at the refrigerator, she was merely aggressively striding. She stopped short and pulled the handle of the fridge open.

“You aren’t allowed to stock this anymore,” she called over her shoulder to Veselko.

“Then someone else should take the grocery shipments off the jump ship,” he said with a shrug. “You don’t like it, you do it.”

She grabbed four bottles of water that had been shoved haphazardly in the fridge. She tugged two from the crisper drawer, one from the graveyard of condiments, and another from the back of the top shelf, lodged above a brick of cream cheese.

“Do you just fling things in here? Are you secretly making a scavenger hunt for us?”

Veselko just grinned. “My methods are my own. So, why do you hate the handsome psychic?”

Nannette glared at him. “I don’t hate him.”

“Ah! She doesn’t deny he’s handsome.” Veselko pointed at her. “Ladies and germs, she thinks he’s sexy. He’s hot. He’s a dish.”

“I do have eyes,” she muttered. She ripped the top off her water bottle and took a swig. The crisp, cold fluid shocked her senses and jolted her back to the calm center she was used to. Her normally focused mind had been preoccupied, returning again and again to the moment she’d met Mathias in the lobby. It was annoying as hell. “Did you see what happened when we came into the lobby earlier? He just. . . blanked out when he saw me. That can’t be good.”

Veselko shrugged. “Would you want to know if it was bad?”

Maybe. It never hurts to know when you’re going to need to run.

He patted her on the shoulder before taking two of the water bottles off the counter.

“C’mon. Let’s go plan a coup with a cute, strange man.”