Page 92 of Smuggler's Beauty

What the fuck did that?

She released the iron grip she had on the controls and turned to Ivan, who seemed just as composed as normal. Few things shook him from his icy equanimity. The large view screen displayed ship’s diagnostics as they trickled in. He met her gaze, giving her a once over. They were both satisfied she wasn’t actually going to vomit.

“New weapon?” Ivan asked. He leaned back and cradled his neck in his hands as he stretched his legs out. “Have they upgraded their systems so radically since you were last onboard?”

Pearl shook her head. “If there was a weapons system that could do that on the market, we would have one. Anika would’ve installed it in all her shuttles. Not what. Who,” Pearl said.

She rolled her shoulders as she examined the evidence before them. The display of power they’d just been victim to showed that the Alpertti princess was far more than met the eye. She’d been sold to them as a weak, idealistic pacifist. A woman with her nose perpetually in a book, too naive to know not to take candy from a stranger. The lingering flip in her stomach proved that their intel was incomplete at best.

Their boss would love if she could ram through a penalty on this contract. Every detail the client held back was another line item on their invoice.

At least she’ll be pleased with this turn of events.

“We need to comb through those files you extracted from the medivessel. Emil has left out information pertinent to asset retrieval.”

Ivan snorted. “To say the least.”

Pearl programmed a quick jump to a nearby spaceport. The diagnostic results said the ship was fine, but she would breathe easier knowing that they had been given a thorough once-over by a human mechanic. The spaceport was one the crew of theDawnwas known to frequent; maybe they could pick up a lead while the ship was looked over.

Though she wasn’t sure she actually wanted to find a lead on this job at all.

“That was hard for you.” Ivan’s voice was soft, unexpected. He was closer than he had been a minute ago, standing behind her. He was a jungle cat when he moved, quiet and lethal.

Pearl nodded. Her heart had broken a little more every time she’d pressed the command to fire. She’d done her job anyway. Messy emotions didn’t live on the bridge.

“Just because it wouldn’t have been hard for me doesn’t mean I don’t see you suffering, Pearl.” He gave her shoulder a firm squeeze and sighed as he left the bridge, having found the limits of his empathy for the day.

She kept her eyes on the view screen, toggling menus. She’d known the minute the comm call to Tariel had connected that she was taking one more step down a path of no return. Pearl just wasn’t sure why the hell she hadn’t started running in reverse yet.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

This dinner was goingto kill Nannette.

The fact that they were even having dinner after the Twins’ attack was completely absurd to her. But Elenor had announced that they were going to eat together like civilized people before stomping off to the kitchen.

Evelyn was still unconscious. Aiden had spent the last few hours flitting in and out of their quarters, alternately trying to gather as many supplies as he could float into the room to make her more comfortable and peppering Mathias with rounds of questions as to the nature of her burnout. He was back in their cabin now, having slurped a packet of nutrient paste in solidarity with the sleeping woman in his bed.

Cairn looked like someone had strapped him down to a chair and made him watch videos of children kicking puppies for an hour. He’d directed theDawnto orbit around a space station that they did not normally frequent, hoping to avoid as many prying eyes as possible as they got the ship back in fighting order.

Lillian was still staring daggers at Tariel. Tariel was still allowing her to berate him.

The vibes were not immaculate. Nannette couldn’t remember a more awkward dinner onboard.

The food itself was delicious, as always. Lillian and Elenor would never feed them anything that didn’t meet the minimum standard of “Good God, can I possibly fit a third serving in me?” It was a wonder they continually managed to fit in their clothes.

Then again, that might be due to the rigorous training schedules Nannette had made for the crew, and then nagged them into fulfilling. She believed in doing her part. Even if that meant they all were a little over-prepared for a galactic apocalyptic event. No one was shirking cardio on her watch. No matter how much Veselko whined about it.

She poked at a meatball on her plate. It was tender, perfectly spiced, bathed in the red sauce Evelyn had been so fond of the night they’d found her. Nestled in a pile of spaghetti, parked next to a large wedge of toasty garlic bread, it was as comforting a meal as she’d ever had at the table.

Yet it was doing nothing to allay the uncertainty their dinner guest had sparked in her. Carbs could only provide so much comfort.

Mathias was sitting directly across from her. Again. He chatted genially with the rest of the crew, laughing at jokes when Veselko cracked them and nodding earnestly when Lillian made another pointed comment about security. He wiped a bit of sauce off his bottom lip, then winked at her.

Furious to be caught staring, she stabbed her meatball with her fork while Mathias returned to his conversation with Tariel about the time Tariel had replaced a famous painting in a museum on Taurus Twelve with one of his forgeries.

Her meatball slid an inch on her plate, but the garlic bread prevented it from careening off onto the table. Nannette wasn’t used to being emotional. She had feelings; she just had them privately. Behind an impeccable poker face. Alone, in herquarters, under the cover of darkness. And sometimes the literal covers.

Her complicated family situation had taught her that it was best to feel her feelings privately. Putting anything on display just provided the enemy with a weakness they would exploit. Why hand over a weapon to be used against you later? That was just foolish.