Finn gritted his teeth until his jaw ached before he spoke again. “Anyone who bothers my crew isn’t welcome on this ship, friend of Renna’s or not.”
“It’s fine, Captain. I can take care of myself. Viktis won’t be hanging outside the showers ever again.” She smiled sweetly and Finn shook his head.
“I should have known you’d put him in his place.” If only Finn could do the same. But that man got under his skin in ways he didn’t think possible. Finn had been through basic training with the nastiest officer in MYTH. He’d been a part of Blur’s gang of miscreants. He’d even killed some of the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy, but none of those men had gotten to him like Viktis.
None of those other men had slept with Renna, either.
Finn shoved away the thought of the two of them together. It was a different point in both their lives. Renna had thought Finn was dead. Finn thought Renna was a slaver. There were so many reasons why it shouldn’t matter. But every time he saw the Ileth, he couldn’t help but picture the man’s long fingers against Renna’s sun-kissed skin.
It made him crazy.
He knew Renna had carved out her own life without him. He should be able to get past this.
The fact that Finn hadn’t been able to let go of his animosity toward the roguish alien was shoved aside. He didn’t even want to consider the feelings and emotions tied to his behavior.
The snick of the intercom came a second before Lieutenant Kojima’s voice sounded in the CIC. “Captain, we’ve docked at the station.”
Finn sighed and straightened. “Thank you, Flight Lieutenant.” He turned on his own intercom. “We’ve docked at Forever Station to refuel and restock. I grant you all a forty-eight hour shore leave. Do whatever you’d like, but keep your comms on at all times. We need to be able to leave instantly if we’re discovered. Dismissed.”
Almost immediately, the ship filled with the sound of the crew scrambling for their gear. Forever Station was one of the biggest entertainment hubs in the Costa system. Every weird fetish, exotic food, or black market item was available there. And if it wasn’t, you weren’t looking hard enough.
Finn had spent entirely too much time there when he was younger, after his parents had been killed. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to going back.
“Sir, do you want me to stick around? Help you with the pirate? Or the Aldanis?” Keva glanced back toward the corridor where Viktis had disappeared.
“No, go on.” Finn forced a smile to his lips and nodded encouragingly. He’d been a monster these last few days, and Keva had borne the brunt of it. “You deserve shore leave more than anyone here. I’ll let you know if I need your help.”
He’d lucked out when Dallas had assigned her as his XO; she’d been the perfect person to help him run this ship. Now he’d forced her to go on the run from MYTH and become a traitor. Guilt surged through him, turning his stomach like he’d eaten a bad eel from Vesper Nine.
Keva nodded, oblivious to his discomfort. “Very good, sir. Comm me if you need anything.” She saluted as she left the bridge, leaving Finn alone with the quiet ship and his not so quiet thoughts.
Finn adjusted the plain, brown trousers and dark shirt one more time, frowning as the strange material moved against his legs. Everything felt so loose, so sloppy. Being out of uniform made him twitchy, but they needed to blend in while they were on the station. Didn’t stop every fiber of his body from wanting to rebel. He’d worked hard to earn that uniform. Taking it off felt almost like a betrayal. Then again, he’d been doing plenty of that lately. Might as well get used to it. If Renna failed, he’d be on the run for the rest of his life.
Finn squeezed his eyes closed, then exhaled and straightened his spine. Enough. He’d chosen this path. He trusted Renna. They’d all get through this. And right now, priority number one was making sure that Dr. Aldani and his nephew were safe.
He shifted the holster at his waist as he glanced down the stark, white corridor that led from the docking bay. He still had that sixth sense he’d developed for trouble back in the gang, and it had come in handy more than a few times while at MYTH. Hopefully it wouldn’t steer him wrong now. And after a quick sweep of the space, he turned and gestured to David Aldani and the little boy standing beside him. “Let’s get moving. The safe house is in the Merrin district, not too far from here.”
The doctor nodded and stepped from the elevator. Myka, his ten-year-old nephew followed, dark eyes darting up and down, taking in the searing helo-lights and shiny ceramic floors.
“I take it the Ileth went to stock my supplies?” Aldani asked as they hurried to the far end of the hallway.
Finn nodded, hand on his blaster. He scanned the space, looking for anyone out of the ordinary, anything that felt suspicious. Whatever the man’s fault, he had to admit the pirate had some good connections. Viktis had found a quiet apartment in a middle-class zone on the station, where Aldani and Myka wouldn’t be noticed. They’d be safer there than on the run in the Athena.
At least that’s what Finn kept telling himself. Renna would be seriously pissed if she found out that he’d let the pair out of his sight, but with the way things were going, he couldn’t risk the two of them being found if the Athena was caught.
“Have you heard from Renna?” Myka asked hopefully.
Finn shook his head, gaze still sweeping the space as they walked. “Not yet, kid. It’s barely been a week. Give her some more time.”
The boy chewed his lip. “I’m worried about her.”
Aldani squeezed his nephew’s shoulder. “Renna’s fine. She’s a tough girl. She’ll be back with us in no time.” Over the boy’s head, Aldani met Finn’s gaze with a frown.
A sharp stab of panic shot through Finn’s gut, tightening his fingers around his blaster. Renna was running out of time. The longer her implant had to fuse with her neural network, the more likely it was she’d turn into one of those…things they’d found back in Navang’s lab. A hybrid. Aldani was working on a cure, but it was slow going, especially with her gone. The scientist didn’t know if his drugs would even work on her system.
Finn clenched his jaw. No. She’d just walked back into his life. There was no way in hell he was going to let her go before they got to see what this thing was between them. It had been a very long time since he’d felt this way about someone. If ever. There hadn’t been room to become attached to other people back when he was working for Blur. And since joining MYTH…well, he hadn’t exactly been celibate. But it wasn’t easy to have a relationship with a civilian when the smallest slip-up could put them in danger.