Aces Over Queen (The Drift Book 8)

by Susan Hayes

  “Or visited a corporate-owned world?” Royan added.

  “Of course I have. I’ve shadowed executives in different positions all over the galaxy as part of my training.”

  Owen kept stroking his thumb back and forth across the back of her neck as she talked. The motion was soothing, and she leaned into his touch without thinking. It was the most natural thing in the world for him to curve an arm around her waist and draw her in close. “While you were there, did you indulge your inner rebel and poke around the places they didn’t show you on your tours?” Owen’s voice was low rumble by her ear.

  “I thought about it,” But thinking was all she’d done. The smallest sign of rebellion would have destroyed the little trust her father had in her back then. She’d had questions and concerns, but she’d pushed them aside. Her priority had been the company, it had to be.

  “I know we’re supposed to go our separate ways once this trip is over, but when we get back to the Drift, I’d like to show you the parts of Astek station no one from your world would think to show you. I think you need to see them for yourself,” Owen said.

  “I already said I’d go to the party with the two of you. That should show me a glimpse of what life is like on the Drift.” If she agreed to anything more, things might get complicated. She liked them – more than was wise, if she were being honest – but friends were a risk. The closer people got to her, the greater the chance they noticed she wasn’t like them.

  “How about we table this discussion for another day? We’re about to make our descent, and I don’t want Tianna to miss the next few minutes,” Royan said as he spun around and started working the controls.

  “What happens next?” she asked.

  Owen lifted his hand from her waist to point to the main screen. “Now this happens.”

  The Sun Sprite dipped into the moon’s atmosphere with a shudder, and she leaned back against Owen to steady herself.

  “Sorry about that. Feels like the stabilizers need recalibrating, again. I’ll do that while we’re on the ground,” Royan muttered, his hands flying across the console.

  “I’m not complaining.” Owen chuckled as he curved his strong arm across her stomach, pulling her hard against his body.

  Royan looked back over his shoulder at them and frowned. “Oh sure. Why is it every time Tianna needs to hang on to someone, I’m busy flying the ship?”

  “Maybe it’s your driving,” she said.

  “Nice one,” Owen said with approval.

  “Thanks.”

  “Ingrates. Both of you,” Royan muttered.

  Before she could respond, the viewscreens filled with a view that took her breath away and left them all watching in silent wonder. They were flying over a mountain range, the peaks covered in sharply etched lines of brilliant white snow. Where the wind had carved the snow away, ridges of deep blue and gray stone showed through. The stark contrast of white and blue softened as the peaks rolled away toward the horizon, slowly shifting from the palest of blues to a deep lapis lazuli.

  Small clusters of clouds clung to some of the peaks, painting the snow beneath with their shadows. A river appeared beneath them, flowing between the mountains, the water a glorious turquoise edged in bright seams of ice and snow.

  “It’s incredible,” she said, her eyes glued to the monitors.

  “I’ve done this run nearly a dozen times now, and I swear it gets prettier every time,” Royan agreed.

  “If it wasn’t for the river, it would be perfect.”

  “Right. I forgot about your issue with bodies of water.” She nestled against Owen, acutely aware of how good it felt to be held this way. She hadn’t been with anyone since the crash. It was one of the reasons they called her an ice queen. To keep her secret, she had to freeze out anyone who tried to get close to her. No friends. No lovers. No risk of discovery.

  They watched the rest of the descent in relative silence. The sharp peaks softened to rolling hills, and before long they were skimming over open plains of green and gold grasslands. The grass gave way to tilled fields and small buildings that flashed by beneath them, and finally what had to be their destination appeared on the monitors, a cluster of buildings standing tall against the horizon.

  “Welcome to Taza’s lunar colony. Ten minutes from now we’ll have dirt on our boots and unfiltered air to breathe,” Royan announced.

  “You say that like it’s a good thing,” Owen said. He still had his arm around her despite the fact the ship’s flight had stabilized a few minutes after they entered the atmosphere. He made her feel safe and protected in a way she hadn’t experienced before, and despite the risks, she wanted to keep feeling this way for as long as she could.

  “You don’t like dirt, either?” she asked.

  “Nope. Dirt’s dirty.”

  Owen’s response cracked her up. “Well, yeah. That’s kind of the point.” She twisted around to look up at him. “Are you telling me you don’t like getting dirty, Owen Connors?”

  Royan howled with laughter and shot her a wicked grin over his shoulder. “Nice one.”

  Owen chuckled and then released her, swatting her ass as he moved away. “You might want to go change, Miss Sassy-pants.”

  They’d managed to put together an outfit that would let her pass as a member of the crew. It wasn’t perfect, but the heavy pants, work boots, and a dark blue shirt emblazoned with the name of the ship on the back would help her blend in. They didn’t expect her to be recognized this far out, but the expensive clothes she’d been wearing during her rescue would make her stand out too much. They’d agreed on a variation of her name, replacing her name on the ship’s log with her new identity. This way, she could leave the ship and head to the market for a much-needed breath of fresh air. After everything she’d been through, it would be nice to see sky again, even if it was only for a few hours.

  Offloading cargo wasn’t Owen’s favorite way to spend time, but today he was happy for the exercise. The heavy work and crisp weather gave him something to think about other than how good it had felt to have Tianna pressed up against him. He’d enjoyed every second she’d been in his arms and he intended to have her back there as soon as they were on their way again. Taza colony was a peaceful, backwater place, but that didn’t mean they could relax completely. They’d discussed it and agreed that with a little tweak to Tianna’s name and wardrobe, it would be safe enough, but safety was a relative thing. He’d looted too many ships whose crews believed they were untouchable to ever drop his guard completely.

  It had been one of his mother’s favorite lessons: security leads to sloppiness. She’d drilled that into them by making sure that none of her offspring ever felt secure. Every day was a test, and every failure punished. He hated her for what she’d done to him and his siblings, but he couldn’t let go of the lessons she’d taught him, either. It’s why he understood why his sister stayed on, even though he’d offered to take her with him the day he left. She couldn’t let go of that life, so he’d let go of her. It was one of his biggest regrets.

  Tianna popped out from behind a stack of cryo-crates and gestured to them. “So, what is all this, anyway?”

  “Cowsicles,” Owen deadpanned.

  Her pretty face creased with confusion. “What?”

  “Frozen embryos, sweetheart. They’ll be matured in tanks and used to expand the existing herds. More genetic diversity that way,” Royan explained as he scanned each crate and compared it to the manifest loaded onto his data tablet.

  “This way is a lot less messy than shipping live animals, too. I’ve heard stories from Zura about the time she transported livestock to Tangar 7.”

  Royan chuckled. “Yeah, she sent me a message during that run. She was not happy. The whole ship stank for weeks. She swore she’d never do it again, but it all worked out. Thanks to the Tangar 7 run, the Nova Club has real steak on the menu.”

  Tianna stopped and stared. “I thought the Nova was a fight club and bar. When did it become a fine dining e
stablishment?”

  “It’s a little bit of everything. Casino, pharma den, fight club, bar, and these days they’ve got a damned nice menu, too. That’s why it’s one of the biggest draws on the station. My in-laws are smart, they figured out the best way to part the miners from their money is to offer everything a being could want, all in one place.”

  “They took my father’s original idea for Astek and replicated it, on a smaller scale.”

  Owen scoffed. “Forgive me for saying so, but if that was your old man’s plan for Astek, then he picked the wrong people to oversee the project. They’re more slumlords than anything else. They collect the rents, pocket their bribes, and watch from their nice, clean offices as the station falls apart sector by sector.”

  “Owen put it much nicer than I would have, but yeah, that.” Royan winked at him. “You know I love it when you whip out that big brain of yours, baby.”

  “Behave yourself.”

  “You also know that’s never going to happen.”

  “He knows. Just like you know that he’s never going to stop telling you to behave. It’s part of your dynamic, and it’s adorable,” Tianna said.

  Royan thumped his chest with one hand. “Be still my heart. You keep saying such sweet things to me, Tia, and I’m going to fall hopelessly in love with you.”

  She blew him a kiss. “Is that a promise or a threat, boss?”

  Royan’s voice lowered to a sultry murmur that had Owen’s cock stirring. “It’s whatever you want it to be, sweetheart.”

  She laughed and walked away, swinging her hips with a deliberate wiggle that made it very clear she knew they were staring at her ass.

  “I’ve been slapped too many times to claim to be an expert at dating the fairer sex, but that seemed like a green light to me,” Owen said.

  “I am an expert at dating all the sexes, and that was the greenest light I’ve ever seen.” Royan grinned and bumped shoulders with him. “Our little queen has made her choice.”

  “Which proves what I already suspected – she’s as crazy as you are.”

  “Yeah. And we’re the luckiest sons of bitches in the cosmos.”

  Owen tore his gaze from Tianna to take a long look at Royan. His jacket was frayed at the edges, his pants were torn at the knee, and his hair was falling into his eyes again. He reached out and tenderly swept the errant strands back to reveal Royan’s dark brown eyes as his heart did a slow somersault in his chest. “Yeah, I think so, too.”

  Chapter Eight

  It had been a few months since she’d last spent time on a planet, and Tianna had forgotten how good it felt to walk in real gravity and breathe unrecycled air. The skies were clear and the weather was bright and crisp, a refreshing change after being in climate-controlled settings for so long. Every breath she took carried a different mix of scents, from the sharp tang of rocket fuel to the warm, woolly odor of the livestock milling around in pens on the far side of the port.

  Curious as to why the animals weren’t out on the farms, she wandered over to Royan and asked. “I thought shipping live animals wasn’t common. So what are they doing here?”

  Royan pointed to a long, windowless building on the very outskirts of the town.” They’re due for processing, in there.”

  “Processing?” The second she asked the question, the answer came to her. “They’re going to be slaughtered?”

  “Welcome to the circle of life, sweetheart. Today’s cows are tomorrow’s steaks.”

  “I know where steak comes from. I’ve just never been this close to the source before.”

  “If you want to get closer, we can,” he offered.

  She considered it for a moment, then shook her head. They only had a few hours of fresh air and freedom before they would be underway again, and she wanted to spend as much of it as she could at the market they’d told her about. “I can smell them just fine from here. If I get any closer, I might ruin my appetite, and I’m looking forward to eating fresh food instead of rehydrated carbohydrates and frozen proteins.”

  “Fair enough. And as much as I’m enjoying your cooking, I think tonight we’re going to enjoy a meal cooked by someone else.” He gestured toward the center of town. “There’s great little diner not far from the market. I thought we could go there for dinner.”

  “Oh, a dinner date, yes please.” She glanced down at her outfit and swiped at a streak of grime marking one thigh. “I hope they don’t have a dress code.”

  “If they did, Owen would never get inside. He owns one suit, and it’s back on the station.”

  “I bet you always have at least one nice outfit on board, don’t you?” She asked, let her gaze wander over his trim form. He was sporting the rough and ready look at the moment, but Royan struck her as the type who could dress for any occasion and make it look good.

  “You know it. I’ve been told I clean up pretty good.” He waggled his brows at her. “Wanna help me clean up later and judge for yourself?”

  She burst out laughing. “Nice try, but even if I did, there’s no way two of us would fit into the showers on the Sprite.”

  Royan leaned in close and lowered his voice to a conspirator’s whisper. “My sister has two huge cyborg husbands. Trust me when I tell you that thanks to her renovations, the shower and the bed in my quarters is more than big enough for three.”

  Three. There it was. Confirmation of what was on offer. “I think your sister is a very lucky woman.

  He nodded, suddenly serious. “She really is.”

  There was a note of longing in his voice that she didn’t think he even knew was there. The playboy pilot wanted what his sister had. She used to want that, too, but those dreams had died the day of the crash. There’d be no family for her. She couldn’t let anyone that close to her, and even if she did, there would be no children. Some things were beyond even her doctors’ ability to repair.

  “Captain Watson, I’ve got the final manifest here for you to verify. Everything appears to be in order.” A slender, darkly-tanned woman with dark hair and a flirtatious smile came beetling toward them, waving a data tablet. She spoke Galactic Standard, but her accent was one Tianna had never heard before.

  “Hey, Sajita.” Royan turned and greeted the woman with a high voltage smile. “If we’re done, I’d like to take my crew to the market to pick up some fresh supplies. You good with us leaving the Sprite here for a few hours?”

  Sajita checked her data tablet again. “I don’t have anyone else arriving until tomorrow, so you’re welcome to the spot.” She fixed Tianna with a cool stare. “I thought you and Owen weren’t planning on taking on any more help? You know I’d leave this job to fly with you boys any time.”

  “I don’t do the hiring, Saji. You know that. Watson Shipping is my sister’s business, I’m just on the payroll.”

  “And I’m not a permanent addition. I’m just along to learn the routes and get a feel for how things work.” Tianna added.

  “Right,” Royan nodded. “Speaking of which, I should introduce the two of you. Sajita, This is Tia Maran. Tia, this is Sajita Karr. She’s in charge of everything that comes and goes from the colony.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Tianna stuck out her hand and smiled.

  “Uh, same,” Sajita replied, taking her hand after only a brief hesitation.

  “Meeting the key players is part of why I’m on this trip. If I make it through my probation period, I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

  Sajita’s expression warmed at the compliment. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll do fine. Watson Shipping only seems to hire the best.”

  Royan and Sajita went over the manifest and signed off on everything, and within a few minutes he was back at her side.

  “You’re as smooth as keski silk when you want to be, aren’t you?” He asked, looking amused.

  She winked. “You have no idea, fly boy.”

  “I thought we agreed not to use that nickname, your highness.”

  “And yet I’m pretty sure I heard you
call me your queen not long ago, voiding our deal,” she pointed out.

  He winced. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

  “Sharp hearing is a requirement in my world. So’s lip reading.”

  “You read lips?”

  “You don’t?” She’d learned to read lips and body language by the time she was seven. By ten, she was fluent in every major language in the galaxy, and by sixteen she could lipread in all of them.

  “Definitely not. I’m a pretty fair pickpocket, though. I guess our fathers had different ideas of what skills were important.”

  “You pick many pockets?” she asked, curious.

  “A few. You read lips often?”

  “A surprising amount, yeah. It’s a good way to know what people are saying when they think you’re out of earshot.”

  “Well, I know you weren’t reading my lips earlier, because I was enjoying the view as you walked away from us.”

  She’d suspected as much, but it was still nice to get confirmation. She hadn’t been the focus of this much male attention in years. “I thought you might be.”

  “About the queen crack. It won’t happen again.”

  She shrugged. “It’s okay, I’ve decided that being your queen is an acceptable variant. But only coming from you or Owen. That still leaves me without a nickname for you two, though.”

  “I’m sure something will come to you. We’ve still got a week before we get back to the Drift.”

  “And then this lovely interlude comes to an end,” she said, not sure if she was reminding him or herself.

  He gave her a measured look. “If that’s what needs to happen.”

  “It is.” She waited for him to try and convince her it didn’t have to be that way, but he didn’t. He simply held out his hand to her. “Then we better make the best of the time we have. Work’s over for the day. It’s play time.”

  She took his hand, feeling a thrill of anticipation course through her as their fingers interlocked. “Yes, Captain Watson. I believe it is.”

  Royan was walking on air as he and Owen escorted Tianna around the marketplace. She’d kept hold of his hand during the short walk, and somewhere along the way she’d taken hold of Owen’s, too. It was a public declaration of intent, and he was enjoying every moment. It didn’t bother him that they garnered a few disapproving looks along the way. Other people’s opinions didn’t matter to him. He lived by his own rules, always had, and always would.