by Kris Delake
“Skye?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I think it’s not active. But I need you to do a few things.”
She outlined them. He didn’t understand why she needed that connection checked or a particular chip located except that she had a hunch about the bomb itself.
He was glad she talked him through the process. If he had come here alone, he would have had no idea what to do.
“Why can’t I just pull it off the container?” he asked.
“Because then it’ll go off.”
He glanced at the cargo bay doors. “What happens if I jettison it?”
“And another ship hits it?” she asked.
“Can I jettison this thing after we have dismantled it?” he asked. “There’s always space debris.”
“Yeah, there is,” she said. “I just sent out a warning about Heller’s ship as debris. I figure it’s large enough. Other ships can avoid it, and Kordita can deal with it when they want.”
Jack peered at the bomb.
“Then let’s jettison this thing as well,” Jack said. If he survived dismantling it. If it didn’t go off now.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s get to work.”
Chapter 59
Thank heavens, the bomb was pretty standard. Skye had unsuccessfully tried to build one half a dozen years ago for one of her classes. She understood the principles, and in that case, she had deliberately screwed up the execution. She hadn’t wanted to build a bomb ever, just like she hadn’t wanted to kill someone ever.
Only she had broken that vow, hadn’t she? By turning off the environmental controls and venting the atmosphere on that lower level, she had killed Heller.
And really, she should have regretted it.
But if she hadn’t, Heller would have murdered Jack—and relatively quickly. Since she had to choose between Jack and Heller, she didn’t even have to think about it.
She chose Jack.
It took fifteen minutes to make certain that the bomb wasn’t active. Jack didn’t want to send it into space, but Skye did. She didn’t want it on the Hawk.
Jack thought Heller wasn’t that bright, but Heller had managed to follow them from Krell to Zaeen and back here. He’d also managed to shield his ship in such a way that they almost didn’t catch it.
If they hadn’t had that lucky break, then they would be dead by now. And so would others.
“That should be it,” Skye said. “Let me know when you’re out of the cargo bay.”
“You’re going to have to seal off this level again,” Jack said. “The door into the bay is ruined.”
He didn’t say that Heller ruined it, but that was what happened.
She felt oddly calm about it all, and wondered if that was her assassin training.
“Let me know when you’re out of there,” she said. “And leave the door to the cargo area open.”
“Why?” Jack asked.
“Cleanup,” she said, unwilling to say more. She had scanned the corridors as the video surveillance came back online and she had seen just enough of Heller’s body to know she didn’t want to see any more. Better that it get jettisoned into space along with some of the empty cargo containers.
“All right,” Jack said, and signed off.
She made sure everything was locked down. She watched his heat signature, so that she wouldn’t have to see that hallway again. Jack took the elevator up to this level, and let her know on the comm that he was clear.
“Go ahead,” he said.
She locked down the lower level, then shut off the environmental controls. Then she opened the airlock and the cargo bay doors. For a moment, she thought they weren’t going to work. Then she realized that doors were moving slowly because they were going through the system that Jack had jury-rigged. Apparently Heller had shut down the direct controls to the outside doors and the airlock.
Still, everything opened, and the Hawk acknowledged the change in pressure. It didn’t lurch like that other ship had or even move. This ship was in good shape. But it told her that something had gone wrong in the cargo bay—at least from the Hawk’s point of view.
From hers, the worst of it was over.
The door opened to the cockpit and Jack stumbled in. His hair was messy, and his shirt was torn. His pants had tears in the knees, and he had scrapes on his elbows.
She had never been so glad to see someone in her life.
She launched herself out of her chair and into his arms.
And all of the panic she had felt, all of the fear, all of the worry, surged through her. She had to blink hard to keep herself from tears.
That made her angry. She wasn’t a woman who cried for any reason.
Still, she clung to him, and he clung back.
She had no idea how long they held each other.
“I thought he was going to kill you,” she said.
“I told you I’d be back,” Jack said.
“You also gave me one hell of a good-bye speech.”
He leaned back so that he could see her face. His looked vulnerable. Then he grinned. Her Jack, always a glass-half-full kinda guy.
“I did, didn’t I?” he said. “I meant every word.”
Then he kissed her.
Or he tried to, because she moved her head just enough. This time, she wasn’t going to miss her chance to speak.
“About that thing you asked me earlier,” she said.
“About the bomb?” he asked, and he was serious. She had no idea what he was referring to.
“About a relationship,” she said. “A permanent one.”
His expression froze. “What about it?”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, yes, yes, yes.”
“I thought you didn’t have attachments,” he said.
She nodded. For the first time in her life, going back on something she said didn’t feel like a retreat. It felt like she was moving forward.
“I thought I didn’t either,” she said. “Then you went down to that cargo bay and I realized I was attached already.”
He didn’t smile. “You can still disengage.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I’m in love with you.”
He stared at her as if he hadn’t heard her. Then he whooped and spun her around the cockpit. She tucked her feet in, afraid she’d hit something important.
He pulled her close and this time, when he tried to kiss her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
Chapter 60
They had to do a lot of talking with the authorities on Kordita. They had jettisoned a ship, some cargo (with a half-finished bomb), and the remains of a person just outside of Kordita’s space boundaries. But Skye’s status as a member of the Guild got them through all of the questioning and made most of the problems go away.
They were even able to get Jack into the Guild, but that had nothing to do with Skye. That had to do with Rikki and Misha, who vouched for Jack. It seemed that Rikki and Misha had stopped an attack by Liora Olliver, and saved Director Kerani Ammon’s life in the process.
The director had been injured in the attack, and she was healing. The Guild itself was a great place for relaxation, which Skye always thought ironic. Beautiful stone buildings, well-maintained gardens, perfectly controlled atmosphere.
She always thought of it as an excellent way to hide the violent training that occurred inside the walls.
Because Skye didn’t know who to trust, she had demanded to see the director alone. The director’s apartments were beautiful, airy and light, with lots of arched windows and multicolored carpets. The director herself rested on a divan, a light blanket over her feet.
She had an angular face and dark black hair. Skye had never been able to guess her age.
The director had already figured out that there was a conspiracy, but she was grateful for the names. She also appreciated the warning about the remaining attacker who was at large.
“Jack and I can figure out who that is,” Skye said. “It would take resear
ch, but I suspect we’ll find the person who got hired.”
The director smiled. “The trail should be relatively easy to follow,” she said. “Between the research you’ve given me and the research my people have done, we should find this last threat. The threat we hadn’t known was this man you and your friend Jack eliminated. I thank you for that.”
Skye let out a small breath. She wasn’t used to being told not to do something from the Guild.
“Then what do you want me to do?” she asked.
“You are free to do what you want,” the director said. “With this, you have satisfied your obligation to the Guild. We no longer have the right to tell you what to do.”
“I’m free?” Skye asked. She’d never expected to hear that, especially two years before her contract was over. “Really?”
“Yes,” the director said, “and before you ask, we will give you documentation confirming this.”
Skye sat down even though she hadn’t been invited to. Her legs no longer held her. “Why?”
The director smiled at her. “You’ve done ever so much more than we expected of you. We would love to keep you, but I know how much you hate it here. So go, with my blessing, and enjoy your life.”
Those words were foreign to her, at least in that context. Enjoy your life? Really? People did that?
“You have a fantastic partner, and you work well together. Now it’s time to step into your future,” the director said.
Skye’s heart lifted. Was this what it meant to be a glass-half-full person? This joy inside her?
“Thank you,” she said. Then she stood, and reached for the director’s hand. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
The director smiled. “No thanks needed. You have already done more for us than we could ever repay.”
Skye had no memory of leaving the room. She did remember trying hard not to skip down the stairs to the garden where Jack waited for her.
“I’m free,” she said as she approached the white bench he sat on. His head popped up over some blooming birds of paradise, and his feet nearly kicked some greenery nearby.
“Free?” he said.
“I no longer work for the Guild,” she said.
He took her hands and pulled her down beside him. “How fascinating,” he said. “I no longer work with the Rovers. I’m free too.”
“The director told me to enjoy my life,” Skye said, still marveling at that.
Jack’s smile faded. “Can you?”
She understood his sudden seriousness. She squeezed his fingers. “I realized I’ve been going about living all wrong. I’ve been worried about losing something I never had, rather than enjoying something I do have.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“I didn’t make attachments because I was afraid they’d go away. I had no idea how wonderful they are.” She looked at their threaded fingers. “How did you learn how to have attachments when you have no idea who your parents are?”
“Rikki,” Jack said. “She helped me through the dark times. You had to go through those times alone. But I’ll be with you for any dark times in the future.”
“Will there be dark times?” Skye asked.
“There always are,” Jack said. “But they’re not so dark when you share them.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I thought I only deserved one night with you. And now I’m going to get a lifetime.”
“Are you ready for that?” he asked.
“Oh, yes,” she said. “I’m ready. And we’re free to choose where we spend that lifetime. We’re not bound to anyone.”
“Except each other,” Jack said.
She grinned at him. She couldn’t believe the happiness that filled her.
“Except each other,” she agreed. And she knew that would be more than enough.
About the Author
Kris DeLake is one of writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s many pen names. In addition to writing as Kris DeLake in romance, Rusch also writes romance as Kristine Grayson (who specializes in paranormals) and Kristine Dexter (who prefers romantic suspense). In mystery, Rusch writes as the Edgar- and Shamus-nominated Kris Nelscott. In science fiction and fantasy, Rusch is known by her real name. She’s a bestselling double Hugo winner in science fiction. To find out more about her work, including her popular nonfiction blog, go to www.kristinekathrynrusch.com.
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