Talia Jager

by Without Hesitation

  “Not everything. She can still die. Let’s say your head gets chopped off—”

  “Briar!” Ever barked.

  “Sorry. I just wanted you to understand that she can die, and this is only speculation because I have nothing to test my theories on, but if something doesn’t kill her instantly, she should heal.”

  “Can they be reprogrammed?” Huxley questioned.

  It seemed like everyone in the room was holding their breath. Briar continued, “Akacia’s father was brilliant. I tried to reprogram them, but they can’t accept new instructions.”

  “Could somebody hack them?” Zabe asked.

  “They seem to be hack proof, but it’s possible something could disrupt them.”

  “What does that mean?” I inquired.

  “I’m still running tests,” she answered. “I would have loved to have known your father.”

  Me too, I thought. I had so many questions and hated that I would never get the answers to them. I sat at the table staring at my veins, running my fingers over them, picturing what the nanites looked like and what they were doing.

  “Do you want to come to my room tonight?” Ever asked with her eyes on the ground.

  Hooking my finger under her chin, I tipped her head up until our eyes met. I smiled and nodded. Words weren’t needed. She took my hand and led me to her room. Nero slipped in before the door closed and made himself comfortable at the bottom of the bed.

  Ever handed me a pair of shorts and a tank top, which I took and changed right then and there. Her breath hitched when I dropped my pants. I enjoyed watching her blush as her eyes traveled over my almost naked body. Slowly, I put the top on, but I left the shorts on the bed.

  After a long moment, she took off her clothes. I bit down on my lip so hard I almost drew blood. She was absolutely gorgeous. I licked my lips, my mouth had suddenly become dry as I gazed at her body. She was everything that I dreamed of. She was my soul mate.

  Ever crawled into bed after me wearing only underwear and a camisole, pressing her body to mine. My heart jumped into my throat with her so close to me. Her hand rested on my hip and after a moment, her fingers trailed up my side. A gasp escaped my mouth when she kissed the nape of my neck, my shoulder, and my back. I melted from the inside out.

  I turned toward her and our eyes locked. I cupped her face and ran my thumb back and forth across her lips. Quiet moments like these made me happy.

  Chapter Twenty

  Everleigh

  BEING IN BED NEXT TO her was all I ever needed. If I died right now, I’d die happy. Kaci ran her fingers over my back, making shapes, and designs. Suddenly I realized what she was doodling. She was tracing ‘I’ then a heart then ‘U’ over and over. My breath caught and my eyes pricked. I swallowed against the ball of emotions in my throat.

  I woke up the next morning with her arms around me and her breath on my neck. Our legs were tangled under the sheet. I smiled and closed my eyes again, not wanting to move. She stirred and let out a soft moan. Her lips brushed against my neck and trailed from my ear down my shoulder and up again, kissing, sucking, nibbling on my ear. I remembered what she was tracing on my back before falling asleep.

  “Oh, Kaci…” I mumbled, trying to turn around, but she stopped me.

  “Morning breath,” she giggled, covering her mouth.

  I used the bathroom first. Something caught my attention in the mirror. Getting closer, I ran my finger over the small, purple bruise on my neck. With a smirk on my face, I turned around and looked at her. She was propped up on the bed watching me.

  “You marked me,” I said.

  She laughed. “I did.”

  I crossed the room in two strides and put my mouth on her neck. “I should mark you.”

  She laughed. “It wouldn’t stay. I’d heal.”

  “Let’s find out.” I began kissing and sucking on her neck until a pink spot appeared. I don’t know why, but it turned me on to see my mark on her neck. Before my lips reached hers, she said, “Nope. My turn for the bathroom.”

  Practically skipping over to my dresser, I opened it and my eyes rested on her ring. I had forgotten about it. I picked it up and waited for her to come out of the bathroom. I held it up as soon as she did.

  “My ring!”

  “I found it after you…left.”

  “I wasn’t sure if I had it while on Caspar’s ship. My memories are a little fuzzy. I’m so glad I didn’t lose it.”

  As I slipped the ring back on her finger, I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. Kaci was blushing too as she stared at our hands. Before she could say anything else, I reached back in the drawer and grabbed a clean outfit. She laughed.

  “What?”

  She looked through my clothes. “You seriously don’t have anything other than black.”

  “Not really.”

  She huffed and put the clothes on. “They’re a little tight.”

  “You have more curves than I do.” I placed my hands on her hips.

  “Are you calling me fat?”

  Laughing, I said, “No way. Just more curves and I like them. I like them a lot.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. The sound was so beautiful it left me wide-eyed. When she settled, I captured her lips. I tightened my grip on her hips, silently wanting more. She moaned loudly as our lips moved together. The kiss was soft and tender, hard and rough, slow and meaningful, fast and frenzied and I loved every second of it.

  Her hands were at the back of my neck, tangled in my hair. I knew she wasn’t sure what was next and either was I. I didn’t think she was ready for me to make love to her, but I didn’t want to stop.

  My intercom buzzed. I heard it, but my lips didn’t respond to my brain telling them to stop. It buzzed again. Kaci smiled against my mouth. “I think someone is trying to get your attention.”

  “I don’t care.” I mumbled.

  A third buzz made me pull away. I pressed my forehead to hers and tried to catch my breath. Swearing silently, I spun and hit the button to answer the door. Briar stood there. She looked from me to Kaci and down to her feet, and then blushed something awful. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize… We’re almost to the space station. You wanted me to let you know.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m guessing she doesn’t normally answer the door in her underwear?” Kaci smiled.

  I looked down and realized I was still in my cami and underwear. Heat filled my cheeks.

  Briar laughed. “Not usually.”

  Kaci closed the space between us. In a swift move, she seized my lips for one last searing kiss and then slipped out the door. “I smell eggs.”

  Nero took off after her.

  Briar tore her eyes away from Kaci walking away. “Well, that was…um…wow! You are so whipped.”

  Trying and failing to hide my smile, I asked, “How long?”

  “You have time to eat, though you should get dressed first.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  The door closed and I sat on my bed for a minute reliving everything that had happened since the night before. I needed to talk to Kaci, really talk to her. I knew I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but the way she made me feel convinced me it was worth it.

  I finished getting dressed and hurried to the kitchen for breakfast. They were all seated at the table eating when I walked in. I helped myself to some eggs and sat down. Zabe and Huxley were talking about the space station. Briar chatted with Kaci. I sat back and watched them all interact. They were comfortable with each other. My crew didn’t look at Kaci as an outsider. And she shined here with them.

  “You’ve got something on your neck,” Zabe said to me.

  Briar spit out her drink while Kaci laughed.

  “What?” He studied me and then his eyes widened. “Oh!”

  I glanced at Kaci’s neck. Sure enough, hers was gone. She caught me looking at her and smiled, causing my heart to beat frantically again. Damn! Never thought that I would find someone who made me feel the wa
y she did.

  Back on the bridge, I sat at my control pad, and refreshed my memory of the layout of Ignix Station.

  Kaci placed her hands on my shoulders and massaged them. “Tell me.”

  I let out a sigh. “This station isn’t one of the ones I’d rather go to.”

  “Because of the Authority?”

  “Yes.”

  “So we have to be extra careful.”

  We. She had nothing to fear from the Authority. Yet she lumped herself right in with us. Just another reminder that she wasn’t actually one of us no matter how comfortable she was here.

  Once we docked, Huxley, Briar, and Zabe disembarked. All of us had to go this time. It made me nervous to leave the ship unprotected, but it couldn’t be helped. Zabe went to find the person he was supposed to meet. Huxley went to the casino. Now that Caspar wasn’t paying us, we’d need the money. Briar headed to find the hypnotist.

  “So what do we need to do?” Kaci asked, walking toward the door.

  “I need to get some supplies loaded onto the ship, then meet with somebody. After that, I’m done. You can go do whatever you want. You don’t have to—”

  “I’m staying with you,” she cut me off.

  I bit my lip to hide my smile. “Let’s go.”

  Briar had called ahead to make sure Lael would be working. He was the one person at this station I trusted. Not only have we been working with him a long time, but I had enough dirt on him that he’d do anything I asked. He met us at the dock station.

  “Everleigh, it’s been a while. What do you need?”

  “Supplies. All the normal stuff.”

  “No problem. Shouldn’t take long.”

  I handed him the payment. “How is the Authority’s presence?”

  “On a scale of one to ten, maybe a four.”

  I held up a wad of money. “There’s a tracker on my ship. It’s disabled. I need it removed and left on the ship so we can analyze it.”

  He arched a brow. “Got it.”

  Revealing my weapon, I said, “Only your guys go on my ship. No one else.”

  “Understood.”

  I stayed to the back corridors, hoping to avoid all security personnel. Kaci followed right behind me. My thoughts went back to the fact that she was hiding in the shadows for me and that wasn’t right. She was good, special, everything that I wasn’t and everything that I couldn’t have. No matter how I felt about her, or how she felt about me, we could never be together.

  Pausing outside a door, I said, “You should stay out here.”

  “Don’t push me away.”

  There was something I had to do and I didn’t want her to be involved or even see. “Kaci—”

  “Whatever it is, Ever, I can handle it.” She planted a quick kiss on my lips.

  Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. When it opened, a young dark-skinned guy with dreads greeted us.

  “Everleigh.”

  “Hey, Rigby.”

  His eyes drifted to Kaci. “Come in.”

  “She’s with me.”

  He nodded and closed the door behind us. “What can I do for you?”

  I took a container out of my pocket and held it up. “I’m here to trade.”

  Rigby nodded and led us to another room where an older man with slick-backed hair sat. “Siarl, you have visitors.”

  My heart thudded in my chest, not because I was scared of Siarl or his men, but because I didn’t like Kaci seeing the criminal side of me. Maybe it was a good thing. Maybe it would scare her off.

  “Is that the toxin?” Siarl asked.

  “Yes. It will paralyze anyone who breathes it in, kill anyone who is injected with it. No trace. No blood test can detect it.”

  “Excellent. Our offer stands.”

  “Actually, I’m going to need more.”

  Siarl stood, his gray eyes drilling holes into mine, but I held my ground. “I should kill you.”

  “Then my team will kill you.” I didn’t back down. “Many others want to get their hands on this. Maybe even some of your enemies. I’ll walk away. Sell it to someone else.”

  “You don’t want to make an enemy of me, Everleigh.” He looked at Kaci and I wrapped my empty hand around my weapon, just in case he tried something.

  “I certainly don’t, Siarl. This is just business. I need twice what you offered.” I shook the container to refocus his attention. “There’s plenty here. It’ll last a long time.”

  His lips flattened into a thin line, but then he nodded and took a step backward. “You’re playing with fire, Everleigh. You better keep an eye on what you value most.” His gaze shifted to Kaci again.

  Rigby held out a box and I held out the container. Slowly, we made the trade. Without another word, I led Kaci out of the room. Back in the corridor, I let out a deep breath. With the box tucked under my arm, I took Kaci’s hand and led her to a storage company. I went straight to my locker, placed my finger on the pad, and stuck the moneybox inside.

  After closing it, I stole a glance at Kaci. She was chewing on her lip and tracing the tattoo on her arm. It was what she did when she was thinking. I wasn’t sure whether or not to say something or just pretend she didn’t see any of that.

  I decided to go with, “Are you okay?”

  “What?” She looked up and caught my gaze. “Yeah. I’m fine. No…that’s not really truthful. Did you really just sell a toxin that’ll kill people?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re okay with that? Knowing that someone will die because you gave it to that monster?”

  “I don’t think about it. I can’t. I just do it for the money.” It wasn’t the first time I had felt guilty selling stuff like that, but it was the first time I hadn’t wanted to ever do it again. “I’m sorry. I’m a criminal, Kaci. You do know what that means? I do bad, illegal things. It’s my way of life.”

  “It doesn’t have to be.”

  “But it is.” Guilt brought tears to my eyes. I wiped them away angrily. “It’s who I am.”

  “No. I do not accept that. You are kind, loving, caring, and wonderful. You’re smart and tough. You’re sensitive and vulnerable. You’re so much more than a criminal. I wish you could see yourself the way I do.” She cupped my face and held my gaze.

  A tear rolled down my cheek. “So you don’t hate me?”

  “Of course not.” She wiped my tears with her thumbs.

  “We can go back to the ship now. Or do something here?”

  “What are my choices?”

  “Eat, shop, get pampered. What I’d really like to do…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Take you on a real date, but…”

  “We have to keep a low profile.”

  Looking at the floor, I mumbled, “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry.” She pulled me to her and pressed her lips to mine for a short, chaste kiss.

  “How is this keeping a low profile?” I teased.

  “Fine.” She huffed. “Let’s shop.”

  We strolled around a clothing shop, looking through the racks. Kaci held up a blue, cold shoulder, flutter top. “Try this on.”

  Narrowing my eyes, I asked, “Why?”

  “Because I asked. Because it’s blue and not black.”

  I took the shirt and her hand and dragged her to the back of the store. The saleslady gave us the evil eye as I pushed her into the dressing room before me. I’m sure she thought we were going to steal something. Kaci leaned against the wall while I changed into the shirt. I could see her in the mirror biting her lip. The shirt was nice, different than anything I’ve ever worn, but I did feel sexy in it and the blue reminded me of her eyes.

  “I like being able to see more of your skin.” She took a step forward and ran her hands up my arms all the way to my shoulders. She pressed her lips to the purple mark she had left behind. “I especially like seeing my mark on your skin.”

  “Wow! I never knew you were so territorial.”

  A smile spread acros
s her face. “You have lots to learn about me.”

  I started pulling the shirt off so she couldn’t see the expression on my face. The one of pain, of guilt. I needed to get her home where she belonged. I needed to get her safe. She couldn’t stay with me, but I couldn’t tell her that. Not yet. I blinked to keep the tears away.

  “Do you like the shirt?”

  “Yeah.” I put my own shirt back on.

  “I’ll buy it for you.” At the register, Kaci’s face dropped. “I just remembered I don’t have any money on me.”

  The saleslady pursed her lips when I laughed. “Of course not. Don’t worry. I’ll pay.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Akacia

  EVERLEIGH WAS HOLDING SOMETHING BACK. I just didn’t know what it was and I didn’t want to pester her. She’d tell me when she was ready.

  As we walked down the corridor, I noticed Ever stiffen. Following her gaze, I saw a couple uniforms walked toward us. They didn’t look to be after us, so I took her hand and squeezed it as we kept walking. She let out a sigh of relief when they passed.

  At the hostess desk, Ever asked, “Can we sit at the bar?”

  The lady nodded and pointed to the back of the room.

  We sat on stools and the bartender asked what we wanted. Our drinks arrived quickly along with a bowl of pretzels. We talked while munching and sipping our drinks.

  A calm, relaxed feeling came over me. My body felt warm and tingly. I put my hand on Ever’s arm and traced her tattoo.

  “My crew really likes you,” she said.

  “I like them, too. They feel like family. Besides Bristow, there’s nobody back on Valinor that I really hang out with. It’s always learning and leading. There’s nobody who wants to be my friend or likes me for me. It’s nice to have that. Is it hot in here?”

  She grinned. “It’s the alcohol.”

  “Right.” I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Glancing at her neck, I could barely make out the hickey in the dim room. I thought about how I’d like to make more marks on her body.

  “I have feelings for you,” she muttered.

  “I gathered from all the kissing.”

  She shot me a look that told me this was not the time for sarcasm.