Steel Coyote

by Beth Williamson

  “Sorry about that. It’s been an intense day.” Max wouldn’t admit he felt guilty. That would be admitting he liked the little man.

  “You never need to apologize to me. I hope everything is all right.” Saint sounded calm and his normal tame self.

  “It’s not, but it’s going to be. We’re hurtling toward Haverty as fast as we can.” Max resisted the urge to laugh like a lunatic.

  “Hmm, how do you feel about that?”

  “You’re not a head doctor, Saint, so cut that shit off now.” Max paused, knowing he’d told Saint his entire story. “We’re going to do what’s right this time.”

  Saint nodded. “Good.”

  Max wouldn’t admit it, but he appreciated the hologram’s support. “Glad to hear you approve of our plan.”

  “I did not think there was a choice to make.”

  “There wasn’t.” Max powered down the thrusters and set the autopilot. He’d go down to the engine room and talk to Katie about the ship’s capacity before he blew the engine out.

  He got to his feet, surprised to see Morgan standing in the hatch, her expression wary. The girl hadn’t come near him since the day before. She and her brother were a pair of odd birds, but the unbelievable truth was, they were his family. Delmar’s bastard slave children. No one would be closer than they were in experience and blood.

  “Hello.” He sat back down so as not to tower over her.

  “Hello.” She moved a step closer. Max was glad to see the clothes he’d bought were small enough for her. She was a tiny little thing.

  “Is there something you need?” He didn’t know how to read the girl. “I reckon you haven’t been on the bridge before.”

  “No, I ain’t.” She shuffled a little bit closer. “You’re our brother.”

  Max’s mouth dropped open, and Saint made a chuffing noise. “What makes you say that?”

  She shrugged one thin shoulder. “We have the same eyes, plus I dreamed it.”

  Oh, these two were constantly doing something strange. Would they never act like normal teenagers?

  “You dreamed I was your brother.” Max shook his head. “That’s a mighty strange notion to come to me with.”

  “Mason didn’t want me to tell you. He doesn’t know I came up here.” She glanced around the bridge and damned if he didn’t agree with her—they did have the same eyes. It was spooky and made the hairs on his neck stand up. He could almost feel Saint watching him to see what he’d do.

  “What do you want to see?” He opened his arms wide. Perhaps if he showed the girl a little kindness, she might be more comfortable around him. He’d never really had family, and if he were honest with himself, he didn’t how to be part of one.

  Morgan looked out the front and her expression relaxed. The blackness of the sky cradled the stars. “It’s so pretty. I never saw it from a ship before. Looks different than from the ground.”

  Max had many questions, not the least of which was how they ended up on Azesus and who dropped them there. She’d obviously never been invited to look out the window of a ship. For now, he’d start small. “You spent time outside?”

  She made a noncommittal noise. “Mason more than me. He worked in the fields.”

  “You were in a house, then?” He had a bad feeling about what Morgan had been forced to do, but it wasn’t anything he’d ever ask her. “Whose house?”

  She ran her hands along the comm panel. “Will you tell them we’re on the ship?” Real fear soaked her expression.

  Max knew what it felt like, but he also knew the rage he experienced in lieu of fear. It tasted better, but not by much. “Never. I won’t let anyone take you, Pilf—Morgan.”

  A ghost of a smile appeared on her mouth. “You can call me Pilfer. I don’t mind. I learned to steal early or I didn’t get any food.”

  His stomach cramped at the memory. “Me, too.”

  She looked surprised. “You were really on Haverty?” Her arms hugged her thin frame. The girl needed a big steak and some potatoes.

  “Until I was sixteen.” He leaned back in the pilot’s seat. “And now I’m headed back there because I decided to rescue a woman. And then I fell for her.”

  “You fell for the captain?”

  Oh hell, he hadn’t meant to say that. “Pretend you didn’t hear that.”

  Morgan’s teenage girl’s eyes lit up as though he’d handed her a bag of candy. “You love her.”

  He made a face. “Don’t jump to conclusions.”

  “I saw the way you look at her. And the way she looks at you.” She sighed and sat down in the chair across from him, pulling her knees up and wrapping her thin arms around them. “It’s very romantic.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s natural urges, nothing more.” He wasn’t about to discuss his heart with his miniature half sister. Especially not with Saint listening—he would want to discuss it again and again.

  Morgan smiled. “I think it’s romantic. You two are going to teach Mr. Coddington a lesson and then get married.”

  Max choked on his own spit. “Married? Girl, you been around Foley’s stench for too long. I’ve only known her a week.”

  “I know things, and I don’t know why.”

  She’d known about the babies and it wasn’t a lucky guess, although it could have been. Perhaps she was a Sensitive. He’d heard about them but had never met one. Most were tall tales of screaming and carrying on about visions and such. Morgan didn’t seem to be the type to writhe on the floor, but she wasn’t a typical teenage girl, either.

  “What do you do when you know things?”

  “I tell Mason. Sometimes I tell people.” She looked out into the universe again.

  “Do you get scared?”

  “Yes.” She glanced at Max over the tops of her knees.

  He didn’t want to be interested in this young woman, his half-sister’s story. Yet, he was. Damned if he didn’t feel protective of the two of them. They were him right after he escaped—dirty, hungry, scared, and ready to take on the world. Plus, regardless of who their sire was, they were blood. He’d spent so long focusing on himself, not on anyone else, it was a huge shift to consider anyone else. If she was a Sensitive, people would try to take advantage of her.

  Looking at her small face, he made a decision. He would keep Morgan and Mason with him until they were able to go off on their own. They might fight him on it, and he had no idea how he’d make enough money to support three people, but he’d do it anyway.

  “Where’s your brother?”

  “In the galley. Katie is teaching him his letters.”

  A twinge went through him. He’d never really learned to read or write, just enough to get by and read instrument panels. Embarrassment over his lack of education made him shy away from admitting it to anyone. But Morgan wasn’t just anyone, was she? She was his little sister.

  “I didn’t learn them, either.”

  Morgan nodded like a wise old owl. “I know.”

  He finally smiled at her. “You’re smarter than me, aren’t you?”

  “I think so. But you’re better at flying ships. I can’t do that.”

  Max laughed out loud. “How about we go find your brother? I have something I want to ask you.”

  “Okay.” She scampered off the chair and through the hatch.

  “Do you know how to proceed?” Saint finally spoke as he moved to the perch on Max’s shoulder.

  “No, but for once, I’m gonna do what I know is the right thing.” He set the autopilot and followed Morgan, his gut jumping like a frog. Max was about to adopt a family, and he didn’t know what the hell he was doing.

  …

  Remy left Foley tinkering with the water purifier again. If he didn’t fix it this time, they might not have enough water to last until they reached Haverty. The stubborn old cuss deliberately misled her on it, choosing instead to punish her for taking Max on as pilot. She wouldn’t change her mind now, not even if she could.

  Max was in her heart, much a
s she didn’t want to acknowledge it. Right now, however, they had to focus on the battle they were about to wage and not on her foolish urges. She was the captain of her motley crew and that had to come first.

  His voice echoed through the corridor as she approached the hatch that led to the galley. She should have kept walking but instead crept up slowly, leaned against the steel wall, and listened.

  “He’s doing a good job. He already knew some of his letters. All I did was refresh his memory. Next step is putting them together for words.” That was Katie.

  “Mason is smart. It won’t take him long.” Morgan’s tiny voice was unmistakable.

  “Do you mind giving us a couple minutes, Katie?” Max asked, and Remy soaked up the sound of it. Stupid female side of her.

  “Sure.” Katie walked toward the hatch, and Remy had no chance to hide. When the engineer stepped through, Remy held her finger to her lips. Both of Katie’s brows went up but she kept walking, leaving her to eavesdrop.

  “Don’t look like I’m an ogre about to eat you up,” Max grumbled. “I wanted to talk to you and your sister about something.”

  “I ain’t leaving the room, am I?” Mason had a definite problem with Max, or perhaps it was all men. Not that Remy would blame the boy.

  “This isn’t easy… I, uh, think we should, you know, stay together for now. We can help each other survive.” Max sounded awkward, and it took Remy a few moments to process what he’d said.

  Mason must have snorted. “What does that mean? You gonna marry Morgan?”

  “Of course he ain’t gonna marry me. He’s our brother.” Morgan’s pronouncement was met with silence.

  Remy had already learned about their parentage, but how did the girl know?

  “That’s stupid. He ain’t nobody to us.” Mason was so full of anger.

  “He’s our brother, and he wants us to be a family. Right, Max?”

  Max cleared his throat. “I don’t know about a family, and I won’t pretend it’s gonna be easy. Hell, you’re smart enough to know what’s ahead of us. A mountain made of razor blades and monsters. But if we get through all this, I thought we should stick together. I’ve been where you are. It sure as hell would’ve been easier if I’d had someone to help me along the way.” He spoke quickly, as though he had to get the words out before he lost them.

  Remy’s heart thumped. These two urchins, who were meant for a life harder than any child should endure, had found a big brother who wanted to be with them. As far as she knew, Max had never had a true family. And now he was making his own.

  Her hesitance at admitting her feelings for Max blew away on the breeze. How could she not love him? Inside, at his core, he was a good man, the very best.

  “Really?” Mason’s tone had turned to disbelief.

  “Really.”

  “What about the captain? Ain’t you gotta pilot this ship?”

  “It’s only temporary. Captain Hawthorne doesn’t need me. She’s damn good at being a captain and a pilot all on her own. Hell, she didn’t want me on this ship to start with. We’ll work together to finish what we started and then”—he paused—“we’ll figure it out together. The three of us.”

  The three of them. Not with Remy. Not permanently in her life. Nothing he said was untrue, but it stung. No. More than that, it actually hurt.

  “What about everyone else?” Morgan piped up.

  “I can’t speak for the captain and her crew. She needs to make that decision.” Max’s voice was flat, and Remy wanted to know what he really felt.

  Before she could stop herself, she stepped into the room. Three pairs of identical eyes looked up at her. She could see the resemblance now, and it was startling. Whoever Delmar Coddington was, he was obviously a handsome man.

  “Hello, Captain.” Max watched her with his unreadable gaze.

  “Fletcher. I’m glad to see you getting along with the twins.” She sounded idiotic. Foolish woman had come to say something to him, and instead, she was dancing around words.

  “We had to find our place together is all.” Morgan took Max’s hand, and she looked so tiny beside his bulk.

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Um, I lost most of my crew this last year, and I need some new recruits. It would be hard work and low wages, sometimes no wages, but it would be a place to live.”

  “A home.” Morgan smiled and glanced at her brothers with hope plastered across her face. “Can we stay? I like it here. It’s not clean or new, but it’s a good place. It makes my heart happy.”

  The girl spoke strangely, but Remy understood what she meant. The Steel Coyote had always been her home. It was her place to belong and the crew, her family. Even if it wasn’t a shiny new cruise ship, it was her ship.

  “I think we need to talk about this another time. Mason needs to think about it.” Max interpreted his younger brother’s dark gaze. “There’s no need to decide now.”

  “Damn straight.” Mason got to his feet. “Blood kin or not, Morgan and I ain’t rushing into nothing.”

  He took his sister’s hand and led her out of the galley, leaving Remy towering over Max, who sat at the table with his fist clenched.

  “I was close to convincing them to stay with me to stay safe.” He glanced up at her with anger on his face. “Why come in here now?”

  This was her chance to say what was in her heart, to tell him what she felt.

  “I’m, um, worried about them, too. They can stay here if they can pull their weight.”

  He leaped to his feet. “They’re children who’ve worked as slaves all their lives, and you tell them they’ll have to work hard to stay on as crew? I thought you were better than that.”

  To her dismay, he was right. Absolutely right. How could she have been so stupid? “I didn’t mean—”

  “I know you didn’t, but you did it anyway. Now I’ve lost whatever ground I’d made with Mason. Thanks to you.” He pushed past her. “I need to talk to Katie about the hyperdrive.” Compassion on his small face, Saint watched her as Max retreated.

  Remy stood there alone, resisting the urge to kick her own ass. What had she been thinking? The children weren’t her responsibility, and because she wanted Max to stay, she had made the twins feel bad and earned his ire. Deservedly so.

  Now she had to figure out how to fix it. And hope that Max Fletcher stayed on the ship for good.

  Max stalked down to the engine room in search of Katie. He found her peering at a control panel and marking down settings on a tablet.

  “Katie.” He walked toward her. “I wanted to ask you about the hyperdrive.”

  The redhead swiveled to him in surprise. For a fleeting moment, her expression was unguarded. He saw a glimpse of the real Katie, whoever that was. Then she pulled down a mask and her expression shuttered.

  “Are you now? Lucky day!” She cocked one hip. “You’ve been abusing my ship since we left Azesus. I was wondering if you planned to talk to me about that at all.”

  He stared at her, looking for the woman he realized lurked beneath that foolish mask. “Why do you hide yourself?” popped out of his mouth.

  She blinked. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Oh, I think you do.” He crossed his arms. “You remind me of myself, you know? Using charm to survive.”

  She frowned. “I use my brains to survive, Fletcher.”

  He waved one hand. “I know you’re smart. It’s the other part that I’m talking about.” Max didn’t know her story or how she ended up as engineer on an Emerson class ship. She had to be good, really good.

  She turned back to the control panel. “I’ve got work to do.”

  “I really did come down here to talk about the hyperdrive.” He didn’t know what it was that made him push, but if he were to truly know Remy, he had to know her best friend, too. “There’s something about you that puzzles me.”

  “I live to confuse you.” She turned around the corner and disappeared from view.

  Max could have gone
back to the bridge, but he decided not to. Instead, he followed her. It took him another ten minutes to find her. She was crouched behind some big piece of machinery.

  He got down on his haunches. “When I first escaped Haverty, I hitched rides on cargo ships to get as far as I could. Sometimes I starved for a week or more, surviving on water only, until they docked.”

  Katie’s head snapped around to his. “Why do you think I give a fuck?”

  “Oh, I see you. You might not have been on Haverty, but you know what it means to survive. You and me, we’re drawn to her because she’s full of light.” He got back to his feet. “I don’t know what it is I feel for Remy, but I want to be with her. I also want to make peace with you.”

  Katie looked down. “She saved my life.”

  “Yeah, I think she’s done the same for me, too. I pushed my way into her world, but I think I knew deep down it was more than that.” He held out his hand. “I promise not to hurt her. Truce?”

  Katie took his hand and got to her feet. “Truce. As long as you know I will kill you if you hurt her.”

  The fierceness in her expression told Max she was serious. He respected that she would protect Remy at all costs. So would he.

  “I would expect no less.” He gestured to the exit from the engineering area. “Two survivors can only be better than one.”

  …

  Remy took the next several hours to get her brain situated back in her head. Hieing off to talk to her pilot had been a mistake. She sat down in her cabin and continued to use the comm to research Coddington and Haverty, not stopping until she found information that could help them. Every shred would help them prepare for battle.

  The knock at her cabin door surprised her. Her neck cramping and her eyes blurry, she glanced up. How long had she been bent over the screen? Hours, judging by the clock.

  “Yes?” She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, but it was no use. Someone had poured a cup of sand in them.

  The door opened and Max poked his head in. His expression was lighter than it had been. She told herself not to smile at him—it wouldn’t do to let him know she was glad to see him. Until she knew what his plans were, anyway.