Dein broke his gaze and looked down for a moment. Then he looked up at Zane and nodded.
Nirvana cleared her throat. “My work here is done.” She plastered a fake smile for Dein. “I would appreciate prompt payment and removal of that thing you put inside me.”
“Of course, of course. I wasn’t informed to bring the money or the device to remove the pill; it’s back on Panderon. If you could follow me—”
“General.” Nirvana narrowed her eyes at him. “You are not trying to find legitimate ways to detain me, are you?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it!” he laughed heartily. “I will send the credits over in an escorted package together with the device to remove your pill.”
She jumped out of her seat and held out her hand. “Good luck.”
Dein took his time to get up and shook her hand. “Thank you.”
Chapter 54
“Don’t you want to wait for the money?” Zane asked when he saw Nirvana and the crew busy packing to leave.
She looked at him with a bemused smile. “Baby, do you really think he’s going to pay us?”
“Why not?” he asked, feeling truly bewildered.
Daxon snorted while the rest wore a smirk on their faces.
Nirvana shook her head. “If Kerimar Dein has any decency, he’ll send a sucker to bring over the device to remove my pill, with the message that he’d deduct the 2 million for the proton blasters I stole from him eight years ago. What I think,” she grinned, “is that I won’t be hearing from him at all. He thinks he holds the upper hand because of the timer in the pill. He’s expecting me to show up at his doorstep just before the three months is up.”
Suddenly, Zane looked worried.
“He will uphold your end of the bargain because he needs you, so don’t worry about it. Just check in with your mother frequently,” she comforted him.
“Will you…” He hesitated.
Nirvana stopped packing and gave him her attention.
He took in a deep breath to muster his courage and asked, “Will you come back to Chikara with me?”
She frowned. “Of course! We need to get Alden.”
“After you get Alden?” he asked quietly, not looking at her.
“It depends.” She went back to packing. The crew mysteriously disappeared from the living room.
“It depends on what?” he asked urgently and quickly walked over to her.
“On the reasons you’d want me to stay, my safety, benefits, exit plan if it all goes to shit, you know, the usual…”
“Oh,” he said, shoulders dropping. “I thought… Maybe… You would want to… Since you’re my wife…”
She looked at him with an incredulous expression and raised her middle finger at him. “Do you see an engagement ring?”
Zane’s eyes suddenly sparkled with hope. “Would you? If I get you a ring?”
She threw him a deadpan look. “It’s got to be more than that. I’m one of the richest pirates in the Andromeda galaxy. There are no rings I cannot afford myself, so you better do something impressive, like stealing a Peregrine.”
“I’ll be your on-call Shiatsu slave for a start,” he blurted out eagerly.
“Why yes, that is enticing.” She grinned widely at him. “You could teach me that acupoint fighting skill you and your brothers use.”
“Definitely.” He pulled her into his chest and held her tightly. I’m really sorry to have screwed up the way I asked you to be my wife.
Viktos has already apologized on your behalf while you were out.
I’ll make it up to you.
You’d better.
Ramsey cleared his throat. “Coast is clear, yes? You won’t be doing your make up sex on the couch, will you?”
“You’ll have to pay to watch that,” Nirvana retorted snidely.
Zanetos! Dominion’s voice boomed in Zane’s and Nirvana’s head, causing Nirvana to jerk and drop the package she was holding. She held her hand to her chest and took a deep breath, pointing to her head, indicating to the crew she was fine.
Damn it, Dominion! I didn’t know you could do this even though we’re so far away, she cursed.
It won’t work if we are on different planets. Liberty controls all the communication satellites between planets so my message signals can be transmitted to you easily, he explained. You need to come back immediately! Dein has postponed the date of attack indefinitely but Father has decided to push ahead without his knowledge. I’ll send you the coordinates and exact timing to come in. I need all my brothers with me on this.
I will, Ani.
Nirvana, will I be expecting you?
She wanted to say something sarcastic but sighed instead. Yes.
Thank you. Jya.
Jya, Zane replied. He started pacing around the room, rubbing the bristles on his head.
“Chorax is going to go ahead with the attack,” Nirvana announced.
“Not surprising,” Daxon snorted.
“Could I ask for a favor from everyone? We need help extracting Zane’s family from Panderon while he and I head to Chikara to get Alden out. You can take Marian after that and we’ll split up,” she said.
Daxon shrugged, “Should be rather easy.”
“Last job for me,” said Helfer.
The rest gave their consent and Zane collapsed onto his knees in tears and bowed. “Thank you. I will owe every one of you one.”
“We,” Nirvana corrected Zane and told the crew. “We will owe you one. Thank you.”
Epilogue
Nirvana said her farewells to her crew individually. For the first time in decades, she put aside her status as their captain and hugged them as friends.
She thanked Helfer tearfully for standing in as her father after Sigmund died and made him a promise that she would visit him at least once a year.
Levi thanked her for the adventures she had taken him on. Since he would be staying relatively near Helfer, he promised to keep tabs on him and update Nirvana frequently on his health.
Ramsey requested shyly if he could join them in Chikara after the job in Panderon. Nirvana understood his need for kinship because he was an orphan like her and had found his family in the crew. It would be cruel to cut him off just like that. She gave him her word that she would speak to Dominion about getting Ramsey in and get Zane to vouch for him. He cheered up visibly after that.
Nirvana praised Asan for his calm intellect and his gifted tongue. She encouraged him to start his own business as they discussed his plans after retirement and expressed interest in investing should he decide to start something. She got all teary again when Asan thanked her for showing him what leadership should be like and wished her the very best.
By the time she reached Daxon, she was emotionally wrung out. She let him hold her and sing her a song about brotherhood. She thanked him for being her crutch and he thanked her for giving him a second chance at life. He didn’t promise to keep in touch but instead, he vowed to remember their friendship no matter how much time had passed between them.
Asan would take charge of selling their joint properties and Marian and distribute the profits equally among them. Nirvana had declined her share as a gesture of appreciation for their help in getting Zane’s family out of Panderon. She also sent a message parcel to Ching apologizing for not being able to attend his wedding but promised she’d return to Athar once she settled the business in Chikara. She also assured him that she would send a shipment of Beafel gills to his cousin in Paplash.
As Zane set the course for Chikara, Nirvana saluted her crew one last time and boarded Soulcraft. She forced herself to put all the sentimental attachments behind her and looked forward to her next chapter in life.
As the spacecraft entered warp speed, she thought about what lay ahead of them and huffed at the irony of her idea of retirement.
“What’s so funny?” Zane couldn’t help asking.
“I retired from being a pirate to a soldier in a rebellion.” She shook her head, smiling.
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“I will talk to Ani. We’ll just help him get it going, then—”
“Zane.” She cut him off since he was getting flustered and feeling guilty for dragging her into his family quarrels. “It’s not going to be just a matter of months. Even if Dom manages to overthrow your father quickly, there’s a whole empire of your father’s people he needs to replace. This is going to be for life.”
Zane clenched the control wheel and stared ahead, brows knitted.
“This is who I am, Zane.” She reached over to pry his hand from the wheel. “I won’t be able to settle for a mundane life. Perhaps once in a while I’ll ask for leave, hide out in Athar for a couple of weeks to regain my sanity, then go back to leading a perilous life. You might not like it, but I don’t see you to abandoning your brothers so you can find peace elsewhere.”
Closing his eyes, he gripped her hand and gave a long exhale. “You’re right,” he admitted. “I can’t escape this life.”
“To more adventures together, Zanetos Hayashi.”
He looked at her like she was the sun. “To more adventures together, Nirvana Hayashi.”
And they both broke out in laughter at how even more ironic that sounded.
The End
Thank you!
Firstly, thank you for taking a chance with a first-time author. Your support means the world to me and your review, whether on Amazon or privately to me, would help me in my future writing.
For news of my work-in-progress, you may wish to connect with me on Facebook.
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Author’s Note
I never thought there’ll be a day I would finally pen down the stuff I daydream about. I need to thank my husband, who took me really seriously when I told him, “I’m going to write a book.” His support has made my dream come true.
A huge thank you to Christopher Barnes and Amy Cissell for taking up my editing job so last minute and being so patient with my grammatical errors. I look forward to growing as an author under your guidance.
To Julie Nicholls, you rock. Without your beautiful, inspiring cover, there would be no ‘Fatal Extraction’. I can only hope my writing does your cover justice.
To all my author friends, Vicki, Mel, Emma, RJ and Tiffany, I can’t thank you enough for your generosity in sharing your experiences. I’m a fan of all your books and your words of encouragement mean so much to me.
To everyone who took a chance on this book, I am forever grateful to you. I promise to work harder at being a better writer.
Lots of love,
Evangeline
About Evangeline Rain
Evangeline is a full-time elementary school teacher and part-time mother to four kids. She is hopelessly addicted to romance novels and spends her free time daydreaming as an escape from the humdrum of her life. She loves reading about uncommon couple pairings and hope to be able to write her own romance novels that defy conventions. She hasn’t written enough books to warrant her own website, so for now, she shall focus on writing her next book.
Author’s Note
Thank you for taking a chance with a first-time author. Your support means the world to me and your review, whether on Amazon or privately to me, would help me in my future writing.
I never thought there’d be a day I would finally pen down the stuff I daydream about. I need to thank my husband, who took me seriously when I told him, “I’m going to write a book.” His support has made my dream come true.
A huge thank you to Christopher Barnes and Amy Cissell for taking up my editing job so last minute and being so patient with me. I look forward to growing as an author under your guidance.
To Julie Nicholls, you rock. Without your beautiful, inspiring cover, there would be no ‘Fatal Extraction’. I can only hope my writing does your cover justice.
To all my author friends, Vicki, Mel, Emma, RJ and Tiffany, I can’t thank you enough for your generosity in sharing your experiences. I’m a fan of all your books and your words of encouragement mean so much to me.
To everyone who took a chance on this book, I am forever grateful to you. I promise to work harder at being a better writer.
Lots of love,
Evangeline
About the Author
Evangeline is a full-time elementary school teacher and part-time mother to four kids. She is hopelessly addicted to romance novels and spends her free time daydreaming as an escape from the humdrum of her life. She loves reading about uncommon couple pairings and hopes to be able to write her own romance novels that defy conventions. She hasn’t written enough books to warrant her own website, so for now, she shall focus on writing her next book.
For news of her work in progress, you may wish to connect with her on Facebook or give her author page a ‘like’. You can also sign up for her newsletter. She promises not to spam your email more than once a month.
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