Page 53 of Caught By Menace

“Danny told me all about the woman he was taking the bag to,” she said with a gentle smile. “From what I gather, she’s really amazing.”

“Yes,” Menace said softly. “She is.”

Penny laughed. “I bet she wasn’t afraid to climb on a ship like this and fly into space.”

“No,” Menace agreed. “I don’t think she was afraid of the flight.” He didn’t mention that she was more terrified of him.

Penny seemed to understand. “It’s not an easy thing, leaving behind everything you’ve known to make a new life with a strange man. Especially when that strange man belongs to the race that filled the grim tales of your childhood,” she added. “You know, go to sleep or the sky warriors will snatch you away and make you their slave. Stay out of the woods or the Harcos will find you and take you to one of their ships where they’ll use you as a guinea pig.”

While Menace wondered how the hell his people’s kindness toward the people of Calyx had been twisted into such gruesome tales, Raze asked, “What is a guinea pig?”

“It’s a small animal that existed on Earth and was used in experiments by the scientists and doctors there. Our ancestors who fled the world of science experiments gone awry wrote about them.”

Raze frowned. “We don’t experiment on humans.”

“You would say that, wouldn’t you?” Her teasing smile made Raze chuckle.

“Yes, I guess I would.” Raze unbuckled his harness and rose. “I’ll be in the back with Cipher.”

Still smiling, Penny opened her bag and took out a small square wrapped in white paper. “It’s a sweet bread. Would you like a piece?”

Menace held up his hand. “No but thank you.”

Penny nibbled silently and sipped from a metal bottle she had retrieved from her bag. Watching her eat left him feeling uncomfortably aware of the ways he had failed Naya on her trip to theValiant. He hadn’t even thought to offer her a drink or something to eat. After running and fighting him, she hadprobably needed both. No, he had been more concerned with getting her to be quiet and sit still.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Menace stretched out his legs. This experience with ferrying Penny to theValiantwas proving more pleasant than the transport ship ride he’d shared with Naya. There were no weeping brides and no sex-starved males tapping feet and drumming fingers on armrests.

“Are you friends with the man I’m joining?”

Menace glanced at Penny. “Not really.”

“Oh.” She looked surprised. “I thought—”

“I owed him a debt of honor. Picking you up and bringing you to him without incident is my way of settling that debt.”

“Um…I guess that’s nice.”

Menace chuckled. “That’s one way of describing it.”

She returned her items to her bag and closed it up. He realized that she was fishing for information on her potential mate. “I believe our pilot, Zephyr, is familiar with your soon-to-be mate. Once we reach cruising speed, I can see if he’d be willing to speak with you about him.”

“I’d like that.”

An hour into their flight, Menace walked her to the front of the ship and showed her an empty seat behind the two pilot chairs. “Zeph, this is Penny.” Fully aware of the pilot’s Lothario reputation, he clapped the man on the arm. “Remember she’s taken.”

“Unlike you land corps boys, we sky corps men don’t go around stealing other men’s wives.”

Menace let the zing about theArctisbust-up slide. “I’ll be in the cargo bay with Raze. Buzz me when she’s done.”

“Will do.”

He found Raze and Venom sorting through the items packed into Naya’s bag. He scanned the bench where they’d laid out herthings. Clothing, a small notebook, a pair of boots, a belt…and a gun.

Venom must have seen the shock register on his face. “It was loaded but I’ve rendered it safe.”

Menace picked up the small pistol. It had been a long time since a weapon like this had been in general circulation. His grandfather had used these in his first campaigns but they’d been phased out of the military by the time the old man had retired. Menace had a few of these old models in his personal collection and fired them for fun on occasion.

“I have to confiscate it.” Venom gestured toward the weapon. “Normally I’d hand it over to you since that’s your purview, but I thought you’d like to avoid a conflict of interest issue.”

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