Page 54 of Caught By Menace

“Understood.” He inspected Naya’s sidearm. She’d kept it clean and ready for use. He spotted the T scratched into the metal. A little lower an N had been etched into it. Realizing the weapon had sentimental value, he said, “I’ll petition to have it returned. I’m sure she’ll want it back since it belonged to her father.”

Raze flipped through the notebook. Photographs fell out and drifted to the floor. Menace knelt down and gathered them. They were pictures from her childhood. He couldn’t help but smile at her gap-toothed grin and wild hair. She looked so happy, so carefree. What had happened to that little girl to make her into the wary, mistrusting woman he knew?

“I can’t make heads or tails of this.” Raze handed it to Cipher. “It’s in code.”

Cipher thumbed through it. “Yes, it is. What do you think, Menace? Do you want me to crack it?”

The idea of reading Naya’s secret communications left him feeling uneasy. “No. She’s just paranoid enough to code her day-to-day diary entries. What she’s written in there is none of my business.”

“Unless it is,” Raze replied carefully. “That man is part of the Red Feather, their dissident group, and he called her his friend. If she was a member of that group and if this book details her work with them, I’m sure Terror will want to know.”

Menace snatched the book from Raze’s hand and stuffed the pictures inside. “The Red Feather is on the neutral list. They’re not our enemies. I won’t go digging through my wife’s diary entries, entries she’s gone to great lengths to keep secret, to give Terror more homework.”

“It’s going into my report, Menace. I have to cover my ass.”

“Cover away,” Menace said and began packing away her things. “The rest of the bag was cleared?”

“Yes,” Venom confirmed. “The firearm?”

Menace handed it over. “Make sure it goes into the safe in the armory or the one in Vicious’ office. If that’s taken, I can’t replace it for her.”

“I will.”

Menace trusted Venom to keep his word. His earpiece chirped and Zeph told him Penny was ready to take her seat again. With Naya’s bag slung over his shoulder, Menace returned to the cockpit. Back in the passenger area with Penny, he made an effort to answer her questions and engage in her need for chitchat. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief when they finally docked.

After walking her through the immigration processing station, Menace escorted Penny to the infirmary. Flare had a private room in the orthopedic section. To Menace’s surprise, Admiral Orion waited in the hallway outside Flare’s temporary quarters. Menace snapped to attention and saluted the superior officer. “Admiral.”

“Menace.” He gave an at ease and smiled at Penny. “Welcome to theValiant, ma’am.”

“Thank you, sir.” There was no mistaking the nervousness in her soft voice. “And it’s Penny.”

“That’s a lovely name.” He glanced at the closed door. “Well, Penny, I understand you were told of Flare’s current condition.”

She nodded. “His leg is badly injured. He’ll need multiple surgeries and may walk with a limp.”

“You’re not averse to these issues? I only ask because, in our culture, an injured male isn’t highly sought-after by brides.”

Penny sucked in a shocked breath. “That’s awful!” She lifted her chin. “I don’t care if he’s in a chair for the rest of his life. Those kinds of things don’t matter to me.” Then, a little calmer, she added, “My brother contracted the water sickness when he was seven. He hasn’t been able to walk since then, but he runs a very successful mill and has a lovely wife and children. His life is very happy.”

Menace decided then and there that Dankirk had a good eye for matchmaking. Vicious had spoken briefly with the man but left the selection of Flare’s potential bride to him. He’d chosen well.

Orion looked relieved. “I’m glad to hear that you feel that way. Flare will walk again. It’s just a matter of time and physical therapy. I know you were told there was a chance you might be going back to Prime with him, but a new medical station is expected to arrive within the next month. You’ll move there while he undergoes his treatment. Once he’s completed that, his situation will be reassessed. It’s likely he’ll be moved into a training position.”

When Orion gestured to the door, Menace took a step back. His end of the bargain complete, he was ready to retreat to his quarters. Penny’s hand on his arm stopped him. She smiled up at him. “Thank you, Menace.”

He nodded stiffly and watched her enter the hospital room with Orion. He hoped Flare would be pleased with her. Sheseemed like a nice woman. They had a good chance of being happy together if they could work out their cultural differences.

As he traversed the ship, Menace couldn’t shake the conversation he had shared with Dankirk. The man’s words played on a loop in his head. Dankirk had said Naya didn’t love him but it was clear her friend loved her. He seemed extremely protective of her. His assertion that being Grabbed was the best thing that could have ever happened to Naya still surprised Menace. There weren’t many men on Calyx who supported the Grabs.

The memory of the notebook with its coded entries bothered him. Had he been wrong to take it back and keep it from Cipher? It felt so intrusive to go through her private things. They were only just establishing trust between them. If he sent her notebook back to Cipher and had him decode it, she would be furious. To her, it would be a betrayal.

He slipped inside their quarters as quietly as possible and dropped her bag on the entryway table. He had hoped to get into their bedroom and undress without waking her but she was too light a sleeper. The dimmed lights in their bedroom switched on and she appeared in the open doorway. He enjoyed the sight of her sleepy face and mussed hair. “Hey.”

“You’re back early.”

“Zeph flies like a bat out of hell.”

“The woman? She’s okay?”

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