Page 32 of Abducting Sarah

“It’s Jac, Deacon, go ahead.”

“We need to discuss the plan. Meet me onAllegiant,in the café.”

“Sure thing.” I hung up and grumbled, “Of course you want to meet onAllegiant. Can’t imagine you stepping foot onSovereign.”

It wasn’t his fault that he was moneyed and classed and I was not, so I tried not to hold that against him. But his union made it much easier to hold anything against him.

I knew I would get over it eventually. At least, I hoped that I would. But knowing Deacon’s plan going forward, I was at the mercy of whatever this bullshit tightening the walls of my chest cavity was.

On the way to the hullmate, I ran into Kapok and Tiger. “You got the message, too?”

“Yeah. Deacon wants us briefed,” Kapok said.

Tiger had a hard time looking me in the eye. “Yes, sir.”

“What’s the problem?” I asked him.

“No problem.”

Kapok said, “He’s disappointed he didn’t get to participate in the pomp.”

Tiger backhanded his chest. “Hey!”

But his cousin laughed. “If you want to keep secrets, keep them to yourself and don’t spill them to other people. It’s the only way.”

“Cheer up, Tiger,” I said as we passed intoAllegiant, “one day, when you are officially employed, you’ll have a pomp to participate in.”

He huffed. “That could be years.”

“Yeah, it could be.” I wasn’t going to lie to the kid.

The halls ofAllegiantwere offensively bright, so I plugged forward as fast as I could without running. I didn’t want to see Sarah, either. The café was small and private, overly lit by the stars and the strips of lights along the walls that made them glow white. I wasn’t sure why Deacon always wanted everything so bright, but he seemed to like it. He sat at a round silver table in the center of the room with another Ladrian, one I didn’t know. She was stunning, and the coquettish way she stared up at me was vexing.

“Sarah?” I asked incredulously.

She giggled. “Um, when I’m like this, it’s Star.”

I turned my gaze to Deacon. “What the fuck?”

My employer and friend smiled, looking very pleased with himself. “Star Qvia. My consort from Yesanol. That’s the story we are using on Orhon. Down to business?”

“Yeah, sure.”

I sat opposite them, mystified by her. I wasn’t sure which way I liked her better, and I wanted to try this version out, too. But I could never ask such a thing. It would have meant too much to me and nothing to her.

“When we enter the atmosphere, we will separate,” Deacon began. “I will take Star to my family estate, where she will meet my family. You will take your crew, and any others you require, to rescue Silence. Afterwards, send a message and we will meet you at the orbit of Halla.”

I nodded, but Kapok asked, “And we’re getting paid double for this, right?”

Deacon frowned at Kapok. “Double? Why double?”

“The way I see it, we’ve gotten you a consort, and we’re about to pick up another one for you. Double consorts, double the money.”

Sarah’s hand squeezed around Deacon’s arm, in a selfish gesture.

But he shook his head. “Kapok, pricing for this job is between me and Jacaranda,your boss. Additionally, Silence is not to be my consort. She is to be treated as my father’s widow, and if you give her anything less than her due respect, Jac and I will discuss your future employment.”

Kapok shrugged. “I tried, boss.”

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