Page 33 of Abducting Sarah

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. “Valiant effort.”

Deacon said, “After we meet in orbit,wewill go to Halla. Once I have Silence, you are welcome to return to Orhon.”

Leave Sarah’s side?“Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” Tiger asked.

What’s a good excuse to stay with her?“Because I have too many valuable contacts on Halla who can help. People who owe me.”

Deacon brows furrowed even more. “You mean the other people you helped escape from the royal prison?”

“They’re the reason we know Halla is safe from Justice and his soldiers. They have been hiding on Halla and they don’t trust easily. You’ll need me and mine with you on Halla, at least while you’re getting her established. They will never believe that a classed person like yourself is doing what you’re doing, Deacon. You’ll need my help.”

He paused. “Very well. This is why I love working with Jac,” he told Sarah. “He thinks of all the things I never would.”

She almost smirked and said, “I bet he does.”

Why is she flirting with me? Maybe staying on Halla is a bad idea.“Uh, maybe—”

“We are approaching atmo in one minute,” Drift announced through the intercom.

Deacon smiled. “It is time.”

I shared one fleeting glance with Sarah, before I took my men back to my ship. We unmated the hulls and went our separate ways. Every speck of distance between me and Sarah felt like a wound that could never heal until I saw her smile once more.Jesus, I had it so bad for her.

Night on Orhon was my favorite time. The sky nearly black, with stars in every direction. 6400 light years from here, Earth twirled in her solar system. It formed a brilliant series of patterns overhead. They sparkled in all their beauty. It was no great wonder why our ancestors decided they had to go to Earth and to her family of planets. They were too pretty not to try to get there.

Below us, the city of Ladrille spilled out. There was not much light pollution, as most residents enjoyed the starlight and tried not to drown it out. Tall trees littered the landscape—many of the homes were actuallyinthe trees. Bridges between the houses and families were common, like a web that connected the tree tops. The most expensive were either on the outer reaches of the city or in the canopy.

I had spent my childhood on the ground.

Until Deacon’s father made a deal with my parents. They moved up to the Midtrunk, and I became his son’s companion until I was old enough to scout. I was small and had been unhealthy, so they agreed. When I visited them years later, there was a look of mistrust in their eyes. Like I had come back as a different person. In many ways, I had.

I hadn’t thought about them in months. The feelings Sarah had dredged up…I shook my head at myself and got on with the job. Sentimentality had no place on my mission.

I clicked the comm on and warned my crew, “We will be coming around to the dump. Be prepared for the smell.”

If they weren’t used to it by now, they never would be. Meeting at the city dump made things simpler for me and my crew. State task forces tended to avoid it at all costs.

The stench hit our damaged scrubber, filling the ship fast. I could almost hear the complaints through the cockpit door. But they knew we shared the same air, and I was not exempt from it, either, so no one bothered to complain to me directly.

That first whiff was what got you—like a punch in the gut that made you want to hold your breath. But holding your breath was worse, because the next one you took would be deep and made the stench stay. Best to keep it short and light, without hyperventilating.

Piles of Ladrille garbage were stacked higher than some of the trees. I landedSovereignin the middle of several garbage piles for cover and took Tiger and Kapok to meet with our contacts. As soon as we stepped outside ofSovereign, I caught the familiar draw and click of a Gorrk gun before it was pressed against my right ear.

The familiarity of it made me smile. “Boundless, is that you?”

“That depends,” she drawled. “You got my money?”

“I will. Soon.”

Instead of being withdrawn, the gun charged. “I told you, if you didn’t have my money the next time I saw you, I would kill you. Isn’t that what I told him, Kapok?”

“Thatiswhat she told you, boss,” Kapok agreed.

“So tell me why I shouldn’t shoot you right here and now?” Boundless asked me.

“Because then I couldn’t fuck you?”

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