Page 21 of Alien's Love Child

Taluk's scales bristle. "Then how'd you know who Xander really is?"

"Because I'm not blind?" I tap my temple. "Athenaverse's most wanted doesn't exactly keep a low profile. That bounty's worth more than this whole ship."

"Exactly why you'd want to cash in," Taluk snarls, taking a step forward.

"Kid, if I wanted the bounty, I'd have grabbed him myself. Why split the take with thugs when I could collect the whole thing?" I lean against a cargo container. "In fact, you seem pretty educated on his bounty yourself. How do we know you’re not the mole?"

"You--" Taluk's fists clench.

"Both of you, shut it." Jesse steps between us, her eyes narrowed. "Davin's right. The syndicate's small-time compared to Alliance bounties. This doesn't add up."

Paraxan's footsteps echo through the cargo hold as he boards, his fur bristling at the sight of the dead syndicate member. He steps over the body without comment, heading straight for the engine room.

"All clear?" Jesse calls after him.

A grunt echoes back, followed by the clang of the engine room door.

"Rena." Jesse's voice shifts to that commanding tone I've come to recognize. "Get us to Glimner. Fast as you can manage. Find the closest pad to The Lucky Hand."

"On it." Rena's boots clatter up the metal stairs. "Might need to burn some favors for clearance."

"Burn them all if you have to."

The engines hum to life beneath our feet. Jesse turns to me, her green eyes hard as emeralds. "You. My quarters. Now."

My stomach tightens. This isn't the kind of invitation I'd hoped for when imagining being summoned to her room. The way her jaw clenches tells me this isn't a social call.

"What about them?" Taluk gestures at the dead mafia goons Paraxan left in the hallway.

"Stuff him in a cargo container," Jesse says, already walking away. "We'll space him once we break atmo."

I follow her through the narrow corridors, my heart hammering against my ribs. She knows something. Has to. The question is: how much?

Jesse's quarters are sparse - a bed, a desk with scattered datapads, and a small window showing the blur of stars. The door hisses shut behind me, and she whirls around, her red hair catching the starlight.

"Cut the crap. Right now." Her fingers drum against her holstered blaster. "You're not with that syndicate. That much I can buy. But your story's still too neat, too convenient."

I spread my hands. "You're right."

"Then who are you really?"

"Bounty hunter." The truth slides off my tongue easier than expected. "Tracking Xander. That big of a payday is hard to pass up."

She barks out a laugh. "Right. And I'm the Queen of Mars."

"Check the bounty boards yourself. His face is plastered everywhere." I lean against her desk. "Though I'm guessing you already knew that when you took this job."

"A bounty hunter wouldn't tell me this." Her eyes narrow. "You're playing some angle."

"The angle where I get my target back." I meet her gaze. "Those thugs just complicated everything."

"And why should I believe you now?"

"Because right now, we both want the same thing - Xander back on this ship." I cross my arms. "You need him to complete your contract. I need him for the bounty. Enemy of my enemy?"

Jesse's hand stays near her blaster, but her shoulders relax slightly. "And after we get him back?"

"Then we can sort out who gets to keep him." I shrug. "But first, we need to find him."

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