Page 22 of Hunting the Warlord's Daughter

“It’s how I think of you. Warm and sunny. You’re my ray of sunshine.”

Stop. He was adorable. “I love it. And I love this necklace.” She held the yellow ball to the light and watched it sparkle. Just like that, her world was made right again.

Her PCD beeped, the repeating triple tone for Admiral Bandar. She straightened her spine as if in front of her commanding officer. “Admiral.”

“Report to my office, Hadley. I’ve moved up the staff meeting.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Hadley ended the call and turned back to Bolivarr. “Duty calls.”

Bolivarr didn’t seem to hear her. As he stared at the data-vis, his fingertip traced the outline of the pattern he’d drawn, the five dots. For once the eternal sadness in his eyes was absent. What looked like yearning tightened his facial muscles, his eyes bright with a hunger she’d never seen in him before. It was passion, pure and simple.

A shadow passed over her glowing heart. “Bo?”

He blinked at her as if returning from somewhere light-years away. Or someone. “I missed that. Repeat?”

“I have to go. Get some rest. Love you.” She kissed him lightly on the lips and slipped out of the room.

Breaking into her all-business stride, Hadley left sick bay behind. Why was Bolivarr suddenly so obsessed with five circles, an obelisk, and runes? It had to be connected to the flashback somehow—a pair of red earrings.

Red was bold, daring—self-assured. Her hero, Admiral Bandar, favored red. Now, red was apparently preferred by this woman from Bo’s past who, despite being only the faintest of memories, could still generate such a powerful reaction. Sure, Hadley was his ray of sunshine, but this woman could set him on fire.

“The Wraith is the kind of man who falls in love,”Rakkelle once told her.“Love. It’s freepin’ annoying. You can’t shake ’em loose.”

But a war could. Similar stories had happened all over the galaxy. Couples were torn apart. They moved on and eventually made new lives. Of course, there would have been relationships in his past. As his memories returned, naturally he’d recall them. She’d better prepare herself.

Giving her uniform jacket a firm tug, she reminded herself that she’d rammed a Drakken warship that morning. Surely she could summon the courage to face a collision with Bolivarr’s romantic past.

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

On board theResilience,Aral issued orders at a rapid clip. “Kaz, run the prelaunch checklist. Upload the departure clearance, the jump node coordinates, and report when the sequence is complete.”

TheResilience—equippedwith only basic defense weaponry and a fraction of his former warship’s size—was a civilian cruiser, but to Aral, it was no different from being on the bridge of the HSWSBlood Run. When he issued commands, he expected no less than complete obedience and unquestioning compliance to his orders, even from Awrenkka. Being in command was comfortable, a well-worn track. And it fooled him into thinking he had control.

He hadn’t felt in control for one blasted moment since his reunion with her.

She sat in the observer’s seat, between and behind his seat and Kaz’s, the safety straps crisscrossed over her chest, her spine straight, her dirty hands resting on her thighs. Spare eyeglasses from her travel bag sat on her nose. A crack bisected one of the lenses. It looked like vermin had nibbled away at the edges of the thick frames, they were so worn. She still wore the priestess’s robes. Dust and perspiration streaked her face, like war paint from an ancient past.

“News of your marriage-by-proxy may come as an unwanted surprise.”Kaz might be right, but he needed Awrenkka on his side. He couldn’t fulfill his vow to Bolivarr without her. Yet her participation needed to be voluntary—her choice. He wanted no lies between them. No secrets.

He would not be his father.

He would not be hers.

Tell her.

In a moment. “I’ll now brief you on the potential hazards of the voyage,” he said, as if he himself weren’t one of them. “In case we need to get out in a hurry planet-side, there’s an emergency exit above our heads. A ladder will drop down. Inside the armrest of your seat is an oxygen generator with goggles in the event of noxious fumes. Should we have to abandon ship during flight, there’s an escape pod in the aft bulkhead, adjacent to the last hatch behind our crew quarters. If Kaz and I are incapacitated, you’re to go there on your own. Follow the instructions printed on the inside wall. Be sure to don a pressure suit before you pull the release handle.”

She pushed on her glasses. “I’d rather you weren’t incapacitated.”

“I’ll surely try my best,” he quipped. He hoped she still felt as concerned for his wellbeing after he broke the news of their marriage. Never had he thought he’d live long enough to have this discussion, not in the beginning. Defectors typically had short life spans—Bolivarr being proof. But the war had ended with a stunning abruptness, leaving a man without any experience on which to model a healthy marital relationship hitched to an innocent young wife with a bounty on her head.

“The clearance to the jump node is uploaded,” Kaz announced. “The launch checklist is complete. We’re ready to go. Just waiting our turn for a departure slot.”

“Good. I don’t wish to remain on this heat-soaked dust ball any longer than we have to.” He pulled his harness over his shoulders, strapping into the pilot’s seat.

Tell her.He tightened his jaw. He couldn’t put it off any longer. “One more thing to mention before we depart.” He looked over his right shoulder at Awrenkka. “In the interest of full disclosure, I want you to know—we’re married.”

“Aral!” Kaz’s elbows thudded on the flight console as she covered her eyes. “I thought we’d agreed you’d tell her over lunch. Not launch.”

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