Page 23 of Courting Mayhem

“We go boom.” I placed the bomb kit on the floor and carefully eased the wire off my father’s finger. “Step back and let me do my job.”

Papi Sten kissed the top of my head. “Be careful Mon Coeur.”

“Love you too.” Opening the tool case, I pulled out a scanner and ran it over the bomb. “The bad news is the bomb maker knows his stuff.”

Derek inquired, “Any good news?”

“It can’t be disarmed, but we can jettison it out the air lock.” I reached for the bomb.

“Stop! My body armor is space worthy and designed to withstand a bomb blast.” Derek tapped his bracelet, and a helmet formed around his head. “How far away from the ship do I need to teleport?”

“Can you do two kilometers?”

“I can.” He cautiously picked up the bomb and teleported.

Thirty seconds later, he reappeared and linked with Poppa Jacob. “Move the ship to these coordinates 452.2 Mark 322.5.”

“Copy,”Poppa Jacob said.

The deck shifted beneath my feet. “The denotator is electronically linked to the engines.”

“Our shields will hold.” Papi Sten wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

I smiled up at him. “Especially with the upgrade.”

“Upgrade?” Derek’s helmet slid away.

I ignored the question.

A bone-jarring jolt rocked the ship.

I blew out a long breath. “It’s a good thing you wanted that tour War Commander.”

“Why are the Shadow Thieves so determined to kill you?” Derek growled.

Papi Sten replied, “They know we are the only ones who can stop them.”

“While you bring the war commander up-to-date, I’ll check the rest of the ship for any more surprises.”

“I’ll go with you. If you find more bombs, I can teleport them off the ship,” Derek stated.

I scowled at him. “I thought you wanted to see how much Coletti technology we appropriated.”

“I’m capable of doing both,” Derek said arrogantly.

He had a point. I handed him a scanner. “Make yourself useful.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I will check the hull.” Papi Sten fixed his death stare on Derek. “Touch my daughter and I will kill you.”

Derek flashed his fangs. “You can try.”

Testosterone was the bane of the universe. I smacked Derek in the chest. “Since you’re an expert in all things Coletti, why don’t you adjust the ion engines.”

“You’re a bossy little thing, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea.” I touched Papi Sten’s arm. “Go, I can handle him.”

---