Page 62 of Tempting Jupiter
Feeona looked into her own camera with a face just as expressionless. “Never trust a thief.”
“I didn’t trust just any thief.” Jupiter never flinched. “I trustedyou.”
***
Feeona couldn’t sleep. She studied the constellations painted on her ceiling.I trusted you.Jupiter’s words had been stuck in her head like a never-ending loop. After he’d said that, he’d turned his back and sat on the floor of the cage. She remembered their conversation about cages when they’d been locked in theSalley Hobrig. Jupiter had been freed after a lifetime in a cage and she’d been the one to lock him up again. No matter what it took, she’d get him free, but then they’d part ways. She wished she could have held on to him a little longer. Despite the ship full of new arrivals, she’d never been more alone.
Seneca had moved into Roland’s room and several children had made their way up the stairs to sleep on Feeona’s floor. A few had staked a claim on her bed. It was plenty big, and she could never deny the frightened ones the extra measure of security they found in sleeping near the Angel. In their eyes she could do no wrong. What a lie.
Feeona slipped out from under the covers and pulled on pants and a top in the dark. The kids deserved all the sleep they could get, but she couldn’t stand to be in that bed a moment more. She took the cabin level passage over the common area below and climbed down the ladder to the pilot’s station.
She pulled Jacky from his storage compartment then hugged him against her middle as she settled into her chair. She stroked her fingers through the soft pink fuzz of the unicorn’s mane. “How are we doing, Alfred?”
“Everything is functioning satisfactorily and we are on schedule, Captain. I would have alerted you if there was anything needing your attention.” Alfred was the only thing that allowed her to fly the ship without a crew.
“I know.” She sighed. “I just need someone to talk to.”
“Mr. Seneca is also awake.”
Her heart squeezed. She didn’t want to think of him tossing and turning with worry for Jupiter. She was doing enough worrying for them both. “I meant you, Alfred.”
“I am at your service, Feeona. But I’m surprised you wouldn’t rather talk to a person.”
Her heart ached. Something it was accustomed to when it came to the kids, but this was different. With Jupiter gone, a piece of her soul was missing and the one person who was probably feeling the same rightly blamed her. She’d lost Jupiter forever, but she would get him back to Seneca and see them both safe.
Feeona huffed out a frustrated breath and pushed Jacky back into his bin. “It wouldn’t be polite to approach Seneca when he doesn’t want to talk to me.”
“Of course.” Alfred paused and Feeona was left with her thoughts. “He is already talking to young Toby, so perhaps you are right.”
Why was Sen talking to Toby? She was on her feet before the question fully formed in her thoughts. They’d claimed to have come to an understanding, but that hadn’t made them friends.
Feeona strode out toward the common area. She heard whispered voices before she made it out of the hall and down the steps, but they were nowhere in sight. She followed the whispers past sleeping kids and found them in the food prep area. They were sharing one of the fruity treat bars she stocked for the kids. A length of leather with an irregular shaped medallion attached lay on the table between them.
“Hi, guys. Everything okay?” She stopped three meters from the table to give Sen plenty of space. She could still feel his hands around her neck. But she knew he wasn’t going to hurt Toby. Even when Toby attacked him, Seneca was the one that had come away with an injury. Toby didn’t have a scratch.
“Yeah,” said Toby. “We’re on the same side now.”
“Side?”
Toby sat straighter. “Seneca is going to help me protect you.”
That surprised the hell out of her. “Is that right?”
Seneca dipped his head in acknowledgement.
Feeona didn’t know what to think of that. Maybe it was just something he told Toby to help the kid relax more around him. Seneca turned out to have a knack for relating to the kids and since she started covering her bruises, most of them seemed to have forgotten the big tussle.
“What’s this?” She eased closer then lightly touched the metal. It wasn’t an alloy she’d seen before.
“It’s mine,” said Toby. “Only thing I have left from my mom.”
He spoke with fondness when he mentioned the woman who’d given birth to him and then turned him over to the factory. Most of the kids didn’t speak of their parents at all after the first few months.
“May I hold it?”
Toby shrugged his narrow shoulders. “Yeah.”
She lifted the medallion and considered the size, weight, and density. “I’m not familiar with this alloy. Do you know where it came from?”
