Page 5 of Into Orbit
I folded my arms. ‘Fine. Take me to Tessa.’
Her brows rose in surprise. ‘Really?’
‘Really,’ I repeated, daring her preposterous story to unravel. ‘Take me to your … ship. Take me to your captain.’
I’d expected her to waver; most people did, in my experience, when you called them out directly on their bullshit. Their smile would freeze, their lips would twitch; they’d stammer their next sentence, then try to wriggle their way out of the mess they’d caused like a worm caught on a hook.
A full, beautiful smile spread over Elswyth’s face instead, and it wasmewho did a double take,mewho swallowed nervously as her teeth sank lightly into her full lower lip in a way that sent heat straight between my legs.
Nope, I told myself.Hard nope. Don’t do it, Maeve.
‘Are you ready now?’ she said.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent Anna a message.
If I don’t come back, go to Rian, love ya xx
My finger hovered over the text Rian had sent me.
Take care of yourself, Maeve, he’d written, after I’d unceremoniously hung up on him.
I could be about to do something stupid, I wrote, then a moment later, deleted it.
I appreciate everything you’ve done,I sent instead, then stuffed the phone back in my pocket.
‘I’m ready,’ I said.
Elswythledmeoutof Advena. Jason – the head bouncer – watched me warily as I strolled out the red doors; I hadn’t gone home this early for weeks. Claire was with him, dragging on her vape; she eyed Elswyth and shot me a small, knowing smile.
Yeah, I wish.
I gave her a smile in return, and ignored my phone, which was buzzing in my pocket. I didn’t know whether it was Anna or Rian, but either way, I wasn’t going to be talked out of this.
The night had cooled. I pulled my leather jacket more tightly around me until I noticed Elswyth shivering. I twisted my lips, fighting against the immediate compulsion to help her. I was – and always had been – a complete sucker for a damsel in distress. I wasn’t successful in my struggle; a moment later, I stripped my jacket from my arms and draped it carefully over her shoulders.
She shot me a startled look. ‘You would offer me warmth and shelter?’
‘Um. I’m giving you my jacket, sure.’
She seemed pleased by that, settling into my jacket and pulling it close about her neck. I forced my gaze away from her, swallowing.
At first, I didn’t worry. Elswyth was walking down streets that I knew had security cameras; Advena had paid for their installation and our security company monitored their feeds. I turned towards one, pausing to give it a clear shot of my face.
But after we turned two corners, my skin began to prickle. She was leading me into a black spot.
The club knew it was a problem, but our clientele tended to walk towards the main road, not further into the suburb. We’d petitioned the local council to install their own cameras here, but they’d decided to spend the money closer to the city centre, where there was a long line of clubs and a history of trouble.
I glanced across at Elswyth, wondering if she knew that there was no one watching us here.
She wasn’t looking at me; her face was turned to the sky. Her nose was slightly wrinkled, and damned if my lips didn’t twitch into a tiny smile. Even if she was in a cult, or perhaps just operating on a different plane of existence, the expression did lovely things to my insides. The starlight suited her; her hair became liquid silver, and I really did need to get more sleep, because I could see the impression of leaves through the silky strands again.
‘It’s so different,’ she said wonderingly. ‘I can barely see your stars.’
‘It’s a city,’ I said.
She shot me a questioning frown.
I raised an eyebrow. ‘Light pollution?’
