Page 44 of The Interstellar Rake's Irresistible Kiss
Chapter 13
Nor held his rage in check the same way he held his blaster: lightly and at the ready.
The bastard had stolen his ship.
Well, technically, Nor was the bastard, but the dreadnaughtwashis ship. Bought and paid for. How like a Thorkon noble, even a disgraced one, to think he could take it away.
Despite his internal disturbance, he kept his head on a constant swivel as they hustledthrough the empty corridors of the station back toward the resupply port where they’d docked the shuttle. He didn’t doubt that Trixie was right—as improbable as it seemed, Blackworm had returned.
In Nor’s ship! Insufferable.
Ahead of him, Otlok stumbled once, but Trixie wedged her shoulder under the taller Thorkon, righting him quickly to limp onward. Though she was small, he knew how strongshe was, and pride surged through him. Not that he had any claim to her strength, but this disaster must be the worst of all her nightmares and still she was steady beside the injured lieutenant and she held her position behind the ensign, her own blaster held coolly to one side.
If he hadn’t already perved on her twice, he’d be so tempted to do it right now.
Larfing Blackworm.
They were halfwayback to the shuttle when his dat-pad rattled against his wrist. “Captain,” the pilot said. “I’ve established a clear comm signal through the station. TheGrandiloquenceis here, docked at the main port off the primary deck. What are your orders?”
The primary deck and main port. On the other side of the station from the shuttle. That distance was safer for his crew. “We’re almost to you,” he toldLinn. “Prepare for release. And relay everything you have to security headquarters on Azthronos.” He swallowed hard. By each and every Thorkon god, it riled him to say it… “And to the duke’s cruiser.”
“Yes, sir.” Linn was silent a moment. “Message away. There is some lingering interference but—”
Before he could finish, the signal blinked out.
“Captain Nor.”
The unfamiliar voice boomed notthrough his dat-pad, it seemed to issue from the station itself.
Next to Otlok, Trixie stumbled, as if she’d been shot. “It’s him.”
Coming through the main comm set at regular intervals in the corridor walls, the refined Thorkon accent sounded like a god. “I have retaken control of the station,” Blackworm said. “Once the radiation clears, I will have every sensor at my disposal, so there’s nosense in hiding from me.”
Nor cursed under his breath. At least the interference that was bothering them was hindering Blackworm. Docking the shuttle at the underutilized resupply port had been unintentionally fortunate.
But as Trixie had pointed out—and as his sire, who’d been an Avatar of the God of Fortuity, might’ve agreed—such fortune never held.
Grabbing a scrambler from his kit pocket,he plugged it into his dat-pad and patched into the station comm. He’d loaned one of the illicit devices to Raz when he’d been wooing Rayna, and everything had worked out beautifully for his half-brother. Hopefully, the reroute would confuse Blackworm for awhile longer.
Long enough to get to the shuttle?
He waved his little team ahead. “This is Captain Rokal Nor irThorkonos, of the AzthronosdreadnaughtGrandiloquence. Unauthorized operation of the station communication system is a code violation.”
The answering chuckle, echoing along the corridor from every comm unit, made his hackles prickle.
“I would apologize for the disrespect, Captain,” came the wry response, then the voice hardened. “But you know I’ve done much worse.”
So they weren’t going to dance around. Just as well,Nor thought grimly, since he’d never been good at dancing.
“Which is why you were locked up for multiple lifetimes,” he said. “Why are you back here?”
“To find what I lost.”
“If you threw it into the black hole, you’re never going to find it again,” Nor said. They were almost to the shuttle, so he only needed to keep the distraction going a little longer. “The singularity is greedy and jealousthat way.” He couldn’t hold back the jibe. “Just like a nobleman.”
“And how like an irThorkon privateer to think his opinion matters,” Blackworm responded with smooth disdain. “But you do seem to have what I want.”
“You already have my ship,” Nor muttered. “That’s all I have.”
