The Star Thief (10 page)

Kojima gave her an appraising once-over before grasping her hand. “Welcome to the
Athena
. Glad to have you aboard.”

“Thanks. You handle this bird better than most of the pilots I’ve flown with. The way you escaped those cruisers with the thrusters was genius. I don’t think even Herceg could have done it better.”

Kojima’s eyes widened. “You’ve flown with Herceg? He’s a legend! Did you know he was the first to jump to hyperspace without needing the core fusion generator?”

“I was actually on the
Bluebird
when he did it.”

Kojima opened his mouth, but before he could respond, Finn crossed his arms, his uniform jacket stretching over his shoulders. “Enough chatter. Back to your post, Lieutenant. You can compare flight notes with Miss Carrizal later.”

“Yes, sir!” Kojima saluted, but winked at Renna when Finn turned around.

“Nice to meet you,” she called before following the captain down another passageway.

The ship’s interior seemed to be one long oval, with an elliptical corridor running the entire length and another smaller corridor in the center. The floors were made of corrugated metal, polished to a high shine, and the walls had been covered in some sort of thick polythene plastic to heat the space and cut down on the ship’s noise.

It was gorgeously designed and obviously top of the line. Renna had some serious ship envy. Since the Seralline job two years ago, she’d had to stay out of sight, which meant giving up her own ship. It had been too easy to track. Using public transport or renting with a fake ID was safer. But someday…

Renna sighed. If she got through this damn mission first. “So where to next? Lower deck?”

“Staff quarters are on the lowest deck. There should be no reason for you to go down there.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Whyever not? It’s not that big of a ship. I’m sure I’ll be down there once in a while.”

Finn stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned his cold blue eyes to her. There it was again, the brief pause as he studied the scar on her neck. He’d always been fascinated by it, especially since Renna never talked about how she’d gotten it.

He dragged his gaze back to her face. “I’ve already told you I don’t want someone like you on my ship—
or
fraternizing with my crew. I know you, Renna. I know how you work. But Dallas says you’re the only one who can figure out who these people are and help stop them, so I have no choice.” He lowered his voice and leaned close enough that his scent washed over her again. “Let me remind you: There’s a chain of command here, and I’m at the top.”

So much for working together. Whatever he thought he knew, she wasn’t some raw recruit now. She was the best thief in the galaxy, and he damn well needed to remember it.

Renna lowered her voice to match his tone. “I don’t mind you on top, darling. It’s when you start pushing me around that we’ll have a problem.” She smiled at him coldly. “So I’ll do my job, don’t you worry. Just don’t expect me to play by your rules. You know I was never very good at following orders.”

“It’s the only reason you’re still free.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?” she demanded, her hands on her hips.

“You should have been there when the police raided Blur’s hideout. You were supposed to be back from the Peters job already.” His eyes bored into hers, his top lip curling. “You should have gone to hell with the rest of them for what you did.”

“If you think that should mean something to me, I hate to disappoint you, Cap, but I don’t know what in the stars you’re talking about.” She leaned in close to him, her fingers itching to poke him in his chest. She curled them into tight fists instead and lifted her chin, throwing his own hard stare back at him. “But let me tell
you
something. Just because you knew me
seven years ago
doesn’t mean you know one damn thing about me or my life now.”

“I know enough to want you the hell off my ship. I would have been perfectly happy to have never seen you again.” His raspy voice deepened into a growl, and his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. “If I wasn’t under orders, I’d leave you on the next planet.”

“If I wasn’t being blackmailed into helping your sorry ass, I’d be more than happy to go!”

“Then do it. I’ll even write your discharge papers. I’ll risk the court-martial; I just want you off my ship, Carrizal. I don’t need a sticky-fingered whore distracting my crew.”

“A whore? Is that the most creative thing you can come up with?” She shook her head and pursed her lips. “I’m so disappointed, Captain. The man I knew was much better with his tongue.”

He grabbed her arms and yanked her to his chest. “The man you knew died seven years ago, along with any respect he might have had for you.”

She leaned into him until she could feel his heart thundering beneath hers, his chest rising and falling in time with her own breathing. “Then why do you keep bringing him up? Why do you watch me like you’re reliving the same memories I am?”

“I’m watching to make sure you don’t steal anything. I know how you operate—everything is fair game to sell to the highest bidder. You never could be trusted.”

Her fingernails bit into her palms. She’d knock the smug look from his face if he said one more word.

Footsteps vibrated on the metal floor of the corridor as Keva darted around the corner. “What the hell do you two think you’re doing shouting at each other? The whole ship’s going to hear you!”

A muscle jumped in Finn’s jaw. He pushed Renna away, stepping back so the width of the corridor separated them.

Renna forced her hands to stay at her side. “Isn’t that too bad?” she drawled, feigning calm despite the hammering in her chest. “Maybe your crew will finally see you for what you are.”

“And what’s that?” he asked dangerously, lowering his voice.

“You’re as mercenary as I am,” she said, matching his low tone.

“Watch yourself, Renna. The truth is a double-edged sword, and last I knew, swordplay wasn’t your strong suit.” The ice in his words could have frozen the deepest lake on Hesperia.

“Things change, Captain. I’ve grown up. I know how to play with lots of new toys.”

Murder flashed in his eyes, and he took a step forward. Renna hastily swallowed her next witty quip.

“Betray me again, and I’ll make sure you serve the rest of your life on a hard work planet.”

This again? Renna’s smile was icy. “Do you really want to talk about betrayal, Cap? Because I have a few choice words regarding your own actions. I’m happy to share if we’re going to play that game.” She leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. Despite her relaxed pose, she held herself tightly in check. One more word from him and she’d attack, prison planet be damned. “And if you ever call me a whore again, I’ll make sure you never have the luxury of enjoying a real one.”

Finn growled and spun on his heels. “Keva, show the thief to her cabin. I’m done here.” He strode away in the opposite direction, anger rolling off him in tangible waves.

Keva’s jaw dropped open, her purple, beak-like lips parted in shock. “I’ve never seen the captain so angry. What did you do?” the lieutenant demanded.

“I have no idea.” Renna shook out her hands and cracked her neck, trying to relax the muscles in her body that were still coiled like springs. She hadn’t felt so out of control in years. Not since the last time she and Hunter…
Finn
had sparred.

Damn him and damn her past for finally catching up with her.

NINE

That night, Renna fell asleep to the hum of a ship’s engine in her ears for the first time in almost six months. It was the smoothest, steadiest sound she’d ever heard, and she fell a little more in love with the
Athena
.

Despite the blowup with Finn and the destruction of Veth, she slept like a rock. She always did while traveling, and when the morning bell rang for the crew to switch shifts, she stretched in her bunk and snuggled more deeply under the covers. There was no reason for her to get up. She wasn’t an official member of the team. Finn had made that very clear last night.

An hour or so later, the ship trembled as it came out of FTL, and she jerked awake. They’d reached Krooss. She’d been on the planet once, five years ago, for a job. It was a backwater planet, the space port barely a scrabble of clay buildings and steel warehouses, but it was one of the last stops in the Thassa system to fuel up.

She stretched and glanced around her room. The berth they’d assigned her was small but comfortable, with a bed, a holovid on the wall, and a table and chair in the corner. A low leather couch sat across from the holovid, and another door led to a bathroom. The place was nicer than her first apartment.

And the shower was amazing. The bad thing about space travel was how dirty it always made her feel—the recycled air, the metal coatings, the space particles. But after a quick rinse, she felt almost human again.

Renna peeked in on Myka, but he was still sleeping and she didn’t want to wake him. Gods knew the last time the kid had had a good night’s sleep.

She headed toward the bridge, passing crew members busy at their stations, mechanics on their way to the engine room, even a private wiping space dust off the walls. As she approached the center of the ship, she heard Finn talking with the crew. There was no way she was dealing with him before she’d even had her coffee, so she changed routes and made her way to the flight deck where Kojima was on duty.

At least he didn’t look at her like she was diseased.

“Good morning, Miss Carrizal.” He smiled as she climbed the stairs to his cockpit.

“Call me Renna, please.”

“Then what brings you my way this fine morning, Renna?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think I’d exactly be welcome on the bridge after my little fight with the captain yesterday.”

“I heard about that.” He chuckled. “I’ve never seen the guy lose it, and I’ve served with him on three missions now.”

“Yeah? How long have you been with MYTH?” She studied the holoscreens and consoles in front of him. He might look young, but he had some serious skills to run this complex navigation system.

“Four years. They recruited me straight from the academy. Been with Captain Finn almost the whole time. He’s one of the best.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Kojima gave her a sly look. “It’s got to be your reputation that’s got him up in arms. It’s not every mission we get to host the Star Thief.”

Her face went carefully expressionless. “What are you talking about?” By the stars, had Dallas told everyone?

“I know everything that happens on this ship. Including all personnel files. Don’t worry, I’ll never tell. But if the rest of the crew knew…”

“They’d put me in the brig.” Or even worse, turn her in for the billion-credit bounty on her head.

He smiled but didn’t deny it. “So what was it like? Being on Treze? Stealing the sapphire?” He tapped at his console before turning back to her. “Those aliens are weird, right? Four arms? Gills and scales?”

She leaned against the hatch frame. “The Trezian military is unlike any other in the galaxy. It puts MYTH to shame. I mean, what could you do with four arms?”

Kojima slanted a glance at her from the corner of his eye as he adjusted one of the nav points on his screen. “So how did you do it?”

A small smile curled her lips. “Sorry, that’s classified.”

“Come on, just a hint?”

“Sorry, kid, some secrets are best kept.”

“Hey, you’re not that much older than me.” He sounded pouty for a moment before he realized it and grinned. “Fine. But next shore leave, the guys and I are going to take you out. Maybe after a few drinks, you’ll spill.”

“I can drink you under the table,” Renna said with a laugh.

“What the hell are you doing up there, Flight Lieutenant?” Captain Finn’s voice cracked through the intercom, and Kojima jumped. “We’re on approach to Krooss. Have you radioed for our landing berth yet?”

“No, sir. Doing that now, sir.” Kojima turned back to Renna. “You’d better get out of here before I get in trouble.”

She took a deep breath and steadied her nerves. The
Athena
wasn’t that big. She was going to have to see Finn sooner or later, and putting it off made her feel like a coward. And that pissed her off. Renna squared her shoulders and marched to the bridge.

Finn sat in the captain’s chair watching the holo as the
Athena
approached Krooss. His gaze flicked to her briefly as she stood at the railing, but he said nothing. Together they watched the spaceport appear and the
Athena
head to her berth on the west side of town.

“We’ll be here for three hours. I expect you to stay on board while we refuel.” Finn still didn’t look at her.

“I thought you wanted me off your ship.”

“I want you to do your job,” he said, slamming his fist down on the arm of the chair. “And that means following my orders.”

Well, well. The supposedly unflappable captain was still angry at her. Interesting. Men usually only stayed that angry for one reason: injured pride.

“Whatever you say, Cap. You’re the boss.” She wandered away, hands shoved into her pockets and her shoulders relaxed. Wouldn’t do for him to see how annoyed she was. She had no desire to see the dirty spaceport, but damn she’d wanted to argue. Just to prove to him that she didn’t do blind obedience.