The Star Thief

by Jamie Grey

  “Everything regarding this mission is my business. Including you.”

  Her lips quirked into a smirk. “Is that so? Then maybe instead of making assumptions about me, you could do me the courtesy of asking. I haven’t done a damn thing to make you distrust me, so what the hell is your problem?”

  “You are my problem. Have been from day one. I don’t want you on my ship, on my team, or in my life.”

  “Let me make one thing very clear.” Renna jabbed her finger into his hard chest. “You may not like me personally or the fact I’ve spent most of my life as a thief, but I am exceptional at my job and I take pride in doing it well. I’ve already saved MYTH’s ass twice, and it looks like I’ll be doing it again. So either get over yourself or get out of my way because I don’t fucking care what a washed-up coward thinks of me.”

  “Coward?” he snarled, leaning over her threateningly. “You think I’m a coward for turning in Blur and his gang? You knew what he was selling! How could you go along with that?”

  The heat from his body scorched Renna’s skin, and her pulse pounded in her ears. The headache she’d been fighting since Aldani had fixed her implant sliced through her brain, and she swayed on her feet.

  Finn’s hand shot out again, but this time to steady her. “What’s wrong?” he demanded. “What did Aldani do to you?”

  She shuddered as Finn touched his fingers to her neck, and when he pulled them away, blood coated his fingertips.

  “Dammit.” Renna clapped her hand over the incision site and swallowed back the nausea from the pain. “Let me go. I need to take care of this.”

  He scowled and shook his head. “Inside. Now.” Finn steered her into his room and forced her down into a chair before disappearing into the bathroom.

  Finn’s room seemed much like hers, with the same plush rugs and soft fabrics. And the amazing bed. Just looking at it made her sleepy. There were no signs of its occupant, nothing personal to show who stayed there except the slight musky sandalwood smell of Finn himself.

  She hated that she recognized his scent. Hated even more that it made something warm and safe curl through her.

  Stop that, Renna.

  Finn returned a moment later with a tube of Burmec and some gauze. “Hold your hair up. This’ll stop the bleeding.”

  “It’s fine. I can take care of it myself.” She moved to get up, and he clamped a hand on her shoulder.

  “I’ve got this.”

  Renna shrugged and sat back in her chair, pulling her hair out of the way. “Do you patch up all of your crew like this?”

  He paused, looked at her. “No. I don’t.”

  She blinked, but he moved behind her before she could come up with a witty response. Finn’s warm fingers smeared the medication over her incision site. Her eyes drifted shut as he massaged the stiff muscles in her neck. Heaven.

  Then she snapped them back open. She needed to stay focused. “What did you mean about Blur? What was he selling?”

  “Are you telling me you honestly didn’t know? You ran those jobs for him.” His fingers stilled, and she fought the urge to ask him to continue.

  “I didn’t know what the hell was going on with Blur and his top mercs. I just did what I was told. Most of my jobs were retrieving paperwork from a safe in the merchant district. I never read the stuff, just handed it over. That’s why Blur trusted me.”

  There was a long moment of silence. “I assumed since he used you so often you knew the business.” He stopped and met her gaze with a tortured expression. “Blur didn’t just take retrieval contracts or other jobs no one else would touch. He was a slaver. The intel you brought him was on new victims—people who were in debt, people no one would miss. People like you, when you first came to us.”

  The air in Renna’s lungs vacated, as if vaporized on impact. All she could do was stare at the dark screen of the holovid on the wall as waves of horror washed over her.

  “It’s not true. Blur wasn’t like that.” He’d been kind. Always had time for her, even though he was busy running the business side of things.

  “I didn’t believe it at first either, but I saw his books. I saw the documents you brought back to him. They were all the proof I needed to crack open the biggest slaving ring on the planet. I had to go to the police.” His voice was so low she only heard him because he was still crouched behind her, fingers grazing the back of her neck.

  Renna swallowed. “Why did you think I would have gone along with that? Why didn’t you ask me?”

  “You were a kid. And you were Blur’s prize pupil. I thought you were…involved.”

  She would have laughed at his carefully chosen words if she hadn’t been so horrified. He still had no clue he was the one she’d crushed on back then. All the times she’d asked for a private training session in Bumani fighting, just so she could be close to him. “I thought you knew me better than that.”

  “Blur said he had plans for you. You were sixteen, and he talked about how you and he…” He sucked in a deep breath. “Evidently he was lying about that, too.”

  Finn’s fingers resumed rubbing the gel into her incision site. The silence stretched between them, but Renna had no idea what to say. No wonder he’d hated her. He’d thought she was part of the slaver ring. Thought she’d been sleeping with Blur. She would have felt the same.

  “I’m sorry, Renna. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. My only excuse is I didn’t trust anyone back then.”

  “I get it.” She didn’t add that he’d been the only one she had trusted in the gang. “It’s over now. I need you to know I have never taken a job that involves the capture or selling of slaves, and I’ve turned in the few sent my way. It’s not part of the code.”

  He chuckled, a warm raspy sound that made her stomach dance with butterflies. “The code. I can’t believe you still follow it. You were a quick study back then.”

  “Some things haven’t changed.” She grinned, her shoulders relaxing like a weight had fallen from them.

  His fingers rubbed at her sore muscles, and she finally let herself sink into the feeling. “And some things have. When did you get the implant?” he asked. “There wasn’t any mention of it in your file.”

  “I’m sure there are a lot of things about me not in your file.” She could sit here all night if he kept doing that. He was actually rather pleasant when he wasn’t sniping at her.

  “I’m starting to wonder,” he said in a low voice. Finn opened one of the gauze packs and pressed it to the wound. “You ever going to tell me what happened here?” He traced the scar across the front of her neck with a finger, and she jerked away as goose bumps flashed across her skin.

  “Doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago.” She jumped to her feet, all relaxation driven away. “Thanks for patching me up. I’ve got to go.”

  “Renna, I…” He stood there, staring, obviously wanting to say something else, but she needed to get away.

  “Thanks for the patch job.” Without looking back, she sped from his room and back to hers.

  Calling herself a coward the whole way there.

  SEVENTEEN

  “I’ve had the destabilizer device brought to the ship. We ran the last tests on it this morning, and everything seems to be working as expected.” Aldani led Finn and Renna back to the hangar bay where the Athena was waiting. “We’ve also fueled her up for you and restocked some supplies. I’m hoping this will be a quick in-and-out job, but it’s best to be prepared for anything.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Finn kept his gaze carefully directed ahead, his long legs carrying him ahead of Renna and the doctor. “I appreciate your help. I know we didn’t get off to the best start yesterday.”

  “Just make sure you find something out. We can’t rescue Myka until we know what’s in that facility.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s under control,” Renna said.

  Aldani had shown her how to use the small globe of metal that would get them inside earlier that morning, but she sti
ll didn’t know what they’d face. It didn’t matter. She had a job to do, so she’d figure it out one way or another.

  Finn paused long enough to salute the doctor. “I comm’d Keva to have the ship ready to go. We should be on Banos Prime by this afternoon and hopefully back here within twenty-four hours with more information. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go make final preparations.” He turned, marching up the gangway and into the Athena without waiting for them to respond.

  Renna and Aldani watched him in silence until he disappeared inside, then the doctor turned to Renna, one eyebrow canted. “Is everything all right between you two?” he asked.

  “Of course,” she lied. But Finn’s behavior said otherwise. Snippets of the previous night rushed through her mind, the feel of Finn’s fingers against her neck sending a shiver down her spine. With an inward groan, she pushed the thought out of her mind. Last night, she thought they’d finally come to a truce, but maybe she was wrong.

  “Well, I’ll give you my farewell speech then. Watch the destabilizer. It will only work long enough to open one door, then it must be recharged. And by the stars, don’t let it fall into the wrong hands. It won’t blow up a planet now that I’ve adjusted the settings, but it could do some serious damage.”

  “Understood. Thank you for everything, Doctor.” She held out a hand, and he shook it. “We’ll be back to find Myka in no time.” There. No promises, just nice and vague. Too bad it was already too late for semantics.

  “I believe you. And, for what it’s worth, I think you’re an asset to this team. They need someone like you to think outside the box.” He cleared his throat and stepped back. “Go on. The sooner you leave, the sooner I’ll have my nephew back.”

  “Yes, sir.” She smiled at him, and he winked at her before she boarded the ship.

  Renna spent the ride to Banos Prime time scouring the omega-net for news about other attacks, Myka, or Hesperia. She also moved some of her liquid assets to new accounts and rearranged her portfolio. Things were about to get messy, and she had no idea if she’d get the chance again. Thank gods she’d paid attention when Blur had stressed the importance of diversifying.

  “Approaching Banos Prime. Landing in thirteen minutes.” Kojima’s voice came over the intercom, and Renna closed down the hololink in her interface. Aldani had seriously upgraded her implant, and despite a few twinges of pain as it readjusted to her neural patterns, everything ran like clockwork.

  She pulled on her coat and grabbed the bag with her tools. Time to get the job done.

  The Athena touched down in a golden valley between two rock formations. The outcroppings looked like gnarled burgundy fingers reaching up from the desert. According to the surveillance maps, the facility they needed to find was more than two klicks away, but Finn didn’t want to land too close and alert anyone inside.

  Renna tugged at the pack on her back as she surveyed the arid desert surrounding them. She’d packed her tools, Aldani’s device, and a few other necessities that might come in handy when she got into the facility. Only she and Finn were going inside, but Keva and one of the other sergeants—Doyle, she thought—were coming along as backup on the journey.

  Not exactly how she would have chosen to run the mission. Having three other people with her made her skin itch with unease. More people meant a greater chance of detection.

  She shivered as a gust of wind blew sand across the surface. Banos Prime might have been a desert world, but it certainly wasn’t warm. The blazing sun overhead looked welcoming, but they were too far away for it to heat the atmosphere above freezing most days. And at night…they’d be completely screwed if they had to be out here after dark.

  “Open planet map,” she ordered her implant. A moment later, the surface of Banos was laid out for her, the facility blinking red. She turned to Finn and Keva, who were whispering about something or other. She didn’t much care. “We need to head north. Looks like there’s a line of rock outcroppings we can follow to stay out of sight.”

  They both nodded, and Renna started north without a glance behind her. Let them follow if they wanted. She’d spent way too much energy worrying about Finn and his crew already. Ever since they’d left Aldani’s lab that morning, everyone had been acting strange. They’d greeted her in the passageways by name, acknowledging her for the first time since the missions had started. Their sudden friendliness made her twitchy.

  It also made her wonder what exactly Finn had said to them.

  The group walked in silence for a few minutes, the whistling of the wind across the sand the only noise until Finn’s long strides caught up with her. Even then he didn’t speak.

  She definitely wasn’t going to be the one to break the sudden awkwardness between them.

  “Any hint yet as to what’s out there?” he finally asked, shooting her a sideways glance.

  “This area of Banos seems to be completely deserted. No life signs anywhere, not even at the colony to the north.”

  “That’s where Myka’s parents were stationed. MYTH had a small team posted there for years, investigating the area. Dr. Theia Prince led the expedition. She’s one of our best scientists.” He frowned. “It wasn’t the hardest hit, but everyone was killed. They didn’t even find most of the bodies.”

  Renna paused, then said, “I wish I knew how the colony and this facility were connected because I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

  Finn didn’t comment, just kept pace with her for a few more minutes before glancing at her again. “MYTH lost a lot of important people in that attack. Thank gods Dr. Prince escaped with much of their research or we’d have no idea what our teams had found.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Banos has special minerals deep in the soil. I wonder if the facility was created so someone else could continue that work.”

  “But who? Only MYTH knew the real reason the team was here, correct? Do you have enemies? Could someone have found out what you were doing?”

  He shrugged. “I have no idea, but that’s what I’m hoping to find out.”

  They walked a few more moments, Finn slanting glances at her from the corner of his eye. She felt his gaze like pressure against her skin. She couldn’t decide if it was pleasant or annoying.

  “Out with it, Captain. Why do you keep looking at me?”

  “How long have you had your implant?” Finn asked.

  She looked at him warily. He wanted small talk? Now? “Five years. I knew someone who cut me a deal. Best investment I ever made.”

  “Is it one of the nucleospatial models from Stagg Industries? I hear they’re exceptional for mapping and schematics.”

  Renna blinked at him. Since the ban fifteen years ago, cybernetic implants were forbidden in Coalition territory. A few of the richest mercenaries she knew had them and a few dirty politicians, but the military absolutely forbade them and had implemented random body scans to keep everyone compliant.

  “I didn’t know you’d kept up with them. No, it’s a Compass X-3. I wish I’d held out for the nucleospatial model, but mine’s been extremely helpful, so I can’t complain too much. And the upgrades Aldani installed are amazing.”

  “Must have cost a lot of money, even with a deal.” Finn walked with his hands swinging easily at his sides, his shoulders relaxed and at ease, but she got the sense there was something else on his mind, something worrying him.

  “What’s going on? Want to make sure it won’t hamper me from being able to do the job?”

  A frown tugged the corners of his mouth down and caused the skin between his eyebrows to pucker. “You know, you could ease off a bit. You think everything I say is a criticism.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  “Look, Renna. I’m trying to apologize. I’m sorry for everything that’s happened, but it was a long time ago. We need to work together here, not be enemies.”

  “I already have plenty of enemies. What’s one more?” She threw the words out like a slap and instantly regretted it as Finn’s jaw ti
ghtened. She sighed. Evidently, she wasn’t very good at apologies either. “Look. I’ve worked alone all my life. It’s how I operate. And yet here I am, blackmailed into helping a big group of military do-gooders. And to top it off, you made it perfectly clear I was more worthless than the shit in the vacuum sewer. It’s going to take a while to get used to the change.”

  He rubbed a hand over his face before looking at her, and she noticed how tired his blue eyes looked. “Can you? Forgive me, I mean?”

  She shrugged. “I haven’t shot you yet. That’s always a good sign.”

  Finn chuckled and looked slightly relieved. “Truce?” He held out his hand, large and capable and strong.

  There was an instant where she wanted to ignore it. If she forgave this man, everything would change Was she really ready to take a step in that direction? Before she could talk herself out if it, she took his hand, the warmth from his fingers soaking into her skin.

  Something shifted inside her, something that felt almost like friendship. Or at least respect.

  “Truce, Captain.”

  His expression cleared. “And just think, if you hadn’t joined up with us, you never would have gotten Aldani’s upgrades.”

  “Trust me, if Dallas had given me any other choice, I would gladly give them up.”

  He nodded. “I know. It was kind of a shitty thing for him to do. But I know Aldani feels better that you’re going to help us find Myka.”

  “And what about you? Ready to put your money where your mouth is?” She gave him a wicked smirk. “If you’re so happy to have me on the team and willing to forgive and forget, how about a little wager on how long it takes me to get inside?”

  Finn shook his head, a twitching smile on his lips. “I make it a point to never bet against a sure thing.”