“Watch your back, Ran. I don’t want to catch you following me or my people again. And if you try it, I will.”
I turned to leave, but his voice stopped me. “Are you going to leave Mo alone?”
“That depends on how good your information is.”
His expression turned mulish. “It’s good. And if you need more, find me in Sector B.”
I nodded and slipped from the alley. Once I was out of sight, I stepped into a shadowed alcove and waited for Ran to leave. He did, heading toward Sector B and away from the building I’d rented. Hopefully, that meant he was done following me.
I circled back toward our home base. My hour of exploring was nearly up. If I stayed out too long, Imogen would come hunt me down, as long as Valentin didn’t beat her to it.
By afternoon local time, the house was full. Ari, Stella, and Eddie had all arrived safely, and as far as anyone knew, they hadn’t attracted any suspicion. Their ships were on other parts of the station, giving us multiple fallback points.
In the ideal case, none of our preparations would be needed. But the universe was rarely ideal.
Imogen and Luka were talking again, which I took to mean that Luka had pulled his head out of his ass and apologized. I silently wished them both luck.
Valentin volunteered to make dinner while the others got unpacked and settled. I went with him.
“Can I help?” I asked. I wasn’t the best cook, but I could follow directions.
“No need.” He handed me a drink that smelled citrusy. “But you can sit at the bar and keep me company.”
I climbed onto a barstool and looked around. I conceded that he’d made the right call. The kitchen was small enough that I would’ve just been in his way. He pulled out ingredients with the ease of practice.
“Where did you learn to cook?” I asked as I tasted my drink. It was deliciously cool and refreshing.
A grin turned up the corner of his mouth. “I didn’t always have people waiting on me. Until last year, I had to feed myself.”
I rolled my eyes. “Weren’t you an officer in the military? Didn’t they feed you?”
The grin transformed into an abashed smile. “They did, and I’m sure that my food was better than most. But I wasn’t always on a fancy ship with staff. So when I had time, I taught myself to cook. I enjoy it.”
I sipped my drink and watched him move around the space. My heart twisted. The simple domesticity called to everything in me. I imagined the days we’d spend together: Valentin would cook, I would clean up, and then we’d retire to bed early. I knew it was an illusion—he was an emperor, and I was a queen, albeit of a rag-tag group of rogues and refugees. We had far too many responsibilities to just walk away. But I enjoyed the fantasy.
The meal wasn’t gourmet, but it was hearty and delicious. Everyone was a little subdued, and conversation was light. We were all focused on finding Adams and getting home safely.
After dinner, we moved down to the ground floor. We’d designated the large office as our on-station command center. The room had plenty of seating, a big desk, and multiple displays on the walls.
Ari and Stella sat close together in a pair of padded chairs. I sat on the edge of the desk and Valentin joined me. Luka and Imogen leaned against opposite walls while Eddie prowled around the room, repeatedly revealing and vanishing a coin with sleight of hand. He was equally skilled with either hand, despite one being mechanical. It had taken him many long hours of practice to get the calibration just right.
Ari took charge of contacting the teams that Robert had sent. The mercenary advisor had been clever. He’d sent two teams, one as a smoke screen for the other. The first group didn’t have any apparent ties to Arx, but someone who went digging would find threads that led back to the Rogue Coalition fairly quickly.
The second group was in deep cover, and they were professionals. It would take weeks to tie them to the Rogue Coalition.
It was too dangerous to meet in person, but neural links were almost as good and didn’t risk exposure.
“Dammit,” Ari said a few minutes later.
“No luck?” Stella asked gently.
She shook her head in disgust. “Either Adams and his people aren’t here or he’s a fucking ghost. Neither team has heard anything.”
I’d contacted my own team, with similar results. One of my contacts had worked her way into the docking department since the last time I’d talked to her, and her careful searches had turned up nothing but dead-ends. I was still convinced that Adams would show for the meeting, but I started making mental contingency plans in case he didn’t.
“Are we wrong?” Eddie asked. “What are we missing?”
“We still have almost two weeks until the meeting,” Ari said. “Maybe we’re giving him too much credit. Just because we’re here early doesn’t mean he will be.”
I instinctively shook my head, dismissing the thought, but then I stopped. “Adams isn’t dumb, and he’s able to plan complicated attacks that require a lot of coordination. If he’s not here, it’s a choice. Why make that choice?”
“He suspects a trap,” Valentin said.
“Of course, but so do we, and we’re still here.”
“He wants to force you to tip your hand,” Eddie said.
“Which means he had some way of knowing what’s happening on CP57, even if he’s not here. That would usually mean a team, but maybe he’s paying for information another way.”
“We don’t have the resources to track information flow,” Ari said. “Not on a station this big.”
I sighed. “I might have an option for that, but it’ll be very expensive and should be saved for a last resort. Let’s see what the rest of this week brings, first.”
“Well, that’s not ominous or anything,” Stella grumbled.
“It’s one of my old contacts,” I said.
Her eyes widened in understanding. “No wonder it sounded ominous.” She waved her hands. “No reason to rush into that. There’s still time. Let’s see what happens.”
“We’ll stick to the plan for now,” I agreed. “Now that we’re here, we can do our own recon. The meeting was set for a building in Block 20, which is two blocks over. If Adams picks a similar location, he’ll likely be within a ten-block area.”
“That’s still a lot of ground to cover,” Imogen said.
“It beats the whole station.”
She conceded the point with a shrug.
Stella yawned. “Today started early, and station time is messing with my internal clock. I say we all get some sleep and reconvene in the morning. Everything looks better in the morning.”
“I don’t,” I said drily.
She rolled her eyes at me. “You know what I meant.”
I stood from the desk. Stella was right. I could use some sleep because today had been long. It was still relatively early by station time, but I’d been up for nearly twenty hours. “The doors are secured from the inside, so we shouldn’t have any surprises tonight. If you need to go out for something, make sure you disable the alarm. And let someone know where you’re going.”
Imogen pointed a finger at me. “Don’t go out without me.”
I gave her my most innocent expression. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Chapter Nine
Imogen didn’t have to worry about me creeping out because I crashed as soon as my head hit the pillow. Even the temptation of Valentin in my bed—still a delightful novelty—wasn’t enough to prop my eyes open.
I slept hard and woke refreshed. The dim light spilling around the edges of the curtains meant that it was still very early. The station never went truly dark, but the overhead lights were lowered at night.
Next to me, Valentin’s breathing was deep and even. Rather than moving and possibly waking him, I stayed where I was and checked the local news on the net, including the latest rumors and gossip. There were no splashy headlines announcing the arrival of the Rogue Queen or the Kos Emperor, so I figured we were still incogni
to.
For now.
Eventually, Valentin would be missed in Koan. When that happened and the news leaked, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out where he was. Adams would know I had backup.
I checked my messages, but none of my team had found anything new in the few hours since I’d last talked to them. It was so easy to expect instant results and forget the days and weeks and occasionally months of patience that had been required on my previous hunts.
Sooner or later, Adams would fuck up, and I would be there to catch him when he did. I just had to remember to be patient.
Valentin drew a deep breath and rolled over, sleepily nuzzling my shoulder. “Good morning,” he whispered.
“Good morning. Did I wake you?”
“No. I’ve been drifting in and out for an hour.” He pulled me closer, pressing his body against mine. “But I’m glad that you’re awake now.” He idly caressed the curve of my waist.
I couldn’t help the grin. “Oh, yeah? Why is that?”
“Because now you can be my pillow.”
“You already have a pillow.”
I caught the flash of his smile. “You’re better. Let me show you.”
He pillowed his head on my shoulder and pressed a soft kiss against my neck. When I hummed in appreciation, he did it again, then he trailed kisses over my collarbone and up the slope of my breast.
His tongue touched my skin, and my breath caught. “You must really like your pillows,” I breathed.
His eyes crinkled with his smile, but rather than replying, his mouth closed over my nipple, and the wet heat spiked lust straight into my bloodstream. I buried my hands in his hair, holding him in place, though he showed no inclination to leave.
His hand slid down my body, over my belly and lower. I parted my legs, and it was his turn to hum when he found me slick and hot.
And still, he didn’t rush.
He leisurely moved to my other breast before nibbling his way down my stomach. All while his clever fingers drove me to the edge of sanity. No amount of desperate pleading altered his pace, and when he finally reached his destination and licked me, my back arched off the bed as pleasure whited out everything else.
“Now,” I demanded as soon as I could breathe.
He surged up, his face set in hard lines of desire and restraint.
But still, he didn’t rush.
He slid into me a centimeter at a time, as if he had all day. The delicious feel of him so soon after my last orgasm nearly pushed me into another one. I clenched around him, and he hissed out a breath. I just needed the slightest nudge.
I tried to move, to find the right angle, but he had my hips firmly pinned against his. I pulled his face down to mine and growled, “If you do not move this instant, I’m going to murder you.”
He laughed and pressed a quick kiss to my mouth.
Then—finally—he rushed, moving with sure, hard strokes that drove us both off the edge of the world.
After the morning’s delicious delayed start, Valentin and I got ready to go see Flack. I applied heavy makeup that would help disguise my features. Valentin was too recognizable, even with a hooded coat, so he was painting his face with a geometric black and white pattern used to foil face recognition. Imogen and Luka would do the same so Valentin wouldn’t stand out.
I watched him smear the paint across his cheek with steady fingers. He caught my gaze. “What is it?”
“Will you be able to tell if Flack makes a neural link connection to someone else while we’re there?”
Valentin nodded, his handsome face half covered in paint. “As long as I’m relatively close.” He stared at me for a long moment. “You haven’t asked how I can intercept neural links.”
I hadn’t asked, but I had hunted for the information after the first time I saw him use the ability. I was pretty sure it was experimental Kos tech, but unlike their armor, this secret was much better kept, and I hadn’t found much. “I figured you would tell me when you were ready. Or if you could.”
His grin turned teasing. “What did you find when you searched?”
I laughed and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “You know me too well. I didn’t find much. Your secret is safe.”
“I have an upgraded neural link implant that has additional chips and is more deeply integrated with my brain,” Valentin said. “It’s a benefit of being part of the imperial family.”
“Wait, Margie has one, too? Why didn’t you warn me?” I demanded. I tried to remember if I’d linked anything embarrassing in front of Valentin’s mother while I was in Koan.
Valentin smiled. “Mother rarely uses the ability. It gives her blinding headaches.”
“What about you?”
Valentin shook his head. “Mine is a newer model. If I use it too much I’ll get headaches, nausea, double vision, and nosebleeds. But that’s rare or when I overextend myself. Mostly it just makes me tired.”
“Your nose bled when I rescued you from Adams.”
He had the grace to look sheepish. “I might’ve overextended myself a bit.”
I pointed a finger at him. “Don’t do it again.”
“I will do everything in my power to keep you safe,” he said, expression hard. “You would do the same for me, so don’t even try to deny it. But I won’t be reckless, I can promise you that.”
I kissed him again. “Thank you.”
By the time the lights reached the daylight brightness, Valentin, Luka, Imogen, and I were already deep in the heart of Block 48. We all wore our hooded coats, and the three of them flanked me like guards.
I skirted around a busy early market. Mo worked the crowd, her small form flitting between unsuspecting targets. She caught sight of me and dipped her chin, letting me pass without trying to empty my pockets.
It was a moment’s work to find Ran, hidden in the shadows, watching the scene with a feigned nonchalance that did nothing to disguise his sharp attention. His eyes narrowed on my face, then flickered over my shoulder to the others, but he didn’t move from his post.
I mentally wished them both luck and moved on.
A little digging had turned up Flack’s exact address in Sector J, but rather than going there directly, I meandered my way through a dozen other Sectors first. Not only did it help my mental map, but it also made us harder to track. And as far as I could tell, we weren’t being followed and no one had tried to pickpocket us.
Flack ran a tiny little store that sold antique books. Inside, the air smelled of dust and musty paper. It looked like a volume hadn’t moved from the shelves in forty years. The man himself was stooped and wizened with age, with snow-white hair and light brown skin that was wrinkled and papery thin. But his eyes were sharp and his smile was full of secrets.
He stepped out from behind his counter with a surprisingly sprightly gait. “Welcome, welcome. How may I help you?”
“I’m looking for a particular item and a young man who called himself Ran said you might be able to help.”
“I hope that boy didn’t give you any trouble. He’s full of the impetuousness of youth.” Flack shook his head with a fond smile.
“We came to an understanding,” I said mildly.
“You must have, if he sent you to me. What are you looking for?” He waved his arms at the jam-packed bookcases. “I have a little of everything.”
“I’m looking for information.”
Flack’s expression gave nothing away. “What sort of information? My books cover every topic.”
Some information brokers preferred a roundabout conversation, but I didn’t have time for that. Either Flack would be able to help me or he wouldn’t, and it was best to figure out which it was as soon as possible—while giving away as little as I could.
I met his eyes. “I’m brokering a very sensitive deal, one that several parties would enjoy seeing fail. I would like to know if any of their agents land on CP57, so I’ll have time to prepare the appropriate countermeasures.” The lie slid from my tongue as smoo
thly as truth.
His gaze traveled over my three bodyguards, weighing exactly what those countermeasures might be. He remained unruffled. “Do you know which ships they are traveling on?”
I let a grin tug at the corner of my mouth. “If I knew that, I wouldn’t need you.”
He chuckled. “You’d be surprised, my dear.” He rubbed his chin in thought. “Many people, especially those who don’t want to be found, come to CP57 with a numerical ID tied to their ship. They don’t use their real names or identifiers.”
He gave me and the rest of my team a significant look. I met it with an even stare of my own.
When I didn’t rise to the bait, he continued, “Finding someone who doesn’t want to be found is delicate, difficult, expensive work.”
I inclined my head. He wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know. “I am aware of the value of said work, but I don’t need them found, I just need information on the likely ships coming in.” My smile sharpened. “I can find them myself.”
“Thousands of ships dock every day, and that information is heavily protected. I can find a few specific ships for you, but getting information on every ship, or even a large number of ships, is impossible.” He shook his head. “No amount of money could make that happen.”
There was very little that a vast amount of money couldn’t make happen, but since I didn’t have coffers that deep, I let it go.
He spread his hands in an inviting gesture. “Tell me what you are looking for, and I will have my people find it for you. You won’t find better information outside of Block 1.”
That’s what I was afraid of. I already had someone in the docking department who could run careful searches. I needed someone with better access, and it appeared that Flack didn’t have it.
I suppressed my disappointment and pulled out a credit stick with five hundred credits on it. “Thank you for your time. I was never here. If someone questionable starts asking about me, I’ll pay you ten times that much to bring me the information on them.” It was a decent amount of money, but not so much that it would be suspicious all on its own.
The Queen’s Triumph (Rogue Queen) Page 7