"Sorry!” Jake called to them from across the cafe. “Got busy back here and didn't see you were in the dark."
"That's all right, Jake. It was a nice starry night. We're almost done here anyway."
"Ah hell, I wasn't tryin’ to chase you out! Stay as long as you like. Want music?"
Still the matchmaker, Sin thought with a smothered grin. “No, really, we're leaving in a second."
"A'ight,” he muttered, sounding a little put out.
Sin turned back to Del and met his dark gaze, shaken all over again by the steady intensity there. She was suddenly glad that the light was behind her with her face mostly in shadow. “Do me a favor and drink some of the beer you've got in your hand. If you leave it untouched, I worry that Jake will get insulted. He's such a pain in the ass when he's insulted."
The corners of his lips turned up. “Yes, ma'am. Whatever you say,” he responded before taking a long swallow.
"Now you're catching on,” she said in wry amusement and rose to her feet, pulling on her jacket. “Jake, we're off now. Thanks for the spectacular view, as usual. See you in a few days."
"Okay, babe. You take care a’ y'self, now."
"Will do.” She turned back to find Del on his feet. “Ready?"
"I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into here,” he answered, his tone speculative rather than nervous. He was watching her with an expression of calm curiosity.
"You can ask me questions on the way,” she said, swinging around him to head for the exit. “As it is, we're going to have to shoot the rim to reach the Cyan star-way in time."
"Shoot the rim? That's nuts!” He matched her stride as they left the cafe and headed down the main corridor of the station towards the docking bay.
She flashed him a challenging grin. “Don't tell me you're nervous? Don't worry, I scanned your slicer. She can handle the riptide of the black hole, especially if we keep to the outer rim. We won't pick up as much velocity that way, but I think it'll be enough to get us there in time."
"Are you suicidal or just trying to get rid of me already?"
She chuckled. “Neither. Your X780 will hold together just fine.” Slanting him an assessing look out of the corner of her eye, she asked, “Ever shot the rim before?"
He shook his head, eyeing her as though she was on the edge of sanity and might tip over into a crazy fit any second now.
"Been doing it since I was twelve. Nothing to it."
"You've been slicing since you were twelve?” He blinked at her in something like amazement.
"No, ten. The first time I shot the rim, I was twelve. My brother egged me into it.” And then Kai had joined her so that she wouldn't have to do it alone.
"Who would let a ten-year-old slice?"
"My father,” she answered in curt tones, turning her face away and cutting down the side corridor that led to the docking bay.
He took the hint and didn't pursue that line of questioning, silent at her side for a moment. “So how is this going to work? What's the plan?"
"First step is to get back to home base. Once we've got you safely tucked away, then I'll make the call to the Core. That should be interesting,” she mused, thinking with relish of the expression Griffin would have on his face.
"I want to be in on that call,” he said in a hard tone, and she studied his expression coolly.
"We'll see,” she said and paused to key the door open on the docking bay.
She watched Del as they stepped through and was amused to see that his attention was immediately drawn to the Shadow slicer. He didn't wait for her either, heading with long strides towards her vessel.
When she caught up with him, he was inspecting the slicer with admiration written all over his face, running reverent hands over the sleek black surface. She watched the slow caress of his hands over the smooth skin of her ship and had a sudden image of him doing the same to her. With a swift indrawn breath, she edged away from him and cleared her throat.
"She's beautiful,” he murmured without looking up. “I don't think I recognize the model—wait, maybe I do. Hector called you the Shadow twins ... is this a Shadow ship?"
"Yes."
"But they're rare as hell! Only one company makes them and they don't make many..."
"That would be Shay Enterprises. We also design slicers."
He shot her a quick look of surprise, but his attention couldn't be diverted long. With a frown he caressed the sides of the slicer, low near the belly. “She's heavy here, and what the hell is this bulge—” he stopped abruptly and looked back up at her, his dark eyes flashing with startled dismay.
"Gun ports,” she confirmed.
He straightened slowly and his expression turned unreadable as he studied her.
She gave him a faint, cool smile. “I did say the job would be dangerous."
"I thought you wanted me to quit breaking the law. So is this a ‘do as you say, not as you do’ thing?"
"Those aren't illegal. I've got government sanction."
"How the hell...?” His brows came together in a puzzled frown and he shifted in what looked like discomfort as he stared at her.
"That's not something I'm free to discuss."
He studied her with wary eyes for another moment. “Hector said you broke his hand. Why?"
"He put it where it didn't belong,” she answered easily. The question hadn't been a totally unexpected one.
His eyes flickered over her, and she saw by the hardening in his expression that he'd jumped to the conclusion that Hector had touched her.
She let him think it. “We've got to get moving—any other questions?” she asked in a brisk tone as she moved past him to open the slicer.
"No ... wait, yes. Just one."
She turned and raised her eyebrows inquiringly. There was a gleam in his eyes that made her uneasy, especially when he planted a hand on the side of the slicer next to her shoulder and leaned close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body.
"Why the kiss?” he asked in a low rumble, and Sin felt heat build under her skin at the touch of that deep voice and the intensity in his dark gaze.
She covered it by giving him a cynical smile. “Did you want that group of sliceheads knowing your real name? We both have secrets to keep, Del. The kiss was an excuse to get close enough to keep them."
"They don't know who you really are,” he said with a wry twist of his mouth.
"And they didn't need to know your situation.” Before he could pursue that uncomfortable topic any further, she slid into the slicer away from him. “Time to go."
He hesitated a moment longer, looking down at her with indecision in his eyes, before he shook his head slightly and stepped back. With a silent breath of relief, she closed the slicer and started it up. Her motives for the kiss hadn't been nearly so detached, but she sure as hell didn't want him to know that.
Brushing her hair aside, she slid the connector into the port behind her ear and took a deep breath as the Shadow possessed her. To her, it had always felt as though she became someone else when she sliced, a creature of power and certainty. As a slicer pilot, she achieved a level of clarity and control that she didn't get in the rest of her life.
Raising the ship from its berth, she waited until she could see Del's red slicer lifting off its pad. Then she contacted him. “Del, sending you course and destination."
"Got it,” he answered, and she felt a momentary shiver to hear his deep voice filling her slicer.
Turning the Shadow, she coasted out of the bay with Del right behind her. Once outside the station, she sped up to a point that Del could match without overworking his engines and headed towards the Starkov black hole. It wasn't actually visible—light was sucked into it along with everything else—but the gravitational force of it was in clear evidence as they approached. Star systems and space debris streamed towards it in long spirals. She meant to use that massive force to slingshot around the hole, sending them with a greater velocity than their engines could create towa
rds their true destination, which was the Cyan solar system and star-way.
As they came close to the rim, she contacted Del again. “You still with me?"
"Yeah, but it looks like I won't be for long."
She heard the undercurrent of excitement behind his sarcasm and grinned. “Just stay close. This'll be fun."
He snorted in response, and she chuckled as she started the run on the rim. It didn't take long before she felt the gravitational pull of the hole. Letting it grab her, she adjusted her trajectory to skim the edge of that force. It took skill to keep the ship steady enough not to fall in too deep, but still stay close enough to get the full effect of the slingshot. But Del had proven that he had more than enough skill for this maneuver.
They shot around the edge, the pull increasing their speed until at the pinnacle, before they could be pulled irrevocably into the killer whirlpool that was the black hole, they opened up their engines to maximum and broke away.
Sin's Shadow shivered at the strain of a velocity it wasn't designed to achieve on its own, and she knew Del had to be experiencing some serious turbulence in his lesser ship.
"Still good?” she asked.
"Hell yeah,” he growled in her ear and she laughed in delight as they shot through space towards Cyan.
Chapter 3
Del was still experiencing an adrenaline high when they reached the star-way. The memory of her throaty laughter teasing his excited nerves didn't help. After that thrill ride, if they'd been face-to-face when she'd laughed like that, he'd have pounced.
He took deep, calming breaths as they glided towards the star-way station, barely seeing the massive star-way ring spinning off the portside of the station. A dark shape coming swift and close caught his attention, though, and he spun his slicer into an evasive roll with a curse. He saw Sin do the same and heard her make a similar curse in his ear.
"Kai, I will strip the skin off your bones, I swear to Sun and Stars!"
As it slowed and banked to match their course towards a huge cruiser ship, Del could see that it was the other Shadow vessel.
"Just keepin’ your reflexes fresh, Sissa."
"If they get any more fresh, they'll bleed!” she snapped, and Del heard her brother chuckle. “What the hell are you doing coming in now anyway? You should have arrived hours ago."
"I was waiting for you, of course,” he answered, his tone bright with false cheer.
"Like hell you were. If an irate husband comes blowing up your ass, I'll just let him have you."
"Rosie's not married."
"You remembered her name! I'm so proud,” she muttered with biting sarcasm, and Del choked back a laugh.
The sibling banter was postponed while they confirmed their passage with the cruiser and coasted into its tight docking bay. They were informed that the flight would commence shortly and that they should hurry to their seats.
Del settled his slicer next to the Shadows with practiced care and disconnected, sliding out to meet the twins.
"Del, this is my brother, Manakai Shay."
Her brother held out a hand with an easy grin, and Del took it. “Good to meet you, Del."
"Likewise,” he said as they shook hands.
"And since you're here, I'm guessing I can also welcome you to the company?"
"Looks like it."
"Good.” Kai gave Del's hand one last firm pump before letting go. “We could use a slicer pilot like you.” Then he slanted a teasing look down at his sister, lips compressed as though he was holding back a smile. “Right, Sinsi?"
Either she didn't see the look on her brother's face or she was ignoring it. “That's right. Let's find our seats before they get this beast moving."
She led the way towards the entrance to the seating compartments, and Del followed with her brother. A frazzled young woman met them at the entrance. She told them that the ship was being held until they were safely seated, trying to rush them forward with anxious little flaps of her hands.
Del saw the twins share an amused look, before Manakai stepped up to the woman with a charming smile. Slipping a companionable arm around her waist, he led her up the hall. By the time he had asked her name and complimented her on it, Del could see by the dazzled expression on her face that she'd totally forgotten where they were, let alone what they were supposed to be doing.
"Now that's talent,” Del muttered, as he and Sin followed.
She snorted and shot him a dry look. “He's been practicing since he was six."
He flashed her a grin. “And I'll bet neither of you went through an ugly phase."
"You'd lose. Thirteen was not a good age.” She gave a theatrical shiver, and he chuckled in response, not believing it for a second.
He noticed that they were passing the public compartments where the passengers would be lined up in row on row of seats. There were several of these compartments, ranging from the least expensive and most uncomfortable to the most expensive and spacious seating, but they passed all of them. Del had never ridden in the private compartments before and raised his eyebrows when they reached one.
"Damn, you two ride well."
"Owning a big company comes in handy for some things. Like traveling without everybody knowing about it."
Del shot her a sharp look, but she was edging past him and through the door. He followed, wondering at yet another hint that he was getting into something he didn't fully understand.
The interior distracted him from his tense thoughts. There was a full kitchen in one corner and a large bed set up on the opposite side of the compartment. In the center of the room were four plush seats facing each other in twos, with an enormous viewer against the wall showing the outside of the ship as if they were looking out a window.
"Damn,” he said again mildly, trying to figure out how much it would have cost to book this compartment.
Manakai clapped him on the shoulder as he passed. “Settle in, Del. Looks like we're on the move."
He was right. The viewer showed them pulling away from the station slowly. Sin had already claimed a seat close to the viewer, and Del sat next to her as Kai flopped himself in the one opposite his sister with a weary sigh.
Sin leaned forward and touched the viewer as she flashed her brother an amused look. “Rosie wear you out?"
His slow smile was one of smug satisfaction, and Del was both amused and irritated to see it. The Core hadn't left him much time for that kind of satisfaction.
"Damn straight she did, bless her kinky little heart,” Manakai drawled, and Del chuckled.
Sin frowned at Del as she sat back, the viewer now showing the star-way ring. “Don't encourage him."
"Think he needs encouragement?” he retorted, and her frown changed to a grin.
"Good point.” Then she gestured at the viewer. “Looks like we're about to make the run. Strap in kids."
Manakai rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mom,” he muttered, but shouldered into the straps, buckling them across his chest.
Del strapped in as well, watching their approach to the ring. The ring was spinning faster and faster as it built up energy sucked from the sun of this solar system. Its twin did the same on the opposite side of the sun, trapping the massive energy of the star between them. Eventually, it would build up enough energy to create the wormhole that allowed ships to travel swiftly from one part of the galaxy to another. Only the suns provided a plentiful enough source of energy to create stable wormholes, but that meant the expanses of space between these star-ways had to be traveled by slower means. Some of these slower means were heavily traveled and policed, but many were not. These were the off-lanes that Sin had mentioned.
There was a bright, multi-colored flash as the ring reached its critical velocity and a wormhole formed within its circle. The hole itself was difficult to see, the distortion of space and time disorienting to the eye, but it seemed to lead directly into the sun.
There was a deep thrumming under Del's heels as the cruiser's engines kicked into full power and
sped them towards the ring. Only the more massive ships were capable of withstanding the shock of entering and exiting a wormhole. Smaller ships simply blew themselves to pieces, which is why they were using the cruiser to transport themselves and the slicers.
The shifting blur of the hole swiftly expanded on the viewer until they felt the jolt of entry. Then the viewer went black. Sensors of any kind were useless in wormholes and ships flew blind, trusting in the rings themselves to have provided the correct destination.
Manakai released his straps with a flick and a shrug, then slouched down in his seat and lifted his feet, eyeing his sister with raised eyebrows. “Scooch,” he demanded, and she glared at him.
"These seats have footrests,” she said, but he waved that off as she moved over to let him prop his feet on her seat.
"They aren't long enough. Wake me when we get there.” Reclining his seat, he let out a deep sigh and seemed instantly to fall asleep.
"Brothers,” she grumbled, and Del snorted in amusement.
"Tell me about it."
She gave him a look he couldn't interpret before unstrapping and getting to her feet. “You want anything to eat or drink?"
"No. I'm good. Thanks.” Over his shoulder he watched her pour herself a drink—ice water, it looked like—and then watched her walk back to her seat. He was having trouble not watching her. That was going to be a problem if she was his boss.
"So, Del,” she began as she set her glass in the holder on the armrest, “tell me your life's story."
"I thought you knew all about me."
Her eyes flickered away from him for a moment. “I know what I've been told. I'd rather hear it from you."
He shrugged, a little uncomfortable. Talking about himself wasn't something that he normally did. “Not much to tell."
She gave him a wry smile that twisted his insides and made him want to taste her mouth again. “Let me help. You were born. Then...” She let her voice trail off and tilted her head towards him.
Sunscapes Trilogy Book 1: Last Chance Page 4