Stowaway

by Becky Black

  Fuck this bullshit. He couldn’t leave Raine. He hadn’t figured him out yet.

  * * *

  Raine sent Warner with Sim and Case to accompany Captain Dryden, Kit, and Gracie to the courthouse. Once they were off the ship, he brought Taylor from the brig to the airlock, Knox and Munro on his wings. The Saira police waited there, and after an exchange of signatures, Taylor became their problem. The cops would take him to the courthouse, and the hearing would get underway.

  Raine estimated he had an hour. He had to attend the court himself, in case the lawyers called him to give evidence, but he had some time before he had to be there. Time to do what he needed to do.

  “Dismissed,” Raine said to Knox and Munro. “Go sign out and take your shore leave.”

  They thanked him and hurried off to the bunk room. When they left, Raine went to his cabin and packed a duffel bag. Spacers traveled light. So did Kit, Raine thought, picking up the duffel Kit had packed earlier. He didn’t have much in the way of possessions. Before he left, he turned down the heat, which Kit must have left on high enough for Raine’s comfort. No sense in wasting the ship’s power.

  The door closed behind him, and he rested his hand on it for a moment, then he strode off.

  Right into Jon Parker, coming back into officer country, probably coming off duty and eager to get off the ship and enjoy the delights Saira offered spacers on liberty. They could have passed each other with only a glower, their usual habit lately, but instead Raine stopped.

  “Parker,” he said, making him stop and turn. Raine held out his hand. “I acted like a jerk. I’d appreciate it if you accepted my apology.”

  Parker stared at him and mechanically shook the offered hand. “Accepted.” He frowned at Raine, at the two bags. “Chief—”

  “No hard feelings.” Raine hefted the bags and walked away feeling lighter. Good to clear the air. At the airlock, he checked out with Celani, on guard duty.

  “Spending the night ashore?” she asked, looking at his bags.

  He smiled. “Just some laundry.” He wanted to say good-bye properly to all of his team, but he had to act casual. It hurt. But he’d left messages for them to read once they realized he wasn’t coming back.

  Half an hour after leaving the ship, he arrived at the courthouse. He’d made a stop on the way and no longer carried the duffels. Taking a seat on a bench, he waited. Only a few minutes after he arrived, the courtroom doors opened, and he rose to greet the captain as she emerged with Kit, Gracie, and the escort Raine had sent.

  “Oh hello, Chief,” Dryden said. “You won’t be called to testify. Taylor pleaded guilty. The judge clarified a few points in the witness statements, and it’s all over. He got two years.”

  “That’s good news,” Raine said. Kit and Gracie certainly looked relieved. He stood with his arm around her and a wary expression on his face, looking at Raine. He knows something’s up, Raine thought. Probably worried it’s going to mess up his personal plan. As if he needed any help messing up a plan.

  “If you’ll excuse me a moment.” Dryden headed for the bathrooms.

  “Okay,” Raine said, turning to his security people. “Sim, stick with me. The rest of you can go get some lunch.”

  Warner looked somewhat uncertain, but she nodded and spoke to Case. “Come on, then, I’m buying the first round. See you later, Boss.”

  “See you, Kate.”

  Kit frowned. “What’s going on?” he asked when the escort left.

  “Can’t imagine what you mean.” Raine turned to Gracie. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded. With tears in her eyes, she turned to Kit and hugged him. “Gotta go do my exam. And I never would have dared without you.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, Kit. I love you. You’re the best.”

  “Thanks, Gracie. Love you too, sweetheart. Knock ’em dead.”

  She let him go with a last peck on the cheek and turned to Raine, scrubbing her sleeve across her eyes. “Take care of him, Chief.”

  “That’s my job.”

  She winked, patted her pocket, then ran, blowing him a kiss and giving a last wave good-bye.

  “Gracie!” Kit called, plunging after her, but Raine grabbed his arm.

  “Let her go.”

  “What’s going on?” Kit struggled out of his grip. “You can’t let her—”

  “Here.” Raine handed him a piece of paper. “Docking bay number. Codes for the doors. Go.”

  “What?”

  “Now, Kit! Before they come for you. Go!”

  Kit gasped and responded to the urgency in Raine’s voice.

  “How do I get out of here?”

  “Down that way.” Raine pointed out a corridor. “And to the right. There’s an emergency exit. I’ll follow you as soon as I can.”

  “Follow me?”

  “Go!”

  Raine wanted to grab him and toss him down the corridor. Wanted to yell at him to stop arguing and run. Kit stopped arguing. But he didn’t run yet. He threw his arms around Raine’s neck.

  “Never forget me, Daniel Raine.” Kit kissed him hard. Saying good-bye, Raine knew. The sex this morning had been a good-bye too. He’d like to keep on saying good-bye to Kit for some time yet.

  “Boss.” Sim spoke in a warning tone, and Raine pushed Kit off.

  “Go!”

  This time he went.

  Raine turned to look at Sim, who was watching the corridor. It had become packed, a couple of the other courthouses letting out for lunch recess. A party of three people emerged from the milling crowd, two of them in the uniform of the local police. Sim, taller than most people, must have seen them approaching. Had they seen Kit leaving? They weren’t running to catch him, so probably not.

  The captain returned before the cops reached them. “Oh, we seem to have lost a few of our party.”

  “Miss Maddison went to take her food handler exam, ma’am. And I dismissed the rest of the security detail.”

  “And Mr. Miller?”

  “Went to the bathroom.”

  Raine glanced at Sim, whose face remained utterly still. Sim said nothing.

  “There they are.” Oh, great, Sullivan, the ore company’s onboard lawyer. She wore a suit and a smirk.

  “You Captain Dryden? Of the Light of Dawn out of Drexler?” one of the cops asked. Her name badge read Ramsey.

  “That’s me.”

  “Got a warrant here for a Christopher Miller who’s in your custody.”

  “Where is he?” Sullivan demanded.

  “Ah, ma’am,” Ramsey said to her. “Thanks for your assistance. We can handle it from here.”

  “You assisted the police, Ms. Sullivan?” Dryden said. “How civic minded of you. Mr. Miller’s in the bathroom. I’m sure he’ll only be a moment.”

  Sullivan lost her smug expression. Raine hoped she didn’t make trouble for the captain afterward. But he didn’t worry too much. Dryden could handle anything these clowns tried to pull.

  “Better go fetch him,” Ramsey said after a moment. Her male colleague crossed the hall to the men’s bathroom. Raine affected the most innocent expression he could muster. The captain began using her Link, muttering about meetings. Sim continued his carved-out-of-stone act. Only Sullivan displayed any sign of agitation.

  “Well?” she demanded when the cop came back out empty-handed.

  “Nobody in there.”

  “What?” Raine said. “But I saw him go in there myself. He hasn’t come out.”

  “There’s a window in there,” the cop said. “Must have slipped out.”

  “I’ll put out an APB on him,” Ramsey said. “We’ll soon pick him up.”

  “Wait! What about the tracker?” Sullivan grinned triumphantly. “He has a tracking device. Can you find him using that?”

  Dryden frowned, and when she began to speak, Raine feared the worst. Until he heard what she had to say.

  “Yes. He wears a tracking device. As a stowaway and a fugitive, we needed to keep tabs on him.”

/>   “Wears.” Raine wanted to cheer at her use of the present tense. He hadn’t told the captain the plan, but when it came to uptake speed, he’d rarely met anyone faster.

  “That makes it easy,” Ramsey said. “What’s its frequency?”

  “I have it right here.” Raine took out his Link. Sullivan looked dubious, clearly suspicious of them being so helpful, but she could hardly protest at cooperation. Raine sent the frequency to the cops’ Links.

  “Great, got it. Okay, we’ll go get him. Thanks.”

  “Do let me know when you find him,” Dryden said as they left.

  Sullivan glared at Raine and Sim. “Aren’t you two going to help?”

  “Ms. Sullivan.” Dryden sounded shocked. “Surely you know my security people have no jurisdiction to pursue or detain anyone on this station.” She smiled, matching Sullivan’s earlier smugness easily. “I think you’ll find Mr. Miller is no longer our problem.”

  “You’ll pay for this, Dryden. Whatever scheme you’re cooking up, you’ll pay.” Sullivan turned on her heel and rushed off.

  “Charming woman,” Dryden said. “Reminds me of a dog I used to own. We had to have it put down in the end. Now, I need to get back to the ship.”

  “I have some errands to run, ma’am,” Raine said. “Mr. Sim will accompany you.”

  “Thank you, Chief.”

  She knew, he thought, as she offered her hand. She knew she’d never see him again.

  “Been an honor, Captain.” He turned to Sim and held out his hand. “And you, Sim. All the team.”

  Sim didn’t look surprised, but he never did. He shook Raine’s hand. “Boss.”

  With Dryden preceding Sim, the two of them walked away. Raine watched them until they turned a corner. He’d miss them and the Dawn. Just a haulage company it might be, but in the end, even Kit had started to understand the bond between shipmates.

  But Raine’s time on the Light of Dawn ended today.

  * * *

  Kit whirled around when the hatch into the ship opened. He reached for something to defend himself with but sagged with relief when Raine walked in and closed the hatch behind him.

  “The damn controls are locked out!”

  “I didn’t want you flying off without me,” Raine said. “So if you’ll strap in and try to shut the hell up for two minutes, we’ll get out of here.”

  Shock took care of the shutting the hell up part, and Raine sitting down at the controls and starting the engines took care of the strapping in. Kit scrambled into the copilot’s seat and fastened the straps as the ship’s engines powered up. Okay, he’d shut up until they were safely away from the station. But then Raine better have answers.

  “Departure permission granted,” Raine reported. “Space doors opening.”

  Point of no return, Kit thought, seeing the doors ahead of them split and part, revealing the star-studded blackness beyond. A few moving lights were other ships on their way in and out of Saira’s docking facilities. Their ship lifted slowly from the deck, hovering on force fields, while Raine used the thrusters to maneuver them out of the door.

  Raine powered the ship away from the station’s hull. Kit gasped when the darkness swallowed them up as if they’d plunged into the sea. A deep ocean of blackness.

  “You okay?” Raine said, sparing him a quick glance.

  “I’ve never been on such a little ship before.” Different even from standing so close to the observation deck window. So much more exposed. He fancied he could feel the cold of space seeping through the hull. A much thinner hull than the one on the Dawn.

  “Clearing station’s gravity well,” Raine said. “Course laid in. Engaging autopilot. Engaging main drive.”

  The ship’s vibration lessened as the thrusters cut off and the smoother, quieter main drive kicked in. The reassuring hum of the air system continued, but otherwise the ship fell silent. Kit turned from the stars to Raine.

  “Okay, pal, start talking. What the fuck is going on?”

  “Right this minute, the Saira police are searching for you. They’re following your tracker data.”

  “But I’m not wearing the tracker.” Kit glanced at his wrist as if he had to check it wasn’t there.

  “I know. Gracie had it.”

  “What?” Kit tried to jump to his feet, forgetting he had his seat belt on. “Fuck,” he muttered, undoing the belt and standing up, the gesture drained of its dramatic effect. “You shouldn’t have involved Gracie. If she gets in trouble—”

  “Calm down.” Raine loosened his seat belt and stood. “All she did was shove it under the seat cushion of one of the station cabs.” He glanced at his watch. “About now she’s starting her exam, and the cops are chasing a taxi around the station.”

  “Oh. Well. Okay then.” He folded his arms when Raine took a step toward him, and the gesture made Raine divert to the two duffel bags sitting on the deck.

  “I brought you some clothes.”

  “I know.” Kit had searched both bags already. “You also brought Jeff’s money.”

  “It’s your money. Let’s unpack and get something to eat. I’m starved.”

  “Dare I ask how many bedrooms this ship has?” He already knew the answer. The tiny ship had only this control room, an engineering space, a combined kitchen and living space and one bedroom. A hatch in the floor of the control room led to a hold full of supplies and several spare fuel cells. Raine must have been sending messages to arrange all this as soon as they’d come into communications range of Saira a week before they arrived.

  Raine stopped. He lost the air of triumph he’d displayed since coming onboard. “Kit, if this isn’t what you want—”

  “I never asked for it.”

  “You didn’t have to. I love you.”

  “So you decided you knew what’s best?”

  Raine’s face grew afraid then. Afraid Kit truly didn’t want him to come. Didn’t want him.

  “Do you want to go back?”

  “What?”

  “There’s still time.” He put the bag down. “Nobody even has to know I left. You could take me back, leave me, and go alone. The ship is yours.”

  “You’d do that? You’d let me take the ship? It must have cost you everything you have.” Raine shrugged. Shrugged about the idea of giving up all his money. “Fuck it, Raine, you drive me crazy. Who the hell are you? What kind of man?”

  Raine shrugged again. “I’m just me. I want you to be safe, Kit. I think I can keep you safe, if you’ll let me come with you.”

  “But this solves nothing. It makes it worse. We’re both on the run.”

  “Together. Whatever we face, we face it together. If you want that.”

  Did he? Or did he want to go out there into the darkness alone?

  “The fact I have no clue how to fly this ship is kind of an issue,” Kit admitted.

  Raine grinned. “Consider me your pilot.”

  “Mmm, role-playing. Sexy.” Kit sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Dan, you won’t ever forget I didn’t ask you to do this, will you?”

  “No, Kit, I won’t. As long as you never do either.”

  Kit smiled weakly. “A volunteer.”

  “I’ve always been one.” He picked up the bag again. “You ready to eat?”

  “I’m not hungry. But my question about the sleeping arrangements still stands.”

  Raine grinned. “Let’s go figure it out.”

  * * *

  Raine woke, definitely hungry and rather cold, alone in the bed. Wrapping one of the blankets around himself, he left the bedroom and stepped into the control room.

  “Kit?”

  Kit waved from the pilot’s seat, only his hand visible over the high back. Raine walked over there, the deck chilling his bare feet. He found Kit lounging in the seat, naked. Raine chuckled at the sight.

  “Bare-assed among the stars, huh?”

  “It’s strangely liberating. I might be naked the whole time on here. It’s not as if anyone is going to peek in the wi
ndow.”

  “I’m trying to come up with reasonable objections to your plan, and I can’t find a single one.”

  “You, meanwhile, will walk about in a fur coat, I suppose.”

  “I brought my thermal underwear.” Raine sat in the other seat, and Kit at once came and straddled his knees. Raine wrapped his arms and the blanket around Kit, cocooning them both in its warmth.

  “Sharing body heat might be enough to keep me warm.”

  “I got lots of ways to keep you warm.” He took Raine’s face in his hands, bent down to kiss him. When he came up for air, his face was flushed, eyes bright. But he made some effort to control himself, pushed back, hands on Raine’s shoulders, holding himself away from Raine’s body.

  “Okay, I have to ask,” Kit said. “Do you have a plan? I mean beyond ‘run!’ No complaints, it’s worked fine so far. But is there more?”

  “Did you have a plan?”

  “I barely got as far as ‘run.’ You know I’m not the master planner.”

  Raine grinned. “I’ve noticed.”

  “Watch it, pal. You have to sleep sometimes.”

  “I do have a plan. I’m going to take you home. My home,” he added quickly when he saw some alarm in Kit’s eyes. “Ryesh. My home planet.”

  “It won’t take the authorities long to figure out your home planet is a likely place.”

  “True. But even if they find us, they can’t just grab you. There’d have to be extradition proceedings, which can take years. If they get too close, I’ll take you out to hide in the desert.”

  “Oh, lovely. Licking the dew off rocks and eating bugs, huh?”

  “No. I’d teach you how to live out there. In fact the first thing we’ll do is prepare a bolt hole, in case we need it one day.”

  He pulled Kit closer again, and Kit yielded against him, his cock hardening between them. Raine’s was trapped under Kit and would be painful in a moment as it filled too. Damn, he wouldn’t get lunch until dinner time if they kept this up.