Double Down (The Drift Book 1)

by Susan Hayes

  “Where he went, I went. At least until I was old enough to be left on board by myself. To put it mildly, I had a very colorful and varied upbringing. I know the inside of every dive bar, pleasure house, and gambling den between here and the far end of the galaxy.”

  “How many worlds have you been to?”

  “I’ve lost count. Some of them don’t really count since I never left the port area. Often, I never got closer than orbit. It was just the two of us for a long time, going where the cash and contracts led us.”

  “So that was your life? Flying around the galaxy with your father?”

  She nodded. “Pretty much. Later on, my brother joined us, but his mother never let him stay for long.”

  “You have a brother? You’ve never mentioned him.”

  “Half-brother, actually. Royan. Dad never told me about him, and I had no idea he even existed until we were both twelve or so. That was when his mother finally told him who his father was and where to find him.”

  “Your father never told you that you had a brother?” Kit asked incredulously.

  “He wasn’t allowed to see Royan. Once she found out about me, Royan’s mother didn’t want my dad near her or her son. I don’t think he knew how to tell me about it, so he didn’t.”

  “Then suddenly you’re twelve and discover you have a sibling? How’d that go? Is he half-Pheran, too?”

  “It was weird at first, but nothing about my childhood was ever really normal. Royan was a much nicer surprise than some others I can recall. My brother is full human. I’m the only blue one in the family.”

  Kit wandered back to her and held up a gooey, freshly thawed strawberry between his fingers. “Snack?”

  She held out her hand, and he shook his head. “No sense in both of us getting messy. Open your mouth, little one. I’ll feed it to you.”

  She felt a little foolish but opened her mouth. Kit fed her the fruit gently, and she couldn’t resist sucking on his fingers as he did it. His eyes blazed with heat, and she thought she heard a hint of groan roll up from his chest.

  “Do that again, and I’ll feed you every damned berry we’ve got right here and now. Screw the pancakes.”

  She pretended to pout. “You said you’d make me pancakes. I have to say that I am really enjoying watching you cook. The view is pretty spectacular.”

  “The view, huh?” Kit asked. He was enjoying their conversation, but something told him that Zura was keeping the topic light on purpose. Whatever happened between her and Vin, she wasn’t in a hurry to talk about it.

  “Oh, yeah. You have to know you look good dressed like that. Snug pants and those form-fitting shirts. Why do you think I came here so often in the beginning, before I knew you? The food isn’t that good. I come for the view, and I’m not the only one who does.” She leered and waggled her brows at him and then burst out laughing.

  “Please don’t tell Luke that. His ego doesn’t need the boost.”

  “No, it really doesn’t,” she agreed once she stopped laughing.

  “Tell me about Vin, little one. I need to know who we’re dealing with.”

  Zura sighed. “I should start by telling you that my dad wasn’t the most law abiding of men. He did what was necessary to keep me fed and clothed, and the Sun Sprite flying. Sometimes that meant black market runs and even outright smuggling. To find that kind of work you needed contacts, and that led to making friends with people of…let’s say they were of dubious character. One of them was a guy named Vin Collins. He was only a few years older than I was, and he talked a good game. Vin ran with a rough crowd, but he managed to send a fair bit of business Dad’s way. I’m still not sure how it happened, but somewhere along the way, Vin and I sort of fell into a relationship.”

  “Your father let you go out with someone he knew was a criminal?” Kit asked, trying, and failing, to keep the judgment out of his voice.

  “I’m more than old enough to be with whoever the hell I want to, and there weren’t a whole lot of options at the time. We lived a rough life, and I kept even rougher company. It was the only way I knew how to be.

  “It wasn’t long after we got together that my dad died. At first, Vin was there for me, helping me deal with the aftermath. I was in a daze and barely able to remember to eat and sleep, never mind fulfill Dad’s contractual obligations and deal with his debts. It took me a while to start noticing things were off. I thought Vin was taking care of me. Turns out, he was only looking out for himself. The bastard.”

  “What was he doing? And what happened to your father? I knew you lost him, but you’ve never mentioned how it happened.”

  “There’s not much to tell, really. It happened less than a year ago. He made the mistake of accusing the wrong man of cheating him at cards, and it got him killed. They caught the guy who did it a few days later. He wasn’t smart enough to even get rid of the murder weapon. It was an open and shut case.”

  “I’m sorry, Zura. That must have been terrible to deal with. Luke and I have lost a lot of friends over the years, but we always had each other to lean on. You were alone.” He walked away from the stove and straight to where she was sitting, gathering her into his arms and tucking her head beneath his chin.

  She snuggled into him with a gentle sigh that made him want to keep her sheltered like this for the rest of her life.

  “It was the worst time of my life. Royan offered to help, but I knew he wanted to be on his own, so I didn’t tell him how bad things really were. If I hadn’t been so messed up, I would have noticed what Vin was doing sooner. Contracts started showing up with his name on them instead of mine. He told me it was a clerical error, and he would get it cleared up. He didn’t. I went to pay for some parts and discovered there wasn’t enough money in the account to cover the purchase even though there should have been. I started checking into things and discovered Vin had arranged for payments to go to him, not to me.

  “He had all sorts of excuses, but eventually, I stopped believing anything he said. He kept asking me if my dad had an insurance policy. He started getting obsessed over it. Like I was secretly hiding a fortune somewhere, and the whole living hand-to-mouth thing was a ruse. I think he thought he could get more money out of me, which was a laugh. All I inherited from my dad was the Sun Sprite, his contracts, and a whole lot of debt.”

  “How did it end?”

  “Badly. He came home one night, drunk out of his head and angry. He kept raving on about my inheritance. He wasn’t making any sense, and I told him so. Things got heated, and well, he hurt me. Badly. I don’t remember much. The reports say I stunned him and dragged myself off the ship. I woke up in a medical center, and once they let me go, I left for good. Royan flew with me for a while, but eventually he went his own way, and I wound up out on the Drift.”

  “That son of a bitch. If Vin ever comes near you again, I’ll do more than stun his sorry ass. All that, and now he sends guys to try and get you to meet with him? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  She shrugged. “He was never one for subtlety. His skill set is more along the lines of intimidation and chest thumping until he gets his way. I’m not going back, though. I left all that behind and started over again. No more smuggling. No illegal cargo. No Vin.”

  “He’s definitely not going for subtle. Then again, if Luke hadn’t followed you last night, this might have all gone unnoticed by anyone but you. Vin miscalculated, though. You’re not alone. You’ve got us in your corner.”

  “I do.” She lifted her head and kissed the corner of his mouth.

  “You’re cuddling on a countertop? I’m pretty sure that’s some kind of health violation. And while I hate to break up this touching moment, you’re burning my breakfast,” Luke said as he wandered into the kitchen.

  “The pancakes! Veth!” Kit cursed and kissed Zura one last time before dashing back across the kitchen to rescue breakfast.

  “Now that I’ve got him out of the way—good morning, gorgeous.” Luke had a hunch he would find his broth
er cooking, but he hadn’t expected to find Zura there. Since she was, he was more than happy to claim his brother’s place. He kissed her gently and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

  “Good morning to you, too. That was very smooth, by the way,” she said and kissed him back

  He winked at her, pleased to see her smiling. “I thought so, too.”

  “What did I tell you about complimenting him, Zura?” Kit asked.

  “I hope he told you to do it often and with great enthusiasm,” Luke said as he stole another kiss.

  “Not even close,” she replied.

  “If you’ve been badmouthing me, then you and I are going to be having words later.”

  Kit finished rescuing the pancakes and turned around, a spatula still in his hand. “I said nothing that wasn’t true. And who said anything about me cooking your breakfast? These are for Zura and I. You want food, Luke, you can make it yourself.”

  “I thought you said he was banned from cooking?” Zura asked with a snicker.

  “You told her about that? So, that’s how it’s going to be, huh? In that case, I’ve got some great pictures of Kit after he lost a bet to Cyn. He looks totally adorable with bows in his hair and this fantastic shade of lipstick she picked out for him. Hang on, I’ll pull them up.”

  “Don’t you fraxxing dare. You swore to me you deleted those things years ago,” Kit grumbled.

  “I lied. There’s no way I’m giving up my best blackmail material.”

  “Asshole,” Kit swore at him.

  “Love you too. If you send some of those pancakes this way, I might be persuaded not to show Zura how good you look in pink.”

  “’Fine, I’ll make you breakfast. Zura, don’t you believe him; I have never worn anything pink.”

  “He’s right. My mistake. I’m pretty sure the lipstick was more of a mauve. Shall I pull up the photos and confirm?”

  Zura was laughing so hard her cheeks were flushed, and there were tears rolling down her cheeks. “This is how you two treat each other when I’m not around?”

  “Yeah. We can only abuse each other when we’re off-duty. The rest of the time, we need to be a united front. You think you can cope with that?” Luke asked. While he talked, he coiled an indigo colored lock of her hair around his finger. He had always been fascinated by her multi-hued hair, and now he was finally free to play with it, and any other part of her she wanted him to.

  “Honestly? I like it. My brother and I never really knew each other well enough to tease each other like that. If he had stuck around, maybe we would have gotten there eventually.”

  “Wait, brother? What brother?” Luke asked. He was damned sure he hadn’t heard about Zura having any siblings.

  “See what you miss when you sleep in? She’s got a younger brother named Royan. I meant to ask, how much younger? Did he grow up on a station, too?’ Kit said.

  “Royan’s three months younger than I am, and no, he wasn’t a station kid. He was born on Earth, a true Terran. His mom didn’t want him to have anything to do with Dad. She hated him, actually. Because of me.”

  “You were born three months apart?” Luke sputtered. “Gee, I wonder why she didn’t like him.”

  Zura nodded. “Exactly. My dad had some good qualities, but an appreciation for the concept of monogamy wasn’t one of them. He showed up a few days after Royan’s birth with me in his arms, and Roy’s mother threatened to shoot him where he stood. At least that’s the story I always heard.”

  Luke blinked. “Interesting family you have.”

  “Believe me, I know.”

  “So, where is your brother now? Should we expect a visit at some point when he finds out you’re with us and decides to check out his sister’s new boyfriends?” Kit asked.

  “Last time we talked, he was crewing on a long haul freighter for one of the corporations. I don’t expect him to visit. Like I said, we’re not that close. We spent too many years apart growing up. We keep in contact, but we have very separate lives. Besides, I’m a grown woman. He doesn’t get a say in my love life one way or another.”

  Luke shook his head. “You’re wrong. Brothers do get a say. It can be blatantly ignored, but they get a say.”

  “I’d like to see you try and tell Cyn who she can and cannot date. You could book a cage match and sell tickets,” she replied then added, “and who said I was with the two of you? Two kisses and an offer of a dinner date that we haven’t actually had yet hardly constitutes being with someone.” She wasn’t sure she believed that, but it was fun to tease them. It was too soon to know what this was, or how it was going to go. With her luck, she wouldn’t have long before this ride was over and their friendship burned up on re-entry.

  “You’re with us,” both men spoke at once.

  Zura couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. “Did you two rehearse that?”

  “We didn’t need to. There was only one answer to your question. We didn’t kiss you on a whim, little one. We knew what we were doing.” Kit turned around and came over to join them with two plates full of pancakes in his hands. They were smothered in strawberries and whipped cream, and Zura’s stomach rumbled at the sight.

  Kit handed one of the dishes to his brother and kept one for himself. “Hey, where’s mine?” she asked nodding to the plates.

  “Right here,” Luke said, offering her the first bite of his breakfast.

  “First, Kit, now you. I can feed myself, you know,” Zura protested.

  “We know. But this is more fun,” Luke said as he wiggled the tempting morsel in front of her.

  “Not to mention, fewer dishes this way,” Kit pointed out as he took a bite of his pancake.

  “And there goes my appetite,” Cyn groaned as she walked into the kitchen and spotted the three of them.

  “Morning, Cyn,” Zura said, pulling back from Luke’s offering to look at their sister. Cyn Armas was everything Zura had dreamed of being when she was a girl. She had long legs, a perfect body, and the face of an angel. She wore her hair in a short pixie cut that somehow only enhanced her features, and not even the jagged scar that ran along the right side of her jaw detracted from her beauty. On top of that, Cynder was one of the brightest, most capable women Zura had ever met, and she had confidence to spare.

  “Good morning. Don’t mind me, I’m just here for coffee. I didn’t mean to interrupt you adorable lovebirds.” Cyn clasped a hand over her heart, fluttered her dark lashes, and smirked at the three of them.

  “Something wrong with the coffee in your room, Cyn?” Kit asked.

  “Yeah, there isn’t any. I forgot to restock with all the chaos last night. You can go back to your breakfast seduction scene in a few minutes. Oh, and Kit, I’m glad to see you’re in such a good mood this morning. It’s a big improvement over last night.” She waited for a half a beat before adding. “I fraxxing told you so. Next time, save us all some time and don’t argue with me.”

  Luke chuckled. “You’re going to pay for that one, Cyn.”

  “I know, but it’ll be worth it.” She grinned as she filled her coffee mug.

  “Zura, one word of advice before I go. Don’t let Luke cook you anything. I like you, little blue, and I’d hate to lose you to food poisoning.” Cyn gave them a jaunty wave, turned on her booted heel, and headed back through the door she had entered by.

  “Don’t listen to her. I’ve never poisoned anyone,” Luke said.

  Kit lifted a forkful of syrupy pancake to her lips. “He’s right. No one has ever eaten anything he’s tried to cook. Too burnt to even identify.”

  “I might not be able to cook, but I was gifted with many other talents, thank you,” Luke retorted.

  She took Kit’s offering and moaned in pleasure at the flavor exploding on her tongue. When it was gone, she dipped her finger into Luke’s whipped cream and sucked it off her fingertip before answering. “I can’t cook that well either. I’m a better mechanic than I am a cook.”

  Both men watched her, rivet
ed as she licked the cream from her finger.

  “Damn. That was…” Kit said.

  “Totally,” Luke agreed.

  Zura scooped a bit of whipped cream and strawberry juice from both their plates onto her index fingers and held out a hand to each of them. “Your turn. If you get to feed me, I get to feed you, too.”

  Kit moved a split-second faster than Luke, but a second later both had drawn her fingers into their mouths. Sparks of arousal danced along her skin, and heat pooled between her thighs at the sensation. Re’veth. If this was how it felt to be with two men, then she was in deep trouble. The kind of trouble a girl could happily drown in.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Zura sat at her favorite table at the Nova and sorted through the messages she had received. She had contacted everyone she trusted, looking for information on Vin. Her inquiries into his recent activities weren’t producing much in the way of useful information. All she knew for sure was that he had somehow managed to become a man to be reckoned with in the months since she had left. She couldn’t understand how that had happened, given that the Vin Collins she knew wasn’t blessed with an overabundance of brainpower or charisma.

  “If Vin’s a man of influence and power now, then standards among the criminal element have plummeted since I left,” she muttered to herself as she scanned a message from yet another contact. There was nothing in it that she didn’t already know. No one had any idea why, but Vin hadn’t lost interest in her during the time she had been gone.

  She had also figured out how Vin had tracked her to the far edge of civilized space. It was all because of the vaccine she had delivered during the cosmic storm. At the time, it had never occurred to her that what she’d done would be of interest to anyone beyond the Drift. It probably wouldn’t have been more than a footnote in local history, except that the corporations had decided to pay for the repairs to her ship and given her a nice chunk of bonus pay. It was great publicity for them, and she had been too sick at the time to do more than say thank you to the corporate reps who had shown up to give her the news.