Her eyes—a deep green a man could get lost in—were hazy with exhaustion.
Focus, Dax.This wasn’t the time to be noticing shit like that.
“You’re on theFortuna,” I replied.“And I’d really like to know why.”
I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed over my chest, seeking a balance between intimidating the crap out of her and letting her walk all over me.
“I needed a place to hide.”
Of all the things I’d expected her to say, that wasn’t one of them.“And you chose my ship?”
She nodded, her gaze holding mine.
“Why?And how?”The ship had been locked down tight.Hadn’t it?
“Some guys broke into my apartment.They chased me and I ran.”Her voice wavered.
A protective instinct that was wildly unexpected—and completely inappropriate given the situation—flared up.I tamped it down violently.This conversation was about my ship, not her private life.
“What did they want?”Dammit.That wasnotwhat I’d intended to ask.
“I don’t know.”Lacy wrapped her arms around her middle.“They said something about a map, but I have no idea what they were talking about.One minute I’m about to eat dinner...”She glanced around, her brow furrowing.
I pointed to the container of noodles on the floor.
She nodded.“I was about to eat dinner and the next thing I knew, two thugs knocked on my door.They pushed their way in, using my neighbor as a shield.So I ran, looking for a place to hide.”She shivered.
An attack shed new light on her ripped clothing, but her story was missing some pieces.That didn’t stop me from asking, “How did you get away?”My voice was low and growly.
“I threw knives at them, then jumped out the window.”
She said the words so matter-of-factly, I waited a few beats for the punchline.
When she remained silent, my jaw dropped.Holy shit, she was serious.
“You what?Are you hurt?”
What was I saying?Of course she was hurt—she’d jumped out of a fucking window.She was virtually passed out when I entered the bridge—completely unaware of her surroundings—and had flinched when I touched her shoulder.
She was either brave or stupid.Maybe both.And now she was my problem.“All right, Lacy, let’s go.”
“How do you know my name?”Something like fear flared in her eyes before she shoved it down and raised her chin.
People often feared me, rightfully so.The space corps had spent serious money and time breaking me down and building me back up, creating a dangerous soldier.But seeing fear in her eyes when she looked at me?Unacceptable.
I gestured toward her bag.“It’s on your ident card.‘Lacy Dupree.Mechanic.’”
Some of the tension in her shoulders eased, but not enough.I wished Mercer, the team’s medic, was here.His bedside manner was miles better than mine.But he was off dealing with family stuff.He was one of the later rendezvous scheduled after we picked up the cargo.
At least, that had been the plan.
Sparing another glance at the stars that weren’t supposed to be surrounding my ship, I knew that I had to ensure she was healthy before I could get answers from her.
I stood.“C’mon, let’s go.”
Lacy tensed and stared up at me.“Go where?”
“Med bay.”
