“A bunch of mercs are going to need a mechanic, right?Tada.Here I am.”She raised her hands.“The really brilliant part, I think, is that we’re on such a backwater planet, that they probably think that if you had to hire a girl mechanic, you’re a crappy bunch of mercs.”
Burn looked up from the floor of the cargo hold and laughed.“That’s pretty damn brilliant.”
Lacy beamed a smile at her.“I know, right?”
“You can’t know that they’re going to think that,” I argued.
Lacy smirked at me.“Uh, yeah, I can.”
Burn nodded.
“What are you arguing about?”Orion asked.
I scowled at the two women and shook my head.“Lacy thinks that anyone seeing that we have a female mechanic will think that we’re a really crappy mercenary team.Burn agrees with her.I said they’re wrong.No one is going to think that.”
Orion was still pondering his response when Mercer stepped out from behind him.“That’s probably the first smart thing your girl has said since I met her.”
She scowled at him.
“I don’t like that assumption, but if we can use that to our advantage, fine.”I descended the steps, Lacy behind me.
“Where’s the bag?”Mercer asked her.
“Bonded to the clothes.”She didn’t explain further.
He nodded.
I was surprised, but thankful.Maybe he was warming to her.
“Burn and I should be in charge of the cargo,” Lacy said.“Lull them into a false sense of security.You guys go and melt into the shadows or something.”
I looked down at my khaki cargo pants and lighter shirt.They weren’t quite desert camo, but there wasn’t going to be much fading into the darkness.
There weren’t many places to hide in the cargo hold.I stationed Mercer back in the hall outside of the hold.No single team member was more important than the others, but we’d just gotten the medic on board so I wanted to keep him safe and healthy for the moment.We might need him for Layla.
Orion, the man mountain, crept as far as he could into an alcove on the far side of the hold.He wasn’t hidden by a longshot, but you’d also have to look right at him to really see him.
As requested, I found a shadow near the external door, so I positioned myself there, ready to protect Lacy if there was trouble.
She glared at me and tried to shoo me back.I shook my head.
Lips pressed together, she finally nodded, then turned her back on me with a flounce.I stifled a laugh.
After one last look around the hold to ensure everyone was in place, she said, “Show time!”
Burn opened the external cargo hold door, and then, with slow and steady steps, she descended the steps and crossed to the stacks of feed bags.
“Hi.Are you here for the cargo?”Lacy said brightly.
There was a long pause.I imagined whoever was at the door was ogling her.My jaw clenched.
Burn took a step closer to Lacy, which didn’t reassure me.
I wished I’d considered a spot with a direct line of sight to the door.Knowing Lacy wasn’t fully protected, I’d rather be the one dealing with the cargo.Why had I gone along with this?
Oh, right, because she had the most experience.
I hated that.
