But before I could knock, I heard a distorted voice.Was she communicating with someone?Had she smuggled someone else onto my ship?
Was her story about a home invasion just a complicated con to steal theFortuna?
Yeah, that wasn’t fucking happening.
My blaster was still in its holster.I reached back and released the strap that secured it in case I needed to draw it quickly, then pressed my palm to the access panel.
“Coming in!”I warned milliseconds before I stepped through the door in a clearing position.
Lacy was nowhere in sight.I assumed she was in the shower.“Hello?Miss Dupree?Lacy?”I took a step toward the small bathroom and called out again.Then I noticed that the bathroom door was open and I couldn’t hear the shower.
What the fuck?
The dummy terminal had been moved away from the wall.A tangle of wires—ones I assumed used to be either in the wall or curled neatly—lay on the desk, shavings of yellow plastic were scattered around them.I spied a twist of wires that looked like she’d done something to the data feed from her room.That was probably why I hadn’t been able to see what was on her screen.
The way she knew exactly how to finesse my ship was disturbing.
“Today I found an old archive that had a fragment of the map.It was in bad shape, possibly the worst shape of any of the pieces I’ve acquired, but I can feel in my bones that it’s important.”
I looked around for the source of that voice.The room was empty, so it had to be coming from the terminal.I shifted the monitor so I could see it and studied the woman on the screen.Her gaze never wavered and I realized that this was a recording, not a live video.That Lacy wasn’t communicating with someone outside the ship was a relief, but it still didn’t explain where she was.
The woman in the video kept talking about old libraries and star maps, but I tuned that out as I studied her face.
She shared the same eyes and nose as the woman who’d stolen my ship, but her lips were fuller and her hair was shorter, worn in a dramatic cut that accentuated her cheekbones, rather than a tangled braid.While the speaker was a generally attractive woman, Lacy was more appealing.
And that was a completely inappropriate thought to be having.I was struggling to push my interest down when the door to the room swung open.
Lacy’s eyes widened and surprise registered on her face.
My jaw dropped.I was just as surprised by her appearance.Like heractualappearance.
The bed sheet was wrapped around her body like a strapless dress, clinging close and emphasizing the curves I’d worked hard not to notice last night in the med bay.The end of the sheet was tucked into a tantalizing glimpse of shadowy cleavage.
My gaze darted back up to her face.She was watching me warily.“What are you doing in my room?”
“What are you doingoutof your room?”I countered.Her constant bypassing of my ship’s systems was a huge problem.
Her lips pressed into a flat line.“Laundry.”She lifted the stack of clothes that she carried as an exhibit.A stack of clothes I’d completely missed because I’d been too busy ogling.
Now I took in the neatly folded coveralls, with her white tank top resting on top.The fact that she wore her boots with her bedsheet gown.The quirky contrast made me smile.“You could have told me you needed to do laundry.”
She shrugged and I tried not to notice the slight sway of her breasts when she did.“I took care of it.”
“How?”
“The laundry room is down the corridor.Didn’t they show you that when you bought the ship?”Her tone had that overly sweet sound that people got when they were fucking with you.
“I know where the laundry room is,” I said with a hint of irritation.“I meant...”
She stepped around me and headed into the small bathroom.“I’ve got to get dressed.”She closed the door in my face.
That woman.I’d get a straight answer from her one of these days.
While I waited for her to emerge, I sat down and watched the woman talking on the screen.She was dressed differently, so another video must have started.Once again she was talking about notes and flight paths and star maps.
A hand reached over my shoulder and stopped the video.
“That’s none of your business,” Lacy said, her voice thick with emotion.
