“I think we’re done here.”Dax released my leg and stood.
What the hell was Dax doing?This was the best place on the station to get hooked up with cargo.But he was the captain, so I had to back his play.I slid to the other end of the bench and stood as well.
“Oh, sit down.”Moya waved her hand at us.Humor and exasperation threaded through her voice.
Dax looked down at her a moment then took his seat.
I followed suit but perched on the edge of the bench.Trying to look relaxed while remaining ready to move was a difficult balance.
“I recognize cash strapped when I see it,” Moya said.
Jaw clenched, the tendons in his neck tense, Dax said nothing.
What had given it away?
She probably had people all over the dock, but from the outsideFortuna, as new as she was, wouldn’t look like cash was a problem.Had Finn been running his mouth?
“Ten percent and a future favor,” she said finally.
I sucked in a breath.Owing favors wasn’t an unusual payment option on the more distant planets and space stations, but it was a dangerous one.Agreeing to this was above my paygrade.
Dax considered her offer for what felt like forever.“Eight.No violence.No drugs.”
Her lips curved up in a slight smile.“Done.”
“Give me your comms,” she said, holding her hand out.
I guess we were really doing this.It would be a waste of time to argue.Dax placed his communicator in her outstretched palm.She touched it to hers, transferring the information we needed for our meeting.A tiny chime confirmed the data transmission.
“Bolton will meet you in two hours on Sub3 to arrange for the cargo transfer.I highly recommend you do not bring your excitable friend to that meeting with you.He’s been making a name for himself in the betting halls on the station—and not in a good way.”
“Understood.”
Dax’s curt response gave no indication of what he thought about Moya’s tidbit of information.But she wasn’t wrong about Finn being a potential problem.I could only hope that Dax could either rein him in or recognize the need to cut him loose.
She handed Dax his comms, but kept her gaze on me.“Are you sure about this?”she asked quietly.
“I am,” I said with more confidence than I actually felt.It brought me one step closer to finding my sister.
“Good luck, then,” she said.She leaned closer, her voice dropping low, husky.“If you see Blazer, tell him to come see me.It’s been a while.”
My eyes widened when her meaning hit me.I knew my father hadn’t been a monk since my mom died, but ohmygod, I didnotneed to know that.“I’ll do that,” I managed to croak.
I scrambled out of the booth.“I need to pick up some clothes before we meet Bolton,” I told Dax.Clothes and brain bleach.
29
Lacy
“C’mon, Layla, pick up!”I stood in a shadowed corner in Rigel Naught’s central spoke.In one hand I gripped one of the new comms devices I’d picked up at one of the stalls after I’d left Moya’s Place.I’d bought two, so I had a backup, just in case.The second device was tucked in a drawer back on the ship.
I barely resisted the urge to hit something when the system urged me to leave a message.Not that I had actually expected Layla to answer.I’d spent the length of my shower rehearsing what I would say.
“Hey, sis.Got your message.Waiting on some cargo right now, but thinking we’ll have time to catch up soon.Call me when you get a chance.Miss you.”
I hung up and my head dropped to my chest.Defeat and worry were a toxic mess in my stomach and in my heart.I had no idea what was happening to my sister.Ever since we’d plotted a course to Rigel Naught, I’d clung to the foolish hope that Layla would have access to her phone.
I sighed.
