For a moment, I’d forgotten she was there.Forgotten I wasn’t alone in the vastness of space.
“Not really.”When the adrenaline rush wore off, the shakes would begin.So far I’d staved it off.Hopefully I’d keep them at bay until I’d plotted our next course.Damned if I knew where that was going to be, though.
“That was— What Finn did was amazing.I hope he’s okay.”Her voice was soft.
“Me too.”
We stood there in mostly comfortable silence until Burn returned.The tear tracks on her face shimmered, reflecting the pale light around us.I opened my arms and she stepped into them, pressing her face against my shoulder.Fuck.I knew exactly what she was feeling.
“I’ll go grab my bag and then get out of your way,” Lacy said quietly then walked away.
I nodded absently, my attention on Burn.“We don’t have the facilities to give him the care he needs.”
Her voice muffled, Burn said, “Leaving him behind feels wrong.What if he needs us?What if we never see him again, like Wilson?”
Wilson’s name was like a punch.One day he’d been standing next to us, making us laugh the way he did with his jokes and impressions.The next we’d been shellshocked when he and several other marines were killed and Finn injured in a vehicle crash planetside.His death broke something in our team and we still hadn’t managed to get the pieces put together quite right.
“He’ll get better,” I whispered.“We’ll come back as soon as we can to check on him.”
She nodded against my neck.“Promise?”
I didn’t even hesitate.“I promise,” I said, hoping I wasn’t a liar.
Burn released me and stepped back reluctantly.“What now?”
I tilted my head back again, studying the sky like it had the answers I needed.“Not sure.We pick up Mercer and Orion.Get some cargo.”I shrugged.“Find Lacy’s sister?”
“Are you kidding?You can’t be thinking of letting her back on the ship.”She punched my shoulder.
Rubbing my hand over the shoulder—Burn hit fucking hard!—I said what I’d been thinking since we arrived.“I think we need her.”
Scoffing, Burn crossed her arms over her chest.“I can’t believe you’re serious about this.”
“Dead serious.”I filled her in quickly about the superstition about talking money.And the potential consequences if you did.
She whistled long and low.“Did you ask him about it?”
“No, Lacy stopped me before I could.”I paused to gather my thoughts.“She knows a lot about the cargo business.Knowledge we don’t have.”
“We can learn,” Burn said petulantly.
I nodded.“We can learn.And we have the perfect teacher.”
Burn’s scowl said she wasn’t buying it.“Look, we wouldn’t have gotten the cargo on Rigel Naught without her connections and knowledge,” I pointed out.
Brow raised, she countered, “We wouldn’t haveneededthat cargo if she hadn’t stolen our ship.”
“Sure.I’ll give you that.But without her, we might have a fat bank account for the moment, but our reputation for jobs like these would be trash before we even started.”
“How long would we have to put up with her?”
Permanently, I wanted to say.“How about until we rescue her sister?Then the two of them can go on their merry way.”
“Promise?”
Though I hated to do it, I agreed.“Promise.”
“Fine.Just until we find her sister.And we have to tell the others what happened up front.No more keeping it a secret.”
