She shook her head. “Nothing.”
Ethan frowned, drew her in close. “What is it?” he whispered.
“I want to move, or do something.” She kept the handstand part to herself. “But . . .”
“They’re watching,” he agreed. “Better to act listless.”
He drew her back down onto the bed, and she forced herself to relax, to endure the inactivity as best she could.
Ethan wove his fingers through hers, and that helped soothe her. She thought there was a tingle of awareness where their skin touched, but as soon as she noticed it, it faded.
Or maybe hid.
She worried her lip, not sure where her mind was going with that.
It was less than an hour after the door had opened last time when Ethan raised his head, gaze snapping open to stare at the door, and Velda drew her legs up, pushing back so she could lean against the wall at the top of the bed.
Ethan sat up and swung his legs down, angled to see who was about to appear. He looked half asleep, but she knew with certainty he was anything but.
She thought it interesting neither of them had stood this time. Either whatever her new warning system was didn’t think there was as much of a threat, or they’d decided to switch up the response.
The door opened and it was Ritter again, with the two guards, but the new woman was there, as well.
Velda took an immediate dislike to her. It felt as if she was watching them like they were an exotic species she’d never encountered before.
“How did the Aponi Head of Planetary Defense end up in your clutches, Ritter?” The woman leaned against the doorjamb as the guards did their usual dance of getting them in their restraints.
“Brink got them for me from the mine site.” Ritter was watching them like they were delicate explosives that could blow at the smallest jostle.
Velda had almost forgotten about Brink. She hadn’t seen the woman since she’d shot them both in the little admin office at the mine. She wondered what her role on the ship and in this operation was. She’d certainly seemed to boss Ridgeman, the mine manager, around.
“The mine site?” The woman straightened. “You walked from where they brought down your hover all the way to the mine site?”
Velda shrugged. “We were headed for Demeter. Stumbled across it by accident.”
The woman didn’t look like she believed them. “That’s one hell of a coincidence.”
“Not when the mine is all lit up at night, running engines. It wasn’t on our route, but it was difficult to ignore,” Ethan said.
The woman swore. “What were they thinking?”
“They were obeying orders. With Salisas not reporting in, Pontia dead, you on Ytla and then in prison, and with no access to the warehouse that was storing the ore, we didn’t have enough trivolun to keep the Caruso sweet. It was run full tilt, or lose the alliance.”
The person speaking was Brink, Velda recognized her voice, although the woman was just beyond the doorway, and she couldn’t see her. She did not like the person who’d shot her and Ethan and then handed them over to Ritter.
“Did Opek get the ore in the end?” the woman asked, turning to address Brink over her shoulder.
“He said he did. But something happened to the Caruso ship that came down to get the ore.” Brink spoke with an edge.
“Something?” The woman asked.
“It blew up. Probably shot down by the military, but the Caruso aren’t happy. You’re lucky the top bosses value you enough to make us swing by to get you, rather than go straight to the delivery coordinates so we can hand the trivolun over to them.”
“Aren’t I just?” The woman sounded sarcastic.
“It was one of the Caruson’s small Raptors that was taken out,” Brink said, her tone saying she didn’t like the attitude at all. “They say you told them Demeter was a safe zone. That we’d taken the city. Which we had not.”
“I told them what I was told to tell them, and then I was ordered to take a side trip to Ytla.” The woman’s voice was low and mean. “I was not the one attacking the capital. If that attack wasn’t successful, that’s not on me. And it landed me in jail afterward, because in the aftermath, the authorities were very ticked off about the damage, and only had little old me to point the finger at as I arrived back.”
