“Maybe.” Brink was equally pessimistic.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Ritter said. “Look at those two. They’re exactly as they were. The balls are too old to work.”
Ethan’s eyes were still closed, but he knew Ritter was talking about himself and Velda. And he was wrong.
So very, very wrong.
He was most definitely not exactly as he had been.
18
Wherever they were going,it was taking forever.
Velda wished they would just hurry up, because waiting around was getting on her last nerve.
She kept eyeing the door of the mess, and the two guards standing there, and working out ways to take them down.
That was not a thing she usually did but she went with the flow, and she thought there were at least three ways she could succeed, no problem. And if Ethan helped her, even more than that.
They had eaten something, which she realized she really needed, because her hands began to shake a little as she started chewing, and she noticed Ethan’s doing the same.
Whatever was happening to them, it was taking a lot of energy.
She also kept an eye on Linao.
Linao was being shut out, and she knew it. Velda could tell she was about to get up from her table and approach Brink, Ritter and the final member of the bridge, Tansy, who’d been allowed to come and eat. The captain had gone back, and thenRico had taken his place, also sitting with Brink and Ritter, speaking to them in a low voice.
When he’d finished, he’d left and Tansy had come in, and Linao looked like she was going to demand to hear whatever news she had.
As she began to push her chair back, the whole ship shuddered, and everyone froze, then looked toward the guards at the door.
They looked just as surprised, Velda thought, and one began talking into his comm.
“You.” The guard pointed to the table with Brink, Ritter and Tansy. “Go to the bridge.”
Tansy stood up, scooping up the last spoonful of food from her plate, and then headed for the door.
“Quick,” the guard said
Tansy moved faster, leaving the mess and disappearing.
Linao was still pushed back from her table, but hadn’t risen to her feet, and she looked over at Velda and Ethan.
“What’s your best guess?” Velda asked her.
“We’ve found Sylvester,” Linao said, and gave a shrug. “I’m guessing either there was an exchange of fire, or this is Sylvester’s defense system kicking in automatically.”
There was something there. An underlying fury to Linao’s tone, and Velda wondered what was behind it.
She felt a stirring of . . . excitement, as if this change in circumstances would open up possibilities. If they had reached Sylvester, things were finally going to break, one way or another, and there would be opportunity in the ensuing chaos.
She glanced toward Ethan. He looked relaxed, but he was anything but. He was ready to move.
Their gazes clashed, and there was a strange calm that settled over her. She felt ready.
For what, she didn’t know. But something was coming.
Ethan’s large, warm hand slid up between her shoulder blades and settled against the back of her neck and she drew in a deep breath.
