Two Caruso came from in front of her and another one came from behind, obviously fresh from the sight of two downed Cores guards.
They didn’t see her.
They almost missed her completely, and if they hadn’t met up with each other almost exactly where she was sitting, she had a feeling they might have passed her by altogether.
But the one who was coming from the direction of the downed guards slowed down, shouting at the other two, and then his gaze landed on her.
His shock was clear.
He came to a halt, hand going to his weapon, and then Ethan shot him.
The other two couldn’t work out where the laz fire had come from, one turned to look behind him, the other glanced at her, and as she brought her own laz up, Ethan shot him, and she took out the one who’d looked back down the way he’d come.
Ethan dropped lightly to the ground, hand out, and she grasped it, let him pull her to her feet.
“This is going to stir things up,” she said.
Ethan grunted in agreement and they both began running down the passage again. Velda hit the keypad on every door they passed, but nothing opened.
“You can’t do your fingertip trick,” she murmured, remembering how he’d disabled the lens in their cell on the Cores runner. Maybe he could open doors.
He reached out and touched a keypad, shook his head. “This tech is very foreign. I’d need time to learn it, first.”
They turned down a new passageway, and she saw double doors up ahead, the first she’d seen on this ship.
When they opened she could hardly believe it, but they stepped inside, weapons raised.
There was no one in here.
“It’s the med bay,” she said. There were a few beds and a glass cabinet of medication, and not much else.
“The Caruson who took us to the med bay to talk about the silver balls didn’t seem to have much time for injuries,” Ethan said. “Let’s hope it’s a common sentiment.”
“At least we’re off the passageways and out of sight.” Velda found a chair, the only one she could see, and sat down with a sigh. She was hungry and tired.
Looking over at Ethan, she guessed he was the same.
From her perch on the over-large chair, she looked around the room, and then stood when she saw some disposable cups. She went to the sink, filled two with water, and turned.
Ethan was watching her from the other side of the room, and she felt a full-body rush as their eyes met.
“Sit.” She pointed to the chair, and with a tiny quirk of his lips he obeyed.
She settled onto his lap, handed him a cup, and wriggled to get comfortable.
“I thought you said we’d do better next time,” he said, his voice a little deeper than usual.
“I lied.” She drank all the water in her cup and set it down, turned to look up at him just as he bent his head to kiss her.
His hand ran over her shoulder and came to a rest at her waist, and then he lifted her effortlessly, turning her body to face him.
As she sighed into his mouth, he suddenly stood, still holding her in his arms, his eyes on the door.
He let her swing down, and she heard it, too. A group of people running in their direction.
She glanced at him, and every warning signal in her spiked.
“You look too dangerous.” They had two laz, and from the sound of it, ten were coming their way, and the voices in her head were very wary of laz fire. “You’re just muscle and deadlyintent.” Her heart felt like it was going into palpitations with fear for him. “Ethan, lie down on the ground and curl up. Now.”
