He waved his hand. “I’ll address everyone later,” he told them, opening the hatch. “I take it you know what to do until then? You have a layout of my ship?”
One of the men nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Tell the others to get situated in the crew’s quarters first before system checks. I’ll meet you on the bridge in an hour.”
“Yes, sir!” The men scurried away.
Vee shifted beside him, and he curled his arm around her back, ushering her into his ship. They walked through it together, alone, one last time. Bees greeted them yowling for food. After the cat was fed and watered, he watched as Vee picked him up and pressed her face into his fur.
Hell, if she chose to leave and he managed to let her go, he was going to miss the feline too. Having the cat around his feet and on his lap had been an unexpected comfort to him these last two months.
“Vee,” he began.
She cut him off. “Can I have a few minutes alone to think? Is there time?”
“Yeah, there’s some time still.” He didn’t want to leave her. “Come find me when you’re ready.” He turned to leave but stopped short. “Take all the time you need,” he added, meaning it.
The door zipped closed as Cypher left Vee in the captain’s quarters. In the distance, the sounds of his new crew prickled his audio. Jaw ticking, he stormed to his bridge.
He didn’t want them here, not yet. He wasn’t ready for them until he had his answer from Vee. The fear that she wouldn’t join him upset his systems. Fear of what he would do if she didn’t. Having others nearby wasn’t safe.
He fisted his hands and tried to force the tension from his body.
TheRepossessedhad become his den, and a bear didn’t take sharing his den lightly. Though he spent time with many crews, great and bad during the war, it’d been a long time since he had so many others close by and in such a small space.
All I want is Vee.
I’m only here because of her.
Heavy, unbridled emotion blazed his chest. It left him breathless and wanting.
Some of his other brethren had crews, some didn’t; they chose to work alone or employ androids instead.I may have to do that in the future.
The thought didn’t stay with him for long; his mind kept returning to Vee and her silence—silence that brought him back to the first days he’d waited endless hours for her to return his comms as he traveled from Ghost City to Earth.
She drives me crazy.
I need her.
Even now, looking around his quiet bridge, the stifling loneliness crept back in as he imagined a life without her in it.
How was he going to convince her to join him if she didn’t want to? There was nothing in his databases that would help him with this problem. Before her, his experience with the female gender had been severely limited. His lack of knowledge in that department crippled him.
Cypher scrubbed his face, tugged his hair. The plates in his body expanded and contracted.
Several messages from Mia awaited him, accompanied by retrievals, acquisitions, and itineraries for his first excursion on the job. In seconds, he had them all memorized, but his frustration immediately returned after. There was nothing else to distract him.
Throwing up an image of Vee behind his eyes—a sense of déjà vu hit him from those first days. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a grouping of leather seat straps from the bridge’s storage, and let the feeling rush through him.
He sat heavily in his chair to wait.
30
“Mom?” Vee spoke into her wristcon when she heard a click on the line.
“Vee? Oh, honey, I’m so sorry you didn’t place,” her mom said. “We wanted to call sooner but thought you might need some time first. How are you doing? They should’ve picked you and Cypher. You two were amazing!”
Vee frowned. “It’s fine. I’m fine with it. I need your help.”
