“Your…stash?”
“Simple boosters, just enough to tweak my energy, nothing more.”
“And you thought they were in my room?”
“I didn’t know where else they could be, sir.”
“I didn’t take your fucking stash. I don’t care if my workers use drugs. Get off my ship.”
Daniels finally flinched. “Get off the ship? Are we boarding on Titan?”
“No, theQuestoris disembarking tonight. You are not.”
“It was a mistake. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“You’re a fucking liar, that’s what’s wrong. And you threatened another crew member while you were at it. The only reason you’re still employed is because I couldn’t get rid of you sooner. Now, get out. I’ll have Mia transfer you your final paycheck and help you find boarding on the next commercial transport off this planet.”
Daniels’s chest swelled.He’s going to fight.Hysterian wiped the grime from his sleeve, ready for it.
At least a fight would stop him from searching for Alexa and stupidly finding out how tight her cunt was with Hysterian’sstill-twitching fingers. That was, of course, if her quiet invitation was to be read correctly. He could stretch her; he just had to wear a damned glove on his hand first.
“So I get sacked and stranded in space, while you, a messed-up Cyborg with more issues than a wingless fly, gets off the hook? You don’t fucking deserve to be a captain,” Daniels spat.
“You’re playing with poison,” Hysterian growled.
“I know you bounced with Raphael in Elyria, a fucking drug dealer. Do those hiring you for these important ‘jobs’ know? I sure as hell wonder what the media would say if they knew what kind Cyborg you really are, especially since so many already want you dead.”
Hysterian cracked his jaw. “So you know about Dimes?”
“I was a regular there between jobs. I know everything,” Daniels sneered.
“And you applied for this job because?”
Daniels’s nostrils flared.
“If you know so much, you have nothing to lose in telling me. Go ahead.” Hysterian waved his hand. “Though my inclination to kill you is increasing. And just so you know, Iwasn’tgoing to kill you to start. Remember that.”
“Do it. I dare you. The rest of the crew will find out. You said it yourself, there’s footage in the security feeds. I’m sure those above you will have access to it. They are Cyborgs as well, aren’t they?”
“Why, Daniels, did you take this job?”
He turned to leave. “Fuck you. I don’t need this shit.”
Hysterian stopped the doors from opening. Daniels slammed his fist into them when they didn’t open for him. He slowly turned around. “I’m leaving, isn’t that what you want? Or have you changed your mind?”
Hysterian uncrossed his arms, took a step toward his former bridge officer, and removed his glove. Daniels’s eyes snapped to it.
Hysterian held it out between them. “Go ahead.”
“Fuck you, you fucking cyshit.” But Daniels’s gaze didn’t move from Hysterian’s hand.
“You obviously know about me. You know what I can do. Not many outside Raphael’s inner circle know, so you must have connections on Elyria. Go ahead, take my hand, unless you’re scared?” Hysterian flipped his hand over. “Isn’t this what you came here for? Isn’t this what you want? People pay thousands of dollars to touch me, they pay hundreds of thousands the second time. You couldn’t afford it, could you? ”
Daniels hesitated.
“You were looking for me, weren’t you, in my quarters? At least a part of me, the part that intrigues you,” Hysterian continued.
“I told you, I was looking for my fucking stash,” Daniels muttered.
