“So, he got what you—what yourfather—owed him?”
“Oh, he got ten times what I owed him,” Shade said bitterly. “But that was the only deal he would make, and I just wanted it over. I was young and an idiot and figured I couldn’t lose, since I’d never really lost at anything.”
I was starting to piece together the picture. The golden boy. The privileged life. The shock of loss and a bad decision. Bad decisions made a person grow up fast—and maybe do things they would never have previously considered.
Shade shook his head, obviously still disgusted with himself, even after all these years. “I got White to sign an agreement, though, before I threw the dice. I made him promise to sell for a certain price—a huge but mostly fair price for all that—no matter when, if I had the currency to pay him one day. After ten years of hunting down the Dark Watch’s most-wanted criminals and doing important retrievals, like finding abducted officials and officers—real under-the-radar stuff—I was more than halfway there. Your bounty would have finished it, and then some.”
I swallowed. Well, that sucked.
Standing there, Shade looked so dejected that I began to reevaluate our situation, thinking that maybe I needed to comfort him, too. I didn’t agree with the things he’d done, but I couldn’t fault his motives. In fact, I understood them more than I probably should have and was in no position to judge. What wouldn’t I do for Starway 8? I was about to give my blood to the enemy and allow them to re-create the serum just to keep two people safe. Was that a wise choice? Probably not. But I was making it anyway.
Shade had been working toward something on Albion 5, and now there was a good chance he’d never set foot on his home planet again, let alone reclaim his family’s legacy. His was now a life on the run, probably forever—or for as long as it lasted. There was no way out of this.
Unless we somehow overthrew the Galactic Overseer and defeated the Dark Watch, and what were the chances of that?
Chapter 31
Shade felt like an asshole, standing there in the hallway, confessing his sins. Tess even looked sorry for him, which made his gut twist. He didn’t deserve her sympathy.
“It’s the docks, isn’t it?” she asked. “All the towers?”
He nodded, not surprised she’d picked up on his knowing more than was typical about the history of the docks, their prices and quality… Yeah, he knew exactly what he’d lost.
“Every single one on Albion 5—and on the rock under construction next to it.”
She made a strangled sound. “Great Powers, that really is an empire. I can’t believe you gave that up.”
Shade felt himself go rigid. “I didn’t give it up. I lost it. Like an imbecile.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Not then. I mean now…not even a week ago.”
That decision?It had been hard—until it had been as simple as taking his next breath.
Reaching out, he swept Tess’s bangs back from her face and tucked them behind her ear. His fingers trailed down the side of her neck, and he felt her little shiver.
“I’m not going to lie to you, starshine. I agonized over the choice for a week. But I kept working on your ship, and helping you sell books, and wanting you every second I saw you. I was hell-bent on getting you away safely; I wanted to hold on to you and keep you with me; and I wanted the damn bounty. It was like a three-way war inside me. But then you came to me that last night on Albion 5, and you turned into the easiest decision of my life.”
Her lips parted on a surprised inhale. Her always-fabulous blush sent a hot bolt of lust through him.
“Me?” she asked in a tempting whisper.
“You.” His voice dropped, thickening.
“Was my door really half price?” Tess’s eyes narrowed. The sultriness disappeared from her voice, replaced by suspicion.
Wariness blew a hole in the warm haze wrapping around him. Shade cleared his throat. “Yeah, it was half price.”
“Because you paid for the other half?” she asked.
He hesitated. “Might’ve,” he eventually said.
Would she hate that? She’d been determined to pay him what she owed and had even sold her precious books to Susan for it, probably for a mere fraction of their true worth. What he’d done to provide a solid door for theEndeavorhadn’t been charity in his mind. This was Tess. He did what he needed to.
She fisted her hands in his shirt and abruptly pulled him close. The fire that had only been banked inside him roared to life as his hands clamped down on her waist, and she went up on her toes for a kiss. There was nothing hesitant about it. Her lips devoured his, pushing, moving, parting, and then her tongue swept into his mouth for a fuck-me lick that nearly made his knees give out.
Shade released a guttural sound. He didn’t care if he came across as needy or weak. She made him both. He was about to spin her up against the wall and show her just what she did to him when Tess drew back, breathing hard. Shade could barely see. Want pounded through his blood.
“Shower?” Her breathless question went straight to his groin.
