Frank didn’t relax. If he’d had the room, he would have paced. “Asher?”
“Here, Boss.” Asher’s voice came to us over the coms. “Like we agreed, I’m staying back until the time’s right. Don’t want to make anyone suspicious.”
“Same.” Merrick spoke for the first time since our initial device check. We’d arrived outside of Ewelock together, he’d grunted, and that was that. “I’ve got theStenchon our starboard side. We should still be off the station’s close-range monitors.”
There was way too much traffic around a big rock like Ewelock for the Dark Watch to worry about ships farther out, especially on a station turnover day with tons of activity. No one would give a second thought to a couple of cargo cruisers hovering in high orbit, probably just recharging.
“Good. Good.” I hoped Frank looking like a bobblehead meant he was satisfied, because we were next in line once the ship ahead of us cleared out.
I turned back around and peered through the clear panel. The midsized vessel in front of us didn’t go anywhere.
“They usually this slow?” Shade’s fingers drummed against the long, strong thigh that filled out his Dark Watch uniform to perfection. I didn’t like seeing him in these clothes, though. It was too close to the reality of less than a month ago.
“You tell me.” I shrugged. “I don’t usually come in through the front door.”
His mouth flattened.
Shit, I didn’t mean… “Shade—”
He cut me off with a shake of his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
I took a deep breath, trying not to look at those huge guns or think about the fact that I’d just thrown Shade’s past in his face again. He’d accepted a freaking AI inside my body. Why couldn’t I let this go?
We still didn’t move up, so I turned back around. Frank had stopped bobbing his blond head up and down in order to nag Caeryssa again.
“Asher will tell you when to reverse thrusters and stop. Hopefully, whoever’s monitoring the supply attachments from the station will just think it’s a normal pickup. We’ll be two cargo cruisers switching out some storage units. By the time they verify the schedule, or even figure out who’s supposed to be verifying it today, we should be long gone.”
Caeryssa gave a simple thumbs-up, used to Frank’s game-day repetition. I pursed my lips. That was one of the variables I didn’t like. It seemed like a lot to hope for that organization would be that out of whack, but if we worked fast, we should be all right.
Should. I caught my cheek between my teeth.
“Once theStenchis done attaching you, I’ll be free of the security hub and ready for pickup. We’ll jump to Nickleback and get out of theEndeavor’s way. TheEndeavorpicks up Jax first. Same system: thrusters to get loose and make some room for yourself, reverse to stop, Merrick directing you and steering his ship so that everything lines up for the vacuum seal. Shade, welcome to your first galactic heist, by the way”—Frank levered up and reached around Shade’s seat to give him a hearty clap on the shoulder—“detaches the fourth cargo hold and does the same as everyone else. TheEndeavorjumps ASAP, because somebody will’ve started asking questions by now.
“Tess, you get back to the cruiser. Fucking own that Dark Watch uniform and look like you belong every step of the way. Kick some poor sap while he’s down, if you have to. You’ll blend right in. When you’re back on board the cruiser, screw waiting in line to leave. Just fly the fuck out as fast as you can and don’t get hit.”
Turning forward again, I mumbled a confirmation, my mind already filtering through the hundreds of things that could go wrong with this. Teaming up was a little complicated to begin with, and Jax and I were working with a whole new crew now. We’d never been through a heist before with Shade or Merrick, and now Sanaa and Gabe were part of the mix. It felt like a fumble somewhere, from someone, was inevitable.
The midsized vessel in front of us eased forward onto one of the platforms. Second-thought jitters hit me with a vengeance just when it was too late. Our outside com button flashed, and Shade reached forward to open the channel to the security base.
I had to clench my fists in my lap to keep from grabbing his hand and snatching it back. We still had the Bridgebane info drop. Shiori to save. Reena Ahern to break out!
Shade hit the button. A thousand volts of electricity zapped my heart and sent it kicking against my ribs so hard my breath stopped. Adrenaline flared out. This was it. No turning back. Full speed ahead.Oh great Powers. Crap!
“Ewelock Security Hub to incoming cruiser,” a bored male voice droned over the now-open channel. “State your purpose and code.”
“Maintenance crew 32 coming in for duty from down below. Security code 149354 990 Beta Echo Charlie.” Shade severed the sound from our side.
I looked at him, a little wide-eyed.Wow, he’d kept his voice really even. I didn’t think he was as calm as he sounded, but he’d done a good job at pretending.
A long pause followed. No answer.
Shade glanced at me just as my back started to sweat. I shook my head at his unspoken question. No, I didn’t think a response from the station should take this long, either.
My unease building, I swiveled in my seat, turning around to gauge the rest of the crew’s reactions. Behind me, Jax sat with his shoulders rolled forward, his forearms braced on his thighs, and his tense back all hunched up over him. His narrowed gaze never left the outside com button. Frank half stood behind Shade’s seat, his blue eyes the only color in his face as he watched the station’s entrance with a worried scowl. In a third-row pull-down seat behind him, Caeryssa started to twitch. Her legs launched into rapid-fire nervous bounces that made me want to leap into the back and sit on her. I could practically see the perspiration beading on their foreheads.
I swung back around, a ball of dread ballooning in my windpipe.Holy Sky Mother, what were we thinking?
Frank was going to hit one food hold during the moving day confusion and take off with it. Now we were stealingfour? With two unarmed cargo cruisers coming into the line of fire? And five of us going onto the Ewelock hub, with me left there alone?
