I leaned toward Frank and quietly told him, “That’ll be the uncle.”
Frank’s blue eyes widened, then narrowed. “You hear that, Ash?”
“Heard,” Asher choked out. “Belief hasn’t set in yet.”
“Don’t worry, Asher. I feel the exact same way most of the time,” Tess muttered from her cargo hold.
I kept my eyes on the monitor, watching the huge ship close in on what I thought was our cargo box next to theUnholy Stench. Everyone in here was watching the same thing, terror a new stink in the room.
“He better not blow us up,” Frank muttered. “Anyof us.”
Caeryssa shushed him, her eyes darting to the people in the cargo hold.
“The warship is turning its phasers on us!” Asher hollered. “Tess!”
“Hold steady,” Mwende said.
“Keep going, but he’ll fire on you. Don’t think he won’t.” Tess’s warning came three seconds before an alarm wailed on theStench.
“He grazed us, like a warning.” Asher silenced the alert. “Threw me off course, but we’re close. I’ve almost got you.”
“Seal off your bottom level,” Tess said. “You too, Merrick. Oh no! Bonk! Where is he?”
“I’ve got him, Tess,” Merrick said. “Don’t worry.”
“He’s on the bridge?”
“Yes.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. Tess and that cat. I might’ve been kind of attached to the tabby myself.
“DW 12’s sending out warning messages to all cargo cruisers in the area,” Asher said. “Evacuate. No attachments allowed.”
“Don’t back off. Keep coming,” Jax said. “Is that you on my doorstep?”
The door we’d come through was the only place on the cargo hold to make the seal. Asher confirmed his position. “Yeah, we swung around. Reverse thrusters. Stop now.”
Jax did as Asher directed. The abrupt slowdown jostled our human cargo again. A baby started crying. We were in the home stretch. Where was Tess?
As if I’d asked out loud, she suddenly gave an update. “I’m higher than you and going faster.DW 12got between us and the Ewelock phasers. They can’t shoot at us now.”
Given the choice, I’d rather have Bridgebane firing on us. But I also remembered the holes in Tess’s hull. Her uncle kept up appearances almost too well.
“Don’t go too fast or you’ll pass me,” Merrick warned. “We turned and are backing toward you now.”
“Got it,” she said. “Who’s at the back door?”
“Gabe,” Merrick answered.
An image of Tess coming through the vacuum seal and jumping into Gabe’s arms wasnotwhat I needed right now. It slammed into my brain on repeat.
“He’s gonna fire!” Asher couldn’t hide his panic.
“Just go with it,” Tess said.
“Go with it?” Asher’s what-the-fuck voice almost squeaked.
“I told you! Seal off your bottom level!” Tess obviously had more confidence than I did that Bridgebane wouldn’t aim for something vital that could tear apart the ship.
