“Vik does.”
His hands tightened. “I see you, Ria. You.”
Everything in her stilled. His blue stare was direct, and she found herself falling into it. No one had ever seen just her before. She’d always been a tool, a weapon, a soldier. Not just Ria.
A chime echoed through the cockpit and BEll’s cheery voice filled the ship. “If you two lovebirds are finished dancing, we’re approaching our destination.”
Zayn set Ria on her feet. “We’re coming up on Diablo.” He reached out and zipped up her top. “You should buckle in for landing.”
CHAPTER NINE
Ria thought Diablo looked like the homemade marbles she’d seen the street kids on Lucifa playing with. It was shades of brown and red, without a single hint of green or blue to break the monotony.
Beside her, Zayn handled the ship with a finesse that continually impressed her. She stared at his hands as he manipulated the controls. Hands she was all-too-aware had been touching her not long ago.
“BEll, run scans for high explosives concentrations on the surface,” he said.
“You got it,” the computer replied. “Displaying on screen now.”
On the console screen in front of Zayn, a color map appeared. Ria leaned closer. “Half the planet reads positive for explosives.” How the hell could they possibly find Lastite Lala amongst all that?
“The planet’s covered in mines. Mainly Ma and Pa type operations, no regulation. Anyone who can get their hands on explosives can light a fuse and blow things up.”
“Well, Lala chose her hidey hole very well.” Ria sank back into her chair. “Where do we start?”
“BEll, where are the largest concentrations of explosives?”
The map changed, showing half a dozen hot spots.
Zayn frowned as he studied it. “Any that aren’t right over a mine?”
“One.” The computer zoomed in on one spot near the equator. “A small town with the delightful name of Bedlam.”
“We’ll start there.” Zayn tapped at the controls, then pointed to something else on the screen. “See this canyon, just out of town? We’ll hide theInfinitasin there. See if we can buy a couple of horses at the trading post nearby.”
Ria turned her head. “Horses?”
“No tech, remember? You go zooming in on an airspeeder and you’ll get mobbed sooner than you can blink. We’ll have to wear local clothing and carry older weapons than you’re used to.”
“You’ve been here before.”
“Yep, one lovely visit chasing a smuggler who’d relieved an arts collector of a crate of Tuskian bourbon. Unfortunately for the smuggler, the collector had also hidden his prized Terran coin collection in the crate.”
“You got it back?”
“Yeah, but we learned the hard way not to go in covered in high-tech goodies. A lynch mob of cowboys almost made off with theInfinitas.” Zayn stroked a hand along the top of the console. “We were lucky to get out with just a few scratches. This time, we’ll go in under the radar.”
The Phoenix brothers just couldn’t resist an adventure. “Sounds like a good idea.”
“Sit back, we’re hitting the atmosphere.”
Heat flared over the cockpit windows and the ship vibrated with the descent. Moments later, they broke through into a cloudless blue sky.
“What if someone spots the ship?” she asked.
“Cloak’s on.”
Below was a dusty desert landscape of twisting rock formations that speared into the sky and flat-topped mesas that sat like giant tables.
