“I have a friend with me.”
“Friend have a name?” That man was ever suspicious. He never took anything at face value. Not that she blamed him, given his past. She had trust issues herself, but he took them to a whole new level of ridiculous.
“G. G.”
“G. G. Sentella?”
Dear Lord, Badger was worse than a dog after its favorite bone. Hence the call sign they’d dubbed him with. He could have easily been employed as a League interrogator.
“No, he borrowed the ship.”
“Borrowed, or stole?”
Ember bit back a groan at his endless inquisition. Seriously, they all wanted to beat him at times when he started doing this. But then, when you wanted to annoy someone, he was definitely the man to call, for he did it well. And with panache.
Worse?
He actually enjoyed watching people’s temples begin to throb.
“Own,” Bastien said to her.
Ember didn’t bother repeating that to Badger, as it would raise his suspicion levels even more. “Borrowed. And no, he doesn’t have a blaster trained on me. There’s no need in being alarmed. Drop your weapons. It’s all good here.”
“Then why’s there no video?”
Bastien quirked a playful smile. “Yeah, Wildstar. Why’s there no video?”
“Shut up, both of you! Badger, stop being aknœttr. I swear to the gods… it has to be genetic!”
“What?” Bastien and Badger asked simultaneously, thus proving her point.
Ember barely caught her slip before she exposed something she knew would piss Badger off to no end. They needed to get on the ground before that bomb was detonated.
Closing her shirt as quickly as she could, she turned around in the seat and took over communications.
“Take the lead, Badge. Get us home.”
“Fine. Do your sisters know you’re headed in?”
“Cutting the comm, now.” She flipped it off and let out a frustrated sigh.
One not helped as she realized how tense Bastien was. “What’s wrong withyou?”
He fell into that horrible quiet that only came whenever he was seething about something. “Badger your boyfriend?”
Was he serious? She couldn’t believe he’d even ask that. Let alone be so pissy about it.
How dare he!
“You better be glad you have your helmet back on. Otherwise, I’d be tempted to slap you for that.”
“Why?”
“Obviously, I don’t have a boyfriend. If I had, I wouldn’t have just had sex with you! Saint Jake, Bastien! That’s your territory,notmine!”
He bristled at that. “I’ve never in my life cheated on someone! You know that better thananyone!”
She did, and it was a sore topic for him, as he’d been accused of it repeatedly. Not just by the press, but by his own family. And apparently Alura, too. It was what had made them so good together. Her worst fear had been a cheating boyfriend, and he would never cheat because he couldn’t stand being blamed for it.
