What was the point now? She was gone and he’d never?—
Klath’s comm. A’Kar had stolen Klath’s comm.
Gark swallowed, the sounds around him coming back with a rush.
Gark jumped to his feet. “Vox! Get the ship ready. We may be leaving in a hurry.”
He ran back to the ship, heedless of the attention he attracted. He raced up the open ramp to see Arik standing guard. He nodded in greeting.
“Klath’s comm. Did you trace it?”
Arik nodded. “Yes. He’s on the far side of the station.” He closed the ramp. “In another hanger.”
Gark ran to the bridge as Arik headed to engineering. He slid into his seat, Jarden and Vox already in their own.
“Show me the footage.”
Vox showed the footage of the corridor on the main viewscreen. Gark flinched as A’Kar stabbed Klath with what looked like a screwdriver. Klath fell to the ground, and A’Kar slid his comm from his wrist, then ran down the hallway.
He turned a corner, and the view changed to show Aletta rounding the corner just as A’Kar does. They collide, and she goes flying, landing on her backside.
“Were you able to follow them off the ship?” Gark asked.
“Yes,” Jarden said. He pushed more footage onto the viewscreen to show A’Kar dragging Aletta, who stumbles. A’Kar laughs at her as she cowers from him.
A muscle in his neck twitched as he forced himself to watch, nostrils flaring with every out breath as he tried to contain his fury at how his mate—how Aletta—was being treated.
Jarden sped the footage up, sending Aletta and A’Kar racing through the station until they disappeared.
“Stop. What happened there?” Gark pointed at the screen. The same footage showed Aletta, and then she just disappeared.
“It appears to have been tampered with. This is a black spot. The footage loops from this area. After this, I don’t have anything.”
Gark slapped his hand against the armrest in frustration.
“But Klath’s comm shows where they continue to,” Arik’s voice came over the comm. “I’ve just been enhancing the signal, so we can follow it if they leave the station.”
Gark closed his eyes. His crew hadn’t hesitated to help. This wasn’t a job. They weren’t going to get paid.
“I’ll find a way to pay you all?—”
All four of them—including a dopey-sounding Klath from the med bay—told him in no uncertain terms where he could put his pay.
Gark smiled. “Thank you.”
Jarden and Vox turned in their seats, sharing a look.
“They’re leaving!” Arik practically shouted over the comm.
Vox spoke up. “She’s your mate, isn’t she?”
Gark nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“Well, let’s go get her.”
The Lady shot away from the station, but not before Gark opened the comm. “Oren, I have some information.” He paused. “But I need a favor in exchange.”
CHAPTER 11
