She put her hands on her hips. “Gark, I’m going. You can’t stop me.”
He knew that wasn’t correct. He could physically restrain her, but if he did that, she’d hate him.
Didn’t she already?
No. He refused to believe that she hated him. There was more to her rejection of his claim, but it wasn’t hate. But if he restrained her? He knew she would never forgive him for keeping her from her sister.
“I was going to ask if I gave you a job, would you do it?”
Her shoulders lowered. “Oh.” She thought for a moment. “It depends on what the job is.”
He expected no less. His chest warmed with pride.
Jarden cleared his throat. “Boss?”
“Yes?” He turned his head slightly, not wanting to break the connection to Aletta.
“They’re not responding to my comms.”
Gark cut him off. “Just do whatever it takes.”
“Yes, boss. I’ll keep trying to contact them.”
The other ship hadn’t answered despite being continually hailed since The Lady came into range. It all felt just too easy, which made Gark’s senses jump to high alert. In his experience, when it felt easy, there was always something they were overlooking. But he didn’t have time to dwell.
Gark’s eyes felt like they were full of sand. He hoped he was making the right decision. “We board as soon as we’re docked to the transport.”
“Yes, captain.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Thank you.”
The last was from Aletta. He lifted his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn’t sure she’d thanked him for anything. Just made demands. Something to think about later, once this was all over. If they survived, no, he’d make sure she, at least, survived. Even if he had to sacrifice himself, he’d make sure Aletta survived.
CHAPTER 18
ALETTA
By the time she and Gark had rushed to the cargo bay, Vox had guided The Lady into place, and Arik had the docking tunnel ready to connect. The big Taurean was manually guiding the tunnel to connect with the other ship’s airlock.
It looked like one of those old skill tester machines with the claw attachment, but four claws were moving at once, and the other ship was also moving. But Arik moved it into place with an ease that showed years of experience.
“Docking tunnel connected, boss,” Arik said, his deep voice booming in the small space of the airlock. “Just cycling the airlocks now.”
Aletta breathed a sigh of relief.
“Aletta?”
Her fingernails bit into her palms as she turned to face Gark. His lilac eyes were intense as he stooped to look at her. His lips were pressed into a thin line.
Somewhere in the last few minutes, he’d covered himself in weapons. His black shirt was rolled to the elbows, a vest strapped over the top with all manner of gear attached to it.All in that matte black metal that didn’t reflect light, so he’d be invisible in low light.
She’d already dressed in combat trousers and her sneakers—there were no spare boots in her size—the cuffs rolled up so she wouldn’t trip, and the waist cinched in with a belt. Now he held out a vest for her, which she slipped on with a frown. It was still too big, but it was much better than anything else she’d been able to scrounge up on this ship.
There were knives strapped to the vest, ones with hilts small enough for her hand. She frowned as she traced a finger over the sheath of one, the intricate design on the leather far more beautiful than the sheaths any of the others wore. She tightened the vest’s straps, fingers tracing over the hand-sewn seams.
He’d altered this vest for her.
