“Claire,” Kane says at the same time.
“It’s fine,” I say to Kane quietly. “I won’t be able to sleep. Notnow.” Plus, there’s a part of me that’s convinced that I need to be awake to keep… whatever from happening.
“Icould sleep now,” Voller mutters loudly.
“I’ll take the first shift,” Lourdes says. “Keep TL company.”
“Sold,” Voller says, pushing up from his chair.
I could argue, put my foot down, but I’d rather save the fight for a moment when it really counts.
“And no one goes anywhere alone,” I say, stopping Voller in his tracks.
“What?” he asks.
“I mean it,” I say. “I don’t care how the three of you work it out. All crash in the same suite or in the crew quarters, whatever. But no one is alone. Period.”
“Gonna hold my hand when I take a piss, too?” Voller asks.
Kane draws a breath to respond, but I’m ready. “If that’s what it takes for you to be a big boy, absolutely,” I say.
Lourdes hiccups a laugh before clamping a hand over her mouth.
Voller shoots me the finger but waits at the door.
“You sure?” Kane asks me, his voice softer than usual. His gaze moves over my face and for a second, it feels like we’re alone in the corridor again and he might lean in closer.
I nod. “Yeah.” My voice is breathier than it should be, and I hate it.
“Okay,” he says.
I love that he trusts me. More than I trust myself.
No, notlove.I flinch inwardly. No love-related thoughts. Not now. Not ever.Get it together, Kovalik.
“Come on, Ny,” Kane says, over his shoulder. “Leave all that here.”
I glance back to find Nysus gathering up every bit of equipment we found for him.
“But—” Nysus starts.
“Sleep, Nysus. You need to rest. It’ll all be here when you get back,” I say.
He opens his mouth to argue, but the grayish pallor to his skinmakes me hold firm. There might be more information on those recordings, something we missed, but I’m not willing to risk his health for whatever small clue he might turn up.
“Do you need me to make it an order?” I ask.
His shoulders slump. “No…”
“We need you in top shape,” I say. “See you in six.”
Nysus gives one last longing glance toward the video equipment, then heads toward the bridge doorway to join Voller.
Kane looks at me and tips his head toward the corridor.
I walk with him, assuming that there’s something he wants to discuss further. “We can change up the shifts,” I say. “It doesn’t have to stay this way the whole time.”
But Voller and Nysus, seeing Kane coming, start down the hall, and as soon as we’ve stepped just out of sight of Lourdes, Kane tugs me around the corner, across from the crew bunk room.
