Bea stretched her arms forward, then cracked her knuckles. “Have you talked to Sara yet?” she asked Darren directly, voicing the question that had been lurking in Aiden’s mind since earlier.
Darren’s face closed up a bit as he shifted his weight. “Not yet, but I plan to do it tonight. Kesley.” His eyes snapped to Aiden, a hint of hesitation flicking in their indigo depths. “Nan called me. Your friend has agreed to meet with her. She’s on her way, so we should have news in a few hours.”
Aiden squeezed his hands into fists in his lap. Hopefully, it would be good news, though he decided it was best not to think about it too much. Or the potential danger he was putting Rick in if he agreed to meet. Perhaps it was selfish of Aiden to drag Rick into this, but he owed his friend the explanation he’d promised. Rick had stayed by his side when he’d lost Claudia. He hadn’t given up on Aiden, had always been there for him since they’d become friends back in middle school. So, even if it had to be done over a call or via a third party, Aiden was coming clean. It would give them both closure, if nothing else.
Besides, what if Rick was in trouble because of Aiden? What if something happened to him like it did to PI Deverson? Aiden wouldn’t be able to live with it.
“Bea, can you source a shuttle to Mars at some point?” Darren inquired, moving onto the next topic. “I don’t want to risk the Maine being recognized if I can help it.”
She tapped her fingers on the space in front of her, a holoscreen loading up. “You want to look for Liu’s people?”
“Yes. I’d like to reach out.”
She pressed her lips in a line. “I can get you that shuttle, but there’s no point looking for them. After Kesley showed up at Luna’s, I tracked our contacts down. Half I couldn’t find, and the other half were dead.”
Darren’s expression clouded, his jaw clenching. “Marcus…”
“Yep. That asshole has been hunting down anyone connected to the Valrais. It got worse after he caught you. I tried to warn everyone but…”
“Those you couldn’t find… They might still be alive,” Darren said after a heavy pause. “I… don’t know exactly how many people Liu had, he never told me, but Marcus couldn’t have gotten toallof them.” Pacing from the edge of the section wall to the holoborads, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “We needto find them. If anyone can and is willing to help us, it would be them.”
Aiden considered that. Even if there was a chance that some of them were alive, there couldn’t be many. But Darren needed to start somewhere if he was to take Marcus down so the Valrais could reclaim their place in history. Even if it didn’t include an actual throne.
“Nyle, I’ll give you the list. Run a check,” Bea tossed at the blond, glancing up from her screen. “Maybe you’ll have more luck.”
Nyle bobbed his head like an excited puppy. “Of course. But in the meantime, if Darren is going somewhere, I don’t think he should go alone.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands behind him. “I’d volunteer, but someone needs to stay behind and run all this.”
“I was thinking…” Darren looked at Aiden again, his Adam’s apple bobbing almost inconceivably as he swallowed. “Kesley?”
A shock ran through Aiden for no apparent reason. It made sense for him to go with Darren, because among the rest, he was likely the one with the most combat experience… even if that only included his recent run in with Marcus’ henchmen. Still, Darren’s words made his heartbeat just a little quicker and the self-deprecating protests of his brain just a little louder.
He ignored them both and nodded stiffly, causing a slight upturn of Darren’s full lips.
“Agreed,” Bea voiced, her gaze bouncing between the two of them. “Kristen and I have some ship maintenance to run anyway.”
“On that note. Do you think you can make a stop and pick some extra stuff I need?” Kristen jumped in, running his hand through his short black hair. “It’s not super urgent, but it will make my life easier and our rides smoother. One of the coolants needs changing.”
Nyle followed with a similar request, asking for extra memory chips. They spent the next hour going through logistics and supplies, closing the briefing after one of Bea’s contacts confirmed they could supply her with a shuttle. Everyone meandered away, Bea and Kristen to the training area with Nyle as an audience, leaving Aiden and Darren alone in the war room.
With nothing else to say, Aiden headed to his room, but paused as he reached the section wall. “Let me know when you get an update from Nan, even if it’s late.”
Darren’s captivating eyes found his, their intensity even more heart-stopping now that the two of them were alone. Its potency made Aiden take a step back and plaster his back to the wall the moment Darren walked over and was standing next to him.
“Kesley,” Darren said in a low voice that caused Aiden’s stomach to squeeze in bittersweet anticipation.
“Howe,” Aiden shot back, unable to help the breathy bite in his tone.
Darren’s gaze flashed with something dark for a heartbeat, but it didn’t last as he pushed his hands inside his pockets and turned into that vulnerable man Aiden’s mind couldn’t stop obsessing about. He had a boyish charm and came across as unsure, often hesitant and so very irresistibly real.
“I… think you should come meet Sara with me,” Darren said, trying to make it sound casual, like an afterthought rather than the hopeful and genuine request that it was.
Aiden’s heart thumped fast in his chest. “I…” He licked his lips and narrowed his eyes. “And what about the others?”
“I have just two VR sets and also… None of them has met her. We can catch them up afterwards.”
That applied to Aiden too, but he knew why Darren was asking. Both reasons for it, in fact, though he doubted Darren realized the second. Or maybe he did, but didn’t want toacknowledge that he was afraid to meet the copy of his dead sister alone after so long.
“You can tell me later as well,” Aiden pushed, part wanting to hear Darren say it, part needing to punish the man bymakinghim say it.
