“You get organized for the flight to Ashur. Livy and I have this handled.”
He smiled and then stepped into the air, forgoing the ladder to drop to the next deck.
“Show off!” she called after him.
“Cyborg,” he reminded her.
Her laughter followed him down the corridor. He’d check on their prisoner, and then he’d let Mace know the good news. Last night, he’d questioned Mace’s decision to get involved in someone else’s fight. Today, he was grateful for it. Tix was exactly what they needed in their lives.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tish finishedthe repairs on theTrueas quickly as she could. Xaber had places to be, and she had promised Grotta she’d come by to see if there was work to do.
She’d taken her payment and exchanged contact information with Xaber before wishing him a safe trip. “She’ll get you there and back again. After that… we’ll talk.”
Once she’d gotten most of the work completed, Tish asked Livy to run a full diagnostic on the jump engines. She’d only skimmed the results, but she could already tell the task of overhauling theLive Truewould not be quick, easy, or cheap. She could do it, though. By the time she was done, she’d have earned a good amount of scrip, especially if she could figure out how to keep her under-the-table arrangement with Grotta as well.
If she could manage both, she’d be tired but with a decent amount of scrip saved by the time theTruewas finished.
Not for the first time, she wished she had medi-bots like the cyborgs did. Rumor had it that the military had started offering the tech to some of its more valuable assets. It would be years or even decades before beings like her would have a chance to access it, and it might never happen. That was a pity becausethe ability to forgo sleep and manage on minimal calories would certainly make her current situation easier.
Her stomach growled at the mere thought of food, but she ignored it. She’d skipped the midday meal again today. She’d come straight from theTrueto Grotta’s to find out if she had any work today.
As luck had it, there had been. So now she was elbows-deep in the mechanical guts of an air recycler. It was dirty, tedious work, but she could do it with her eyes closed, so it left her mind free to consider the challenges of repairing theLive True’sjump engines.
She was wondering if the cyborgs would be willing to help with some of the heavy lifting when her comm chimed to indicate she had an incoming text message. It was strapped to her wrist, which allowed her to see the screen, even while her hands were full.
It was from Mace.
Fraxx. Was something wrong with their ship? It had been almost two hours since she’d left theTrue, confident that the standard engines were performing well. Had she missed something?
She moved several meters away from the partially dismantled machine and leaned against a bulkhead. Only then did she pull off her gloves and the full-face respirator she wore to protect herself from mold, spores, and other ick that often took up residence in poorly maintained air filters.
Then she unclipped her comm and read the message.
It wasn’t bad news at all.
Hey Tix,
It’s Mace. I wanted to say thank you again. Xaber is on his way, and he says the ship is flying better than ever.
We paid to hold on to the same berth. I figured you must work nearby, so that should make it easier for you once the True is back and you’ve started work on her.
Take care of yourself. See you soon.
M.
Relief hit her first, followed by amusement. Xaber spelled his name with an X? She hadn’t realized it because she hadn’t seen his name written down anywhere.
Her smile faded when another thought occurred to her. She’d known that Mace wasn’t going with Xaber, but she hadn’t considered what that meant. Their home was the ship, so where was he staying? She didn’t know him well, but he was a good male who had helped her without asking for anything in return. She didn’t like the thought of him being homeless and alone. She knew what that felt like, and as tough as he was, she felt like she needed to say something.
Tish tapped a few letters to ask where he’d be staying, deleted them, typed a few more, and stopped. Was this a smart idea? Something told her that if she reached out, it could lead to more than a friendly conversation. Xaber had almost asked her out earlier, and he’d made it clear that he and Mace were a package deal.
That wasn’t what she’d expected, but it wasn’t entirely surprising either. No, her concern wasn’t how to make a three-way relationship work. It was much simpler than that. Getting involved with bounty hunters was complicated and risky. On the other hand, they were both hotter than a supernova and had treated her with nothing but kindness and respect.
Fraxx.
She stared at the blank screen for several minutes while she tried to think logically. If Hamish put a bounty out for her, she’d have to disappear. That was true no matter what. It didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy some male company, even if it couldn’t last.And really, what were the odds her former owner would pay to get her back? He was a cheap bastard, and she was certain he wouldn’t want to admit she’d knocked him out cold. His ego wouldn’t allow it.
