“She’s not answering,” Mace said.
“I see that.” It was probably nothing. There was a long list of rational reasons she hadn’t responded.
Mace pushed back from the table and stood. “We should get back to the ship.”
He was going to suggest they ping her location, but they’d never added her device to their network because one or both of them were usually with her.
The promenade seemed impossibly busy as they dodged and weaved their way through the crowd.
“Why isn’t she answering her comm?” Mace said aloud.
“It could be anything. The most likely reason is that she’s doing that interface thing with Livy. You know she doesn’t sense anything going on in the real world when she’s in cyberspace. Or she could be working on something and couldn’t answer right away. The odds are we’ll get there and she’ll be going about her day with no idea there is even a problem.”
Mace shook his head, unconvinced. “What if she does know? Flek can’t be the only information broker on the station. Hell. What if he had warned her already? He only told us the rest after we confirmed we wouldn’t turn her in. If he was worried about her safety…”
Fraxx. That made sense. Which meant she might know about the bounty. If that was the case, she might already be gone.
Xaber sped up, moving from a fast walk to a run. Mace fell in beside him. If she had any doubts about them, she’d run. That’s what he’d do because life had taught him not to rely too much on other beings. They’d talked about it that morning at breakfast.
“If she’s not there…”Mace sent through their link. As if he didn’t want to jinx them by saying it out loud.
“She’ll be there.” And if she wasn’t? They wouldn’t stop until she was back where she belonged.
With them.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tish had neededtime to think about her next steps. Her first choice had been to go for a walk in the bio-dome. She’d ruled that idea out quickly. The message had taken more than two weeks to reach Defiance. If the posting had gotten here ahead of the warning from her fathers, it was possible someone had already seen it. That meant the second she left the ship, she’d be an easy target for any bounty hunters on the station.
On board theTrue, only two bounty hunters could reach her—Mace and Xaber. Not that she thought they’d turn her in. They would likely rage and rail at her once they knew the truth. Mace would do his glower and growl thing. Xaber… She wasn’t sure what he’d do. He might be angry, or he might retreat in silence. Probably the second one.
Since leaving the ship wasn’t an option, she’d gone with her second favorite thinking spot—the shower. She was in the cabin she’d claimed as her private sanctuary, enjoying the benefits of unlimited hot water. Water cascaded around her, and lightly scented steam filled her lungs as she tested out various ways of approaching the now-unavoidable conversation.
She was rinsing the last of a conditioning mask out of her thick curls when she heard indistinct shouting from somewhere on board.
She stepped out of the flow of water so she could hear better. This time, she made out the words.
“Tix! Where are you?” Mace bellowed.
“She’s not answering.” That was Xaber. He was still too far away to hear what he said next, but the tone was urgent.
She turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and hurried into the main part of the cabin. She had no idea what was wrong, but it sounded serious. “I’m in here!”
Bootsteps pounded down the corridor, coming closer.
“Where?” Mace demanded.
“The little cabin! Hold on. I’m coming.” She wrapped the cyborg-sized towel around herself and activated the door. “What’s happening? Is everything okay?”
They were both directly outside the door, which made her take a wary step back. They did not look happy. At all.
“You’re still here,” Xaber said.
“Where else would I… Oof!” She was cut off mid-sentence as Mace surged into the room, picked her up, and wrapped her in a bear hug.
“Hi,” she managed to wheeze with what little air was still in her lungs.
Mace kept going, carrying her back into the cabin. He kept walking until he reached the bed she’d pushed against the outer bulkhead. She slept with them, so she’d turned it into a sort of daybed with plenty of pillows and a soft blanket.
