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“You didn’t know he was on this ship?”
“I’d know if a member of my family died in an accident.” His words came out hoarse.
“Do you know who that was?”
He nodded. “We’re not close, and I haven’t spoken to him in a long time, but I know Habor Nogea. And he isn’t dead. He’s on a long-term mission in deep space.”
I kept my fingers tight around Rennick’s. He vibrated with... I wasn’t sure. Shock? Anger? Surprise?
“When was the last time you spoke to him?” I asked.
Rennick closed his eyes for a second. “It’s been years. We messaged briefly around two weeks before... before he left for his mission. Star damn it! Just before this ship went into storage.”
My breath caught. “Habor died, along with the rest of the crew, and it got covered up?”
“No! I... I don’t know.”
I shuffled closer, tightening my grip. “You do. You have faked documents. Someone covered up the deaths. Did this ship run covert missions? Did the crew get in trouble and someone needed them silenced?”
“Habor was a scientist! No one wanted him dead.”
“Yet the crew got wiped out. And they died on the Hollow Chorus,” I said. “That’s why we keep getting spooky things happening. The old crew is still here, and your ship needs answers.”
“This is all wrong. I can’t believe it.” His shoulders lifted, and when his gaze locked with mine, his stunned confusion hit me.
“We’re done for now.” I pulled his hands closer. His fingers closed around mine on reflex, tight, and he stared at me like I’d woken him mid-fall. “The data’s not going anywhere. You are. This is too much to process in one go.”
“I should cross-reference the—”
“No. You should eat, drink something strong, and sleep.” I tugged. He didn’t budge. Three hundred pounds of stubborn alien who thought he could outthink shock by staring at it long enough. “Rennick. Move!”
He kept staring at me, and the torrent of emotions behind his eyes made my breath hitch. He was hurting.
I did the only thing I could think of to shatter the shock. I kissed him. At first, it was a soft brush against his mouth, not expecting him to respond.
His hand dropped mine, and he gripped the back of my head as his mouth opened, hungry and exploring.
A moan slid from my lips, muffled as we tasted each other. Rennick grabbed my hip with his free hand and tugged me closer.
It was an effort to break free, but I stepped back. “Let’s get out of here.”
This time, he moved.
I led him off the ship, our hands still entwined. If I let go of him, he might fall. He’d lost a family member on this ship, and he’d had no idea when he’d made the purchase. The Hollow Chorus held secrets about this family’s past. Would we be able to uncover them?
The air hit cold and sharp the second we cleared the gangway. Eden Shore at night smelled crisp, clean, and faintly of the lubricant we used on ship repairs.
Our boots echoed on the planking, his stride shortening to match mine without being asked. His shoulder brushed my arm, and I didn’t move away. The heat off him cut through the cold air.
Our earlier make-out session had been intense, but it promised so much more. I’d had my healthy share of hot hookups, but when Rennick’s fingers had slid inside me, everything shifted. Those weird memories or imprints, or whatever the hell the ship had done to me, had left me longing to be touched by him. Only him. When he’d spread my legs and thrust his fingers inside my pussy, I’d been so sure he’d know how to make me feel better.
Not just better. Fucking alive and desired. And the longing had stuck.
I wasn’t sorting through what I wanted. I already knew. And I needed Rennick to stop overthinking what he’d just discovered. The gears were loud enough to be heard three blocks away.
I didn’t know all the details, but his family was involved in why his shiny pretty howled into the void like a tortured angel.
Salt and Static’s back stairs were narrow, dark, and smelled like old wood and whiskey. I took them two at a time and took the key from Rennick, unlocking the door without turning around as the ache between my legs grew.
