Athena’s Ashes (Star Thief Chronicles #2)(46)
Author: Jamie Grey

Viktis pressed a hand to his heart. “Do you really not know me at all, love?”

“I know you far too well,” she said with a smirk. “That’s the problem.”

He chuckled and leaned back in his chair to mirror her pose. “I’ll be honest. I’m just happy to get off the Athena. If Finn flashed me one more of those smug looks, I was going to shoot him.”

“So I’m a convenient excuse?”

“You’ve never been convenient, love.” He grinned around his bite of noodles, and Renna shook her head.

After he swallowed, he pushed the plate away. “MYTH deserves what’s coming to them if they actually think you’ve betrayed them. However, you do not deserve to spend the rest of your life on a prison ship for something you didn’t do. So if I can help, I will.”

“Very altruistic of you.” Renna frowned. “I still don’t believe you, but I appreciate the intent.”

“Just go with it.” He shrugged. “I’ve got a shiny new ship, a pilot, and a woman who wants vengeance. Life doesn’t get much better.”

Renna tapped her finger against the worn plastic tabletop. “I don’t get it. Why would Finn and Jayla believe I’d betray them? I’ve done everything that stupid organization has asked and then some. I could have left at any minute, but I’m still here. Why believe Samil over me?”

“Once a thief, always a thief, I guess. Some people can’t see past the noses on their faces. Especially those great, honking human noses.” Viktis patted her hand. “Finn’s not worth another thought, love. Especially since you’re here with me.”

Finn’s betrayal sat like a heavy weight on her chest, making her lungs ache. Even worse, she hadn’t stopped caring about the stupid man just because he’d sold her out. Being hurt like this was unacceptable, especially since she’d spent so long guarding her heart against this very thing. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

“What about you and Lieutenant Keva?” she asked, changing the subject. “What’s up between the two of you? I saw the looks you were giving each other.”

His voice softened and his eyes got a faraway look. “The lieutenant and I became…close while we were here last week. She’s an amazing woman.”

Renna’s eyes widened. “By the gods. Are you in love with her?”

Viktis’s face flushed dark amber and sat upright. “No! Of course not,” he spluttered. But the way his gaze slid away told Renna he wasn’t exactly telling the truth.

She chuckled and shook her head. “Look at that. Viktis the pirate’s gone and fallen in love finally. The women of the galaxy will weep.”

His grin was wicked as he got to his feet. “Have you ever known me to settle down with one woman?”

“Why yes, as a matter of fact.” She followed him through the apartment. “I seem to remember a time when it was just me and you. You’re not so tough, Viktis. I know you’ve been in love before.”

He opened the door and reset the security system. “And then I tried to kill you. That’s usually how all my relationships end.”

“Good point,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s hope Keva’s a better shot than you are.” She grabbed her bag off the threadbare couch. “Can we stop by my dropbox on the way to the ship? Kara’s supposed to get me some intel on Samil.”

“Of course. Fortune’s Risk is waiting on the other side of the station. Luckily, I haven’t heard a peep about MYTH searching for you, but we’d still better be careful.” He paused and rubbed his chin. “Though I wouldn’t mind knocking Captain Finn on his ass just once.”

Renna followed him from the apartment. “Wait in line, pirate. I get first shot at him.”

Viktis quickly locked the door, setting the security cameras before they headed toward the apartment complex exit.

Renna paused at the door, peering up and down the bustling street. There were way too many places someone could hide.

“Hold on, let me run a scan.” She ordered her implant to search for MYTH soldiers, but it returned negative contacts.

They made it to the other end of the district without anyone stopping them, and Renna’s pulse finally slowed as they waited for their elevator to arrive. “Are you finally going to tell me about the story behind getting this ship?” she asked, slanting a glance at Viktis.

He smirked. “You heard Finn and I took down mob queen Kitty Cordoza last week? As part of that sting, I just happened to…acquire the Fortune’s Risk from Kitty, along with a few hundred-thousand credits. She won’t need either of them where she’s going, and I needed a new ship. Seemed like the perfect solution.”

“So you’re saying the Fortune’s Risk is your reward for doing a good deed?” Since when had Viktis turned altruistic?

“You could say that.” Viktis sighed lovingly. “She’s the prettiest little thing you’ve ever seen. I’ve got her stored over with the Ortan port authority.”

Renna quirked an eyebrow at him. That was one of the better districts on the station. A lot of diplomats stored their vehicles there, preferring quick access to the station rather than the red tape of the government landing hub. That exclusivity didn’t come cheap.

The elevator’s arrival interrupted Viktis, and they both stepped into it. Renna entered the code for Kara’s district where the dropbox was located, then turned back to the pirate. “Have you ever gotten a ship through normal channels?”

“Have you?”

Renna held up her hands. “Fair enough. No more questions.”

The elevator came to a stop, and the pair stepped into a quiet, residential district. She started another scan for MYTH soldiers, but agony sliced through her brain instead.

Air whooshed from her lungs at the red-hot fire shooting through her nerves. Gods, the pain. Renna’s knees buckled, and she dropped to the floor. The whole station rocked and spun around her as her implant went crazy.

Images burst and faded in her mind—pictures of star charts, images of the tenements where she’d grown up, her first ship. They swirled like abstract art, combining and recombining into different shapes and images. Her tenuous grip on the connection with the hub slipped. She could feel it start to unravel, and she grasped at it, trying to slip back into her hiding place. To cut off communications.

But the harder she struggled, the faster her connection with the station disintegrated. A second later, she felt the communication line she’d turned off earlier reconnect with the Athena.