21—Infiltration and Destruction
As much as I wanted the orbital to be civilized, that was never going to be the case. For one thing, they allowed the Star Shadows to have an outpost there—a full one, taking up the top tier of a docking arm, private security, and all. We rode the elevator to the top floor of the central hub, and then headed for the broad office frontage advertising Star Shadow Enterprises.
That sinking feeling I had? Yeah. It was replaced by a cold, hard lump that made it difficult to breathe, and my heart started to beat a whole lot faster than it had on the way up. I caught sight of the large, glass-fronted office space, the airlock-style entry-way, and I baulked.
Derevo must have been waiting for me to do something like that, because he tightened his grip on my bicep, and leant over to put his mouth close to my ear.
“Wolves understand discipline, Cutter. Pretty sure you cause me trouble, now, they’ll see the consequences and settle the damages.”
His tongue traced a line from the base of my neck to the base of my ear.
“Care to see how far I can push the boundaries?”
I didn’t—and I let him know just how much—but he laughed as he dodged my kick, and then dumped me on my back. He was sitting astride my chest, his hand over my throat and squeezing before I’d caught my breath.
“Let her up, Rev,” Sasha’s voice intervened, drifting down as though it came from a great height. “Pretty sure we can get her the last three meters without having to kick the crap out of her.”
It sounded like a plan to me… much as I didn’t want to go through those doors. Nope. No way, no how. I figured if I had to, then I’d like to do it conscious…and maybe even on my own two, right?
Whether or not Derevo caught that thought, or not, he picked me up off the floor, and half-guided, half-hauled, me through to the foyer. There was a half dozen wolves waiting behind the counter, when we arrived, so I raised my head.
As bad as this was, they weren’t going to have the satisfaction of seeing me afraid.
Of course, Sasha had to pull that thought right out of my head.
“They’ll scent it, anyway.”
They might, but I couldn’t be afraid, forever, and I was about done being terrified in situations I couldn’t fix. I picked the most important looking wolf in the bunch, and I curled my lip.
You and whose army? I thought.
The snarl that rumbled out in reply was not a surprise. I smirked.
Yeah. About what I thought.
Derevo’s grip tightened, and I felt his body grow tense.
“You got a death wish, kid?” he muttered, and I gave him a sideways glance and quirked an eyebrow.
What the fuck did he think?
“I think your attitude needs adjusting,” he murmured, and shook me.
I tilted my head and glared at him, but couldn’t think of a reply, before one of the wolves cleared its throat.
“We recognize the bounty,” it said, and Sasha led the way to the counter.
“Please, come straight through,” the wolf added, interrupting her before she could reach it, and it indicated the partition being opened beside its terminal. “Hregat will show you the way.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
Sasha did not hesitate as she followed after the wolf, and Derevo fell in step right behind her. Cascade trotted happily with the female bounty hunter, as though he was in good company, and I sighed. We ever got out of this, and I’d be telling Rohan he needed to recalibrate how the dog chose his companions.
“I wouldn’t,” Derevo told me, as we turned into a small office.
He maneuvered me in front of a seat in front of a large desk, pulling me until the back of my legs hit the chair and my knees folded.
“Sit,” he said, shifting his hand to the top of my shoulder and applying pressure.
I resisted the urge to tell him that I was already sitting, and turned my attention to the wolf behind the desk. Fixing it with a gaze direct enough to be insulting, I raised an eyebrow.
And what the fuck are you going to do, now? I asked it, without saying a word.
Gotta admit, the creature coming over the top of the desk was just not something I’d contemplated. Given what I knew about the wolves, I should have known what was coming, but Hell, it was wearing a suit, for fuck’s sake. It had a tie. It was even behind a fucking desk!
He hit the chair with enough force to topple it backwards, and managed to grab my head before it hit the floor. I swear the damn thing was smiling as it crouched over me, its claws tangled in the hair at the back of my head.
“I don’t know, human, what do you think I should do?”
And I heard those words clear as clear could be, both inside and outside my head, felt my face grow cold with pallor as I stared up at him trying to think of what to say next.
“What’s the matter, Jocelyn Cutter? Cat got your tongue?”
And it knew my name… I swallowed, unable to think of a single thing to say. For some reason, this critter was the single most frightening member of his species that I’d yet encountered—and whether that was because it was so close, or so big, or seemed to fill every corner of my head, I couldn’t tell.
It gave me a laughing-dog smile, got off the chair, and dragged me to my feet by my hair.
“Here,” it said, thrusting me towards the two wolves standing just inside the door way. “Keep it out of mischief.”
The second it let go, I tried to avoid the wolf reaching for me. I also tried to reach the door, but this took me a step in Derevo’s direction, and he gave me a hard and fast clip upside the head.
