Whatever was shredding his engine would just have to wait. I turned to Morpheus as I checked Blue’s nav inputs. “Tell me about this Nimbus Prime of yours.”
He shuddered. “It’s not mine. But it is the closest port with a reliable refugee program. We can drop the females there and be certain they won’t end up sold right back into slavery as soon as we’re gone.”
I glanced between him and Alder—who wouldn’t, I realized, make eye contact with me. “Let me guess. You’re wanted there, too?”
Morpheus raised a wing in a shrug. “Not sure. We’ve avoided the place like the Hyprinion Plague. But they like to run background checks on anyone who hits their orbit. So if we’re not wanted yet, we will be by the time we land if we’re not careful.”
“Hm. Well, no one is likely to have a bulletin out on me yet—not unless the Bufo Alvarius Empress has managed to deal with her AI’s multiple attacks already.”
“Was that what the explosion was?” Alder spoke actual words for the first time since I’d entered the bridge.
“So Blue tells me.” I leaned back in my chair and stretched my legs out straight, crossing them at the ankles. I wiggled my toes inside my boots. Even my feet felt slightly gritty. Yuck. “I’ll deal with the transfer of the women. You three can hide out in one of the bolt-holes under the southeast bay until we take off again.”
“Bolt-holes?”
I wasn’t sure if Morpheus didn’t recognize the term or if he was surprised I had hiding spots on Blue.
“They’re shielded from any scanners Blue and I have ever come across,” I explained. “Good for our … less-than-legal runs.”
“I thought you were a junker.” Alder leaned forward interestedly, finally meeting my gaze.
“You ever know a space-junker who didn’t make other kinds of deliveries, too?” I raised one eyebrow.
The fae male started to grin, then frowned again and slumped back in the jumpseat.
Yeah. Definitely something grinding his gears. Thank all the stars it wasn’t my problem.
I stretched my arms over my head. “Blue says we’ve got about nine hours before we get to Nimbus Prime. I’m going to check on our passengers, make sure they’re as comfortable as possible, under the circumstances. Then I plan to hit the sani-shower. I suggest you both do the same. You won’t want to be stuck in a bolt-hole together smelling like that.”
And after I bathe, I will go find Evik.
I smiled to myself again as I stood. This time, though, Alder exploded from his jumpseat, waving his sparking hands in the air wildly as he stalked toward me. “He is a bug. You know that, right?”
As his meaning penetrated my thoughts, my heart stuttered in my chest and my arms and legs went ice-cold, all the way to the tips of my fingers and toes.
Until that moment, I hadn’t known that rage could freeze as well as burn.
I took a long, slow breath and blew it out slowly before I spoke. “I assume you’re talking about Evik?”
Alder mistook my anger for calm, too wrapped up in his own sparking self-interest to pay attention to anyone else. Morpheus, however, took a step back from me, carefully lowering himself into a nearby seat. I wasn’t sure if he was settling in to enjoy the show or simply making himself a smaller target.
“I don’t think you really understand what’s going on,” the fae continued, pacing back and forth as he explained. “He’s heading into his mating season. And he’s not exactly picky when it comes to finding partners.” He glanced over at Morpheus. “Hell, he tried to fuck us last year, and we’re strictly opposite-sex-partners only.”
Morpheus pursed his lips and shook his head as if he wanted to stop Alder’s tirade, but one glance at my face and he subsided back into his seat, his metal wings scraping lightly against the floor.
“Getting involved with Evik will only lead to heartbreak,” Alder continued, warming to his theme. “The Chilchek aren’t what you’d call monogamous. The physical differences alone could end up being insurmountable.”
“Are you done yet?”
Something in my tone finally got through to him, and his voice trailed off. He stumbled to a halt a few steps away from me. “I just think it’s a bad idea,” he added lamely.
I moved in close to him. Even though he was the shortest of my crewmembers, he still towered over me. But I had grown up around junkers and smugglers—rough men used to taking what they wanted without asking and dealing with the fallout later. I learned early on how to project my power past my physical space.
Until now, I hadn’t had to exert my control over these three.
But this was my ship. I was in charge.
I let every ounce of that knowledge seep out through my pores, mixing with my fury and swirling into the charged atmosphere surrounding me. And then I took another silent step toward Alder, invading his space. He blinked twice before he broke eye contact. It was the moment I’d been waiting for.
“I don’t give a good godsdamn what you think about who I take into my bed,” I said so softly it was almost a whisper. “You are my crewman. Nothing more.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Morpheus go completely still, like a butterfly attempting to camouflage itself among leaves.
I stood on my tiptoes to get my face closer to Alder’s, carefully enunciating every word. “That bug you’re so dismissive of? He considers you his partners. His family. More than that. To him, you are closer than brothers. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for you. We only just met, and I already know that.”
Alder’s expression turned stricken, his face paling.
I dropped back down to standing and took a step back, channeling every bit of disdain I felt into my voice.
