Dealers' Choice - Susan Hayes Page 0,26

not running far in these shoes.” She lifted the hem of her dress to show off footwear that had about as much substance as a soap bubble. “Plus, I agreed to go out on a date with both of you, so you can’t ditch Vic before the evening even begins.”

Vic halted mid-stride and pivoted to face her, his next words coming as a surprise to everyone, including himself. “If anything ever happens. Alarms, explosions, or someone so much as makes you feel threatened, you go with Ward. He’ll take care of you.” His eyes snapped to his twin. “Won’t you, Wolf?”

Ward’s fist thumped his chest in a salute. He grimaced, turning the salute into an obscene gesture. “Asshole. You know I hate it when you pull rank on me.”

“Was that an automatic reaction?” Xori was watching them both, her eyes bright with curiosity.

“Yeah. We’re a command team, same as Kit and Luke. The rest of our batch were programmed to follow our orders, but I’m hard-coded to follow his.” Ward jerked his thumb at Vic.

“You expecting trouble?” Ward asked through their link.

“No. Don’t know why I said that. But if anything happens…”

“I’ll make sure she’s safe. Always.”

“Good,” Vic replied.

Ward surprised him by adding. “If your gut starts telling you there’s trouble coming, fraxxing say something this time.”

He flinched, and Xori caught it. “What? What did I miss?” she asked.

Ward cursed under her breath. “Sorry. That was a cheap shot.”

He waved it off. “Maybe, but that doesn’t make it less true.”

Xori folded her arms across her chest and muttered something in Pheran so fast he only caught every second or third word.

“Uh… did she just threaten to paint our heads with honey?” Ward asked, as confused as he was.

“I thought she said something about redecorating our faces,” Vic said.

She glared up at them, though her lips were quirked up in a hint of a smile. “I said that if you two don’t start explaining yourselves, I’ll ask Cyn to tear your heads off so I can use them to decorate my office.”

Ward croaked with strangled laughter. “Well, clearly you’ve been spending too much time at the Nova. Our sister-in-law is rubbing off on you in alarming ways.”

“She’s fascinating.”

“She’s a lunatic. Who else would take on our batch-brothers?” Vic said, then walked the last few steps to the access panel. He placed his hand on the scanner and the door slid open. “Dinner awaits.”

Xori shook her head and settled back on her heels. “Oh no. Not until you explain what happened a moment ago.”

It took him a second to rewind the conversation to remember what she meant. The recollection made him wince, again. “Not out here, please.”

Her expression softened immediately. “Alright.”

“Thank you.” It was one of the many facets of her personality he enjoyed. She could be relentless and stubborn during their sessions, forcing them to face truths they’d rather avoid at all costs, but she was never confrontational. His gaze slid to Ward. Unlike others he knew, she would never pick a fight just because they wanted someone to yell at.

Walking onto the ship was like stepping into another world. The air was crisp and clean and carried a subtle scent that reminded him of green, growing things despite the fact there wasn’t a single plant in view. The decks were covered in a thick, red carpet, and the walls had actually been textured and painted to hide the steel beneath.

A hologram shimmered into existence in front of them. It was a small female figure about two feet high, with blonde hair, slender limbs, and translucent wings growing out of her back. “Welcome aboard the Faerie Queene. My name is Tink, and I’m the ship’s AI. If you follow me, I will guide you to your suite for the evening.”

They stared at each other. An AI with its own hologram that could just flit about the ship?

“I think I need to start charging Tianna more for our sessions,” Xori whispered.

“Indeed, you should. Your current rate is twenty-two percent less than standard, Dr. Virness,” the AI replied, then tipped her head slightly. “And you have been a great help to my owner. Thank you for that.”

“You’re very welcome, Tink.”

They followed the hologram along a spacious hallway and into an elevator that let them out several floors down. All three of them were silent, drinking in the opulence that saturated every detail. It wasn’t overdone, exactly. It was simply wealth on a scale that none of them had ever experienced before.

Despite all Royan’s

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