“I hope you're being careful, Con. If this place is compromised because you couldn't keep your mouth shut, I'll start on my list,” I warned, my voice raised and my tone terse.
I meant what I said. If we were cut off from unmonitored travels because Con wanted to make a few extra credits, I would torture his ass.
He jumped and spun around. When he saw who threatened him, his mouth curled into a grin, and he threw out his arms.
“Ah, Zella, my favorite Reaper,” he said and sauntered towards me.
I waved him off, not in the mood for his theatrics. “Cut the shit, Con. Does it work?”
Con frowned. “That hurts my feelings. Of course, it works.”
“Again, with the tig shit. You don't have any feelings. Besides, I should have asked if it functions properly. You know, without it feeling as if you'd been pulverized and ripped apart.” I crossed my arms over my chest, forcing him to drop his instead of giving me the hug I knew was coming.
“Yes, yes. It is perfect. I told you last time. The fuse went out, and I didn't have any way of replacing it. Since you fixed that, we fixed this. So, it's in superb condition according to the few Reapers we've sent through.”
I frowned, staring at Con until he shook his head and stepped back.
“What?” he asked.
“I left a friend so they couldn't track her movements here. What if those Reapers get caught doing something else, and they decide to look at their data? What are you going to do then? Run past the palace with the portal parts? Think, Con. Think.” I was not happy. He'd put everything at risk, and his smarmy grin would do nothing to soothe me.
“It's fine. I promise.” He reached out to pat my shoulder, and I jerked back.
Everyone is fine, apparently. Fine, fine, fine.
“Con.” I only spoke his name, but my tone sounded like a warning—one he took.
He sighed and turned around, walking towards the controls. His shoulders drooped, and his posture didn't seem as straight as it had.
“We've had two Reapers use it a few times. That's all, and they're long-term customers. Never had any trouble out of either of them, and they know how to behave. If it hadn't been tested, you'd still be complaining because I'd have to say that I thought it was fixed. I can't seem to win with you,” he grumbled.
Probably. “I would not have. Well, there's nothing to be done about it now, I guess. I certainly can't afford to have you move again. Not now. We'll begin our trips on the rise, so make sure you have everything ready to go.”
“We'll be ready,” he said, turning around to face me again.
“Okay. I need to go. I only wanted to check in with you and make sure we were still functional. Farewell,” I uttered wearily.
I spun on my heel, and Con yelled, “Wait!”
Pausing, I looked back over my shoulder to find Con jogging towards me. I raised one brow, trying to piece together the reason why.
“I'll go with you.” He smiled, tossing an arm around my shoulder when he got close enough.
“Farewell, Zella,” Taris called out, and I gave him a small wave.
Then I felt a tug, and my feet stumbled as Con began pulling me along with him, rushing us both through the room. I didn't bother watching where we were going. Instead, my gaze remained firmly affixed to his face.
“What is going on?” I questioned.
He glanced around, grinning when he spotted a couple of Soulless. “I'm not sure what you mean, Zella. Now, let's go.”
I remained silent, playing along with whatever he had going on, but I also plotted. The instant we were outside, he would answer me.
Thankfully, I didn't have to resort to any unsavory practices. As soon as Con shut the door behind us, he began to talk. And talk. And talk.
“We've got some problems,” Con whispered, placing his hand on my lower back and pushing me along.
“What now?” I asked.
Con glanced behind him, his voice hesitant as he whispered, “Well, I didn't want to mention anything around the crew, but I've been seeing a couple of Reapers hanging around here lately.”
My footsteps faltered, but I quickly regained my casual stroll and shrugged off Con's arm as we neared the sidewalk.
“What do you mean?” I hissed.
A couple of Reapers around the palace didn't mean anything. It didn't tell me why he worried. After all, we were in Reaper territory, and most Reapers would pass