my mind. The brain implant screws with my memory sometimes.”
Ian spat out a low curse. “I failed to protect you, Bianca. I knew you were unhappy, but I never thought it was something like this.” He met my eyes, expression solemn. “I am so fucking sorry.”
I edged around the bed to where he was sitting and took his face in my hands. “It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you.” He looked like he wanted to protest, so I bent my head and kissed him.
His mouth parted under mine with a groan. I licked into his mouth, and his hands clenched on my hips. He leaned back, pulling me with him, until he was flat on the bed and I was straddling him.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he growled.
“Trust me, I’m going to burn these clothes at the earliest opportunity.” I was still wearing the too big fatigues I’d stolen from the mine guard. They’d gone a few cycles through the sonic wash, but I was happy to have my own clothes as an option again.
“So you won’t mind if I do this?” He didn’t wait for a response before he pulled the front of my shirt apart, sending buttons flying.
Lust warred with amusement. When he palmed my breasts, lust won.
When we started docking at the space station orbiting APD Zero, I called Ada. She didn’t pick up, despite the fact that the early hour in Universal meant it was late afternoon in Sedition. I knew she’d be pissed that I’d left her behind, but I didn’t expect her to dodge my calls. I hoped she was away rather than ignoring me.
I connected to the Net, brought up my usual security precautions, and checked my messages. I’d been offline for over four days, something that never happened. Ada had informed our siblings of what I was attempting in Antlia. Three days ago, Benedict had reported Ferdinand’s arrival with a warning to keep it to themselves until I turned up.
After that, I’d received a series of increasingly worried messages from my siblings, until the final one from Ada yesterday morning that merely read: ARE YOU DEAD?
Benedict had sent a message late last night, assuring everyone I was alive and on my way home with Ferdinand. He told them to keep it quiet until I said otherwise. I posted the same and swore them all to secrecy about Ferdinand because I wanted to spring it on Father myself.
The messages from Catarina were the most interesting. She’d been digging into who had access to Ferdinand’s schedule while I was “off having fun”—her words, not mine. Then she’d expanded her search into who had started the traitor rumor, with Deputy Director Stevens’s help.
Three days ago, she’d found a suspect.
She wouldn’t tell me who it was on an insecure connection, but yesterday they’d had enough to pull him in for questioning. I tried to read between the lines, but she’d been careful and there were no hints. Was it someone on the security team? What would he gain? Revenge?
Ferdinand pulled me aside while Ian spoke to Aoife and Alex. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“What do you mean?” I asked warily.
“I heard Aoife talking about how the Rockhurst battle cruiser was going to eat our lunch. There’s only one Rockhurst in Antlia and he wouldn’t let us get away for free. What did you do?”
“I said I was with the Syndicate and heavily implied that retaliation for my death would be swift and brutal.”
“And Richard believed you?”
“He didn’t shoot us down, did he?”
Ferdinand narrowed his eyes at me. “I taught you that trick, Bee. You won’t distract me so easily. What did you do?”
I sighed. “I promised him a future favor.”
“And of course he extracted it from the one person who will honor their word. Fuck.”
“I won’t apologize for getting you out. I was prepared to do whatever it took. I will deal with the consequences when they arrive.” Because I had no doubt that I would pay, it was just a matter of when and how much.
“Don’t forget that you have support. You don’t have to take on the world by yourself. The family will help you. And it seems like you’re stuck with Director Bishop, too.”
A soft smile pulled at my lips. I hoped I was stuck with Ian for a long time.
The transfer to Aurora went quickly. We left most of our gear behind. Aoife and Alex promised to keep an eye on Phantom until we could come back for it. I hugged