Ian did not follow me. Instead, he called after me, “We have an agreement. Now who is breaking their word?”
I kept walking. “I learned from you that I only have to honor agreements when it suits me,” I said over my shoulder. “And today it does not suit.”
“I can get us an invite to the party,” he said.
“So can I,” I called back.
“I have a ship that’s ready to jump,” he said. He was following me now, keeping me in speaking distance but not coming closer.
“I can catch a starliner.”
“I can stop negotiating and return you to your father.”
I whirled around and stalked back toward him. I stepped into his personal space, nearly chest to chest. I glared up at him, cursing my height as much as him. “Do it, then,” I taunted. “I dare you. Lock me in my suite in House von Hasenberg. I’ll be out before the end of the day and on my way to the party before you realize I’m missing.”
“Keeping pushing me, Bianca, and I will lock you in your suite, even if I have to carry you there myself and then sit outside the door.”
The thought of Ian carrying me to my bedroom was not as repugnant as he probably meant it to be. In fact, in the right circumstances, it would be delicious. I banished that thought before it had time to grow roots and make itself at home.
“Are you ready to be reasonable yet?” he asked.
I closed my eyes and counted to five. If I kept staring at his handsome, infuriating face, then I would do something unwise.
“Why did you betray me?” The question slipped out, tinted with sadness and pain.
I opened my eyes in time to catch the flicker in his expression. His mask slipped a tiny bit, revealing a kaleidoscope of feelings, before smoothing over once again. “My job is to keep you safe,” he said. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“And it didn’t occur to you that your betrayal would hurt me?”
I’d surprised him. He said, “I thought you would be furious.”
“I am,” I assured him, “but I’m also hurt. Despite rumors to the contrary, I am not a robot. When I trust someone and they break that trust, it stings.”
“You trust me?”
“I did. Why would you doubt that? You’re the director of House security and I’ve known you for nearly seven years. You may infuriate me on occasion, but you’ve never lied to me before.”
His expression flickered again. Holy hell, he had lied to me before, and I’d not caught it. I shook my head at my own stupidity.
A transport settled next to us. Ian clasped my elbow with extreme gentleness, as if I were made of glass. He’d taken my dig about bruising to heart. “Please come with me, Lady Bianca,” he said.
I shook my head. “I am not setting foot on your ship,” I said. “You are no longer trusted. If you wish to accompany me, you may. We will go to Aurora to get supplies, then hop a starliner to Andromeda Prime. I need a dress.”
“Aurora is already on its way to your sister on APD Zero.”
My mouth popped open in surprise. “What?”
“Your ship is no longer here,” he said. “It’s in orbit, waiting to jump to APD Zero.”
All ships were capable of autonomously navigating between locations without an active crew, but I’d never used the feature with Aurora. I liked my ship and stayed on my ship, and if I had to leave it, I came back for it. Although I knew it was perfectly capable of making the trip, anxiety fueled my anger.
“The guards just let you waltz away with my ship?” I demanded.
“The guards were well compensated to look the other way. If you didn’t want me to steal your ship, you really should’ve changed the override codes.”
Yes, I really should’ve. I could blame the oversight on weariness and adrenaline, but it was a critical failure on my part. I hadn’t expected Ian to catch up with me so quickly and now I had to deal with the consequences.
“Why send the ship to Ada?” I worked through it. “You didn’t want it on Earth where I could use it to escape again. You bastard.”
He didn’t reply.
“Were you ever planning to let me go to the Syndicate party or was this a ruse from the beginning?” When he remained silent, I closed my eyes. Of course. “I’m surprised you let me meet with Guskov at all. Why?” I