his palm into mine. His hands were large and calloused but he didn’t try to dominate me with strength or go the other way and give me a fragile squeeze. His handshake was firm and solid.
“You’re welcome,” he said. He kept my hand as he peered closely at me. “Are you sure you’re a von Hasenberg?”
My own eyebrows crept up my forehead. “Yes. I look just like my father.”
“You don’t act like one.”
I smiled gently. “Of course I do. I just try not to.”
The hint of a smile touched his mouth and he let go of my hand. “Maybe that’s enough. Call me Alex.”
I grinned and inclined my head in agreement before taking my leave.
I tracked Aoife to the engine maintenance area and only because I cheated and asked the ship where she was. She turned as I approached. She tried to avoid a handshake because her hands were dirty, but I firmly clasped her hand in mine. “Thank you for everything,” I said. “We wouldn’t have made it out of Matavara without you. I told Alex this as well, but let me know if I can do anything for you in the future.”
I handed her the chocolate I’d snagged from the cargo bay. Once she realized what it was, she tried to hand it back. I waved her off. “It’s a small gift. It’s not enough, but I hope you like it.”
“Ian hasn’t told us to go, so I doubt this is good-bye, but you’re welcome.” She held the chocolate up to her nose and inhaled deeply with an appreciative sigh. “And thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Safe travels until I see you again.”
“Safe travels,” she echoed.
I exited the ship, running through my mental checklist. I thought I’d grabbed everything I needed. Ada, Loch, and Ian stood in strained silence at the bottom of the cargo ramp. Both men were tall and muscular, but Loch was bulkier than Ian. Looking at them together, I preferred Ian’s more athletic build.
Ada smiled when she caught sight of me. “Finally!” she called. “I thought you weren’t coming.”
“Yeah, yeah, I had to pack.” I smiled at Loch. “Hello, Marcus.”
He inclined his head. “Hello, Bianca.”
When I got close, Ada pulled me into a hug, then held me out at arm’s length. “You look terrible,” she said bluntly.
“It’s been a day. I’ll tell you about it, but not right now. Do you have a transport?”
She nodded and slid my bag off my shoulder. I started to protest, but she handed it to Loch and whispered, “You don’t want him to feel useless, do you?”
Loch grinned at me over her shoulder and I chuckled. Marcus Loch was a Genesis Project supersoldier; he wouldn’t feel useless because I didn’t let him carry my bag. But Ada’s comment had drawn me into laughter and she smiled, pleased.
Chapter 19
Ada and Loch entered the transport first and sat next to each other, leaving Ian and me to sit across from them. Ian was stiff and quiet next to me. Ada swiped her identity chip over the reader and set our destination.
“So, what happened?” she asked.
I gave her a very brief recap of what I’d learned from Riccardo.
“The Silvas might be bastards but no one can say they’re not smart bastards,” Ada said. “When their deal went wrong, they made Ferdinand someone else’s problem and got paid for doing it.” She shook her head in grudging respect. “MineCorp will kill Ferdinand if they find out who he is. How do we get him back?”
Ada intuitively understood something it had taken me time to figure out. She’d always excelled at understanding tactics and motivation. Father had made a grave mistake when he’d banished her.
“I have requests for information out, but I’m probably going to need physical access to MineCorp’s network,” I said, “so I need you to set up a meeting for me later today. I was thinking we’d spin it as me doing preliminary research on companies to mine one of my planets.”
She nodded slowly. “That might work. Are you sure you want to go in as yourself?”
“Yes, I’ll need the power of our name to get deep enough to do any good. Set the meeting as late as possible. Claim my need for privacy or whatever else you have to do.”
“I will be accompanying Lady Bianca,” Ian said, his voice hard.
Ada raised an eyebrow and pointedly looked at me. I sighed. “Ian will be accompanying me, Ada. Play nice.”
She didn’t have to fake her incredulous expression. “You threatened to geld Marcus with