of his watch and held it out for her to inspect. On the small screen, there was a photo of Chance and a beautiful blonde woman. “Nika,” he said. “This was taken at my father’s retirement party a few months ago.”
“She’s gorgeous. You look very happy together.”
He nodded and drew back his arm. “Her brother and I are friends. We all grew up together so I kept in touch with her. One thing led to another, and now we’re engaged.”
“That’s sweet.” Brook smiled at him. “When will you two get married? I mean—mated?”
“Five weeks,” he said, grinning. “I get our new quarters assignment a few days before she arrives.”
“Maybe we’ll be neighbors,” she suggested.
“Not likely, ma’am.”
“Why not?”
“Your man is a highly ranked officer with connections to the SRU and Shadow Force. You’ll be allotted one of the best apartments available. Nika and I will have a starter home in one of the lower levels of the mated housing section.”
“Is that how everything is doled out here? By rank?”
Chance nodded. “Rank and valor points.”
She wasn’t sure if that was fair or not. She didn’t know enough about Cipher’s world to understand how points were amassed and ranks were earned.
“I have other patients to tend, but I’ll be back later to pull those lines if your labs come back within the ranges Risk wanted. If you need anything, tap this button right here.”
After he left, she shifted the tray of food closer and lifted the lid. She recognized the thin porridge, but everything else on the tray looked weird and inedible. There was a cube of something bright red and wiggly in one compartment of the tray. She poked it, and it watched it jiggle back and forth. There was a cold packet with a picture of a fruit she had never seen. When she picked it up, the contents were mushy, and she hurriedly put it down, making a face and wondering what the hell it was.
The bottle of water seemed safe enough, but the carton of juice held her attention. The image on the front was the same fruit from the cold packet she had just picked up and dropped. Curious, she bravely poked a straw through the foil seal on the top and brought it to her lips. She hesitated before tasting a sip.
“Oh!” It was delicious. Sweet with a slight tang, it exploded on her taste buds. Wondering if the cold packet of mushy stuff tasted the same, the ripped along the designated line and squeezed some of it into her mouth. Her eyes closed in utter happiness as the same flavor melted on her tongue. It was the juice but slightly frozen and creamy.
As she enjoyed her first breakfast in space, her thoughts turned to Terror. The fever dream flashed through her mind. The guilt of leaving him there to suffer darkened her mood. He might yell at her or throw things, but she had to apologize. She had to let him know that he did matter and that she would never forgive herself for leaving him with those monstrous captors.
She just had to figure out how to sneak out of this room first...
Chapter Seven
“You finally did it!”
Cipher jerked forward as Venom slapped him across the back in congratulations. “Yes.”
“Good for you, Ci.” Venom squeezed his shoulder. “Dizzy and I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Brook,” Cipher said. “Her name is Brook, and I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to make new friends on the ship.”
“Brook,” Venom repeated. “I like that. It’s...natural.”
“That’s one way to describe her,” Cipher agreed as he knocked on Raze’s office door. “Boss?”
“Come in,” Raze bellowed from inside. “Figured it would be you,” he said, gesturing to the open chair in front of his desk. “Sit down. You’ve got a shitload of forms to complete.”
Cipher dropped into the chair and took the tablet from Raze. Venom sat next to him and stretched out his long legs. “You already debrief?” the sniper asked.
“Just got finished with it.” Cipher logged into the tablet screen and groaned at the sheer number of forms waiting for him. “Are they serious with this? Three hundred and four pages?”
“That’s at least eighty more than when I claimed Dizzy,” Venom remarked as he leaned over to look at the screen.
“About two hundred less than when I claimed Ella,” Raze chimed in with a wry smile.
“Stole,” Venom corrected. “When you assaulted a pilot and stole her, you mean.”
Raze threw a stylus at him. Venom caught and whipped it right back. Raze snatched it