heart thundered. Were there others Hysterian had wronged? There had to be. She just never thought about it. Did everyone on the ship have an agenda?
Her eyes watered, staring at Daniels, unable to blink. Impossible.
But now Daniels had been caught, and cornered prey was the most likely to strike out. She finally blinked.
Daniels was halfway down the hallway toward the crew quarters when she spoke. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
He stopped. “I’ll fucking kill you if you tell him,” he said, not turning back.
It wasn’t what she was expecting, but Alexa wasn’t surprised. “Tell me why you were really in his room.”
Shoulders stiff, his empty hands clenched at his sides. “None of your business, Dear. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut and stay out of my way. What I’m after doesn’t concern you.” He started walking again and went into his quarters, leaving her alone outside Hysterian’s room.
Alexa stood in the corridor for a few minutes, replaying what had just happened. Was there really someone else who had an ulterior motive? Though whatever Daniels was after, she had no idea whatsoever. If he wants Hysterian dead…then I might have an ally. Alexa shot down the thought the moment it went through her head.
I have no allies.
She couldn’t trust Daniels, not for a second. He could turn on her, use her, offer her up as a scapegoat if things went sour. And if Daniels had no intention of killing the Cyborg, she was practically putting herself naked on a platter if Daniels betrayed her.
For all she knew, her crewmate was just curious, snooping on a being who was viewed as a God to many people. Maybe he was looking for something to steal and sell to the highest bidder.
Maybe he was a Cyborg hater, seeking a way to undermine him.
Whatever Daniels was doing, it was best she kept out of it. Safer if she did so. The last thing Alexa needed was someone out to silence her when there was no possible escape.
Suddenly, the Questor got a little smaller. Alexa shook herself, forcing her body to move. She’d fallen into her head, waiting for Daniels to come out of his room and threaten her again, to see if he did something else. Fight or flight wasn’t something she dealt with often. Now that her curiosity was waning, all she wanted to do was run.
But…
Hysterian’s room’s open. She turned back to the Cyborg’s quarters.
Stepping to the threshold, she peered in, shaking with fear, but unable to let this opportunity go to waste.
Cabinets and drawers remained opened, but from where she stood, she couldn’t get a good look into any of them. And entering the room, with Daniels at her back, wasn’t something she was keen to do anyway.
He’ll know. Hysterian will know if I invade his space.
She wasn’t dumb. She was willing to take risks, but she wasn’t an idiot.
Though her coworker was. Daniels spelled his doom right before her eyes.
Our doom. If she didn’t play it safe.
Her fingers twitched with curiosity. There was a big, unused bed off to the left up the short steps in the back of the room. Up those same steps, in the second half of the room, was Hysterian’s personal lavatory on the right, same with a glass desk devoid of knickknacks, and a metal dresser with drawers attached to the wall.
In the front of the room was a seating area with a glass, oval table positioned before it, and a wall of shelves, also empty.
Nothing. Nothing was incriminating. At least nothing out in the open.
Alexa took a step back and jumped when two cleaning bots moved past her and into Hysterian’s room. One went straight for Hysterian’s drawers and closed them. She didn’t know why but she was relieved when the bots began cleaning the space.
It was time to leave.
She opted to skip the bridge. Every second she meandered was more of a risk than the last. Heart thundering, she darted past Daniels’s door, and once she made it to the lounge, she was breathing easier, wondering if the ship had cameras.
She wondered if Hysterian already knew everything. He could… There was no limit to what Cyborgs could do.
She also feared not knowing what Daniels was up to and if she needed to watch her back.
When she returned to the menagerie, the ship’s hatch opened, and the blast of pressurized air filled the room. Her pulse ratcheted up, and she wrenched her eyes closed to calm down.
They’d come back much