“Back to the bar.” Dani yawned. “I paid Boyd a little visit. Someone had to do it.”
“Aww, shit.” Maya rolled off the bed and grabbed for her bag. “I guess I better get dressed.”
“Don’t insult me.” Dani sniffed. “He’s still alive—for now. We have plenty of time.”
Nina stifled a sigh. “Poison?”
“Only the finest.” Dani slipped a thin metal tube from her clutch. It was a spring-loaded injector, the kind used to administer tiny grains of slow-acting poison. “Piece of cake.”
“Was it really necessary? I paid him off.”
“I had a sneaking suspicion that wasn’t going to stick.” Dani sank to the bed and began to unlace her shoes. “Besides, you wouldn’t ask me that question if you’d heard some of the foul shit that came out of his mouth once he thought I was down to party.”
“I’m sure he’s trash.” Maya’s voice was muffled as she pulled her shirt on over her head. She swept her braids free of the fabric and pinned Dani with an annoyed look. “But you could have told me. Aren’t you the one always harping on how we don’t go out on jobs alone?”
“Right. But this was a decidedly extracurricular activity, so.”
A dangerous one. But it was hard to worry too much after the fact, and Nina couldn’t deny that part of her was relieved. Not just that Boyd wouldn’t be a concern as they continued their travels, but that he couldn’t hurt anyone else.
That he couldn’t hurt Knox.
Nina pushed the thought away. “I should have been informed. You might have needed backup, whether you wanted it or not.”
“You? Were busy.” Dani peeled off her dress. “How was it, by the way? I’ve never boned a Protectorate soldier before. Is walking difficult this morning?”
Nina threw a pillow at her head.
The pillow bounced off Dani and landed on the floor. Maya nudged it into place with her foot, then sat on it to pull on her socks and boots. “Are you going to talk some sense into our fearless leader, or what? Because she’s not listening to me.”
“Yeah, I think that ship has sailed.” In no hurry to get dressed again, Dani pulled her knees up on the bed and rested her chin on them. “Also? Rafe said last night that he thinks Nina and Knox fucking is a terrible idea, so I suddenly find myself much more open to it. I officially support you, Nina. Get it.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Maya groaned and jerked on her boot laces so hard she snapped one. “Maybe you should just hate-fuck Rafe and get it over with. I mean, if we’re gonna make terrible life choices, we should commit.”
Dani pursed her lips in thought. “Hmm. I’m not ruling it out. Have you seen his thighs? He seems a little high-maintenance, though.”
Nina picked up Dani’s bag and tossed it to her. “You’re never this chipper in the mornings. You’re high on murder.”
“Almost murder,” Dani corrected. “Boyd’s still kicking. Call it impending murder. Murder-to-be?”
“Imminent vigilantism.” Maya rose and kicked the pillow back toward the bed. “I mean, is it really murder if he has it coming?”
More like justice. “Whatever you want to call it, can we keep it to a minimum for the rest of the trip?” Nina asked. “I’m going to have to tell the guys about this, and they’re already scared of you.”
“Terrified.” Dani’s eyes gleamed. “Isn’t it great? They’re—” The words stopped suddenly and she straightened on the bed. “Hold on, you changed the subject. Maya, she changed the subject.”
“Yeah, it’s kinda her thing today.”
Dani sat up straighter, every trace of amusement replaced by a solemnity that shadowed her delicate features. “Nina, seriously. You know you have to pull it back, right? Playing with a little fire is fun, but you can’t douse yourself in vodka and strike a match.”
If they were both this worried, Nina couldn’t shrug it off. “It was one night. One really, really good night,” she admitted. “But even if I wanted more, I’m pretty sure Captain Knox … doesn’t.”
She stood there awkwardly as sympathy filled Maya’s eyes. Then Dani slid off the bed and wrapped both arms around Nina.
“Then he’s stupid,” she whispered. “Smart, but stupid. Right, Maya?”
“A fucking idiot,” Maya agreed, rising to hug Nina from the other side. “Maybe I’ll fork him either way. After we have our wheelbarrow full of money.”
They were right—and Knox would have been the first to say so. Still, the idea of pulling away from him now kindled a bittersweet ache in the center of