Fated Mate Conquered - Luna Voss Page 0,17
on the viewscreen reflected in his eyes as he watches the display.
“I have,” pipes up Rojan. “Made a delivery once for the Dajorkans who run the place.”
I raise my eyebrows. “A delivery? Who were you delivering for?”
Rojan sounds a little sheepish. “The Gordulla Family,” he admits.
Before Rojan joined the Butarza Family, he was a smuggler who often did business with the Gordulla Family. Now that he’s with us, hopefully that background will come in useful.
“Hmm,” I say. “When was this?”
“About a year ago,” Rojan replies.
I stroke my beard. “That means the Red Star Boys have been in contact with the Gordullas for a while now. Since before Rizban got me arrested. I wonder how long they’ve been planning this?”
We all turn as a sound comes from behind us, from where the sleeping cabins are. There shouldn’t be anyone else on the ship. It doesn’t make any sense for a sound to be coming from there. What the fuck is going on?
Kora steps out from one of the cabins and onto the bridge, wearing a tight, form-fitting jumpsuit and rubbing her eyes as though she’s just been asleep.
“What the fuck are you guys doing?” she demands to the room at large before I can even get a word out. “You didn’t even think to check if someone was on board before you took off into hyperspace?”
I stand up from my seat. Kora’s eyes land on me, as though seeing me for the first time. They immediately go wide and she flushes, like it hadn’t occurred to her that I, of all people, would be on board.
“What are you doing here?” she asks aggressively.
“Why were you on the Epeshi ship in the first place?” I ask her, raising my eyebrows. I don’t bother trying to answer her question. I’m not the one who needs to explain myself.
Suddenly Kora looks a little embarrassed, although she hides it well. “I was just… I hang out here sometimes,” she mumbles. “I like to come here to watch movies.”
I examine her appraisingly. I’m pretty sure she’s lying, but I have no idea what other purpose she could possibly have for being on board. I also know that having her along for this mission is going to be seriously distracting, and I’m not happy about it. Already, I’m fighting the urge to start peeling that little jumpsuit off of her with my eyes. Pretty far from ideal when I need to focus.
“We were loading up this ship for at least 10 minutes before we left,” I tell her. “You must have heard us. Why didn’t you come out and say something?”
Kora rolls her eyes, seeming exasperated. “I didn’t know you were going to fucking leave,” she says. “How far are we from Doros? I want to go back to the villa.”
“Nobody’s going back to the villa,” says Geddion. “We were attacked by the Gordulla Family.”
Her jaw drops a little bit, as though she doesn’t know how to respond to that.
“Everybody’s okay,” Rojan assures her. “Milana left with Fulgetio and Lorvyta, and Aspen is with Draga.”
Kora’s beacon flashes blue, then pink. “I want to be with Aspen,” she says. “Or Milana.”
“Unfortunately,” I tell her, trying to keep the frustration from my voice, “you’ve pretty much guaranteed that won’t be possible. We’ve all already gone our separate ways, and Rojan, Geddion and I are on an important mission. We’ll drop out of hyperspace for a moment to let them know you’re safe with us, but that’s all we can do.”
For a moment, Kora almost looks like she wants to cry, her beacon blinking rapidly between shades of red and pink. Then her face sets, and she look angry.
“I am not going to be trapped here on a tiny spaceship with three unsuppressed Voorian males,” she snaps.
“You are, and you’re going to fix your attitude right now,” I growl. “Don’t forget that you’re still a member of the Butarza family, and subject to our rules. I may not have a choice over the fact that you’re here, but under no circumstances will you be allowed to jeopardize this mission.”
“I don’t want to jeopardize the fucking mission!” she yells. “I just want some goddamn control over my life! I want a couple of fucking days to be alone, is that really so much to ask? I can’t even get time to myself on a docked fucking spaceship?”
The way she’s talking to me is unacceptable. I’m a made captain in the Family. Nobody speaks to me like that. And right now, I’m