“I know.” His eyes were steady on mine, his expression open. “Just give me a chance to earn back your trust. Please.”
Bringing Bonk to me was certainly a start.
“You were protecting me on the dock, weren’t you? On the Squirrel Tree? You were keeping that bounty hunter from shooting me.” I hadn’t been able to see it then, hadn’t wanted to. The scene looked different to me now.
His open expression hardened into something angry and dark. “He got you, though. I’m sorry I didn’t do better.”
“He didn’t get me until I ran.”
“He shouldn’t have gotten you at all.”
“And I shouldn’t have left you there.” Not when I’d seen Shade reeling from the tranquilizer that woman had fired off.
He shrugged. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Not sure I agreed with that, I turned and led the way toward the shipping docks. “We’ve rested long enough. Come on,” I said over my shoulder. “Before you bleed to death.”
“It’s not as bad as all that.” Shade still groaned when he got up onto all fours and started moving. He’d already been going more slowly before falling over the Rose Drop, and his lips had seemed cool when they’d touched mine a moment ago. I hoped the pause had done him good, but we needed to keep moving.
“You want me to take Bonk?” I asked, glancing back at him.
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
Right. That was why he’d just flinched.
Instead of continuing all the way down to the docks in the ventilation shafts, I got us out at the next possible exit and helped Shade limp toward the cargo lifts. We had no reason to hide anymore. Bridgebane was gone—assuming he was sticking to our deal, which I believed he would. He was an asshole, but he was an asshole who kept his word.
“Hard to believe, but crawling was easier,” Shade muttered under his breath.
“Almost there.” I gave his abdomen a reassuring pat, keeping my other arm around his waist. “If you want, you can still crawl.”
He gave me a look that spoke volumes—volumes of no thanks.
Even though there was a railing inside the elevator, Shade kept me against his side and his arm across my shoulders in the lift. We exited at the cargo docks.
Across the platform, the Endeavor waited with her door open for us. The Dark beckoned beyond, a transparent plasma shield keeping the area pressurized.
“Is Jax going to beat me up?” Shade asked.
My lips twitched. “Possibly.”
“Something to look forward to,” Shade said.
“Stick around and maybe I’ll lick your wounds.”
Shade groaned a little, part pain, and part something else. I hadn’t said that with any ulterior meaning, but I realized the train of his thoughts when he looked at me with molten eyes. I blushed, my insides going all fluttery and hot.
The Endeavor’s stairs were down since Miko and Shiori had been out dealing with the numbers. We climbed them, Shade’s steps dragging as we headed up and inside.
“Jax?” I called out, surprised he wasn’t waiting for me at the door. Everything seemed strangely quiet, even though the ship was powered up and ready to go. “Fiona?”
Some sixth sense made my heart start to pound. Dread was an actual taste in my mouth, and I swallowed it down, letting go of Shade as I sprinted toward the bridge.
“Miko! Shiori!” I screamed.
No one answered. A cold sweat broke out on my skin. Something was terribly wrong.
Chapter 29
“Tess! Run!” Jax’s bellow reached me as I barreled down the corridor.
I gripped the edge of the open door and swung myself at full throttle onto the bridge. Oh fuck!
“Dad?” I froze solid. The Galactic Overseer was on my ship. He had one heavy arm around Miko’s chest and a Grayhawk to her head.
Fear erupted inside me. I’d watched my father on screens, but nothing had prepared me for seeing him again in person. Or for seeing that sneer I remembered. He seemed to reserve it especially for me. Others would call his face impassive.
Quickly, I took in the rest of him. Brown uniform, brown hair, brown eyes. Medium-tall. Nothing about him stood out until he opened his mouth and managed to convey such dogmatic fervency that people stopped and listened. They followed.
“According to my tracker, Nathaniel just left. Yet here you are. I’m discovering that he’s disturbingly inefficient when it comes to you.”
Holy Sky Mother. I shook and shook and shook.
Shade came up at my back. He felt warm again—maybe because I’d turned to ice.