didn’t stop him, and they turned and walked toward the elevator tubes together. Shade glanced furtively at Tess. He couldn’t remember a time in his adult life when he hadn’t had to shorten his stride to accommodate a woman.
“Bye, Jax!” Tess called as they stepped into the next available lift.
Jax grimace-smiled at her from the Endeavor. He waved just as the elevator doors shut.
“He hates me,” Shade said as they whooshed toward ground level.
Tess laughed. “He’s just protective. He’s…lost people.”
The smile that had managed to start budding on Shade’s lips died. “You seemed to like the idea of the beach,” he said, wanting to change the subject.
“I saw what I thought was an ocean when we flew in. I was curious.”
“Not used to water, then?” he asked as they exited the elevator, and he guided her toward his small private cruiser. It easily fit two, though not many more. It was space-worthy, but he also used it to get around Albion 5. It was a hell of a lot safer than the public shuttles run by the planetary authorities. He knew that for a fact.
“I’m used to metal, metal, and more metal. Honestly, when I hit water, I might rust.”
Shade chuckled, opening the door for her. “I don’t think it works that way.”
Tess slid into her seat, seeming entirely at home in any kind of spacecraft. “I’ll let you know after the beach.”
Her words gnawed at Shade’s conscience as he rounded the cruiser to his side. What if there wasn’t an after? What if there was? He was feeling less and less inclined to make a decision tonight.
But if he didn’t bring her in soon, then someone else would. She had a massive price on her head. He knew of at least one couple that was bound to be searching high and low for Tess—and they’d be a lot less gentle with her than he would. And Solan and Raquel weren’t the only ones. There were a dozen skilled hunters that could be on this right now, and a dozen others that might just have dumb luck. The end result would still be the same for Tess, but he would be out two hundred million units—everything and more that he still needed to buy back his docks.
Shade opened his door a little too forcefully. His docks. Who the fuck was he kidding? They hadn’t been his for ten years. And if he turned his back on the bounty for Tess, chances were they wouldn’t be his for ten more.
He powered up and took off, staying low to avoid traffic. Tess watched the city go by, seeming to appreciate it but not looking overly impressed. Her Sector 12 accent made him think she’d grown up with enough privilege to make Albion City look pretty basic. So what had turned her into a rebel and a thief?
“Sector 12 has all the best planets and the nicest resorts. How come you’ve never been to the beach?” he asked.
She glanced over. “I told you, I’m from 8.”
“And yet you speak in tones of the galactic ideal.”
She paled and turned back to the window. “I abhor the galactic ideal.”
Shade could tell. “Yeah, me too,” he said.
Tess swung around again. “I do. You do. There must be other people who do, too. Why is it winning? Why is he winning?”
Shade shrugged, going for levity. “I guess people don’t like having to think for themselves.”
“That’s bullshit,” Tess said, leaning toward him.
“Because he has bigger guns?”
She snorted. “Because he doesn’t fear using them.”
Shade felt sweat prick the back of his neck. For fuck’s sake, they’d been in the cruiser for five minutes, and she already had him talking like a Nightchaser.
He tried to steer the conversation to safer territory. “The Overseer brought order.”
“The Overseer brought murder, and I’ll jump out of this boat right now if you start trying to convince me otherwise.”
Shade blew out a breath. This wasn’t a path he’d wanted to go down with her tonight. He already understood that she was radical to the core. “You do realize that most people would report you for a statement like that?”
“Are you most people?” she challenged, facing him straight on.
He hoped not. He sure as hell didn’t want to be. “You got a parachute?” he teased, since she’d just threatened to jump out.
She didn’t look impressed.
“I control the locks, Ms. Bailey.”
Her chin went up. “I can override any lock.”
Interesting tidbit. Was that how she stole the good stuff? “Since the locking mechanism is on my side,