they could be that tall and striking. Tess was perfectly there, and perfectly unapproachable. She was hiding in plain sight.
More quickly than he would have thought possible—must’ve been those mile-long legs—Tess left the crowded and residential Windrow district behind her and headed straight for the seedier, significantly darker docks. The streets were mostly empty here, so Shade made sure not to get too close. Some people who were constantly hunted developed a sixth sense about being watched, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if Tess was one of them. She was clearly a professional. But a professional at what?
At theft, to start with. Those books must have been stolen, but he wasn’t going to worry about that. Not his job. Although he had spent a lot of time wondering about what was in that big attachment she had vacuum sealed right onto the back of her ship. It might have been extra cargo space and nothing worth thinking about. It could also have been something Nathaniel Bridgebane wanted enough to put up the biggest bounty Shade had ever seen in his life.
Tess seemed adept at getting things done and getting out. The problem was, there was no getting out this time. Letting Captain T. Bailey slip out of Sector 2 and disappear into the Dark would be the other worst move of his whole fucking life. He’d already colossally messed up once and didn’t plan on repeating the experience. He needed to stay on track. He had a payment to make on his future, one transaction to rid himself of Scarabin White.
He’d let that bastard rob him of his birthright when he’d been grieving and in shock over losing his parents in the shuttle crash—and facing debts he hadn’t even known about. He hadn’t been thinking straight. Now he was, and he wanted his docks back, even if getting them meant working for people he hated. Even if it meant ruining lives.
Unfortunately, Tess wasn’t a random target anymore. He knew her. He liked her. But did he like her enough to let her go?
Shade stalked his quarry past the first of the docking towers—the lower, cheaper ones that were bordering on dangerous and that would have seen a total overhaul by now if he’d been in charge. He trailed her by about half a block, always on the lookout. The Dark Watch was around, and other hunters might have been scoping out the area. He didn’t know if he’d managed to throw off Solan and Raquel with his story. Lately, they’d taken to tracking him instead of tracking the target. The cheating fucks.
Shade sped up when Tess rounded a corner. He should nab her now, before someone else did. If anyone was going to bring her in, it should be him. She’d fallen right into his lap. It was like a gift from the universe. Wasn’t it?
He got her in his sights again. Tess turned halfway, glancing back. She started moving faster.
Shit. Had she seen him?
Making a split-second decision, Shade veered off, hoping that would calm her suspicions. He jogged down a side street and then took a parallel avenue to Tess’s path, moving fast enough to get ahead of her. He turned down the next cross street and sprinted back toward the main artery.
Reaching the corner, he put himself in a position to pop out at her from the side when she came to the intersection. He leaned forward just enough to take stock of where she was—not far away and closing fast. She was coming on steadily, but he had time to settle his breathing.
Shade quickly scanned the nearest platforms on the docks. No movement. No flash of weapons. No inky spots that might have been Solan and Raquel about to jump out at him or Tess with a freakish amount of stealth. The area was quiet, settled, although there would be the inevitable Dark Watch patrols.
He knew the area so well it was like a 3-D grid in his head. Right now, they were closer to his place than to the Squirrel Tree, and for a second, Shade wondered if he should just go home. He’d see Tess tomorrow. He had her stuff. He could fix her door.
A dread-like feeling twisted through his gut. What was he doing? He’d never hesitated to bring in a target before, and he sure as hell shouldn’t have started with this one, a woman worth more than what he still needed to move the fuck on with his life.