Nokx (The Sraibur Crew #3) - Layla Nash Page 0,112

“I will be with you. And you have a good blade.” He patted her hip but his hand strayed to squeeze her butt. “And as soon as we deal with that, we will find your quarters so you can give me a workout and test how well they healed me.”

Her heart thumped and her thoughts strayed, and for a second, she was tempted to jump to the second part of the plan. There was no telling what kind of bad news waited on the bridge. And she’d already used up her courage for the day. With Nokx beside her, though, she thought maybe she could handle it. Well, Nokx and the dagger.

It took them a few tries to find the bridge, since the Lovelace was quite a bit larger than the speedy Sraibur and EJ hadn’t explored far from the sickbay. It was Estelle who found them a few corridors over from the bridge and smiled with half her mouth as she gestured at the direction she’d come.

“This way.”

“What’s going on?” EJ asked. She reached back instinctively and then Nokx’s hand wrapped around hers and she could breathe again.

“Bula knows you have questions,” the first mate said slowly. She glanced back, her eyebrows drawn together. “She said you needed answers. So here we are.”

Answers to what? Did Bula intend to weigh in on whether EJ should stay with Nokx? “I’m not sure what she thinks...”

“Just wait.” Estelle offered the largest smile she’d managed the whole time EJ was on the ship — hardly more than a twitch of her lips — and waved at the double doors that led to the top and front of the ship.

EJ held her breath as she followed, immediately scanning the open, multilevel room for a hint of what Bula intended for her. Her heart sank as she found three familiar figures standing next to Bula and Pyix. As Estelle strode off to take the first mate’s station and provide directions to the navigator and whoever operated the transfer arm, the group turned. Faros, Violet, and Harzt.

Apparently the Sraibur had come for them after all.

Chapter 51

Nokx

He braced for a confrontation, maybe some accusations, when he spotted Faros and his other crewmates on the bridge, conferring with Pyix. A hint of relief washed through him, though, since at least the Sraibur responded to his request for help. That had to be a good sign. There was no other reason for them to be on the Lovelace.

The avian alien — the space chicken, as EJ called it — fluttered its arms and approached them one high, spindly step at a time. “Dear EJ, there were other questions, perhaps not as important as the question...” and it turned its head to blink one eye and survey where Nokx held his mate’s hand. Bula’s long neck turned toward Faros and the other newcomers. “But all questions should have an answer. Perhaps more than one answer.”

Faros’s scales flared with orange and traces of yellow, betraying his irritation despite an impassive expression. Violet didn’t bother to hide her annoyance, though it was directed at her mate as she strode forward to hug EJ. “I’m sorry, EJ, it took us a while to... come to an understanding.”

“None of this was necessary,” Faros said under his breath. It sounded like just the next round in an ongoing argument.

Nokx pulled EJ back against his chest as her bewildered expression fired up his protective instinct. She looked at the other Xaravians. “Seriously, what’s going on? Are you here to take me to a different prison?”

Harzt snorted but didn’t say anything, his attention drifting elsewhere on the bridge. Nokx frowned as he watched the security chief’s gaze seek out prickly Estelle where she leaned over a navigation station, all of her attention on the screens. Nokx shook his head and squeezed EJ again to reassure himself his mate was still there.

Violet frowned at her mate. “Tell them. Now.”

“I’m the captain; you can’t just order me —”

“You’re not the captain on this ship, bucko,” Violet said, her eyebrows arched in challenge.

Faros grumbled as Pyix, the actual captain of the Lovelace, laughed and walked away to join Estelle. Faros finally gave up, scowling. “Fine, you miserable nauwat.”

“What are you doing on the Lovelace?” EJ asked, looking from Faros to Violet and back.

Nokx sensed a deep secret lingering on the edge of revelation with the way Faros fidgeted and fought his inclination to never disclose a damn thing. The captain had always been very secretive and rarely shared his