The Xaravian moved slowly and carefully, but he didn’t reach for her. She didn’t think she could have stayed mad at him if he embraced her and offered to take over some of the responsibility. And EJ needed to stay mad. It was so much better, so much safer, than being afraid. Nokx held up his wrist and fiddled with the small device that was supposed to connect him to the Sraibur. “I’ll hail and see if they’re close enough to respond.”
She could have objected. It might have been the safer option, since it was possible Faros and his crew would only want to rescue Nokx. Was it better for him not to mention her and hope that the pirates would agree to take her on when they came for Nokx? Or did she want to try and get Violet to agree on the side as a backup?
EJ held her breath as Nokx signaled the pirate ship and waited for a response. His silver eyes remained on her, though, with hints of an emotion she didn’t recognize. He didn’t have any right to look at her like that. She turned away and sorted through the rest of the gear, searching for inspiration in what she’d managed to steal. A security pass that would grant access to some areas, a few blasters, the restraints she’d managed to wiggle out of, and the rest of the med pack. Not a lot to work with.
“They’re in range,” Nokx said slowly. “I’ve signaled but there’s no response. They may not want to telegraph their location if there’s a full Slasu fleet surrounding this ship.”
“Or they don’t want to respond because they think I’ve stolen your comms device and am signaling for myself.” EJ tried to say it lightly as she fiddled with the puck once more. She definitely should have asked Violet more questions. Too bad there wasn’t an instruction manual or something. She tapped her nails along the side, searching for some kind of hidden trigger or something. Information Ministry devices had been trapped all over the place; maybe she’d accidentally disabled that one.
“Or they’re simply waiting for reinforcements before responding and coming to rescue us,” he said.
She looked up to roll her eyes at his naivete. “What reinforcements? And do you really think they’ll come back for ‘us’... or you?”
He at least had the grace to look away before he lied. “Of course they’ll come back for both of us.”
“I doubt it,” she said, and concentrated on the puck. Just in case Violet and Gemma had better connectivity than the rest of the Sraibur. She wouldn’t put it past the women to make sure they could communicate even when their mates couldn’t. When he didn’t speak and instead just watched her with that unnerving patience, she clenched her jaw. She needed something safe to talk about. “How’s your leg?”
“Sore,” he said. “But good call on the med pack. This one is almost done for, though. Any ideas on where to get another one?’
“Why don’t you just make sure you don’t need another one?” she asked, glancing back. It seemed like a ridiculous question.
Nokx didn’t react to the accusation in her tone. His voice stayed gentle, calm. Like he wanted to lull her into a sense of security and safety. “It’s good to have a backup. Just in case.”
“There should be one on the wall in most of the maintenance rooms,” she said. She wasn’t going to fall for it. Not again. He couldn’t pretend he gave a shit about her, then abandon her when Faros gave the orders.
“Then we’ll pick one up on the way.”
“On the way where?” EJ asked. She wanted that damn puck to work and to know that someone out there would at least try to find them if they ended up in an escape pod.
Nokx grumbled as he removed the med pack and levered slowly to his feet, stretching and moving to test the healing. “To release the prisoners. I thought that was the plan?”
“It is.” EJ shook her head. “But first we have to...”
His hands rested on her shoulders, despite that she refused to look at him, and Nokx pulled her gently back against his chest. He tried to loop his arm around her waist, and EJ fought the memory of the kiss in the dark hallway. Well, she fought a lot of memories, most far more risqué than just a kiss.
Nokx’s voice rumbled through her like a comforting memory. “We should talk first, though. I need