hard at the sudden spark of arousal that her touch ignited. It was an innocent act, but his body had a sinful reaction.
She reached out and tapped the screen. Using her two fingers, she zoomed in on the first scheduled stop. The Cur. It was a colony planet, loosely affiliated with Calyx but outside Alliance control. Lawless. Dangerous as fuck. The perfect place for them to hop off this ship and disappear.
“I have a contact there,” he said, making sure she could see his mouth. “More than one, actually. They’ll help us.”
She picked up her tablet. “Are they Shadow Force?”
“Not exactly,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that they were Shadow Force, but they’ve retired. There's a loose network of former agents who keep safe houses open and available. We won’t be able to stay long, but we’ll be able to get what we need.”
“A doctor?”
Worried, he asked, “Are you feeling sick? Feverish?”
She shook her head and set aside her tablet. Taking his hand, she brought it up to the left side of her head. She guided his forefinger to the space just above her ear and then slid it along her scalp until he could feel the small hard ridge hidden there. Instantly curious, he sat forward and tilted her head to the side. He examined the area and realized something was buried under her skin.
“A chip?” he asked, gazing into her eyes. His gut clenched. “Is it transmitting?”
She shook her head.
“Devious?” He couldn’t imagine anyone else putting a chip in her head.
She nodded.
“When?”
She held up two fingers and then moved her cupped right hand over the back of her left hand. Knowing she was trying to tell him something related to time, he decided that her hands moving that way were similar to a setting sun.
“Two nights?”
Smiling, she nodded and then stabbed two fingers toward her neck. That sign he understood easily. “Two nights before Devious died?”
“Yes.” She held up a hand to stop his line of questioning and grabbed her tablet. When she was done typing, she seemed anxious to see his reaction. “The body in the photos they showed me wasn’t Devious.”
Terror stiffened. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
She seemed sure. Her expression was serious, and he had no reason to doubt her. “If that’s not Devious, who is it?”
She shrugged then tapped quickly on the tablet. “If that wasn’t Devious, how did they get his DNA? Did my DNA belong to Devious’ family or to the dead body? Or was it just some cruel lie? Is that admiral really my grandfather? Was my father actually Devious’ brother?”
That was a hell of a question. He thought back to the way Keen had conducted the interview. He had been so quick to pull away the photos and had ignored her obvious confusion about the body. Knowing what he did of Keen’s background in intelligence, he wouldn’t put it past the man to play fast and loose with the truth.
Yet—there was a ring of truth to the claim that Devious and Maisie were related. He had a gut feeling about it. In so many ways, it made sense.
“What’s on the chip?” Right now, that answer was more important than whether or not Maisie and Devious shared DNA.
“I don’t know.” She took almost a minute to type out her reply. “Devious woke me up in the middle of the night and told me that he had something I had to protect. He told me that I had to smuggle it out of the mine. He wanted me to leave that night, but I refused.”
“Why?” He couldn’t imagine what would have kept her in that hellhole. “Why did you pass up your best chance to escape?”
She looked at him as if he were the stupidest man in the universe. Not bothering with the tablet, she pointed directly at him and mouthed, “You.”
His heart hammered in his chest. She was right. He was the stupidest man in the universe—but he was a quick learner. Unable to fight off the deep yearning a moment longer, he leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn’t the smooth, seductive kiss he had imagined would always be their first. It was impulsive and a bit rough and the slightest bit messy.
Maisie didn’t seem to mind. She whimpered as their lips met, as if she had been waiting forever for this moment. Her small hands clutched at his shoulders, and he wound his arms around her slim body, hauling her right off the uncomfortable couch cushion and onto his lap. Belatedly,