“Good.” Noble crossed his arms and leaned back against a desk. “We promised the shipping company we would return their ship when we’re done with it. Insurance regarding the pharmaceutical cargo,” he added with a grunt. “Did the children have anything useful to say?”
“They weren’t very talkative.” Grim frowned. “Swift, Hazard and Drift had better luck with them than we did.”
“Swift?” Noble asked.
“Everything they told me is in my report, sir. They woke up to shouting. Their father was on shift in the engineering section of the ship. They hid in a cupboard in their bunk and weren’t found. The girl eventually decided they needed to hide out of the way and convinced her brother to go up into the duct work with her. They would come out of the duct work only to get food or use the bathroom, but once they realized everyone was dead, they stayed put.”
“Until you boarded the ship,” Noble said.
“Yes, sir. She mentioned that they were sleeping when the ship powered up fully and went into hyperdrive. She thought it was the anti-theft programming her father had told her about, but she wasn’t sure.” Swift remembered the fear in her eyes as she explained everything to him. “Once the ship stopped again and we boarded, she wanted to see if we were there to help or not. Her brother slipped in the ducts and that’s why we heard them.”
“I suspect they saw and know more than they told us,” Grim interjected. “Unfortunately, we aren’t allowed to interrogate children.”
“Yes,” Noble replied dryly. “How very unfortunate.”
“We have our undercover operatives on Villanueva keeping an eye on the family,” Keen said. “Just in case the people who killed their father and our pilots decide to tie up loose ends.”
“Make sure they’re kept safe,” Noble ordered. “They’ve been through enough. The least we can do is make sure they get to grow up.”
The meeting continued for another half hour before it finally came to an end. Ready to get back to Alys, Swift was one of the first to his feet after they were dismissed. Before he could escape, Hazard called out, “Hey. Wait.”
“What?” Swift tried not to sound agitated, but the smirk on Hazard’s face told him he had failed. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I know you’re dying to get your bride back into bed.” Hazard withdrew something from his pocket—a small glimmering green card. “Here. Congratulations.”
Swift hesitated at the sight of the access card for a well-known and very expensive skyport resort. “Hazard, that’s too much.”
“Hardly.”
“I can’t accept that.”
“It’s bad manners to refuse a gift.” Hazard thrust the card into his hand. “You’re welcome.”
“Thank you, Hazard. Truly,” Swift added, not at all surprised Hazard avoided his gaze and waved off the thanks. “I owe you.”
“Remember that when Noble finally takes my name off the restricted list and I get a chance to Grab,” Hazard said, raising his voice enough to gain Noble’s attention.
“Stay out of trouble for longer than a week and we’ll see what’s possible,” Noble suggested.
“Quit sending me on missions where I’m tempted to make trouble,” Hazard shot back.
“That’s definitely going to help your case,” Swift remarked before giving Hazard a slap on the back. “Let me know when you get out of the brig.”
On his way out of the restricted section of the ship, he passed through the scanners and emptied his pockets to show the guard the card that had triggered a minor alarm. After it was cleared, he left the first set of guarded doors, walked down another hall, passed through another scanner and another set of locked and guarded doors and finally made it to an open hallway that led to a set of stairs. He took the stairs two at a time and emerged onto a public floor with an elevator bank.
As much as he wanted to go straight back to Alys, he decided it would be better to stop and get her a nice gift. Something small but special she would enjoy. He stepped into a nearly full elevator. The floor he wanted had already been selected so he waited patiently until it reached his destination.
He considered his options in the exchange and zeroed in on the shelves showcasing dishes. Some had floral prints on them. Others had geometric designs. There were also plain dishes in different shades of white. He stared at them for a while, trying to decide which ones Alys would like the most. She would probably go for the more practical plain dishes, even if she didn’t particularly like them.
He grabbed the card for the set of dishes with an elegant border of wildflowers and carried it to the checkout kiosk. After he scanned and paid for the item, he stepped to the designated locker to await delivery of his purchase. He heard a muffled thump before the locker door slid out of the way to reveal the box of dishes. Happy with his purchase, he left the shop and waited for an elevator with access to mated housing.
“Swift.”
He turned toward the voice calling his name—and his stomach dropped. The man he had no desire to ever see again stood not four feet from him, a reusable shopping bag dangling from his meaty fist. “Shear.”
The battle engineer eyed the package he held. “Dishes? You really have gone domestic.”
“It happens to the best of us,” Swift replied, his stomach in knots. “Listen, can we talk?”
“I know what you’re going to ask.”
“And?” Swift asked hopefully.
Shear shook his head. “A deal is a deal, Swift. We shook on it.”
“What if I could offer you something else?” He remembered the gift Hazard had given him and shifted the box of dishes to one hand so he could reach into his pocket. He produced the shiny green card. “It’s yours if you cancel our trade.”
Shear stared at the card for a moment, as if trying to decide whether it was enough. Eventually, he said, “I won’t be able to use that until I have a mate, and I’m still pages down on the Grabbed list.”
“Maybe I can find someone higher up on the list who will trade their slot,” Swift offered, willing to do whatever it took to keep Alys from ever knowing what he had done.
Shear seemed surprised. “Your mate must be something special if you’re this desperate to cancel our trade.”
“She is, and I don’t want to hurt her.”
Shear frowned. “I’m not going to hurt her. I’ve never hurt a woman.”
“I’m not saying you would,” Swift hurriedly corrected. “I meant that being shared,” he lowered his voice to ensure passersby couldn’t hear them, “would hurt her. She’s very modest, and this is all very new to her.”
Shear shrugged. “You should have thought of that before you made offers to sell time with your future mate.”
The barb hit its mark, and Swift flinched. “You’re right. I should have.”
“Look, if it will make it easier for her, you’re welcome to join us.”
“I really don’t think that’s going to help.” He could just imagine the mortified look on Alys’ face if he offered that option.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Shear gave Swift a slap on the back. “I have a room booked at the OC tomorrow night. I’ll see you two there.”