Page 24 of Paradise

Really, at first it was pretty boring. Garrett calculated out climate-modeling equations, modified his various programs, and tried not to feel relieved when the minutes passed and all that Jonah and Kilroy talked about was common acquaintances, shipside issues, and various ports they’d visited. Maybe his paranoia had all been for nothing. Maybe everything really was fine. Maybe …

“Can’t get a permit to land on Ostria anymore,” Kilroy griped over the line between noisy sips from a mug. “Can’t get permits on half the planets in the Fringe these days, not for the big ships, and our little shuttles just ain’t big enough or fast enough, y’know? If we had an emergency and had to land, some places would as soon shoot us out of the sky as look at us.”

“That’s rough,” Jonah said, and he really sounded like he meant it.

“It is. Havin’ to resort to other options these days. Lotsa people don’t like Drifters but tell ’em you’re something else, and they can’t welcome you fast enough. I came into Gregoryville broadcastin’ an Alliance signal, and they rolled out the red carpet.”

“Broadcasting another ship’s transponder code is illegal.”

“We don’t use ’em more than once,” Kilroy said placatingly. “Not lookin’ to get pinched by Alli or ruin anyone’s reputation. It’s not a charade we can keep up for long, you know, pretendin’ to be Alliance. Independent merchantmen, they’re a better bet but a little harder to get codes for.”

There was a long silence before— “So you do have a skimmer.”

Kilroy grunted. “How’d you figure that, Jonah?”

“It’s how you found me, isn’t it?” His voice was angry. “You’re skimming ships as they land here. God damn it, Kilroy, do you know how much trouble you’ll be in if Alli soldiers can confirm it? Your whole clan could be brought in for questioning, they could arrest people … hell, even if they don’t, the fines would cripple you. You can’t do this any longer.”

“We got no other choice,” Kilroy said softly, but he was just as angry. “You don’t see it anymore, do you? The Alli planets’ constant disdain. Their classist bullshit. Like we’re nothin’ to them, like we’re not even people just because of how we choose to live: free, not tied to a single planet. You used to care about this, Jonah. Used to get you riled up, how people woulddisregard us, lie to us, ignore us. You used to be afighter. Then came a pile of shit about your kid and your momma and your man—”

“Don’t talk about Cody to me.”

“And you gave up. Gave up on the life you love, the life that made you the man you are, because your little feelin’s got hurt. Well, guess what, boy? The wound don’t vanish just cause you slap a bandage over it. You ain’t seein’ it now, but us, we’re livin’ it still. And if I gotta steal a few codes to get my people fed, to get them care and support them, then that’s what I’ll do.”

In the sudden silence, Garrett realized he’d just typed over a thousand zeros in a row because he wasn’t paying attention. He began to repair the code, slowly, captivated despite himself.

“I don’t see what you want from me,” Jonah said at last, sounding tired. “I won’t tell anyone you’re skimming.” Garrett bit his lip as he heard that part, feeling guilty about JonahandRobbie now. “But I’m just a guest here.”

“But you have friends in high places. If you heard the right things, got into the right places … maybe left a microskimmer here and there—”

“I am not helping you spy on my fiancé’s family!” Jonah hissed. “That’s a military facility as much as a residence, and when—not if,when—they found the skimmers, you could go down for treason. They could hang you for that, Kilroy.”

“Not if we were already gone. I’m that desperate, Jonah.” And determined, from the sound of it. “Figured I might not be enough to convince you, though. Soon as I heard you arrive here, I sent word to a mutual acquaintance of ours. Someone you might be more willin’ to listen to than me. Someone with personal business with you.” There was the sound of a chair scraping back, and a moment later, Jonah’s breath caught in his throat. Another chair scraped, then there was the sound of breaking pottery, a cut-off swear word—

Then nothing. The slimdisc went dead.

“Oh no.” Garrett checked the transponder signal, then tried his com. Nothing. “Oh no no no …”

Shit. The connection was gone. From the sound of things, it had probably gotten wet when the whatever-it-was broke.Shit. Mutual acquaintance? Personal business? If it was someone Kilroy knew, it couldn’t be good.

Garrett’s first urge was to call up Jonah and tell him to come home immediately. His second urge was to track Jonah down and bring him back in person. Neither of those options worked if he wanted to keep his bug a secret, though.

He’s okay. Physically, Jonah had to be fine. Corporal Kelly was nearby, and if anything was wrong, he would have sent an alarm back to Robbie before diving into the fray. The kid was a brutal fighter—Garrett had seen him exercising with the other marines. He could handle a Drifter; hell, he could handle a dozen of them. So Jonah was fine.

But that sound, oh … that choked sound of surprise and shock. That hadn’t been good. Garrett’s own throat tightened just to remember it. But there was nothing he could do. He had to wait for Jonah to come home. He just had to wait.

Garrett stared at his program but didn’t see it and clenched his hands in time with the painful hammer of his heart. He just had to wait. That was all he could do now.

Chapter thirteen

Jonah

“Jack.”

Jack Jack Jack …Jonah numbly shook out the bottom of his shirt, soaked with water from the glass he’d just fumbled and dropped. Jack … it hardly seemed possible that the man could be here. Jonah hadn’t spoken to Jack since the night he took himself and Cody away from his mother’s ship, and then it had only been via com. He hadn’t seen him in person for … god … three years. Four. Not since Cody was barely walking.

Jack looked so close to how Jonah remembered: tall, a little thicker through the torso and thighs, but strong and solid. His hair was a dark, curly mess, the same texture as Cody’s. His face, roughhewn but attractive, wore a hard expression. He sported enough stubble to practically qualify as a beard, and there were a few gray hairs in the mix that Jonah had never seen before.

Mind on the matter at hand.“Where the hell did you come from?” Jonah demanded.

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