Page 14 of Enthraller

“I bought it from a dealer in Demeter the first time I had to go back to Nanganya.” She gave a brief shrug. “I may have been alittleslow to submit the change of ownership papers.”

Ed gave an approving nod. “Hope you didn’t pay too much for it. After what happened at the hover port, it’ll have been impounded by now.”

She sighed. “I didn’t. And I didn’t leave anything onboard. I don’t travel with luggage these days.”

The light above switched off, and Ed pushed away from the tree. Either Hyt had gone to bed, or he was leaving to go back to work.

Beside him, Wren stood still and focused, and after five minutes, when Hyt didn’t appear, they crossed the street and came to a halt beside the door into the building.

Wren reached past him, swiped her finger through the laslock, and he heard the click of it opening.

He lifted his brows as he looked at her, and she lifted her shoulders in response.

“Handy,” he murmured.

They closed the door quietly behind them and took the stairs without any discussion. Hyt was three floors up, and when theystopped outside his door, Ed gave Wren room, and she did her trick with the laslock again.

Hyt’s apartment smelled of seared meat, giving Ed a clue as to what he’d had for dinner. Wren came to a stop in the living room, gave a wave of her hand in Ed’s direction and then pointed to the bedroom.

Ed nodded. She didn’t want to be the one to wake Hyt, and Ed found himself in absolute agreement. Like every other Aponian, he probably slept naked.

The Aponi thought of clothing as an imposition most of the time, and while he’d lived on the planet since he’d been taken in after Halatia imploded, at the age of twelve, he’d found the nudist tendencies a little hard to adopt.

And he didn’t want Wren getting an eyeful of Ethan Hyt.

Not on his watch.

He walked into the room, and sensed Hyt move in the darkness.

It didn’t surprise him. Hyt was the captain of the Demeter SF teams, after all, and they’d barely taken ten minutes to break in after he’d switched off his light.

“It’s Ed,” he said.

“You going to punch me again?” Hyt asked.

“No.” Ed moved back to the door. “I’ve got information.”

“Why would I listen to anything you’ve got to say?”

Ed gave that statement the consideration it deserved by walking back out into the lounge without a word.

“He’s awake,” he told Wren. “You want some jah?”

“Sure,” she said in response. “I ran out last time I was in Demeter, and what with being shot at today, I haven’t had a chance to pick some up.”

“You.” Hyt appeared, rumpled, wearing a thin shirt and his SF pants. His gaze was laser focused on Wren.

Ed got on with making jah, putting three cups on the counter.

“That’s where you got to, Ed? Looking for her?” Hyt asked.

“Looking for answers. She came to me. Sort of,” Ed said. He handed Wren a cup.

Hyt shook his head when Ed offered him one, so Ed took it.

“So. What can you tell me?” Hyt slowly lowered himself onto a high stool beside his kitchen counter. “What was that shield? How did you vanish?”

“I’m supposed to report to you tomorrow,” Wren told him, avoiding his questions. “That’s why I came in to Demeter today. And then you tried to kill me.”

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