Page 89 of Her Lawless Prince

Payton retracted the claws. “Point taken.”

“Have you ever walked in a quarantine suit before?” Nyle asked her. He pulled on his suit and began sealing it as if he’d done it thousands of times.

“It was one of the lessons our parents had us take when we were space training,” Payton answered. She remembered hating the confines but didn’t tell him that much. Being put outside the ship in deep space had been worse. It had been like being caged inside a beautiful infinity, unable to touch, smell, or hear, only to see through a small window in her helmet. She’d been able to move, but barely as she floundered around. At least on the surface, they’d have gravity.

“And did you claw open your suit?” he insisted, glancing at Dev, Jackson, and Rick.

“When I was a child, whenever I got emotional, or nervous, or mad, or whatever, my claws came out like an involuntary reaction,” Payton said. “They like to tease me about it.”

“She ripped several of her fancy princess gowns before big dignitary presentations,” Rick stated, pulling on his suit. “Our little kitten would be gripping her puffy skirts and poking long holes in them. Sam would get so irritated.”

“You were adorable in fluffy pink,” Dev added, his stoic expression remaining intact.

Payton arched a brow. “I could say the same about you.”

Nyle kneeled next to her and began checking her suit’s connections. She felt the material tighten up her calf. The grip reminded her of the compression shirt Captain Rita had trapped her in. A rope of green light flashed up her leg, and Nyle moved to the other side.

Silence fell over them as they finished getting dressed. Nyle checked and rechecked her suit. He would have done it a third time, but she stopped him by grabbing his hands. She could barely feel him through her gloves except for the pressure of his fingers moving against her.

“I love you,” he whispered.

She smiled at him, doing her best not to appear nervous. “Attach my helmet?”

He slid a helmet over her head. Payton watched his face as he fastened it and checked the connections.

“Can everyone hear me?” Jackson’s voice sounded like it came from behind her head.

“Clear,” Dev and Rick answered.

Payton touched her wrist to activate her microphone and said, “Yeah.”

She looked at Nyle, who nodded. “I hear you.”

They fell back into silence as they went through the process of leaving the ship through the small airlock. As she finally stepped out on the dock, her legs shook. She caught herself holding her breath, watching the lights on their suits for changes that would indicate a contamination breach.

“We’re good,” Rick said, attaching a containment canister to Payton’s waist for her to carry. “Let’s do this, my little twinkle lights. Keep an eye on your fresh air, and don’t run it to empty. No one goes off on their own.”

Nyle held up the small recording disk Yevgen had left them to show her before tucking it into a fold in his suit front. Rick gestured at Nyle to lead the way.

The landing dock doors had been pried apart and left with a broken lock. When Nyle pulled it open, it made a horrible screech that echoed in the surrounding silence.

A small robot activated as they entered. It made a grinding noise as it moved to sweep the floor. It bumped into Dev’s foot.

“We’ll stand watch,” Jackson said. He and Dev remained by the doors. “We won’t find parts here. I don’t see any ships to scavenge.”

“I wouldn’t want to take them if we did” Dev answered.

Rick followed Payton and Nyle as they went through the hallways. The light from outside helped, but the path was dim. Payton’s eyes shifted so she could better see inside the shadows.

Payton tried to reach out to Nyle with her feelings to comfort him. Through their deep connection, she knew this wasn’t easy. He worried about her being there. His mind relived the past. His guilt and sadness over it simmered. She wanted to talk to him but knew their conversation wouldn’t be private.

Nyle stopped at a door and pushed his way inside a dark room. A light activated on his chest. He pointed at a wall. “Hold down the red button.”

Rick moved past Payton and did as instructed.

Nyle pumped a lever up and down, grunting with each stroke. A generator tried to start. Payton reached out to help. The stiff lever resisted their efforts, but they finally managed. Lights came on overhead.

“We have power,” Dev’s voice came through the helmet.

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