Page 18 of Zayrik

“Your AI giving you trouble?” Zayrik asked, his mouth quirking up at one corner.

“He’smyproblem, not yours.”

Nav switched to external mode, his voice now audible in the cockpit. “Rude. But fine. I’ll just wait for your inevitable disaster.”

I shot the wrist device a murderous look.

Zayrik’s amusement only deepened. “You two always this dysfunctional?”

“We have a system,” I muttered. “He’s annoying, I ignore him, somehow we stay alive.”

“A flawless methodology,” Nav commented dryly.

Zayrik exhaled, getting back to business. “So. You wanna explain why yourwhole face changedwhen I said we were two days out from the nearest outpost?”

I frowned. “I haveoneface.”

He smirked. “Not when you’re lying.”

Shit. This wasn’t good. Because he wasright.

Two dayswasn’tgood. Not for me. Not foranyone.

Not because of the ship itself. Because ofwhat it meant.

Vask’s network was spreading.

If I was right, he wasn’t just looking forme.

He was looking foreverything.

Andthis ship?

It wasa thread in the web.

Which meant if we stopped at the wrong outpost? If the wrong people saw me?

IfZayrik figured out exactly what I was running from?

I wasscrewed.

I leaned back in my seat, forcing all of that deep down.

“You’re paranoid,Captain,” I murmured. “Maybe you should get some rest.”

Zayrik let out a quick breath. Half a laugh, half frustration. “You’re impossible.”

“You’re observant. It’s a problem.”

His smug grin widened. “For you?”

I grinned. “Maybe.”

He moved closer, his tall frame casting a shadow over me. “You know, most people try to hide their secrets better.”

“Perhaps I’m not trying to hide them,” I countered, tilting my head up to maintain eye contact. “Maybe I just don’t think you need to know.”

Leaning down, he said in a low voice, “Perhaps what you don’t realize is that I already know more than you think.”

---