Page 49 of Relyn
“We can work on that. Like I said-”
Alana cut her off. “No, like I say. You get me that cargo, and I’ll give you back your collateral.”
“Collateral?” Bright said, confused.
Alana punched a button on her com and an Adrastian came in, leading Nora at gunpoint. “I could only find one.”
“That’s the one we need.”
“No,” Relyn said as he took a move toward Nora. The Adrastian put his laser pistol right to her head, and Relyn froze. “Take me.”
“If I’m to believe Gale here, you’re some sort of super spy that has the great captain fooled, and you were willing to fight a death match for her, so here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to get me that crate. I’m going to keep her here, unharmed, until you do. If the crate is destroyed, I kill her. If you bring Rutra here, I kill her. If you don’t bring it back to me, I kill her. Her, I don’t trust as far as I can throw her,” Alana said, motioning to Bright. “You, I don’t know, so I’m not going to shoot you. Now once you get back on the ship, you can shove her out the airlock for all I care.”
“Do I get a say in any of this?” Nora asked.
“No!” Bright, Relyn and Alana all shouted at once.
“If I’m going to be used as a bartering chip,” Nora said. Relyn cut her off.
“Just so you know, if any harm comes to her at all, any at all, I will not just find you and kill you, I will destroy everyone and everything that has ever touched you, including that fucking crate,” Relyn said.
Alana shrugged. “Deal.”
Chapter 21
Nora
Getting abducted by pirates while naked was not fun. The first time hadn’t turned out too bad, but this time, her captor was not a handsome stud. She was a short and squat dude that looked like a solid block of fresh asphalt. He wasn’t near as polite either.
“I’m naked,” she said.
“Don’t care.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake. Have you not seen the guy that I’m with? How do you think he’s going to react when you trot his girlfriend out in front of everyone with her bits hanging out?”
He motioned with the gun for her to put some clothes on. Nora grabbed her new fancy vest and pulled on a pair of jeans, trying to keep her back turned to the perve for the most revealing bits. She grabbed her coat and swung it on as she walked past the ugly alien.
They’d docked with another ship, Nora found out. Why was she always the last one to find these things out?
The alien led her out of the ship and onto another that was bigger than Clover’s but nowhere near the size of the ship that Rutra had. They moved down a hallway and into a larger area full of stacked crates. Bright was there surrounded by more ofthe black aliens. Relyn was standing off to the side, looking as disinterested as possible, at least until she walked into the room.
“No,” he said. “Take me.”
Nora stared at him and then it took her a moment to parse the fact that there were two Brights in the room. Nora was able to pick their Bright out, simply because of the outfit, but it was clear the two were from the same species and… then she realized how she was being used in this negotiation.
“Do I get a say in any of this?” Nora asked. She’d been successfully able to stall several times now.
“No!” A resounding cry from all parties.
“If I’m going to be used as a bartering chip,” Nora began. Relyn interrupted her and threatened Bright Two in a voice that might have been quite sexy if he wasn’t promising to kill everyone and everything if Nora died.
Relyn approached Nora and gave her a toe curling kiss. It was quick and when he lifted his head, he said low and quiet, just for her. “I love you.”
“I know.”
Bright and Relyn peeled off, leaving her with Bright Two. A quote from her favorite vid was the first thing that popped into her head. It meant, I love you too. And she meant it. Somewhere in this craziness that was her new life, she had fallen in love with Relyn. It was unexpected and it changed everything.
And he had probably never even heard ofStar Warsbefore. It was too late to run after him, and shout it from the rafters. If things went sideways, she was going to regret that for the rest of her life. Of course if things went sideways, the rest of her life was going to be pretty short.
