Page 11 of Her Cyborg Commander
“Veth. That wasn’t my intention. They have enough to deal with already.”
“Intentions are funny that way. Doesn’t matter what you meant, once you sent the message, what happened next was outof your hands. I’ve heard from my girl Anya, Striker, and even the pretty pink princess herself. They told me what happened, that you were gone, and that they were scouring the planet for you with no luck.”
River winced. She’d hoped they’d be too busy to do that right away. The longer it took for them to start looking, the more time it would take for them to realize she wasn’t where she said she was.
Hezza’s tone softened. “Did you really think they wouldn’t try to find you? You’ve got good people who care an awful lot about you back there.”
“I know. But I asked them not to.”
Laugher rang out, bouncing off the bare walls of the cargo bay. “I imagine they considered that option… for about tenfraxxingseconds.”
She huffed out a rueful breath. “Fair point. Did they say anything else?”
“They did. Every one of them asked me to keep an eye and an ear open for even the tiniest scrap of a rumor about you or any cyborg female seen traveling alone. I think they suspect you’ve left the planet, but they don’t want to say too much.”
“Because if they do, word will get back to Unified Governments and the corporations that another one of the scary, dangerous cyborgs from Reamus Station is roaming the galaxy unsupervised.”
“Because Chance has done so many terrible things since she escaped.” Hezza rolled her eyes. “And she’s hardly unsupervised. Erik is as protective and growly as a newly mated Vardarian.”
“I wonder if she foresaw my departure.” It hadn’t occurred to River that the only other cyborg to leave Haven could have known what she would do. Chance’s abilities were unique. Instead of a combat role, she’d been designed to aggregate data and calculate outcomes based on what she’d analyzed. Thatmade her one of the most dangerous cyborgs in existence, and now she worked with Nova Force and others to help track down criminals, including the Gray Men and now the Shadows.
“If she did, she wouldn’t have said anything. She’s careful about what information she gives out. You know that.”
“I do.” River finished the last of herja’kreesh. “If you see her again, tell her I’m glad she found what she needed to be happy.”
“Will do. And I’ll see her soon. I’m scheduled to run some supplies to Defiance Station, and she’s already there along with her husband and the rest of the Nova Club crew.”
“That’s good to hear. I always hoped I’d get to see the new station someday. Chance did predict that the cyborgs would eventually be allowed to leave Haven.” River shrugged. “Plans change.”
“Indeed, they do. That’s something I had to drum into my daughter’s head when she was growing up. She wanted consistency, the kind of stable home-life she saw some other kids have. It wasn’t something I could give her, though. I’m glad she’s found it now. And she proved something I’d always suspected in the process.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s such a handful it takes two beings to keep her out of trouble. I never had a chance. But now she’s got Tra’var and Damos watching over her, she’s in good hands.”
River laughed. “Yes, she is. Though I suspect any tendency to find trouble comes from her mother.”
“She certainly thinks so. She demanded to know if I’d smuggled in anything for you, like gear to help you survive in a ‘hostile environment.’” Hezza made air quotes around the last two words. “I could honestly say that I had not since everything I did for you was delivered to a different star system per a standard contract, and it was all legally paid for.”
“And the only thing you actually smuggled for me was, well,me. And I was an outbound package.”
“Exactly.” Hezza winked at her. “Any reason why they thought you’d need to survive in a hostile environment?”
“I told them I was heading to the planet’s polar region. I even sent a shuttle there on autopilot as a decoy.”
“Uh-huh. Gave them a false trail to follow to give yourself some leeway before they worked out you weren’t there?”
“That was the plan. If there are still spies among the citizens of Haven, news of my departure will make it to Jens or someone else in his organization, eventually. If it keeps him away from the colony, that’s a win.”
It was the best she could do, but a little voice in the back of her mind whispered it wouldn’t be enough. Jens had already proven he would not stop looking for her. His obsession could only end one way. Either he died, or she did, and she didn’t intend to be the one cashing out.
7
Two hoursof combat drills and sparring hadn’t done much to improve Edge’s mood. He would have gone for another round, but he’d already faced off against most of the others present. The ones left were all too young or inexperienced to go up against him. The last thing he wanted was to seriously injure someone because he wasn’t at the top of his mental game.
He might be a killer, but he still refused to do harm to anyone who wasn’t his enemy. That hadn’t always been possible while they’d been imprisoned. The guards had forced them to fight each other. Sometimes to test their abilities and others, he suspected, purely for the assholes’ entertainment.
Now that he could make his own choices, he preferred to use violence only as a last resort. The practice arenas, this one in particular, were one of his favorite places in the colony. Day or night, at least a few beings were always working on their technique or just blowing off some steam. This was one of the few places he could go to avoid feeling alone without having to be sociable. Comradery was offered without judgment.
