Page 13 of Her Cyborg Commander
To his credit, Thrash didn’t try to deny anything. “I have no idea. I got involved a couple of months ago, and like I said, it’s never anything dangerous. Hezza would never endanger her own daughter.
Ruin chuckled softly. “And Anya would kill her if she did anything that stupid.”
“So, you delivered this mysterious crate to Hezza?” Edge prompted him for more information.
“I did.”
Edge spun on his heel and walked toward the door, gesturing Ruin to get out of his way. “We’ll table the rest of this conversation for another time. I need to track down a certain freight jockey and find out where the hell she took our wayward citizen.”
And once he found said citizen, he was going to spank River’s ass red. The thought popped into his head, complete with a visual that had his cock surging to life.Not. Now.
And not ever, he added the afterthought out of habit. Every time he thought about River that way, he shut it down immediately. She deserved so much better than someone like him.
The thought gave him pause. He’d told himself that since the beginning, and maybe back then it was true. But now? When it came to River, he couldn’t be certain about anything. He’d been wrong too many times already.
He contacted several cyborgs at the space port and the orbital platform, instructing them to track down Hezza B. and put him in contact with her as soon as possible. One advantage to living in a Vardarian colony was access to their tech. The aliens’ communication abilities were far better than what even the human military used. Once they found the freighter pilot,he’d be able to converse with her in something close to real time, despite the differences in their comm systems.
While he waited, he accessed the flight plan the female had filed before departing. River was either still on board or had gotten off somewhere along the way. Finally, he had a place to start looking.
She might have told him she could take care of herself, but that didn’t mean she had to be alone. “I’m coming, River,” he murmured as he made his way through the nearly empty streets and back to his residence. “Whether you want my help or not.”
8
River’s choiceof hiding places was the result of a number of factors, including proximity to Hezza’s usual routes. The system she’d finally selected was only a short jump—less than two days—and was in an area of space without much traffic. The deviation shouldn’t be noticed, and Hezza had a cover story about a malfunctioning nav set to go if anyone asked questions.
“Last chance to change your mind,” Hezza said over the ship’s speakers.
River didn’t bother answering. They both knew this was the way it had to be.
“Okay then. Welcome to your new home in the ass-end of beyond. Which is what I’ve designated this system as, by the way.”
“You’re crap at naming things,” River called out as she rapped her knuckles against a nearby bulkhead. “No one sane would ever call their ship theDesperate Gambit.”
“Never said I was sane,” Hezza replied, her snappy comeback almost covering the concern in her voice. “And if we’re going down that path, I will happily point out that I’m not the one about to ride a dropship from high orbit to the surface of a planetrated so inhospitable to life that even the corporations want no part of it.”
And that was another reason she’d picked this place. No one would come here by accident. Anyone who showed up could safely be considered a threat. She intended to treat them as such.
When what little she’d brought with her was stashed inside the dropship, River took a few minutes to freshen up before meeting Hezza back on the cargo deck.
“I am not thrilled about this plan of yours,” the older female stated.
“Honestly, it’s not my favorite idea, either. It’s just the only one I have. When I set all this up, I thought it would be to keep me from acting against my friends. I always expectedI’dbe the enemy that had to be dealt with.”
“You got what you need to handle that bastard doctor if he shows his face on Dust Bowl?”
River snorted at the nickname Hezza had given the planet they orbited. “I do. And I’ll have time to make new plans once I get down there. I’m a cyborg. I can handle anything that place can throw at me. If Jens shows up, he’ll have more than a pissed off cyborg trying to kill him. The whole planet will be in on my side.”
“I still don’t like it.” Hezza reached out to touch her arm gently. “You don’t have to do this alone. I could go back and get a few of your friends…”
River raised her hands to stop Hezza from saying anymore. “It’s bad enough I left the colony. If more of the cyborgs leave, there will be repercussions. I don’t know what else they could do to us, and I don’t want to find out.” She took Hezza’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m worried about you. The best thing you can do now is to forget I was ever aboard theGambit.”
“I’ve spent my whole life avoiding trouble. I’ve become an expert at avoiding blame and side-stepping unpleasant thingslike prison time. After you’re gone, I’ll send the bots to do a bio-scrub of the interior. There won’t be a scrap of your DNA left for anyone to find.”
“If you’re questioned, how will you explain the cryo-pod?”
“I’ve already got a buyer lined up for it. I kept it in a warehouse on Liberty because I knew no one there would steal it. Can’t say that about many other places on my usual route.” Hezza winked. “I told you. This is what I do. I’ll be fine. And when I hear anything you need to know, I’ll find a way to get the information to you.”
“Thank you. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me.” She gave the human a quick hug and then danced away before Hezza could protest.
