Page 61 of Star Claimed Omega
Their voices echoed through the chamber, edged yet warm with camaraderie.
Kaal drawled without looking up, ‘My credits say Zev’s patience is running out and he’s about to shoot your ass, B.’
‘Do your best,’ Boaz goaded his mate. ‘I can do it too, blindfolded. Anyone want to wager on it?’
Mak snorted, deadpan. ‘Hell no. You’re a wild card and freakin’ cheat.’
‘Don’t forget charming and handsome,’ Boaz murmured.
‘Nada, you’re ugly as sin,’ Zev corrected, sliding a way-point marker across the holo-map. ‘And twice as mean.’
Santi shook his head, amusement wry, as he walked to the galley alcove tucked behind the helm.
He keyed in a brew cycle, pulling down heavy ceramic mugs, real ones, a luxury most ships didn’t bother with, and lined them up.
The scent of richkahawafilled the air, cut with undertones of cinnamon bark and bitter molasses.
He turned, tray in hand, a half-smile on his lips. ‘Gentlemen. Your fuel.’
Kaal took his mug, nodding with appreciation. ‘Bless your cold, ruthless,kahawa-obsessedheart, XO.’
Zev lifted his cup in a quiet salute. ‘I’d follow you into the abyss for this. But you might have made it a little hotter.’
Santi whirled to a stop. ‘Brother, the temperature is perfect.’
Zev arched a brow and shrugged.
Santi leaned in. ‘You asked for mykahawa. However, if you’re after stale ditch water with a thin, sickly film on the surface, bitter vapor that hints at burnt instant grounds, a stagnant flavor that promises acid and regret, and an undrinkable, rancid sludge that lingers like a bad decision, then make your own.’
Zev whistled. ‘That’s a rough burn, brother.’
Kaal grinned. ‘Zevhermano, you should know by now that Santi is akaffeinesnob, of the highest order. Criticizing his brew always leads to an intense, heated debate.Fokk, his favorite morning mantra is rise and grind!
Santi raised a chin to Kaal. ‘Thanks a latte for having my six. Zev, you’re on thin ice. Nokahawafor you. You’re banned for a week.’
As Santi reached for Zev’s cup, the man whooped and slid away, cradling his precious mug.
‘I’m warning you!’
As the dark skinned Signet operator groaned, Boaz chuckled into his drink, ‘Hell, never cross the XO when it comes to his choice of beverage.’
Santi smirked, feigning a snatch of Zev’s mug. ‘I call it being protective over my brews, from whiskey tokaffeine. I like my spirits volatile and mykahawafreakin’ dangerous.’
The laughter that followed was raucous and real among men who fought and bled together, finding a moment’s peace in the small rituals.
With a wry grin, Santi took his seat at the helm last, the chair molding around him like an old friend.
His fingers drifted across the console, pulling up ship diagnostics and long-range scans, though his mind wasn’t on the readouts.
It was on one woman.Soleil.
His past lovers included mafia queens and holo stars.
He’d even dated a few princesses, without breaking a sweat.
Yet now one svelte, humble woman, with lustrous honey-brown, red-tinged hair and a dimple so sweet and deep, was breaking him.
Fokk, Soleil was no passing comet.
