Page 87 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
“Zero, hurry up,” she called, opening the vehicle door.
Headlights appeared in the distance, growing larger.
Winter
“Your mate is here,” Peaceable said.
“Impossible.” Winter set down the tablet. No amount of rereading the report made the situation better. His meeting that morning with the engineering team on the all-terrain bot had been enlightening. For the amount of credits funneled into the project, he expected better. A functioning product, at least, not the travesty of bolts the team produced.
They devised a strategy to make the project break even on development costs. Two versions would be produced. One would be high end and actually capable of being an all-terrain, all-weather bot, as advertised. An economy model, very similar to the model Winter tested on Fortune, would be suitable for various terrain but not inclement weather. He did not see how the bot would be so different from the standard models available, other than capable of being used out of doors.
Under perfect weather conditions.
He felt that needed to be stressed on the packaging.
The credits spent funding the project made no sense, as if half the budget went to lining pockets rather than research and development. Conventional wisdom said he should terminate the project and write it off as a loss. His father would have done and Chase certainly shared that belief.
Stubbornly, Winter would not write off the project. If he couldn’t turn those blasted bots into a blockbuster product, then they’d break even on the budget.
“Her ID went through security about ten minutes ago. Her current location is the shipyard. No,” Peaceable corrected herself, “a landing pad.”
Concern over salvaging the all-terrain bot fell away. “Where?”
Peaceable cited a lot number and Winter immediately knew that Marigold was at his ship.
“Pack up everything. This team and project are being transferred to my workshop,” Winter said. He collected his tablet and printed reports. For a moment he did not know what to do with the items, then shoved them at Peaceable.
“But to move the project,” she protested.
“Everything. Everyone. I’ll meet you and the team there tomorrow,” Winter said, already at the door.
He flagged a member of security to take him to the landing pad.
“Heck of a day,” the security guard said, feebly trying to fill the silence.
Winter growled but said nothing. He did not have time to exchange meaningless pleasantries. Marigold, his mate, was secretly at his ship, most likely to steal information.
No. She had plenty of opportunity to take whatever information her masters wanted from the CayneTech ship. Doing so now made no sense.
Then she is attempting to kidnap Zero for ransom, his suspicious mind supplied.
Yes. That made sense. Using the opportunity of Zero’s sporting event and Winter’s being distracted by work, she’d take his kit off the planet and hold him hostage until he paid. He did not think too hard on why she’d use his ship. Absconding with his kit would be faster in another ship, but perhaps she did not want to involve more collaborators than necessary.
If she thought her command codes still worked on his ship, then she was in for a surprise. The codes had been reset to allow the mechanics to repair the ship. The doors would not even open for her. She pinned her kidnapping plan to the wrong ship. His chest puffed up at that realization, more than a bit smug.
From a distance, the lights on the ship served as a beacon. “There. Hurry,” Winter ordered.
When the security vehicle finally arrived, Winter sprang from its confines. Marigold leaned against the vehicle, a hand shielding her eyes from the headlights. He grabbed her wrist, ready to shake the truth from her.
“Tell me what have you done with my kit,” he growled.
“Nothing.” She jerked her arm away, rubbing at the abused flesh.
“Why are you here? There is nothing for you here. I will have the truth out of you.”
Marigold’s mouth opened and closed as if she were slow to process his meaning. This act infuriated him because he knew she was not slow.
Before he could say anything further, Zero trotted down the ramp. “Found them. Dad! What an expected surprise,” his kit said, voice feigned innocence. “Will you be able to come to the meet with us after all?”
