Page 31 of Breaking Point
Luciana…!If he resigned, she would suffer the fallout, too.She was inescapably linked to him in the ship’s eyes, now.Her business would evaporate overnight, and for Luciana, her business was everything.Even though he knew there was more to her than the bottom line reported on her financial page on the Forum, she was still to learn that about herself.
No.He couldn’t resign.He wouldn’t do that to her.
Zana finished her lecture, while Lakewood and Penn nodded in agreement, and Bronson looked baffled.
Brice lifted his hands up a little.“There’s no need to threaten anyone, Zana.”
“I’m not threatening,” Zana said, her tone cool.“I’m promising.”
Agree to anything.Fix it later.Bronson’s often spoken advice when dealing with the board.
“I am promising, too,” Brice replied.“I’ll file the charges.I want this asshole locked up as much as anyone in the ship.Morethan anyone.”
“And who is the asshole, by the way?”Bronson said.
Zana told them.
Chapter Eleven
“SHOULDN’T BOTH OF YOU BEheading back to work by now?”Luciana asked, reaching for the last of the brownies.She needed to stop eating as much as she had been lately.It was as though being in love made her permanently hungry.Although she was also using up a lot of calories, mostly at night.
But still.She bit into the brownie and promised herself she would start watching what she ate tomorrow.Would she have to watch what she ate for the rest of her life?She didn’t know how it worked.Would she stop feeling as though she was floating through her days, eventually?
“Damn, I was going to take that one,” Caelen said.Yet she was smiling.
Devar glanced over his shoulder toward the market.“I’ll buy some more.”He got to his feet.
“No, no, Devar, don’t,” Caelen said.“Your mother is right.We should get back to work.”
“You’ve worked five and a half hours overtime this week.You can take a few extra minutes at lunch,” Devar said.
“And have you been working that hard, Devar?”Luciana asked.
“Always.”And he smiled.“But not always on coding.”
Caelen blushed deeply.
Luciana wanted to laugh, only Caelen would be even more embarrassed, so she held herself to a smile.“Ah, I don’t get to see either of you nearly enough.I always enjoy it.”
Devar, who was still on his feet, turned to starboard, frowning.“That’s…strange.”
“What’s strange?”Caelen asked.“Something on the Artery?”
“You know Devar,” Luciana told her.“It’ll be some tiny detail that means nothing to anyone, yet he’ll lecture us on the history and consequences and wonder why no one else has paid any attention.”
Caelen put her hand to her mouth, to cover her smile and smother laughter.
“There are five…no six…multi-seat pods pulling up on the edge of the Capitol.”He tilted his head.“Bridge pods.And those are Bridge guards getting out.”He frowned.“They’re armed.”
Both Caelen and Luciana scrambled to their feet and moved over to the railing.Luciana peered toward the Artery, which could be glimpsed, here, through the gap between the First and Second Wall buildings, and the start of the Field of Mars.
The Bridge Guards in their distinctive uniforms were clumped together in front of the multi-seat pods.And theywerearmed.Luciana stared at the weapons strapped to their sides.She had never seen guns before.Not in real life.
“Those aren’t civil division,” Caelen murmured.“This must be serious, whatever it is.”
Devar touched her shoulder.“We’ll let them pass by.Then I’ll see you back to the institute.”
Caelen nodded, and returned her attention to the narrow view they had of the guards by the Artery.
