I dug around in Rhys’s pristine medbay until I found a pair of scissors. Laser cutters could be a little finicky with blood-soaked cloth, so it was easier to do it manually. I cut away most of the shirt, leaving the section that was stuck to his skin.
The scanner beeped and I checked the display. I blinked and read it again. “You have a blaster hole in your shoulder,” I said. “Through your shoulder.”
Loch shrugged. “When the cowards realized their stun bolts didn’t work so well, one of them shot me,” he said.
“You picked me up when you had a hole through your shoulder,” I reiterated.
“Bianca triaged it. It’s just a flesh wound and I heal fast.”
I counted to ten and prayed for patience. When I could speak without yelling, I said, “From now on, if you get injured, even if it’s just a ‘flesh wound,’ you will get it taken care of immediately. You will not go around aggravating the injury further.” Loch looked ready to argue. “Please,” I added, “for me.”
He grumbled out something that vaguely resembled agreement.
“Thank you,” I said. I doused the remaining piece of shirt in saline and gently pulled it away from the wound. Bianca had bandaged over the worst of it, but according to the diagnostic, the whole wound needed to be irrigated and slathered in regeneration gel.
“I’m going to have to remove the bandage,” I said, “and clean out the wound. How do you react to regeneration gel?”
“Better than you,” he said with a grin.
Chapter 31
Ten minutes later, Loch’s shoulder was covered front and back in bandages while the regeneration gel did its thing. I’d used a sterile wipe to clean off some of the blood, but he still needed a shower. And a new shirt—Scarlett was still somewhere on this ship.
“If you two lovebirds are done playing doctor,” Rhys’s voice said from the overhead speaker, “then get up here and clip in. We’re ready to leave.”
Loch flipped off the room then slid off the table.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to grab some pain meds, just in case?” I asked again.
“Regen gel doesn’t incapacitate me,” he said. “It’s tingling and that’s about it.”
I nodded and picked up my bag. Loch picked up the weapon case before I could grab it. “Don’t even try,” he warned.
We stopped by the crew quarters on the way up and Loch found a spare shirt. He shrugged it on without so much as a wince, and his delicious chest disappeared under the fabric. My fingers itched to pull it off of him again.
“Keep looking at me like that and we’re not going to make it upstairs,” Loch said.
I was tempted, but we needed to leave before the RCDF decided to take drastic measures. I winked at him and left the room. He followed with a growl.
When we entered the flight deck, I wasn’t surprised to see Scarlett in the captain’s chair. Rhys knew better than to override the captain of the ship, even if he owned said ship. He sat at the navigator’s station and Veronica hovered by his shoulder. An unfamiliar dark-haired man sat in the tactical station.
“Clip in,” Scarlett said. “Ground control is getting quite insistent that we leave now.” Her hands moved over the controls with confident familiarity.
Loch and I sat in the extra chairs along the wall. Veronica sat on my other side. She touched my arm. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Unexpected and unwanted tears flooded my eyes. The one-minute-warning chime sounded throughout the ship, which gave me a moment to compose myself. I blinked rapidly then met her gaze and very slightly shook my head. She squeezed my arm in silent support, then turned her attention back toward the control stations.
The ship lifted away from the ground. This was the last time I would be on Earth for a very long time. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I refused to break down in front of strangers.
We settled into orbit and Scarlett stood and turned to me. “We have about six hours before we can jump back to Sedition. How likely are we to be harassed by the RCDF now that you’re on board?”
“They will leave us alone,” I said. “I’m still a von Hasenberg and I left the planet with permission.”
She eyed me for a few seconds longer then nodded. “Okay. In that case, I’m going to grab some shut-eye. Unlike this fool”—she jerked a thumb at Rhys—“I’m on Universal and I’ve been up forever. Felix, you’re off duty, too. Get some sleep.”
The dark-haired crewmate stood. “Yes, Captain,” he said.
Scarlett turned to Rhys. “Do not let anything happen to my ship,” she said. “I expect her to be in one piece when I wake up.”
“I’ll do my best,” Rhys said.
Scarlett narrowed her eyes but didn’t comment. She and Felix left the flight deck together. After the door closed behind them, Rhys said, “Ada, while I’m glad we didn’t have to bust you out, how bad is it?”
“It’s not great,” I said. “Thank you for coming. I’m sorry I involved you, I just didn’t know who else to ask.”
“You can always come to me for help,” Rhys said gently.
“And me,” Veronica said. “Rhys tried to leave me behind. See how well it worked for him?”
The maelstrom of emotions I’d experienced today all decided that now was an excellent time to make a break for it. Tears escaped faster than I could blink them away. I took a shuddering breath and tried to get myself under control.
Loch picked me up and dragged me into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me. All semblance of control shattered. I hid my tears against his shoulder and gave myself permission to let go for a few minutes. Loch would keep me safe—I knew it down to my bones.
Loch’s deep voice rolled over me while he told Rhys and Veronica what happened. I blocked out the words and just listened to the vibrations as I slowly pulled myself together. I wiped my eyes as the tears stopped, but I kept my head where it was.
“News of your pardon is already hitting the net,” Rhys said to Loch. “They’re spinning it as a reward for protecting Ada from an unnamed threat and returning her to House von Hasenberg.”
“Good,” I said. “That means they are sticking to the agreement. At least for now.”
“What is your plan?” Rhys asked.
I pushed aside the lost, helpless feelings that tried to rise. I was a von Hasenberg, dammit, and we were never helpless, even when the odds were stacked against us. The worse the odds, the harder we fought.
“First, I need to find us a place to stay on Sedition,” I said.
“You’re welcome to stay with me while you look,” Rhys said. “In fact, you’re welcome to stay with me indefinitely.” Loch rumbled at him. “Both of you are welcome, of course,” Rhys said with an eye roll.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m not feeling particularly loyal to Father at the moment, but my brothers and sisters will still be dragged into the war. I will do what I can either to help them win it or to make it unnecessary.” After all, neither of my agreements prevented me from telling Lord Yamado exactly what Father and Lady Rockhurst were fighting over. I’d have to weigh the pros and cons, but it was at least one option.
“You’re not going to war for the son of a bitch who banished you,” Loch said.
“No, I’m not,” I agreed. “I’m going to war for Bianca and my other siblings.”
After speaking to Rhys and Veronica for a few more minutes, Loch and I returned to the crew quarters where we’d found his shirt. Luckily there were plenty of rooms to go around, so we were alone.
I sighed in relief as the door closed behind us. We had at least five hours until Jester could jump and I was bone weary. Without fear and adrenaline driving me, I just wanted to collapse.
“Are you okay?” Loch asked, expression guarded.
“Yes,” I said slowly, “are you?”
He paced the short length of the room. “You lost everything because of my stupidity. You should’ve left me,” he said.
It took me a second to follow his thoughts. Anger sparked, chasing away the fatigue, but I took a deep breath and swallowed the furious words that wanted to escape. We both had issues we needed to work through and this was one of his.
“Marcus,” I said quietly, “I’m never going to leave you to die if I can do something about it. Just the thought of you dying hurts.”