Born of Ice

“Yeah, we’ll stop on Nera VII in four days, then head out to PC. Something wrong with that?”


Well, yes. She, too, wanted to live. “I’ve heard it’s a rough place since the rebellion broke out. Not even runners or assassins are safe there. The rebels have been rounding them up and executing anyone they deem a threat.”

Devyn shrugged. “No worries. They don’t scare me.”

Alix cocked a brow at him, doubting his mental abilities. He’d seemed sane enough at first, but now she had to wonder. “All right, but if my brain matter ends up smeared against a wall, I’ll never forgive you.”

Devyn leaned across the panel in front of her, his head less than three inches from her own, and pressed a couple of switches. The fresh, manly scent of his skin and hair filled her senses. She stared at the planes of his face, wondering how it would feel to touch the sun-darkened skin with her fingertips and feel that jaw flex . . .

How his lips would taste . . .

He glanced up at her and she looked away, embarrassed by her thoughts.

“I don’t let my people get hurt,” he said with a tough sincerity.

“What about your last engineer?”

Laughing, he dropped his gaze back to the panel. “I lied about that. He ended up in a fight and was arrested by the yokels. I tried to get him out, but they refused bail. Poor bastard. There was nothing I could do for him.”

She raised her brows, shocked by his confession. “Why’d you lie about it?”

He continued to program coordinates into the computer log. “I thought you were a kid trying to leave the station because you were mad at your parents. I figured my words would make you think twice about signing on to a ship, especially with a crew of men you don’t know.”

Alix smiled at his kindness, but before she could say anything, a whistle rent the air.

“Devyn!” Sway’s anxious voice broke in. “I’ve got League ships asking for the captain. Get your ass up here. Now!”

Devyn pushed himself away from the panel. “Better get strapped in. Looks like we’re going to have a bit of trouble.”

Alix went rigid, knowing all too well the type of trouble he meant. “You want me to take the guns?”

He shook his head. “No. We’re runners, not smugglers.”

“Is there a difference?”

He gave her a strange look that she couldn’t define. “Runners are motivated by a lot more than money.” He dashed down the corridor.

She followed after him.

As they took the bridge, the hailing channel buzzed in her ears. The captain of the lead ship demanded their call letters and manifests. Devyn disregarded the strident tone and strapped himself in while Vik started playing another heavy song.

Alix looked at Sway. “How much questionable cargo are we carrying?”

“Enough to put all of us in jail until we’re bent double with old age.” Sway turned around in his chair and tossed her a bag. “Keep that handy.”

“Why?”

Before he could answer, Devyn took the controls, and the ship lurched to the right at an angle she hadn’t thought possible for a craft of this size. Grateful she hadn’t eaten a large lunch, she gripped the arms of her seat.

Laser canons exploded as League ships opened fire on them. For close to ten minutes, the ship bucked and dipped like some crazed beast trying to sling off a rider. Sweat covered her face as she struggled not to undignify herself with her heaving stomach.

All of a sudden, Devyn fired the retrorockets and the ship jerked to a crawl. Alix looked up with a frown, only to wish she hadn’t.

Before them, three battleships waited with a tractor net spread out in two directions. The other tracers were closing in behind them.

A trickle of sweat ran down her cheek. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tightened her grip on the armrests.

They were about to be caught and jailed.





CHAPTER 2


“Surrender your ship, crew, and cargo,” a gruff voice demanded over the hailing channel.

Devyn’s response was curt and to the point. “Bite my ass.”

The ship fired a warning blast across the bow. “This is your last chance. The next one will be through your bridge.”

Devyn didn’t even flinch as he laughed at their threat. “Come get some.”

“Shall I concentrate extra power to the shields?” Vik asked.

“Yes!” Alix and Sway shouted in unison.

Devyn shook his head like they were pansies.

Sway pulled his legs up to his chest, laid his head on his knees, and covered it with his arms. “Dev, I really hate it when you do this.”

Alix swallowed in fear. By now she’d learned enough about the captain to realize he wasn’t going to surrender. In fact, he stared at the surrounding ships with a look on his face that told her how much he was enjoying the threat. Though to be honest, she had no idea how they were going to get out of this. The League ships had their hyperdrive blocked, so they had no hope of outrunning them.

They couldn’t escape.

And they were seriously outgunned.

But none of that seemed to stop Devyn from trying.