Born of Ice

She swallowed in fear at his intense, hostile glare. “N-not yet.”


He cursed before he turned that maniacal gaze back on her. There was so much hatred reflected in those eyes that she couldn’t fathom it. What had she done to him?

“Don’t even think about double-crossing the CMOD, little girl. He eats trash like you for lunch.”

“I-I would never. Kell’s a very cautious man and I haven’t been able to access anything . . . yet. But I will.”

“Time’s running out.” He held a link in her face that showed a photo of her mother and sister. Tears bristled in their lashes as they held each other close. “I expect the files we need at your next stop, which will be at Charisis, day after tomorrow.”

She shook her head at him. “We’re not going there.”

“Yes, you are. I’ve arranged for a little malfunction that you won’t see until you’re in space. The only place for the part is on Charisis. You will be there, and one way or another, this will end. Trust me.”

Funny how those two words gave her chills.

He held the picture up for her one more time. “Their lives are in your hands. Do not fail.”

Alix wanted to slap the arrogance off his face. She hated being at his mercy. Most of all, she hated being forced to hurt a man who’d been nothing but kind to her.

Devyn didn’t deserve this . . .

With a disdainful curl to his lip, Whelms turned on his heel and left.

She watched him leave as her anger toward him and Merjack mounted. “I’m going to get my family free,” she said under her breath. “And then I’m going to kill both of you.”

That was so long as Devyn didn’t kill her first.





CHAPTER 6


“Do you ever get the feeling there’s something odd about our new engineer?”

Devyn paused while he finished his current log. He looked up to find Sway joining him on the bridge. “I thought you and Claria were . . .” He cleared his throat meaningfully. “Busy.”

Sway scratched his chin in an irritated gesture. “She had to take a call that I’m not authorized to hear.”

Devyn snorted at the typical government BS and paranoia. “Sorry they interrupted your fun.”

“Yeah, me, too. So? What about it?”

He saved his work before he spoke again. “I think she’s suspicious of us—not surprising for a woman her age in an all-male crew. I’d be nervous with our sorry asses, too.” He glanced back at Sway. “Have you noticed something more?”

“I can’t put my finger on it. There’s just something about her that doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Other than the fact that she reminds you of Clotilde, who you always hated?”

“There is that, and I won’t be an ‘I told you so’ where that bitch is concerned, so I won’t go there. But no, this is something else. It’s like she’s hiding something . . . I can feel it.”

Devyn shrugged his concern away. “We’re all hiding something, aridos. My dubious lineage and health, your grandfather’s reputation, Omari’s abilities and Vik’s special programming. If she didn’t have something of a similar nature to keep from us, she definitely wouldn’t fit in with this crew.”

Sway gave him a hard stare. “You’re making excuses again. I thought you said you’d never do that for another woman.”

Devyn froze at the reminder. Sway was right. He’d made excuse after excuse for Clotilde. Even when every instinct in him had said something wasn’t right, he’d dismissed it.

Had he only listened to himself . . .

Was he doing that again?

The thought sobered him. “I’ll watch her closely.”

Sway inclined his head.

“Here you are. I wondered where you’d gotten off to.”

Devyn smiled as he saw Claria join them. Tall and lithe, she was exquisitely beautiful with long black hair she wore in braids that matched Sway’s—another Hyshian custom. Damn, for a right to her, he’d have sold himself into slavery, too.

Sway was a lucky man.

She turned her attention to Devyn. “Sway says you’ve been taking really good care of him for me.”

He laughed. “Well, his mom did a great job house breaking him, so he doesn’t require too much work. Not to mention Vik doesn’t mind walking him once a day. It’s all good.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a smartass.”

“I come by it honestly. You’ve met my parents. You understand.”

Shaking her head, she sobered as she looked at Sway. “By the way, you should know that your Alix is a ghost.”

Devyn arched a brow at Sway. “You had Claire look into Alix?”

“No,” Claria said quickly. “I took the initiative myself. I want to know who’s on crew with my husband.”

“And you found nothing?”

Claria shook her head. “She’s completely off-grid.”

Devyn let that knowledge sink in. “How is that possible?”

“You tell me. I found her birth certificate and nothing else.”

This really wasn’t a good sign. “What about her parents?”