I rolled my eyes. “You insisted on coming with me because you didn’t have time to waste if something happened. Even with diplomatic immunity, it’ll take time for the station authorities to let you go if you cause trouble.”
“If there are repercussions, I will deal with them,” Torran said, “but I will not let someone hurl insults at you when I can prevent it.” He slanted a questioning glance at me. “This is why you did not want me to accompany you.”
I sighed. “I didn’t know that this would happen, but it doesn’t surprise me. Bastion was heavily involved in the war and memories are long. I didn’t want trouble.”
When Torran didn’t respond, I relented a little and grinned. “But did you see that asshole’s expression when he realized he couldn’t talk? Priceless. So thank you for that.”
Torran searched my face for a moment, then he smiled. My breath caught. He was always objectively handsome, but he was gorgeous when he smiled. “You are welcome,” he said softly.
I dipped my head and focused on the levcart. “Let’s get what we need and get off this station,” I murmured.
Now that my anger had worn off, my conscience wouldn’t allow me to take complete advantage of Torran’s generosity, no matter what I’d said earlier. I picked the high-priority parts that Anja needed, but I left the rest for another day—one when I’d be paying my own bill.
Still, the total was high enough that I winced in sympathy for his bank account.
He paid without a whisper of complaint.
Before we left, I checked on the price of a translation module for my comm and grimaced. This close to Valovian space, they were in high demand, and I couldn’t justify the massive expense. Kee and Lexi spoke the language well enough to get us through. For anything else, I’d have to keep looking up Valovan phrases the old-fashioned way.
With a sigh, I led Torran out of the shop. Kee directed us up one level to the nearest reasonably priced grocer. She also let me know that Lexi had arrived safely.
I blew out a relieved breath. Lexi could take care of herself, but I still worried about her. If Kee or Eli ever struck out on their own, I’d worry for them just the same. The four of us had forged unbreakable bonds in the midst of war and death, and I felt responsible for all of them, no matter where their lives took them.
This job might be terrible and impossible, but I was glad for the excuse to hang out with Lexi for a few weeks.
At the grocer, I stocked up on enough shelf-stable supplies to last us for three months, then began picking out perishable and frozen food for the next few weeks. “Do you have any requests?” I asked Torran.
“I’ve enjoyed all the meals you’ve prepared.”
I waved a hand. “I’m not fishing for compliments. It’s okay to have a preference. Do you want me to make something again? Do you have a recipe you’d like for me to try? Do you want supplies to cook something for yourself? Now is the time to speak up.”
He tilted his head, thinking. “I enjoyed the lasagna.”
Warmth blossomed. I might not have been fishing for compliments, but I appreciated it when someone liked my food. I added the lasagna ingredients to the growing mountain of food.
I added a few chocolate bars and other treats that I thought both crews would enjoy, then I pulled out my comm to quietly prepay. As expected, the total was far higher than it should’ve been.
Prices were listed on the shelves, but that was merely a suggestion, and the owner had the option to adjust them on the fly—which they had, dramatically. If I thought I could get a better deal somewhere else, I’d unload everything and leave.
But there were no better deals to be found, not with Torran shadowing my steps.
The total bill wasn’t much compared to the parts for the ship, but it didn’t feel right to make him pay for this, too. Except that when I tried to pay, it wouldn’t let me because Torran had already paid.
When my eyes flew to his, he met my gaze, unflinching. “I promised to pay,” he said quietly.
I shook my head. “I wasn’t going to hold you to it. The parts were already too much.”
His spine stiffened and his expression closed. “You told Kee you’d get everything on the list, but you didn’t,” he said, his tone cool. “Why not?”
He’d heard our not-so-quiet conversation. I shifted uncomfortably. “I was only going to buy a few things before you waltzed in and started issuing orders,” I said. “Denting your bank account sounded good when I was angry, but then I calmed down, and you took care of that asshole, and . . .” I trailed off and shrugged. “Buying more just because you were paying didn’t seem right.”
He stared at me for a long moment, then his eyes went distant. My mental shields were not at their strongest, so I braced for the feel of his mind touching mine, but it never came.
His expression cleared. “Do you need anything else?”
I considered the food stacked on the levcart. If we had to stay on Valovia for the full eight weeks, we would be okay even if no one sold us supplies. We would be out of fresh food, but between the garden, the pantry staples, and the frozen food, we wouldn’t starve.
“I have everything I need,” I said. “If you’re done, let’s head back to the ship so I can put all this stuff away before it melts.”
He inclined his head in agreement, and we made our way back to Starlight’s Shadow. This time, the trip went smoothly, and Torran’s presence deterred anyone from getting too curious about what was under the levcart’s cover. An armored Valoff wasn’t a foe to take lightly, despite what the jerk earlier had thought.
Starlight’s cargo bay was empty when we arrived. The levcart was too wide to fit through the hatch into the main part of the ship, so I parked it as close as possible. I would have to carry the food to the galley.
The hatch opened, and Kee bounced out with her customary bright smile. Lexi followed at a more sedate pace, but her smile was just as bright.
“It’s good to see you, Lex,” I said as I pulled her into a hug.
“You, too,” she said.
I squeezed her tight, then stepped back to look her over. She was a half dozen centimeters taller than me and nearly a dozen taller than Kee, with the kind of sleek, flexible strength that people often underestimated.
This week, her chin-length, curly hair was a pure, gleaming blond, several shades lighter than her natural strawberry blond. Her pale skin had taken on a faint golden glow from time in the sun—she’d recently spent a significant amount of time on-planet.
Depending on her agenda, Lexi could go from pretty-but-forgettable to absolutely stunning in fifteen minutes flat. Today, her makeup played up her hazel eyes and minimized the rest of her features, and she wore a pair of slim charcoal slacks with a sapphire blouse.
I raised my eyebrows. “Did you come straight from a job?”
“Just wrapped it up,” she confirmed.
“Do I want to know?”