“Apparently I do.”
Arden sniffed. “It’s not an obsession.”
He squinted. “Then explain it to me.”
Okay, maybe it was.
“It’s business,” Arden said. When Colin gave her a disdainful look, she repeated, “It is.”
“What ‘business’ could you possibly have with him? Please give me some kind of answer besides ‘He’s hot’ or something equally as vapid.”
She forced herself to relax. It wouldn’t help her case if she started on the defensive. She was asking a lot from him. Treason against the Lasair was a death sentence no matter the reason. “I thought that maybe Dade could get info on where they’re holding Mariah. Or perhaps he’s overheard something that would be helpful. I have no other way to contact him, but if he can help us, it’s worth a shot.”
“Why don’t you know how to contact him? Last I saw, the two of you were so close, your faces were in danger of needing surgical detachment.”
Arden felt her cheeks heat, glad she hadn’t told him about taking Dade into Undercity. That would be mortifying and, well, his reaction would be worse than this conversation. “I told him I didn’t want to see him again.”
“That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day,” Colin said dryly.
“Are you going to help or not?” she asked.
Colin ran a distracted hand through his hair. “How do you propose to break in? The security at the Sky Towers is ridiculously tight. Which might not be a problem in normal circumstances, but with only the two of us . . .” He paused to see if she was going to offer up anyone else who’d be willing to help. When she didn’t, he sighed and continued. “Going it alone presents more dangers than we could handle. Plus, where are we going to get the stuff we need to pull off a job that size?”
Arden grinned. If he was already calculating the possibilities, and probably running through the possible entry scenarios in his mind, she knew she had him. Colin would do anything for her. She appreciated that, while reminding herself that she shouldn’t take advantage of it.
“Well, I’d hoped . . .” She looked around meaningfully, and then widened her eyes at him, not wanting to voice her treasonous thoughts.
“You want to steal from the shipment?” he asked. The way he said it, like he was surprised, had her laughing. It wasn’t like they hadn’t done all kinds of questionably immoral things before. Besides, was it really stealing if the items had been stolen in the first place? She liked to consider it more along the lines of realigning their accessories.
“It’s not like they’ll know any of it is missing. When we take the shipment back to the holding site, we’ll just conveniently lose some stuff. No one will find out.” Plus, if they stole some items, it would push back Niall’s timeline for proceeding with Project Blackout. Maybe it would buy her the time to come up with another solution while he scrambled to replace the items she took.
Colin looked like he’d sucked something sour. “You don’t need me to help you so much as you need me to keep you from getting yourself killed.”
She nodded, smiling. “Exactly.”
“Why can’t I hear you?” Kimber yelled. “Did you idiots turn your comms off?”
Colin winced. Kimber’s screechy voice directly in their ears caused an instant headache.
Arden switched her comm back on. “Sorry, didn’t think you’d want to hear me pee.”
Colin snickered, turning his comm back on as well. “I didn’t realize mine was off.” He didn’t even try to hide the lie in his tone. Arden adored him for it.
Kimber growled.
Arden ignored her when she realized they were about to get company. “Incoming,” she said for Kimber’s benefit, hoping it would shut her up.
Colin snapped his spine straight and went into assassin mode.
Three boys and a girl cut through the crowd. They wore brightly colored outfits, dressed like travelers from another city. The cloth formed to the body so they’d be able to fight in them if necessary, a fact emphasized by the phasers strapped to their hips and backs. They made a powerful statement as they walked through the atrium, like a delegation of dignitaries. People treated them as such, parting for them and offering small bows.
The girl was noticeably smaller than the boys. She walked with a sway in her step, stealing the attention from her companions. She was pretty and petite, with curly dark hair, dusky skin, and wide almond eyes.
Around her, the boys were varying degrees of hulking. They walked in a ring, shielding the girl. It didn’t come across as trying to protect her, but more as emphasizing she was their leader, the one who made the decisions. It was in the way she carried herself, the tilt of her chin, the way she looked Arden directly in the eye.
Arden had met many times with Mina, one of Lasair’s black-market suppliers of weapons and tactical gear. Because of that, Arden had a healthy respect for her. The girl was someone to fear and not someone she wanted to make an enemy. Mina wore her lethalness like a badge of honor.
Mina stepped forward. She lifted her hands, palms up and cupped, the fleshy sides of her hands pressed together. Then she turned her eyes downward, and her head dipped in a bow. “Bright day to you.” Her words rolled with silk-smooth tones and a foreign accent that Arden had never been able to place.
Arden repeated the greeting, giving a slightly deeper bow. “And to you.”
They both reached out with their right hands, pressing their palms together, their thumbs twisting and connecting in a coordinated greeting.
When they parted, Mina tilted her head to the side. “I’m sorry we were late. There was a bit of trouble with our docking. It seems the berth we normally use is being repaired.”
Arden jolted. She slid a sharp look to Colin. He blinked. The change from the normal berth was concerning, especially since that was the one they had bugged. Hopefully Kimber had been paying attention. She’d have to do a lot of work to break into the vids of a clean room once they were able to pinpoint which one. Until then, the meeting would be blind.
“If you will follow us,” one of the boys said.
Arden and Colin fell into step next to Mina. Mina slipped her hand through the crook of Arden’s elbow. Her body swayed into Arden’s as they walked. Arden wished they really were friends. It would be nice to have powerful allies she could trust.
Behind them, the other two boys took up the rear of the group, boxing them in. Arden didn’t like feeling pinned. She was capable of fighting her way out, yet anxiety closed her throat. She swallowed against it.