Starfall, Page 2

  For some strange reason, his words caused a sharp ache in the spot directly behind Cassia’s breastbone. She whirled on him, seeing nothing but a blond blur through the moisture welling in her eyes. She didn’t know what had possessed her, but she’d roll naked in a thorn bush before letting Kane see her cry.

  “It’s just a cargo drop,” she snapped, charging into the hold and skirting around him. “I don’t need you for that.” As she continued up the stairs, she called over her shoulder, “I don’t need you for anything.”

  An hour later, she was sitting on the edge of a wheeled pallet, watching the Banshee’s shuttle fade into the atmosphere. Once the shuttle vanished from sight, she sighed and rested her head against a crate of grain as a wheezing hovercraft towed her across the field toward Main Street.

  “Sure you don’t want to ride up here?” shouted the hovercraft pilot, a smiling boy who filled out his coveralls with the broad shoulders of a grown man. There was a hint of mischief in his eyes, the kind that promised a good time with no strings attached. But she wasn’t in the mood for company.

  “No thanks.”

  Once they reached the warehouse, Cassia hopped down and went in search of the foreman, who pointed her in the direction of the finance officer. A few electronic signatures later, full payment was transferred to the Banshee’s account, and Cassia found herself with twenty-four hours of shore leave on her hands—usually a good problem to have. This time she didn’t know what to do with herself.

  She turned her gaze to the open warehouse doorway, where the hovercraft pilot caught her eye. He stood outside, tipping his head toward the heart of town in an unspoken invitation. When she didn’t answer, he said, “Have a drink with me.” He held up both hands. “I promise I’ll keep these to myself…unless you beg me to reconsider.”

  She laughed, but she still wasn’t interested. “You seem nice, but—”

  “I heard the pub just got a shipment of hellberry wine.”

  Her brows jumped. “From Pesirus?”

  “Yep. The real deal.”

  That was it. He’d found the chink in her armor. There was nothing in the galaxy Cassia loved more than hellberry wine. Everyone on the Banshee knew she lived for their yearly delivery to Pesirus, the only place where hellberries grew. The wine was spicy and sweet, served warm with a shot of cane syrup that made her feel like she was bathing in bliss.

  “All right,” she decided, jogging outside to meet him. “But only one glass. Any more and I’ll wind up naked in the town churchyard.” She knew from experience.

  The boy winked. “One extra-large glass, coming right up.”

  After closing the warehouse doors, he led the way to the pub. They strode together down the center of the road through town, which seemed deserted now that Cassia had a chance to pay attention. While her new friend tried to impress her by prattling on about the farmland he was about to buy, she peered through store windows and in between buildings for the settlers she’d seen shopping a few minutes earlier. She noticed movement inside the general depot, but aside from that, it seemed everyone had taken a simultaneous lunch break.

  That struck her as odd.

  She turned to the boy to ask for an explanation, only he wasn’t there anymore. She spotted his retreating form just before he ducked out of sight behind the washhouse.

  Her senses fired a red alert.

  She halted her steps, darting glances in every direction. Ahead of her, three men stepped out of the pub and ambled onto the street. Her eyes took in the restraints hanging from their utility belts, and she instantly pegged them as bounty hunters. Fear gripped her, but then sunlight glinted off a metal disk embedded in one man’s temple—a prefrontal cortex blocker—and the bottom fell out of her stomach.

  These weren’t ordinary bounty hunters.

  In a flash, she whirled around and sprinted between two buildings, heading toward a nearby soy field. The short, leafy stalks wouldn’t hide her, but she had to lead the men away from her ship before they tortured the captain into telling them where Kane had gone. The Daeva had found her, and these hunters had no limits. Kane’s name was on the contract, too, but unlike her, he was marked for death.

  The worst kind.

  When you want someone dead, you hire a hit man. When you want someone to scream until his vocal cords rupture, you call the Daeva. Cassia’s former captain had said that, and she’d never been able to get the image out of her head. She wouldn’t let that happen to Kane, not while she still had breath in her body.

  She ignored the burning in her muscles and sprinted faster through the field. A sudden whizzing noise rose above the sound of boots pounding on soil, and before she had a chance to glance over her shoulder, something tangled around her ankles and sent her pitching forward.

  She landed hard on her stomach with a grunt that knocked the wind from her lungs. Rolling aside, she tugged in vain at the bindings that had hobbled her. The ropes were metal, fixed in place by two interlocking spheres that wouldn’t release without a key.

  Her chest filled with enough air to allow her a single sob of panic. She dragged herself into a cluster of plants and curled up beneath the leaves. Judging by the snap of breaking stalks nearby, she didn’t have much time. With trembling fingers, she unfastened the com-link from her shirt and relayed a final message to the Banshee.

  “Renny, the Daeva caught me,” she whispered. “Collect everyone and get as far away as you can. I’m dumping my tracker so you can’t follow me. Please take care of Kane.”

  “The tracks lead this way,” said a man. “I see her now.”

  She shut down the link and buried it in the soil.

  A moment later, strong hands gripped her ankles and tugged her into the open. She squinted against the sun and met her captor’s bloodshot gaze before she scanned his utility belt for anything she could use against him. She spotted a pulse pistol hanging loosely in its holster. When the man bent down to taunt her, she snatched the weapon and shot him in the chest.

  His body collapsed beside her, and she heaved him onto his back to search for the key to her ankle restraints. She’d just dug into his shirt pocket when a new hand appeared from her periphery and struck her across the face. Pain exploded behind her cheekbone while the force of the blow sent her slamming into the dirt.

  “Careful,” a third man warned from behind them. “She’s a return, not a kill. You break her, you buy her.”

  The Daeva towering over her released a snort. “Might be worth it.”

  Cassia spat blood onto the soil and laughed, despite the pressure of tears building behind her eyes. “As if you could afford me.”

  That earned her another slap, but only half as hard as the first.

  “Where’s the boy?”

  As she lay on the ground, she resisted the urge to ask which boy the Daeva was talking about. Provoking him any further might hurt her odds of saving Kane. “He’s not here. He flew off world for shore leave.”

  “Don’t lie to me,” the man said, and kicked her in the stomach.

  Her lungs emptied again as her mouth gaped to take in air that wouldn’t come. She curled into a ball, racked by dry heaves, until a trickle of breath made its way past her throat. Gasping, she told the Daeva, “I swear! He already left.”

  The second man knelt by her side, then roughly yanked back her hair to peer at her with eyes colder than the grave. Finally, he gave a satisfied nod and released her. “Her story matches what her captain told me.”

  At the mention of Renny, her head snapped up. “What did you do to him?”

  “The boy’s on New Haven,” the Daeva said, ignoring her. “Let’s dispatch a recovery team for him and set our course for Eturia. There’s a bonus for returning the princess before the next gathering moon. I don’t want to wait.”

  When Kane arrived at Planet X, he had to do a double take.

  A lot had happened in the months since his last visit—enough that the barren, moon-size planet now boasted an impenetrable shield and the
foundations of a manufacturing plant unfolding across its frozen landscape, all provided by the Solar League in the interest of quickening Infinium production.

  Kane had no burning love for the government, but he couldn’t blame the League for wanting to get its hands on another shipment of super-fuel. One chunk of Infinium had been powering the Banshee for weeks, allowing the captain to make ten times the deliveries at half the cost. Colonization in the fringe was expected to triple as soon as Infinium reached the open market. With his invention, Gage Spaulding had single-handedly transformed the fringe from a desolate hellhole to a promised land for the poor.

  Not bad for a homeschooled eighteen-year-old.

  Once Kane made his way inside the underground compound, he hardly recognized that, either. The typically silent bunker hallways now bustled with activity as engineers and construction foremen scurried from one makeshift conference room to another, having been forced to seek shelter from the icy winds aboveground.

  Kane and the others eventually found Gage standing behind the sofa in the living room, which was being used as a command center. Surrounded on all sides by advisors, Gage pinched his temples and blew a lock of dark hair away from his face, probably wishing he could retreat to his lab and leave the business details to someone else.

  As soon as Gage glanced up and locked eyes with Doran, his expression brightened. He lifted a hand to silence the chatter around him and strode toward his brother wearing the broadest smile Kane had ever seen on him. Gage and Doran were twins, identical except for the scar tissue that marred Gage’s face. They’d recently found each other after a decade apart, and they were still navigating the uncharted waters of their relationship.

  With a prickle of envy, Kane stood back to give them some space, thinking about the half brothers he’d never met and probably never would. There were three of them, or so he’d heard. For all he knew, his dad had a bastard at every port.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Gage said to his twin while extending a hand. The two clasped palms and moved in for a hug, but must have thought better of it because they pulled back at the last second and gave each other an awkward pat on the shoulder. “You were the business intern, not me. I’m in over my head.”

  “Is Mom here?” asked Doran while sweeping a cautious gaze around the room. It was clear he didn’t want to see her. Understandable, as she’d faked Gage’s death and kept the twins apart for years. Their dad was a real prize, too. He was serving ten years on a penal colony for trying to steal Gage’s invention.

  Maybe Kane didn’t have it so bad in the family department.

  “No,” Gage said. “She’s on Earth negotiating taxes with the Solar League.”

  Doran released a long breath. “I’ll see what I can do while I’m here.”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Spaulding,” interrupted a tall, middle-aged man in a colorful patchwork tunic Kane recognized as Calypsian. “I need an answer to take back to my council. We’re willing to invest, but only if you give us exclusive distribution rights inside the tourist circle.”

  Kane suppressed an eye roll. He’d dealt with merchants from Calypso during his clerk’s apprenticeship. They always acted like a bunch of marriage-hungry debutantes—obsessed with monogamy. But exclusive trade was rarely a good idea, so he’d learned how to keep the figurative ring off his finger. With a lazy smile, Kane sauntered up to the man and slung an arm around his shoulder. It wasn’t a move he’d make with just anyone. Casual touch was common on Calypso.

  “You’ll have to forgive our young genius here,” Kane said to the man while flourishing a hand at Gage. “He’s a visionary, not a businessman. Guys like him value change over profit.” Leaning in like they were old friends, Kane quietly added, “Frustrating for men like us, huh?”

  The man grunted in agreement.

  “You won’t get an exclusive out of him,” Kane went on, “but I wouldn’t let that stop you. If you don’t get in on the ground floor, someone else will. Maybe the Obsidians,” he said, recalling there was a heated rivalry between the two colonies.

  That was all it took to convince the man. He left to draw up a contract, and Gage spun on Kane with a smile so wide it tested the boundaries of his cheeks. “I want you on my team. Whatever they’re paying you on the Banshee, I’ll quadruple it.”

  “Hey,” Solara laughed, gripping her hips. “You’ve got some nerve, trying to poach him while we’re standing right here.”

  “Oh, come on,” Gage told her, still peering at Kane in wonderment. “Talent like his is wasted on a ship hand. He shouldn’t be scrubbing floors and washing dishes. He belongs on my sales crew with Shanna. That girl could charm the gills off a shark. Together, they’d be unstoppable.”

  Kane appreciated the praise, but tempting as the offer was, he couldn’t accept it. The bounty on his head had forced him to lie low, and besides, he’d left that life behind to watch over Cassia.

  Cassia.

  An invisible blade jabbed at his sternum. He’d managed to forget, for one moment, her final words to him: I don’t need you for anything. She’d hurtled plenty of colorful barbs at him over the years—scatweed, wharf-licker, and his all-time favorite, scum-eating son of a crotch smuggler—but this was different. This time it was personal. She’d taken extra care to aim for his soft spot before plunging in the knife, and he didn’t deserve that, especially after everything he’d sacrificed for her. What he deserved was someone who didn’t run hot and cold all the time, who wouldn’t play with his feelings and hurt him just because she could.

  Maybe he should do something about it.

  He studied Gage and tried to picture working for him. It was surprisingly easy to imagine. He liked Gage, and more than that, he admired what Infinium had done for the outer realm. The pay raise wouldn’t hurt, either, or the beach simulator. The more Kane thought about it, the more he could see himself making a life here. He’d even be able to stay in touch with the Banshee crew when Doran came to visit his brother.

  This job might be a dream come true.

  Kane tempered his excitement, not wanting to seem too eager and hurt his negotiating power. He was about to ask for more information when a new voice called, “I heard my name.” A young brunette strode into view, curvier than the Volcanus mountains and twice as hot. But gorgeous as she was, that wasn’t what held his attention. What struck him was the way she moved—with an easy sort of confidence that was rare for someone her age.

  “Shanna”—Gage waved her over—“I want you to meet Kane Arric. I’m trying to steal him away from his ship.”

  She stopped in front of Kane, standing close enough to share the sweet scent of her perfume. He noticed her eyes were violet, cosmetically enhanced, and even more striking when contrasted against the long chestnut hair tumbling over her shoulders. She unleashed a brilliant grin and slid her palm into his grasp. Kane was so caught up in her smile that he held on for longer than a friendly shake. She didn’t seem to mind. Instead, she gripped him harder while her gaze brightened with interest. It’d been a long time since a girl had given him that look, but he recognized it.

  She liked him.

  He returned her smile. Yeah, he could definitely see himself fitting in here.

  “Kane,” she repeated, drawing out his name as she continued to hold his hand. “I hope you’ll join us. We’re changing the galaxy out here. Plus”—she gave a teasing wink—“there’s talk of a dental plan. If that won’t sway you, I don’t know what will.”

  Gage chuckled. “He just sealed the Calypso deal.”

  “Really?” Her brows lifted. “Without an exclusive?”

  “It didn’t take much,” Kane admitted. “I just pitted him against the Obsidians.”

  “That’s ingenious,” she said, and Kane couldn’t help standing a bit taller. “Now you really have to come work with us. At least think it over.”

  A few minutes ago, he would have told her no. But now his heartbeat quickened with the excitement of new possibilities—of starting over in a
place where he was appreciated, where he could excel instead of simply exist. He still didn’t want to tip his hand by seeming too eager, but he already knew what his answer would be.

  “I’m willing to talk about it…maybe on the beach?” Giving her palm a light squeeze before releasing it, he added, “I want to hear about this dental plan.”

  Her face lit up as she pointed toward the simulator room. “You go ahead. I’ll slip into my swimsuit and meet you there.”

  He tried not to watch her as she walked away, but he didn’t quite succeed. “Best shore leave ever,” he muttered under his breath.

  Solara elbowed him. “You’re not really considering this, are you?”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “What about Cassia?”

  At the mention of her name, Gage perked up and began peering around the room for her. “Yeah, she’s cute. Did she come with you?”

  Kane snapped his gaze to Gage’s.

  “Whoa.” Gage flashed both palms. “Never mind.”

  “Oh, they’re just friends,” Doran said in a sarcastic tone that was going to get his ass kicked if he didn’t knock it off. “So you’ve totally got a shot with her.”

  Kane refused to lose his temper. This job offer was the first decent thing to happen to him in two years, and he wouldn’t ruin it by thinking about Cassia. Anyway, she’d made her feelings clear—she didn’t need him. So he put her out of his mind and strode to the beach simulator, calling over his shoulder, “You know where to find me. And by the way, yes. I’m really considering it.”

  Half an hour later, he and Shanna were kicked back in the sand, wearing next to nothing and doing their best to manufacture sunburns. His mood had lifted, and he had her to thank for it. Her smile was infectious, she laughed at his jokes, and although he made a concerted effort to keep his eyes on her face, he couldn’t help noticing she rocked a bikini like nobody’s business.

  But mostly he enjoyed talking to her. He hadn’t expected the conversation to flow so easily, or to learn they had so much in common. It turned out her father had cut and run before she was born, exactly as Kane’s dad had done. She’d grown up poor, too, and just like him, she’d learned at an early age to charm her way out of trouble. Her apprenticeship with a textile corporation had taken her to settlements he’d never heard of, and listening to her stories confirmed how much he could learn from her.