Page 121 of Smuggler's Beauty

They also often failed to read the fine print in the contracts that Anika had them sign. When Emil had directed Ivan to find the breach in the system on the medivessel, he’d agreed to letting Ivan back up the entirety of the system. Every file that had been stored on the ship’s servers was now on their data center, and Pearl was skimming through them, looking for any information that they could capitalize on.

As a rule, they didn’t blackmail their own clients. But if they could leverage a crumb of information to start a new contract? That was just sensible business practices in Anika’s estimation.

Most of it was incredibly boring. Reports. Years and years of the target’s steady vital sign readings. The Tanalian princess had been kept in stasis, the ever-evolving technology preserving her body as the decades waned on, keeping her in perfect condition. Emil was serious about the maintenance of his assets.

So now she was combing through the files. She clicked. She read. She deleted the irrelevant data as it became obvious. She had amassed a small pile of files to re-read at a later date when she opened one that made her blood run cold.

The gangway swung down as she was double-checking the data on her screen.

“Come read this,” she said, waving Ivan over to her view screen. “Does this say what I think it does?”

He pocketed the butterfly knife he’d been fiddling with and leaned over her screen. Pearl didn’t know how he managed to walk and maneuver the blade between his fingers, but he hadn’t cut himself yet.

He scanned the data. “It does.”

Pearl opened up a communication window and dialed their boss. She pushed up out of her chair to pace as the connection established. The screen swirled into focus, Anika seated behind her desk. She was removing a hairnet and was still wearing herMystic Morselsapron; she had probably been overseeing operations at the factory.

“I saw the credits hit.”

“Yeah, he’s paid in full. But that’s not the exciting part. Well, it is. I’ve hated this gig,” Pearl said.

“I believe that’s why it’s advised not to fish in the company pool,” Anika said, smirking.

“Yeah, yeah. Point is, Mr. Bellica has been a very naughty boy.”

She outlined the files for Anika. She leaned back in her chair, steepled her fingers. By the time Pearl had finished, her boss’ eyebrows were so high they’d disappeared under her bangs.

“And you think this can be leveraged?”

“I interacted with the asset. She’s much sharper than Emil was willing to give her credit for. If she can use this to bury Bauder, she’d be willing to pay for it.”

“Then I suppose you’d best go make sure we can bill for this information.”

Pearl left the ship, climbing out the hatch before the communication had disconnected. She was going to have to run to make it back to the palace before Emil let his sophisticated veneer snap. She saw Ivan’s shadow following her as she climbed down the emergency fire stairs at the back of the buildings.

“You’re never going to get over that idiot at this rate.”

CHAPTER SIXTY

Aiden woketo his head pounding. He opened his eyes to find himself splayed on a cot in an austerely appointed cell. He moved his head, and the lumpy pillow he’d been resting on shifted. A folded-up jacket.

Across the small room, there was a set of bunk beds. Veselko was dangling from the top one, pulling himself up into dangerous crunches. Elenor lay on the bottom bunk, arms crossed under her head, legs crossed at the ankles. Nannette prowled the space, jacket and cravat abandoned, pacing the same six steps back and forth. Every third or fourth trip across the room, she kicked the door. The thick wooden slab had an old-fashioned set of bars worked into the middle of the top third, and they rattled with every blow.

Everyone but Evelyn was accounted for. Aiden flicked his gaze around the cell, hoping he was wrong, that she was curled up in a corner in an attempt to decompress alone while in a confined space, but he knew he was fooling himself.

The last thing Aiden remembered was looking through the clear forcefield into Evelyn’s eyes. She had been horrified and guilty that Vinnie had played them all, once again. And now shewas alone, the one thing he’d promised her she’d never have to be again.

Task one: Get out of this stupid cell. Task two: Locate Evelyn. Task three: Determine the least invasive way to surgically affix myself to her side.

Aiden sat up slowly on the cot and scrubbed his hands over his face, not realizing he was still wearing the glasses. He slid them off and shoved them into the pocket of his jacket.

“I have had it with these lying ass clients,” he said, staring at the door. He saw no latch on this side to try to pick with his telekinesis. He could try to rip the door off the wall, but expelling that much energy while his head was throbbing seemed like a bad idea without knowing what was on the other side.

A wave of despair threatened to overtake him as scenarios played through his mind. Rotting to death in this cell, abandoned to their fate. The rest of the crew attempting to launch a rescue and being pulverized by Bauder’s military forces in the attempt. Evelyn, alone, taking on Emil Bellica.

She could take him. If she just gets out of her own way, she could burn his empire to the ground.

“Usually, as long as their payments clear, I don’t give much consideration to their integrity,” Elenor said. “But Vinnie’s gone too far this time.”