Page 20 of Smuggler's Beauty

“You made excellent time,” Emil said, striding around the droid detritus. “The computer system you’ll be examining is around the back of this mess.”

“The vessel is secure?” Pearl asked, making no move to holster her weapon. Ivan’s eyes darted around the reception chamber.

“Scans state that we are the only life forms on ship. Your dedication to security is noted and appreciated.”

They holstered their blasters, but Emil caught the dubious flash on Pearl’s face. She schooled her features carefully and nodded at him.

The Twins moved toward the reception desk in such synchronicity that competitive dancers would be jealous of their awareness of each other’s bodies. Ivan examined the computer, his long fingers making deft work of the keystrokes. He inserted a memory stick and started transferring data. Pearl examinedthe droids, giving the structure delicate nudges and taking photos with her communications device.

“You have a serious leak,” Ivan stated. He rose from the desk to join Pearl by the pile of destroyed security inventory.

“We have what we need to retrieve the asset,” Pearl said.

Asset retrieval. Droids couldn’t be sent to hunt down a woman, their programming wasn’t advanced enough to handle the nuances of plucking a person out of a crowd or a darkened bedroom. If he dispatched military resources to hunt down Evelyn, Emil would have a hard time keeping this operation under the radar. Conscripted men talked. He hated to spend the additional money, but this was what slush funds existed for. Clean up.

“Get it done.”

They re-suited in silence, and dispatched to their ships.

CHAPTER TEN

“You can betwe’re adding clothing services to Vinnie’s expense ledger,” Elenor huffed as she took the new clothes they’d bought to launder after re-boarding theDawn. “Imagine not preparing us to make sure you were taken care of.”

“That’s my petty princess,” Lillian laughed.

With dignity, Elenor ignored her wife. It only made Lillian smile wider. “These will be ready in no time, dear. You don’t want nasty chemicals on your skin.”

“Thank you,” Evelyn said. She focused on her remaining bags, hoping that by the time she made eye contact with anyone else, her eyes wouldn’t look too shiny. Tearing up over basic caretaking was probably a little much.

Nannette grabbed one of the bags of shoes. “Let’s get this back to your bunk. Blasters back to me, please, by tonight. I won’t be held responsible for how aggressively I frisk you if I turn up short.”

“Always threatening me with a good time,” Veronique said with a wink.

Evelyn stowed her purchases after trading her mini blaster to Nannette for her bag of shoes. She put everything awayneatly, earmarking where she would stow clothes after they were clean. The gift-wrapped box of salted caramels, complete with an elaborately tied bow of black satin ribbon, mocked her from the top of the chest of drawers.

Evelyn had been very impressed when the shop girl turned the sleek ribbon into a puffy mass of loops and expertly placed knots, but now she wondered if it was a bit much. Too formal? Should she just have chucked the sweets in a bag and hurled them at Aiden from across the table? No, too casual.

She was being ridiculous.

Then again, focusing on something as frivolous as gift giving was a welcome distraction from worrying about the looming meeting with Vinnie. At least when her stomach flipped when she thought about Aiden she didn’t want to run to the nearest bathroom to hurl.

“L.I.N.D.A., where is Aiden?”

“Welcome back, Evelyn. Aiden is in his office. Would you like me to put a map up on the screen? Your data is almost ready to be read, and I will notify you when it is complete.”

“I would love a map, thanks,” Evelyn said, walking to the display. His office was tucked out of the way near the galley, away from the prying eyes of paying guests.

She stepped into her bathroom to brush her hair, spray on a little citrusy perfume, and apply the barest layer of lip balm. For hydration purposes. Space travel was hell for dehydration. Kissably soft lips were just a perk. She shook her limbs out and took a fortifying breath. Grabbing the present, she took the route L.I.N.D.A. had highlighted for her.

She must have dawdled longer than she thought because the room was empty when she arrived. There was a cluttered desk with papers and files scattered over the top. An oversized “GALAXY’S BEST BOSS” mug held pens and a pair of scissors. Sticky notes were stuck to most of the flat surfaces of the office.Across from the desk, there was a giant whiteboard. Evelyn now knew how Aiden had spent his morning.

Every angle she had thought of, plus a few she hadn’t, was mapped out across the board’s surface. Arrows connected thoughts, important points were circled and underlined. Most commentary surrounding Vinnie ended with question marks. She leaned against the desk and studied Aiden’s work. She turned to put the gift box down and saw a sticky note.

Things Evelyn likes: pineapple, red sauce (from Earth), books

it said in the same handwriting covering the board. She smiled and fished a pen out of the mug. She added

coffee, cats, cocktail cherries, pop punk, lists