“Of course,” Igid smiles at me, “good luck. It took Rovos nearly a cycle to learn his way around my ship. I still catch him grumbling when he takes a wrong turn.”
I smile at that—at hearing Rovos had trouble learning his way around the ship, and the way both Igid and Rovos call the ship theirs. There must be a story behind that.
“Have you known Rovos for long?” I clamp my lips shut, but the question slips out of my mouth before I can stop it. I doubt I’ll be around long enough to get to know these bounty hunters, but I can’t help being curious.
Igid shrugs. She doesn’t seem annoyed or put off by my question. In fact, she looks wistful when she says, “I’ve known him for many, many revolutions. He was my first real friend.”
“How did you meet?”
“He needed a mechanic,” a wide grin spreads across her face, “but he got me instead.”
I open my mouth to ask her about the story behindthat, but Igid is already stepping into the hallway.
“If you get too lost, just let out a scream.” She winks at me. “One of us will come running to find you.”
Before I can ask her what she means by that, she disappears through the doorway, and I’m left alone in the kitchen.
I think of Rovos as I look into the hallway, where Igid has already disappeared from sight. I’m pretty sure she was insinuating that if I screamed,Rovoswould be the one to come running. Which makes me think of the gentle way he cared for me. Like I was something precious, instead of the burden I see myself as.
I sing theeenie meenie miney moesong under my breath as I look back and forth down the hallway.…and I pick you. My finger is pointing to the left, so that’s the direction I take.
Rovos probably treats all the women he rescues the same way. I mean, there’s nothing special about me.
My cheeks heat with embarrassment when I remember the way I smelled after being locked in a cage for weeks. How all I’ve done so far is cry all over him and freak out badly enough that he stuck me in the med-bot because he thought I might die.
Nope. There is no way he would want someone like me. Not when he could have someone like Igid. It’s obvious they have a history.
I get to where the hallway branches again and turn to the right.
Oh, for God’s sake.You have known him for a day, Anna!Seriously, where are these thoughts even coming from?
When I reach another branch, I look to the left and then the right. Both directions look identical. I take a deep breath and turn to the right once again, ignoring the fact that I’m already lost.
10
Anna
Istep over the same piece of space-junk I’ve nearly tripped over twice since I started exploring. It’s not even that large of a ship, so how is it I keep getting turned around? I take a left at the next corner and find myself facing the same hallway entrance I swear I just walked down. I’ve been in fun houses that made more sense than this damn ship!
Throwing my hands up in defeat, I’m about to plant my ass against the wall and call for help when a loud peal of laughter comes from behind me. Spinning around, I start back the way I just came, using the sound to guide me.
Another hardy belly laugh, followed by the quiet rumble of conversation, keeps me heading in the right direction until I turn one last corner and find myself in the doorway leading to the bridge.
Igid and Rovos sit side by side in separate captain’s chairs. Behind them, a large computer screen glows blue with lines of scrolling characters and moving graphs. Neither of them notice me, so I step back and peer around the doorway.
Igid wipes at her eyes while she giggles like a child and swivels her chair from side to side. “And where is your little human now, hmm?” she asks, her generous mouth turned up in a playful grin.
“My quarters. Sleeping.” Rovos has his back to me, with one foot braced on the control panel and his elbow braced on his bent knee.
What is it about the deep rumbly sound of his voice that makes my stomach jump and my knees go weak?
“Oh, but she means nothing to you.” Igid tips her head back and laughs again, choosing, for whatever reason, not to mention that we chatted over a meal in the kitchen earlier. “So you’re telling me that putting her in your quarters is just doing your duty. That it has nothing to do with that protective side of yours coming out.”
“My quarters are the largest, and it has a private cleanser. It makes sense—” More of Igid’s laughter cuts him off, and I can see the muscles working in his jaw when he clenches his teeth.
“Face it, my friend,” Igid says after gathering control of herself, “she has you wrapped around all five of her dainty little fingers.”
When Rovos ignores her, she leans forward and places her hand on his shoulder. The second she touches him, my gut tightens from—no. It couldn’t be from jealousy. That would be absurd!
