A Dryden Collection by Greta van der Rol

Author:Greta van der Rol
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: aliens, science fiction romance, action, adventure, space opera, spaceships, space empire
Publisher: Greta van der Rol
Published: 2016-07-04T00:00:00+00:00

4

BEN WAS GONE WHEN KRYS WOKE UP. His side of the bed was cold, so he'd been gone a while. Just thinking about him was enough to make her smile. Fancy getting together again, after all those years, and in such a dramatic way. She wiled away the time watching a series of holovids until he came in. He had dark circles under his eyes, but a slight smile flicked around his lips.

Krys stood. "Hiya. Tea? A drink?'

Smiling properly now, he came over to her and tenderly brushed the hair away from her face before he brushed her lips with his. She put her arms around his neck before he could escape and kissed him properly, drinking in his warmth, his taste, his smell.

"Nice to know you're still pleased to see me," Ben said when they finally disengaged.

She almost rolled her eyes. Men could be so insecure. "I'm hoping we'll be getting to know each other for quite a while. Now. Tea?"

When he nodded she went over to the dispenser and pressed the buttons.

"Horton has been interrogated."

She picked up the cups and brought them to the couch where Ben sat on one side, leaving her space next to him. She handed him his cup and sat. “So that's where you were?"

"I didn't do the interrogation. I left that to the experts." He took a sip of tea. "It didn't take long for him to fold."

"What did he say?"

"He's got a gambling problem. Spent way more than he should have in a casino at Novastora. Planck owns the Lady Luck and he wanted his money, or else. Horton's great mate Saverill let slip that Coromansa would be carrying a very special cargo back to the Empire. He didn't tell Horton what it was, but Horton guessed it would be very valuable. So he figured he'd organize for the gangsters to pick up the cargo while we were en route."

"So he set up the sabotage."

"Yes. He knows enough about engineering and the ship's systems to blow her out of shift space without too much damage."

She gazed down into the greenish-brown depths of her cup. "So he didn't know the 'valuable cargo' was me."

"Not until he saw you, no."

She drank a little more tea. It tasted of herbs and warm afternoons. She hoped Ben wasn't implying that was some sort of excuse. "Didn't stop him, though. He was still willing to hand me over to the Yrmaks."

Ben drained his cup and put it on the table. "Yes. He was. To save his own miserable hide." The words were clipped, harsh. "He'll be court martialed. He won't serve on an Imperial ship, ever again."

Serve him right, as far as Krys was concerned. "What about the drugs?"

"Horton was more than happy to put his dear friend in the frame if it meant a reprieve from the Emperor's prison settlements. I've already sent the information to Admiral Stakpole. She's a happy woman."

So... all tied up neatly. Except for one thing. "How did the pirates know, to ask for me, though?"

Ben shrugged.

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