Deep Claim by Elsa Jade

Author:Elsa Jade [Jade, Elsa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-941547-33-5
Publisher: Red Circle Ink

Chapter 9

They didn’t fall far.

Or at least she didn’t think they did. Hard to tell as the runabout thumped end over end. She had half a nanosecond to hope that Fenn was holding on tight, like she told him, then her forehead smacked into the comm as their fall stopped, and she blacked out.

Not for long.

Or at least she didn’t think…

She groaned, her head aching and confused. Hadn’t she just been thinking…

“Easy.” A cool hand on her sore forehead centered her whirling brain.

“Did they get us?”

“Nah. That was just you.”

She rolled her head slowly to cut him a look.

His smile was gentle, but his tarnished silver eyes were a little wild. “I thought you smashed your brains out.”

“Have to hit harder than that.” Despite her bravado, she groaned again as she rotated her head back to center. “Sorry. I thought the gravity would be kinder.”

“Kinder than a laser blast up the ass.”

She let out a little laugh and whimpered as it rattled her aching skull. “We lost them?”

“No scanners because of the interference, but if I had to guess, I’d say yes considering we’re still here and not a smoking pile of rubble.”

“Despite my best efforts.” She started to lever herself out of her seat, but he pressed her down with one of those stronger than she expected hands.

“No, you lost them.”

“By losing us.”

He chuckled. “We know exactly where we are. At the bottom of this canyon.”

Rather than move her whole head again, she just rolled her eyes at him this time. “If you’re trying to make me feel better…”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He hunkered down in the seat beside her. “I’m calling it a win that we came to rest right side up.”

Her gaze drifted to the bloody rag clutched in his hand. “Did you get hurt? You must’ve bounced around back there.” She bit her lip. “Did I… Did a cryo unit break?”

“I checked them, and they’re fine. Temp power packs are holding.” He seemed to focus on his hands. “This? This is all from you.” He let out a shuddering breath. “I thought you were dead.”

She touched her forehead where the slick line of med gel had hardened, sealing off the cut underneath. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Head wounds bleed a lot.”

He glared at her. “You think I don’t know that?” He wadded the bloody rag into a ball and threw it on the floor with a muttered curse she couldn’t decipher and pushed to his feet to stomp away.

With her sore head, she couldn’t twist all the way around. “Don’t run away now,” she complained. “Just because I crashed the runabout and almost killed us and probably doomed us to an unmarked grave here in the depths.”

He returned with a beverage cube, open and fizzing with the sparkly scent of an energy tab. “Here,” he said gruffly. “This is my fault. I should’ve brought better armament and weaponry. You hired Nazra to protect you, and I didn’t. Ask Kemet for a discount.”

She choked on the sweetened drink.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.