Shadow of the Dominion: Omnibus 1: Books 1-3 by Blaze Ward

Author:Blaze Ward [Ward, Blaze]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-64470-180-5
Publisher: Knotted Road Press

11

Valentinian

Valentinian had dug out some of his old clothes and turned them over to the big guy to deliver. His own cabin was enough for now. He could sit on the edge of his bunk and just brood. He didn’t want to go upstairs right now and deal with her.

With Kyriaki.

With her implications, or her presence. He hadn’t really stopped thinking about her for the last however-many-months since she had shown up on his deck and gotten right into his personal space with her knowing smile. Fantasies with that face as he lay down and went to sleep, many nights.

And apparently, from the look in her eyes during parts of her story, she had the same problem. At least she had never learned how to play poker with pros. Couldn’t hide all the things in her eyes when the emotions wanted to dance in the moonlight.

He could pretend he hadn’t seen anything. Safer for everyone, because she still looked like a bounty hunter right now. Come to collect them for the reward, regardless of whatever pretty stories the woman might tell.

And Dave…

After they’d put her in cabin three, just off the passenger lounge, he and the big guy had come back downstairs with everything locked up tight, and he had listened to the rest of the story. Not just the tidbits Dave had told him while they had Kyriaki trapped in the forward airlock, but the whole thing.

The Dominator.

Valentinian still wasn’t sure how he felt.

On the one hand, mad as hell that he had been so badly manipulated by Dave across the whole process.

On the other hand, the Dominator had had nothing to do with him getting kicked out of Gymnasia Dominia, except to note it on a report somewhere, and file it away against future need. And Dave had explained that he needed someone with a sketchy background, paranoid instincts, and the ability to take care of himself in a tight space. One of the good guys. Someone who could fall into a pile of manure and come out smelling like a rose.

Valentinian already considered that to be his super-power, so he couldn’t really argue that last point. With one exception, that had been absolutely the case, and even then, it hadn’t turned out all bad. Just bad enough that he wasn’t a servant of the old Dominator at that very moment when the man needed an escape.

So they were here. And so was she.

He wasn’t sure the galaxy was big enough for all of them. Certainly, Laurentia wasn’t, but he had a plan for that.

For the briefest moment, he considered the possibility of dumping both of them, Dave and Kyriaki, at the next station he hit. Wouldn’t be all that hard. Might even solve some of his problems.

But he also thought about that asshole that had done the same thing to Bayjy and her crewmates. Abandoned his crew. In that guy’s case, greed to collect the whole reward himself, and not have to share it with the others.

Valentinian’s excuse wouldn’t even be that good.

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