“So, what should we do with our fishy friend?” I asked, sitting down on a plush sofa in the observatory—a glass-paneled room at the far end of the left-hand corridor, which branched away from the main space. With the cruiser on autopilot, everyone was gathered to eat breakfast and discuss our plan of action. My spirits had been buoyed up after the night of love-making Navan and I had enjoyed. I felt on top of the freaking world, reveling in a sexy, warm glow.

After successfully stealing the ship from Wander the previous day, a positive atmosphere had settled across the group. We were still trailing the green dot, which continued to stay a short distance ahead on the celestial map. Where before we’d had nothing, now we had a faint hope of finding Lauren. Moreover, we were closer to getting Yorrek’s notebook back, as long as Stone hadn’t sold it yet.

“Can’t we find out where his home planet is and drop him off?” Angie suggested.

“Realistically, we don’t have time for that,” I said.

“I just feel bad for the guy,” Angie muttered. “Being so far from home, surrounded by strangers… You’ve got to understand how crappy that feels.”

“Of course I do!” I said, crossing my arms. “But we need a quicker solution. Why don’t we put him in the escape pod and release it to a nearby, populated planet? I’m sure he could pick up a ship, or at least a ride home. This thing has an escape pod, right?” I turned to Bashrik, who nodded.

“It’s got three.”

“Cool, so we put him in a pod and send it off to somewhere nice. No harm, no foul,” I said, satisfied.

Angie shook her head. “That’s beside the point. What if he can’t get back to his home planet? What if he ends up stranded wherever we drop him?”

“He’s got money. He’ll be absolutely fine!”

“You can’t guarantee that,” she insisted. “I don’t like screwing over innocent people like this.”

“We need to do whatever it takes to find Stone,” I said firmly.

“Whatever it takes?” Angie asked, her voice disbelieving. “Lauren wouldn’t have wanted us to steal and kidnap for her sake!”

“Look, maybe we should take a few minutes to think of another way to deal with the merevin,” Navan suggested tentatively. “Perhaps there’s a midway option that we’re missing.”

“The notebook is out there, too,” I retorted, not taking my gaze off Angie. “There’s more at stake here than just Lauren. We can’t get caught up in right and wrong when the whole freaking universe’s safety is at risk.”

“So you don’t care how many bystanders you mow over in the process?” Angie whispered, turning her gaze toward the glittering velvet of space. “All right then.”

I felt a flush rise to my cheeks. Everyone was staring at us—or, more specifically, me. Mort looked like he was fighting laughter.

“I’ll go talk to Killick,” I said, striding out, my boots thudding against the metal walkway. The last thing I needed was a bunch of awkward guys standing around, twiddling their thumbs, trying to come up with something neutral to say.

With Killick already on my mind, I walked to the main kitchen to make him something to eat. Undoubtedly, when he finally woke up, he’d be starving. Plus, there was a food-printing machine on board, which Navan had shown me how to use after our exertions last night, and I was dying to use it again. It was a big, expensive-looking beast of a machine that made anything the heart desired, catering to every species imaginable. Even better, it was voice-activated, understanding most languages.

“Merevin delicacy,” I said, not sure what Killick might like to eat. The machine hummed to life, a shower of bright lights firing up. Realizing I’d forgotten to put the nutritional molding block in the central container, I pulled one out of the cabinet below the machine and lifted the flap, putting the block in and pushing it right to the end, precisely the way Navan had shown me. I was just removing my fingers when the flap closed on them, a sharp edge cutting into my skin.

Cursing loudly, I yanked open the flap and pulled out my fingers, before lifting them to my lips and sucking away the beads of blood. It was just what I deserved. I mean, stealing the compass had worked out in the end, and we wouldn’t have this ship if I hadn’t done the con. But I couldn’t shake the guilt.

The food-printing machine was almost finished when I heard the kitchen door sliding open and someone entering behind me. I smiled, awaiting the delicious sensation of Navan slipping his arms around my waist, reassuring me that everything was going to be fine.

“Come suck this blood off my finger,” I murmured, giggling flirtatiously. My face morphed into a mask of horror as I turned to see Angie standing in the doorway.

“Not really my thing,” she said, flashing me an amused smile.

I swallowed hard, turning away from her. “Sorry, I thought you were Navan.”

“Just be glad it wasn’t one of the guys coming in here. Mort never would’ve let you live it down.”

She was being nice again, all of a sudden. “What’s up?” I asked.

“We took a vote and decided to kick Killick off in an escape pod, as soon as possible.”

“Oh.” I looked at her, surprised. “And you’re okay with that?”

A pained expression crossed her face. “No, but I get it. I shouldn’t be all up on my moral high horse when we don’t have many other options.” She sighed. “Normally, all this stuff wouldn’t faze me—tying up police officers and seducing dudes. But I just keep thinking, ‘What would Lauren say?’ You know?”

I nodded, my throat tight. “I know I’ve made some bad choices,” I said quietly. “I’ve been telling myself that the ends justify the means, but…”

“You always try to do the right thing, Riley,” Angie said, her eyes brimming with tears. “You’re a good person, and I’m sorry if I’ve made things harder—by blaming you, by throwing the compass…”

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry,” I said. “I’ve been a class-A bitch. You’re right that we should try to be kinder to people, just like Lauren would be.”

Angie closed the gap between us and threw her arms around me. I gripped her tight, listening to the sound of her sobbing in my ear. Tears were falling from my own eyes as we comforted one another.

“Do you think she’s okay?” Angie gasped, pulling away.

“She has to be,” I said, hiccupping. “She has to be, because the universe will never be right again if anything has happened to her.”