A hand grabbed Smyrna’s shoulder. More like a claw, then that was followed by a screech.

“Oh my!” Emily’s voice was piercing in Smyrna’s ear. “Boron!”

At the same moment, ahead of her, she heard a whooping sound followed by a yelled, “Caayn, you scummy son of a ground marliple.”

Smyrna’s first thought: What’s a marliple?

Her second thought: How does the guy on the other side know Caayn’s name?

Third thought: Why did it sound jovial?

Then she processed Emily’s shout. She’d called out the name of her intended.

“Boron, you conniving bastard. Why are you trying to take down my ship?”

“If I’d known it was your ship, I wouldn’t have been cloaked. And I’d have reached out to you.”

“Why are you hunting us?”

“That’s my woman.” Boron pointed to Emily.

Emily scuffled her way around Smyrna and Katrina and ran toward the front of the corridor, her long flowery dress flaring out behind her.

The big guy, and he was big—larger than Caayn—wove his way around his men, and then around Caayn’s men—they all stepped out of his direction.

He scooped tiny Emily up into his arms. “You are more beautiful in person.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck.

Smyrna wasn’t typically one to yield to emotions, but this was a beautiful depiction of a successful mail order situation. Boron’s fierce craggy face, complete with a nose piercing looked down at Emily with tenderness, as though she was the most precious thing in all the star systems.

Smyrna looked down, overcome by the touching event.

That’s when she noticed her borrowed Pulser.

And that’s when it hit her.

The action was over. Caayn would want his weapon back.

Damn.

Not if she could do something about it. She casually slipped the Pulser off her hand, and with as much stealth as she could manage while everyone’s attention was on the couple’s meeting between them, she jockeyed behind Katrina so she’d be hidden and stuffed the weapon into her bra, as low as she could get it so that it wouldn’t be obvious.

Then she unfastened the charging unit and let it fall near her feet and shoved it to the side where it’d be found. She’d claim that she lost the entire unit while she was panicked about the attack.

Now, she had six shots to take out Baldwin Porter. She wondered if the shots would lose their charge over time, or if they were like bullets and could be kept until used.

Crap, wish I’d thought to ask that then.

* * *

They were all gathered in the cafeteria of the Javelin, a room that doubled for recreation when not being used for meals. Smyrna, Katrina, and Emily sat on one side of the table.

Caayn sat at the head, next to Smyrna, Boron sat across from him, next to Emily, whose hand he’d kept engulfed in his large paw. Rush and one of Caayn’s crewmen called Mn’eth sat across from the women.

Boron smiled tenderly at Emily. “We were at the station, when we heard Flax was stopping over with the ladies. We’d been providing a silent escort—unauthorized by the government, of course—but I wouldn’t let anyone convince me not to make sure that my future bride didn’t make it to Janus safely.”

Emily blushed.

Boron touched her cheek with the back of a thick finger.

Damn, that man’s fingers even have muscles stacked on top of muscles.

Caayn cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you contact us,” he asked Boron. “We could have avoided the drama.”

“I didn’t recognize your ship. New one?”

Caayn shrugged. “A couple of months.”

“AA-Class,” Boron commented. “Looks like you’ve made some modifications.”

Caayn’s face lit up like a little boy’s. Smyrna almost smiled at the excitement he clearly felt for his ship.

“A few,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye. “For speed, mostly, and carrying extra fuel.”

“Long distance, and fast.” Boron appraised Caayn. “And you take cargo, I’m guessing, still?”

“More or less.” Caayn’s answer was on the cagey side. “You have a different ship as well, since last I saw you.”

“Promised my bride-to-be she’d be traveling in the very best.

“Seems you secured that.”

“Perhaps when we are all on Janus, safely, you’d like to see the inside of a new Z-Class. But we should consider getting in motion. We’re sitting targets out here right now, even with my cloaking.”

“What’s the rush?” Katrina asked.

Boron glanced at her, then answered, “We thought that slavers had managed to take the women away from Frax. He’s squawking to officials, without masking his transmissions. Any privateer could have picked up his messages and tried to intercept you. You’re lucky it was us.” Nose piercing gleaming in the light, he squeezed Emily’s hand lightly, then raised it to his lips,.

“I’ll take Emily to Janus,” Boron announced, grabbing her chair and pulling it closer to his.

Smyrna frowned. This guy’s size was so intimidating, could he possibly push Emily into doing something she didn’t want? “Are you okay with this,” she asked Emily. “You only know each other from a few pieces of paper, after all.”

Emily’s head bobbed so quickly and her smile was so wide. “We snuck a few visits in on LensNet.” She blushed.

“You did? Even though it’s against the rules?”

“Well…” Emily looked down at her hand in Boron’s, then traced the ridges of his knuckles. “I wanted to be sure.”

Katrina laughed softly. “You do realize that you two appear so very mismatched.”

Smyrna’s thoughts precisely.

“Opposites attract.” Boron pushed his chair back, then reached for Emily’s. “I want you to see my new ship. I told you I’d have the very best for us.”

“Wait.” Katrina’s voice had a tinge of panic to it. “You’re taking her to Janus,” she asked Boron.

“I am,” he replied.

She turned to Caayn. “And you’re taking her to Janus.” She pointed to Smyrna.

“That’s right.”

Smyrna felt relief rush through her, glad that things hadn’t changed. That damned Pulser was pressing against her breasts, and she burned with a need to use it.

“Who am I supposed to go with?” she asked.

Smyrna found herself hoping she’d go with Emily, mostly so she could put her own plan into motion to find Porter and not be encumbered by Katrina following her around or asking her questions.

Emily moved the hand that was making patterns on Boron’s knuckles and took Katrina’s. “You’ll come with me, of course. We have a mate that’s waiting for you. We’ll make sure you get to him, or to whomever will take you to him. Right, Boron?”

The giant nodded, putty in her hands. “Whatever you wish.”

Smyrna glanced at Rush just in time to see a look cross his face as he studied Katrina’s.

She glanced at Katrina and saw that her gaze was locked on Rush.

What was that about? She was promised to another man.

Just as quickly, Katrina’s expression turned to stone, then she looked at Emily and plastered a smile on her face. “I’d love to.”