Page 8 of Stolen Fire (N.O.A.H (Nostradamus Outerspace Advancement of Humanity) #2)

Usually, it made Blaize a little nuts the way the navigation officer questioned authority. But the decision to kill someone shouldn’t be taken lightly, no matter how big a rule they broke.

“He has not explained his presence, but he did offer to pay for his transportation.” Dez’s voice gave no indication of how he would decide the issue.

“What if he was part of the plan to set the bomb?” Bodi’s translucent wings were fluttering so fast they were a blur. Was she aware of it?

“The bomb did almost kill you. And it was meant for The Treasure . What if he snuck on board to finish the job?” Blaize shuddered.

Having a murderer on board was as bad as the poisonous spiders.

If the cargo didn’t improve, she might have to seek employment elsewhere, no matter how well she might fit in with the crew.

“Then why would he save you?” Veda asked.

“If he’s trying to kill the crew or destroy the ship, he wouldn’t have risked injury—or being ejected from the ship—to save anyone.

He could have blown us up during the crossing, and any investigation would have written it off as an anomaly in the ER bridge. ”

“I sensed no violence from him during our initial meeting or when I escorted him to the cargo hold.” Dez had nearly been killed saving the ship and had lost his hand. If he didn’t think the guy was the bomber, then he was probably correct.

Captain Cyra raised her arm, and everyone shut up. “I think we should take a vote.”

“Yes, my captain.” Dez nodded in Cyra’s direction. “Should we keep the stowaway in cargo until we reach Cassan? Or eject him?”

“Keep him.” Veda’s voice was the loudest Blaize had ever heard.

“Eject.” Bodi hung her head after her quiet vote.

“Rhysa?” Dez asked.

“Keep him. I’m sure we can find some use for him.” Her tone said exactly how she could imagine using him. A twinge of jealousy caught Blaize unexpectedly.

“My vote is to eject. The security risk is great. It’s my job to protect the captain, the crew, and this ship.” Dez’s vote surprised Blaize. She’d expected him to go easier on the guy based on the discussion.

“Blaize?” At Cyra’s call, the entire crew turned to focus on her.

She took a deep breath. Her vote would break the tie.

No pressure. Just a person’s life. A person who had saved her life.

“I think we should keep him in the cargo hold. I’m not convinced he isn’t a criminal, but I can’t be responsible for the death of a living being if I’m wrong.

And, although stowing away is sufficient justification to eject him based on the law, it just doesn’t seem right to me.

But no matter how we vote, it’s the captain’s decision, not mine. ”

Cyra tilted her head back and rubbed her throat, exposing her gills. She sat quietly for several minutes. No one moved or hardly breathed. This was serious. A life hung in the balance.

The bile built in Blaize’s stomach the more time passed without her captain’s decision. Killing Cifer didn’t seem right. It made her head hurt to think about it.

Veda stood, and Blaize flinched at the unexpected movement.

The tiny woman placed her cup in the sterilizing unit.

She faced the captain with her hands fisted on her hips.

Cyra made eye contact with her, and they must have had a silent conversation.

Cyra gave a quick nod. “Keep him in holding. Let him know I will expect payment for his transport when we arrive in Cassan, or I will alert the authorities about his unauthorized presence on the ship and his possible involvement with the bomb on Kolben. Although, I think we all know that was Varik.”

“Yes, Captain.” Dez rose from his seat and held out his hand to Cyra.

She took it, but she released him as soon as she was standing. “I’m going to my tank.”

The ship had a specialized water chamber just for the captain, who was born on a water planet and needed the immersion to remain healthy. She often went there in times of stress.

“I will speak to the…guest and then meet you in our quarters, my captain.”

Cyra left without another word.

Blaize didn’t miss making those kinds of decisions. Being captain was a huge responsibility. Keeping the systems running was enough of a challenge for her.

Bodi left silently too. Blaize hoped they hadn’t made the wrong decision.

Blaize swiped the large data screen in front of her seat on the bridge. She’d been rearranging the same data for three cycles, data she’d already submitted to the captain.

“Are you okay?” Rhysa loomed over her, inspecting her like a bug. Blaize hadn’t seen or heard her leave her chair at the helm.

“What?” Blaize did her best innocent look.

“Uh-huh. That’s what I thought. You voted to keep him, but now you don’t want to go by the cargo hold.”

Blaize stiffened her spine and tilted her chin up. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Scared?”

“Hardly. I had reports to do.” Blaize stepped into Rhysa’s space, and the navigator took a step back. “And now I have to check the systems.” Even though she didn’t want to.

“If you’re going to the engine room, would you check on Cifer?” Veda looked up from her spot in the far corner of the bridge. “I spoke to him earlier, but it’s been a while. With him locked in, we need to make sure he’s okay on a regular basis.”

Dammit, she couldn’t tell Veda no. She was too nice. Time to face her ridiculous attraction to the stranger. “Sure.”

Blaize thumped down the corridor. If Rhysa had left her alone, she could have hidden on the deck for at least a few more hours, if not a few more cycles.

Instead, she walked toward the gorgeous stowaway with a come-hither voice.

She’d fallen for a sexy male once—had the certificate of completion in her lesson in betrayal. No need for a remedial course.

If she was quick, she could pass by the cell where he was being housed—the same one Dez had occupied so recently—verify the guy was alive, and keep going. Fast. That was the way to do this. Rip off the bandage, and it would be over before she had time to worry or talk to him.

She placed her palm on the access panel. Dez had implemented tighter security, and all the pass-through doors that once remained opened were closed all the time. Once the door slid back, she crossed into the cargo hold.

Once again, Princess, the pup, wasn’t in her cage—probably with Cyra.

Blaize glanced into the open grate of the first cell and froze.

Cifer should be there, lying on the bunk or doing pushups on the floor like Dez had done on the way to Kolben.

Instead, the cell was empty. There was nowhere to hide.

The bunk was a block, built into the hull of the ship.

A flat mattress and thermal cover lay on top.

Smooth, no lump, no body, nothing. She backed up a few steps and moved a little closer to the metal enclosure.

She could see into the bathing alcove. It was shallow and well lit. He wasn’t in there.

With her face pressed between the bars, she looked at every wall, inspected the ceiling and the shadows of the corners.

Nothing. She pulled on the door, but it was firmly locked.

She spun and, with her back to the cell, looked around the open cargo hold.

There wasn’t anywhere else to hide. He had to be in the cell.

Without considering the wisdom of her plan, she opened the cell door and went inside.

As she stared at the bunk, a breeze touched a tendril of her hair.

There could be no breeze on a ship. When she felt it again, she reached up, wrapped her hands around the appendage that was too close to her head, and flung the attached body forward and down onto the bunk.

“Oof.” Cifer was visible now, splayed on the bunk with his head at the foot, between her parted legs. His greenish-brown eyes twinkled, and a slow smile crossed his face as he stared pointedly at her crotch.

Blaize stepped back and closed her stance but kept her arms in fighting position. “Where the hell where you?”

“There was a screw loose.” Cifer pointed to the ceiling. “The rattling was disturbing my rest.”

Blaize peeked over her shoulder, and there was a vent cover where he pointed. “It’s not rattling now.”

“I fixed it.”

“Why were you hiding? You had to see me. I looked everywhere before I came in here. I shouldn’t have come in. You were trying to get me to come in, weren’t you? I should’ve called Dez as soon as you were missing. Now you’re going to kill me or take me hostage or something.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Cifer sat up on the edge of the bunk. He held his hands out as if he could stop her talking with his hands alone. “I’ve never killed anyone. And if I was going to start, it wouldn’t be someone as beautiful as you.”

She scoffed.

“Besides, I had cycles on the ship before you knew I was here. Don’t you think I would have done something then?”

“So you’re willing to be a killer? But waiting? Maybe you did rig the light, since you seem to be able to climb on ceilings.”

“That’s not at all what I said. I told you I’m not a killer.”

“But you are a criminal.” Blaize took another step back toward the door of the cell.

“I have found myself on the far side of the law a time or two, but it wasn’t by choice.”

“Of course it was by choice. Everyone has the choice of how they behave. But criminals believe it’s always someone else’s fault, usually the victim’s.”

“No, in my case it was never the victim’s fault.” Cifer leaned forward on his knees. “Others were to blame, but not the victims.”

“And now the crew members of The Treasure are your victims.”

“If I made you feel a victim in any way, I apologize. It is not my intention to take advantage. As I’ve explained, I’m willing to pay for my passage.”

“Like paying for it afterwards makes it better.” She put her hands on her hips and glared.

“Sometimes making amends is all you can do.” He stood and held out one hand.

Blaize took another step back and tripped over her feet.

Cifer shot out an arm and grabbed her hand, saving her again.

As soon as his fingers wrapped around hers, she was aware of the mistake.

She should never have entered his cell, let him close, or let him touch her.

Her heart raced, but it wasn’t fear. It was something far more concerning: attraction.

He stepped close to her, so close she could feel the whisper of his breath on her face and the nearness of his body to hers. Her breathing stopped. Heat moved up her arm and down lower, between her legs. Legs that remained unsteady.

“Blaize.” His voice caressed her ear. “Your parents blessed you with the perfect name.” He wrapped a tendril of her hair around the fingers of his free hand.

She yanked her hand out of his grip and dove through the door of the cell, closing it firmly behind her. She was panting. His fingers slid over her hair, and she leaped away. “What is wrong with you?”

Cifer’s eyebrows were pinched, and he frowned at her words. His eyes flashed a vibrant green before returning to the browner color they’d been. “Nothing is wrong with me. And nothing is wrong with you, either.”

He saw too much. “You don’t know anything about me. I was sent to check on you. You appear fine.”

“As do you.” His sultry tone teased between her legs.

Blaize snorted and stomped out of the holding area toward her engines.

The nerve of Cifer. Her hair was none of his business.

That story about the screw was probably total bullshit.

There wasn’t a screw, nut, or bolt on this ship that she hadn’t personally inspected over the past few galactic months.

Before the ER crossing…

Anything could have rattled free like the light fixture.

Was she arguing in his favor once again?

Damn her weak constitution. If she’d voted correctly in the first place, he’d already be gone, and she wouldn’t be questioning her judgment. Except…he’d saved her life. And aside from sneaking on board and being good at hiding, he’d given her no reason not to trust him.

Her attraction to him was the red flag. Could she trust herself?