Page 8 of Zayrik (The Protectorate Warriors Alien Fated Mates #6)

Nyla

ZAYRIK watched me .

Not obviously. Not directly.

But I felt it.

Every time I moved through the ship, or checked our course. Every time I did anything in his vicinity.

He noticed.

And that was a problem.

I stretched out on the small bunk in the crew quarters I’d claimed, forcing myself to look relaxed. My body was still sore, my ribs still aching, but it wasn’t the pain keeping me from sleeping.

It was him.

I’d noticed the way his gaze lingered a little too long. And the way his shoulders tensed when I tried to deflect .

The way he was already figuring me out .

And worse. How my pulse jumped every time he stepped too close, like my body hadn’t gotten the message that he was dangerous.

Zayrik wasn’t stupid. He was patient.

And patience?

That was way more dangerous than brute force.

I let out a slow breath, staring at the metal ceiling, my thoughts tangled.

Zep stirred from his perch, wings fluttering softly as he sensed my unease. He trilled a soft question.

“I know, buddy,” I whispered. “I’m thinking.”

Two days. I just had to hold it together until then.

Once we hit that outpost, I’d be gone.

This wasn’t his fight.

It wasn’t his problem.

I just had to make sure he didn’t figure that out before I left.

No matter how part of me perversely wanted to see what would happen if he did.

A piercing chime from my wrist unit yanked me from my thoughts.

I jerked upright, heart pounding.

Nav’s voice hummed quietly through my neural link. “Nyla, I do believe we have a problem.”

I swung my legs over the cot, already moving. “Define problem.”

“Our new Captain is running a deep scan on the ship.”

Shit.

“He’s also asked about Vask specifically.”

Double shit.

I froze, fingers clenching around the edge of the cot. “What did you say?”

“Nothing. He asked me to run a deep scan on the ship. He mentioned Vask and asked about a data crystal that could compromise his organization.”

My blood turned to ice. The crystal pressed against my skin through the hidden pocket of my jacket felt suddenly heavier.

“How would he know about that?” I whispered.

“Unknown. But based on previous data, I calculate a seventy-six percent probability he’s connected to Protectorate intelligence.”

I inhaled slowly. “How much has he found?”

“Not enough yet. But I estimate he will within the next twelve hours.”

Twelve galactic hours. Less than half a rotation.

I was running out of time.

I pushed off the cot, snatching my jacket and pressing my hand against the hidden pocket. The crystal was still there. The hard evidence that could bring down Vask’s entire operation. Evidence I’d stolen right from under his nose.

I needed a plan. Now.

But as soon as I stepped out, I froze.

Because Zayrik?

He was already standing there. Leaning against the corridor wall, arms crossed, waiting .

His gaze flicked over me, like he already knew.

Like he was just waiting for me to make the first move.

I lifted my chin, forcing a smirk. “You always stand outside women’s rooms like a stalker, or am I just lucky?”

Zayrik didn’t blink. Offered no smirk in return.

He simply tilted his head. “Who are you running from?”

Flutz.

My jaw didn’t move. But my pulse did.

“Running?” I managed, tone light. “Thought I was just taking a walk.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Is it Vask?”

Hearing the name out loud made my stomach drop, but I held firm. “Who?”

“The Zorani crime lord who’s got half the sector in his pocket,” Zayrik said, pushing off the wall. “The one whose men were hunting you on Katar Station.”

Suddenly, the corridor felt confining and cramped. Zep landed on my shoulder, his claws digging in, and trilled once more.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, but the lie sounded weak even to my ears.

Zayrik moved closer, his tall frame blocking the corridor. Not threatening, but not letting me escape either.

“You know,” he said quietly, “there are two types of people in this galaxy who lie that well. Professionals—” his eyes narrowed “—and survivors.”

Something in his tone made me look up, really look at him. There was knowledge in his eyes, yes.

And something else too. Something resembling understanding, almost.

“Which one are you?” he asked.

For a heartbeat, I considered telling him the truth. All of it.

The data crystal.

Vask.

How I’d gotten in too deep, seen too much. How I was trying to do the right thing for once in my life.

But trusting him meant risking everything.

“I’m just trying to stay alive,” I said. Quiet. Honest. Close enough to the truth that it felt like one.

Something flickered in his eyes. Then he reached out slowly, and touched my arm.

The contact sent a jolt through me. Not unpleasant, but startling. I didn’t pull away.

“Whatever you’re running from,” he said, his voice dropping lower, “whatever you’ve got hidden in that jacket that’s worth killing for, it’s bigger than you think it is.”

My breath caught. He knew about the crystal. Or at least suspected.

“And how would you know that?” I managed to ask.

His gaze was steady, unflinching. “Because if it has anything to do with Vask, I was sent to find it.”

“Well. That complicates things.” Nav’s voice hummed from my wrist—uninvited, of course.

I resisted the urge to slap the comm. “Nav, not now.”

“Oh, I agree. Terrible timing. Just thought you should know: your heart rate is alarming.”