4. Calder

Elodie is already home when I get back that evening, which is somewhat unexpected. Even more surprising, an open bottle of senza is on the table next to her.

Something is up. Like meat, fresh vegetables, and real coffee, senza is expensive on Harte. Elodie could afford it on her salary, but she never allows herself the indulgence. She’s too focused on saving for her ship.

She looks up when I let myself in. An expression of consternation crosses her face. “What happened now?”

Oh, right. The bruises. “Same old,” I reply with a shrug. “Don’t worry, I’ll heal.”

“I know. It’s the only thing that helps me sleep at night.”

That statement catches me off-guard. She worries about me? Nobody does that, not even Enola. Affection fills my heart for this woman who deserves so much more than the lies I’ve been offering her.

“Would you like a drink?” she continues, her voice a little sheepish. “You always share your food with me, and I never reciprocate.”

“You’re saving for your ship.”

“So are you,” she points out, and I remember my cover story. I’m supposed to be working as a courier to buy a ship and become a bounty hunter. “But that’s never stopped you.”

I’m on a covert mission. Subterfuge is part of my job, and I’ve never given it a second thought, but the dominant emotion going through me right now is guilt. Unlike Elodie, I don’t have to scrimp and save to buy a ship. Whatever else you might say about KSF, they pay extremely well. I own a top-of-the-line Wraith.

At least the part about wanting to be a bounty hunter is true.

“I’m not as disciplined as you.” I sit across from her and pour myself a small shot of senza. “What happened today?”

She doesn’t pretend everything’s okay. Unlike me, Elodie is unfailingly honest. “It’s a long story.” She stares into her glass. “There’s a guy.”

I go very still. Just today, I was thinking that if Elodie went out more, men would be lining up to hit on her.

And now there’s someone.

Except she doesn’t look happy. The senza isn’t here for celebratory purposes. My panic fades. “Tell me more?”

“He’s someone from my past.” She takes a deep breath. “I don’t want to get into specifics, but Foder Throop is the absolute worst.”

“Did he hurt you?” I feel myself ice over. If he laid a finger on Elodie, I will snap him like a twig.

She lifts her head. “Not me,” she replies. “My mentor. Throop was responsible for her death.” A shadow passes over her face. “I never thought I’d see him again, but he was just hired at Onel Corp as the new Chief of Engineering.”

The job she applied for and didn’t get.

She gulps down the senza in her glass and reaches for the bottle to pour herself a refill. I bought Elodie a bar of chocolate on her birthday, and she refused to eat more than a square a day. “It’ll last longer that way,” she told me. If she’s reaching for a second shot of senza, she’s really bothered by this guy.

Unaugmented humans need a screen to run a search. I’m Karven—I have an implant for that. I check the Harte planetary net for any mention of Throop and find nothing.

“When he showed up at our building, I didn’t even know how to react.” She buries her head in her hands. “I might have done something stupid.”

“Did you hit him?” If she got fired from her job, the drinking would make sense. “Don’t worry about Onel; they don’t matter. You’re a mech genius. You’ll be able to find another job in a heartbeat.”

“I didn’t hit him,” she says, her voice muffled. “I did something far worse. I told him the two of us are dating.”

My mouth falls open. “What?”

She peeks at me through her fingers. “There’s a trade show on Luxaria at the end of the week, Calder.” The words pour out in a stream. “We’re replacing a good chunk of our fleet, and I was supposed to go along with some other mechs to decide what to buy. But now Foder will be there too, and I just couldn’t deal with it. He said he was bringing his girlfriend and sneered and asked me if I was bringing someone, and I totally let him goad me. I told him I was bringing my bodyguard boyfriend.”

Her trade show is in Luxaria.

She mistakes my silence for reluctance and gives me a beseeching look. “Please, Calder. Please, please, please? All you have to do is pretend we’re dating for a few days. I’m begging you. I really hate this guy. I will punch him in the face if you’re not around to keep me sane, and then I’ll really lose my job.”

This is perfect. As Elodie’s date, I’ll be able to keep an eye on Jarel Onel without rousing suspicion. If the weapons maker makes contact with him, I’ll know.

“It’s just four days,” she continues. “And it’s on Luxaria. It’s sunny, and there are beaches and waterfalls and jungles. They have real food there, Calder. Fruit, even.”

All the pieces of the mission are falling into place.

And that’s the only reason you’re excited to be Elodie’s pretend boyfriend? Being close to her, not needing an excuse to touch her—those things don’t play a role?

“Okay,” I tell Elodie. “I’ll go with you.”

She squeals with joy and envelops me in a hug. “Thank you, Calder,” she murmurs into my chest. “You’re the best.”

I hold her in my arms and breathe her in. She smells like soap with a faint undertone of engine grease, a uniquely Elodie scent. My cock stirs as her soft curves press into me. I never thought the smell of engine grease could turn me on, but here we are.

Finn’s disapproving voice sounds in my ear. Women are simply a distraction I can’t afford.

Neither can I. The stakes are too high. If the Crill get their hands on this weapon, the trail of death and destruction they’d leave behind is almost unimaginable. As tempting as Elodie is, my focus has to be on the mission and the mission alone.

Besides, when she finds out I’ve been lying to her since I moved in, she will hate me. No matter how I feel about Elodie, nothing can happen between us. The sooner I reconcile myself to that, the better.