Chapter 20

Dante knew that after risking more than enough on the pirate ship to get what they needed, plus a little extra, it was time to go.

Tinsley must have seen the look in his eyes because she intuited his thoughts—something he loved about her.

“Let’s get out of here?” she guessed.

Dante smiled and nodded, cracking open the door back into the hallway.

It appeared empty, and he gestured for Tinsley to follow behind him. As quietly as they could, they snuck down the hall in the direction of the ship’s exit. But soon, the silence was broken by a couple of Jorvlen voices.

Dante’s heart caught in his throat, but he managed to think quickly and pushed Tinsley and himself into an adjoining room. Thankfully it was empty, with only a disused bunk by the looks of it, and Dante held Tinsley’s hand tightly as they waited for the voices to pass.

“Then she said she didn’t know where the bathroom was!” Dante heard the Jorvlen shout. The pirate and a comrade of his burst into peals of rotten laughter that passed right outside their door.

The laughter continued all the way down the hallway, and Dante rolled his eyes a little. Jorvlens were brutal, but they were also crass, stupid, and blatantly obnoxious—some of the other reasons Kozien dodged a bullet in not marrying their princess.

“Let’s go,” Dante whispered to Tinsley, who squeezed his hand in acknowledgment.

No sooner had they crept out of the room, though, than they had to jump right back in. Another set of pirates had come loping down the hallway, this time yammering on about a Motley shipment. Dante thought back to their findings in the storage room.

He was beginning to think he and Tinsley might never make it out of there. At least not without getting caught.

“There might be a service shaft,” Tinsley suddenly suggested. “Some of the larger ships have them. This one might be more or less the right size.”

Dante smiled. Not only was Tinsley beautiful, sexy, compassionate, and skilled, but she was also incredibly intelligent. He could hardly have imagined a more perfect mate.

Dante didn’t have time to think about that now, though.

“Good idea,” he said. “Lead the way.”

Tinsley used her comm to light up the room.

“There should be heating in a bunk room like this,” she muttered, heading toward the back wall and feeling around. Soon enough, she came to a small grate and pulled it off to reveal a shaft entrance.

“Bingo,” she said, satisfied.

But Dante wasn’t feeling so optimistic. “Except there’s no way I’m fitting in there.”

He watched as Tinsley’s face fell, and for once he wasn’t proud of his size.

“Right,” she said. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. Usually the shafts are bigger, but this must be a nonstandard ship.”

They were back to where they started.

“It’s okay. It was a great idea. It’s just, these muscles, you know?” he added, hoping to bring some levity to the situation.

To his relief, Tinsley grinned. “Damn that incredible physique,” she joked.

“That just means we’ll have to keep trying with the hallway,” he said. “And hope for the best.”

Tinsley nodded, and they turned back to the door. Once again, Dante inched it open, and when it appeared the coast was clear, they ran down the hallway again, trying to remain silent.

They didn’t get far, though. Three more times they heard pirates coming down the corridor, and three more times they had to throw themselves into random rooms, praying they were empty.

Miraculously, they got lucky every time. But on the third time, they found themselves inside a bathroom. They had to jump into a stall together when someone opened the door, and they only made it inside just in time.

Dante crashed down onto the toilet, gesturing frantically for Tinsley to jump up onto his lap in case the pirate spotted their shoes.

Luckily, the visitor stayed only long enough to relieve himself before heading back out. Dante noted that whoever it was, they didn’t wash their hands.

“Typical,” he muttered under his breath.

But once again, they had other things to worry about.

And things were about to get worse.

“Prepare for launch!” came a raspy voice over the ship’s intercom as they remained huddled in the bathroom stall.

Dante’s eyes grew wide, and Tinsley’s, too. A second later, they felt the soft whir of the ship’s engine starting up.

“We need to go,” she said. “Now.”

Dante nodded, and they scrambled to get out of the stall. This time they bolted through the hallway, hoping that most of the crew would be strapped in by now and out of the way. But these were pirates, and it soon became clear there was very little regard for protocol.

As they rounded a corner, they almost came face to face with a couple of Jorvlens heading into what appeared to be a rec room. Dante and Tinsley were only spared because the Jorvlens were so busy arguing about who owed whom money that they were entirely oblivious to anything else.

“This way,” Dante whispered, pointing to an adjoining corridor. He only hoped they’d be able to find a way back to the exit in time.

They raced down there but came up behind another group of pirates heading in the same direction. Again, they ran into the closest door and soon found themselves in the ship’s kitchen.

Thankfully it was empty, but Dante knew they were running out of time. The ship would be launching any second now, and they were nowhere near an exit as far as he could tell.

“Trash!” Tinsley suddenly whisper-shouted.

“I know. It’s bullshit,” he agreed, shaking his head at their predicament.

“No,” Tinsley said, shaking her head and laughing. She pointed toward a giant chute on the kitchen wall. “Trash.”

Dante suddenly caught on. With one last look at each other, the two of them ran toward the chute and clambered in. Luckily, it was large enough that the two of them could fit side-by-side. How much trash do they generate if the chute is even larger than the ducts? Dante thought, but he was grateful regardless. The stench, of course, was horrible, but it was their only chance of escape.

“Ready?” Dante asked, holding Tinsley tightly.

She nodded, and he reached outside the chute, slamming his hand down on the EJECT button. A sudden sucking sensation and rush of air came next, and Dante felt himself and Tinsley rocketing through the chute, only to be deposited on the space station hangar floor a second later. A pile of rotten vegetables and animal bones came tumbling with them, just as the pirate ship rose above them and disappeared into the airlock.

Dante took a deep breath, but he immediately regretted it. He put his hand over his mouth and nose to keep from retching.

“First order of business—a shower,” he said, standing and helping Tinsley to her feet.

“Agreed,” she told him, a sour look on her face.

The two of them rushed into the space station in search of some soap, and Dante felt relief flooding his chest, knowing how close they’d just come to being caught. They were one step closer to finding Maraliza, though, and that made everything worthwhile.

Even the part where they smelled like trash.