30. Noelle

The Detyens had commandeeredPippa"s quarters, but since she was basically squeeing in joy and bouncing up and down on one of my chairs with her hands clasped together and a look of absolute glee on her face, I didn"t think she minded.

"Oh my god, you and Ryklin! That"s so … obvious. That whole … thing … makes sense now." I thought she was going to lunge forward and hug me.

"You mean the stalking thing?" I was beyond happy with my mate. I really was. But I wasn"t just going to let that part go. He was going to be teased about it for the rest of his very long life.

"Whatever." Pippa waved the concern away. "Besides, if he hadn"t been stalking you, you never would have had bonding time alone down on Nebula." Her smile faded a bit at the mention of the planet.

Her parents had died in the explosion, and I"d had to reopen that wound when I told her about the survivors. I thought that her exuberance about Ryklin and me might have been a bit exaggerated to plaster over the fresh pain.

I was tempted to apologize, as if I"d done something wrong by finding Astrid and her people, but Pippa wouldn"t like that.

"If Ryklin had been thinking clearly, he might have sent a message to station security before he chased after me."

"Yeah, cause they"re who I"d count on in a crisis." She snorted.

I had to agree. Give me a Detyen any day.

Pippa"s communicator beeped, and she checked the screen before cursing. "I"ve got a meeting to get to. Have you told Rexal what"s going on?" Mr. Rexal was our boss. He was a normally accommodating man, so hopefully I"d still have a position when he found out I"d had no choice but to miss a few shifts.

"I set up a meeting with him for tomorrow morning." I was still bone tired today, even with a full night"s sleep and an invigorating wake up. Hopefully I"d be in better shape for my meeting.

Clearly my friend didn"t want to go, but I shooed her out of the room. No use putting her job at risk.

When was Ryklin coming back?

I tapped my toes impatiently against the floor and traced my finger over the fabric of my sofa. My skin felt buzzy with tired energy, and I needed to do something. And my mate wasn"t there to help me out.

Leaving the room wasn"t so much a conscious decision as it was just something to do. I didn"t know where I was going until I was nearly to the entrance of the medical wing. I slipped past the receptionist. I was sure no one would be allowed back to see Astrid, but what the receptionist didn"t know wouldn"t hurt me.

I peeked in through the windows of every room I passed. The medical wing was mostly for serious cases. Usually, if you were injured, they gave you a portable medbot and sent you back to your quarters after the initial healing. It was only those on the brink of death or those who required more extensive healing that stayed there.

I saw Alice sitting beside a bed and knew I"d found the right room.

I slipped in, and Alice shot up from her seat, putting herself in front of Astrid"s prone body, her expression fierce. It cleared when she saw me. We hadn"t spoken much down on Nebula, but she clearly knew who I was.

"Is everything alright?" I asked as Alice settled down into her seat.

Astrid"s chest rose and fell evenly, and I felt a bit of tension release. She was alive. Her color was better. She"d make it through this.

Alice glanced towards the door and kept her voice low. "Station security said they"d post a guard on the door. Just in case. He was there for a few hours, and I fell asleep. When I woke up, he was gone. No one"s come back since."

"Did you ask about it?" That didn"t sound great.

"I tried to ask the doctor, but she said that this area is plenty secure, and there"s nothing to worry about."

"Are you worried about something specific?" We"d made it safely back. I couldn"t think of any threat. "We"re going to make sure they get everyone from the planet. No one"s going to be stuck there." I"d make it happen if I had to fund the damned project myself. What was the point of having rich parents back home if I didn"t use their money every now and then?

"She"s not worried about that." Astrid"s voice was weak but welcome. Her eyes blinked open, and she looked at me with a smile. "Do I have you to thank for these digs?"

"Among others." I"d give her the full story once she recovered. "What"s Alice worried about, then?"

Alice gave Astrid"s hand a squeeze. "I"ll go tell the doctor you"re awake." She left the two of us alone.

Astrid waited until the door slid closed to talk. "We"ve all had ten years to think about what would happen if someone ever rescued us," she said. She coughed a little, and I handed her a glass of water, which she sipped. "There have to be people on this station who"ve known we"re down there. There"s no way they"ve missed all the smuggling ships. So, either palms were greased or there are people here straight up in on it. And if they think any of us can ID them …"

"You think someone on this station will try to hurt you." Not a question.

"Either smugglers or security for the mining company. We"re a long way from anywhere, and it will take awhile for news to travel. But I don"t think they"re going to like the idea of the world learning they left over a hundred people stranded for a decade. Imagine the possible payouts if we can find a court to take our case. They left us to die once; I don"t see how killing us makes much of a difference." She sighed. "I"ll feel a lot better when everyone is safe up here. Maybe I"m just paranoid."

"Maybe." But at least part of what she said felt very possible. "Ryklin has men he trusts. They"re trained warriors. And they have no reason to want to harm you or your people. How about one of them guards you until things settle down? Believe me, they"re better than station security."

"That doesn"t sound terrible."

I stood. The doctor would be coming soon, and I didn"t want to get caught in the room. "I"ll talk to Ryklin. I"m sure you and Alice will be set up with a place to stay soon. We"ll keep you safe."

"You better." She was smiling as she said it, but the threat hung over us.

I hoped I hadn"t rescued Astrid only to bring her into more danger.

Ryklin was waiting for me when I got back to my quarters, and he swept me up into his arms and covered my mouth in a toe-curling kiss before I even got the door shut.

"I missed you too," I said as he set me down. "How did talking with your guys go?"

He pulled me close and nuzzled my neck. "We can talk later." He rained tiny kisses along my collarbone. "I have plans for you."

That sent a bolt of heat right through me, but the fear I"d seen deep in Astrid"s expression kept me on task. "Someone needs to guard Astrid until all of this settles down. One of your men. I don"t trust station security."

Ryklin put a little distance between us, and I tried not to be disappointed. "You think she"s in danger?"

"She thinks she"s in danger. I"m not so sure. But considering all the help she gave us, I figured it wouldn"t hurt to help her out. Do you think one of your guys could do it? Would they?" I understood that they were like Ryklin before he"d met me, cold and emotionless. But they were trained warriors and fully capable of the job.

I hoped.

"I"ll ask. We won"t let anything happen to her. You have my word."

"Good. Very good."

And with that settled, I launched myself into his arms and tackled him to the bed.