Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(18)

Eventually he stopped laughing, but he took one look at my face and broke out into a chuckle again. “Don’t look so put out. I wasn’t laughing at you.”

“Right, of course not. My mistake.” I glanced away, strangely hurt.

Loch eased my face back to him with a gentle hand. His thumb traced a blazing path of fire over my jawbone. “I’ve never met a woman quite like you,” he said.

“That’s because you haven’t met my sisters,” I said lightly. “I have three of them and they’re all just like me.”

“Oh, I doubt that. I’ve met a fair number of Consortium ladies. None were like you. You’re far more interesting than any of them.”

I didn’t want to be interesting. It would be better if Marcus Loch thought of me as a quick payday that he needed to protect until we reached the agreed-upon spaceport and nothing else. And when had he been exposed to Consortium ladies?

I was still contemplating the answer to that question when Loch wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me up to the cot, nearly two meters off the floor. And he did it with complete ease.

Heat curled low and threatened to send me up in flames. I slid away from temptation and to the middle of the cot. “Thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome,” he said with a knowing smile. “Sweet dreams, Ada.”

“Good night, Marcus.”

I pulled the lightweight blanket from its storage compartment and spread it out. I laid down with my head toward the back of the ship, facing out from the wall. I could see nearly the whole room from here, including Loch sitting in the captain’s chair.

Under the cover of the blanket, I slipped a sheathed knife out of my pocket and clutched it close to my chest, like a child cuddling a teddy bear. I didn’t think Loch would attack me in my sleep, but I was not above being prepared.

I slowed my breathing and let my eyes wander. I drifted off watching Loch gaze into space.



I awoke with a racing heart and a death grip on the knife. I knew my dreams were dark, but they dissipated like mist in my conscious mind. The hand clamped around my forearm, however, didn’t dissipate.

I jerked back and the hand slipped away.

“This is the second time you’ve pulled a blade on me,” Loch rumbled. “I’m starting to take it personally.”

My eyes popped open. A quick glance confirmed I still held the knife. It also confirmed it was sheathed. “I hardly think a sheathed knife is dangerous,” I said. “Besides, you should know better than to grab a sleeping person.”

“You were having a nightmare,” he said.

I slid the knife back into my pocket and sat up. Grit gathered in the corners of my eyes. I rubbed my hands over my face and tried to get my brain to kick into gear. “How long was I out?”

“A little over five hours. It’s almost time to clip in for entry.”

Five hours shouldn’t have left me this groggy. I’d kill for a cup of real coffee. Hell, I’d be happy with a cup of the synth stuff at this point. I shook myself out of caffeine dreams and climbed down the ladder set into the wall between the cots.

Every muscle protested. I must’ve been tense in my sleep, fighting off invisible demons. I didn’t have nightmares often, but when I did, I usually went all out. I stepped down to the floor and lifted my arms overhead, stretching left then right. I folded forward and put my hands on the floor, enjoying the stretch along the backs of my legs.

After I’d put sufficient distance between me and Rockhurst, I was totally getting a massage. I figured getting captured by mercs and fleeing for my life with a murderer meant I was overdue for a little luxury. And the one true perk of being daughter of a High House was the ability to afford luxury. My House accounts might be under surveillance, but I’d funneled money into several private accounts before I escaped.

I straightened to find Loch watching me with deep brown eyes. Every so often the light would catch them just so, and they’d flash, luminescent. If one of the other Houses had achieved ocular implants of his level, this was the first I’d heard of it.

All of the implants I knew about permanently altered your eye color to milky white and glowed in even the faintest light. It made it easy to determine who could see in the dark. If implants existed that could be hidden behind normal-looking eyes, that would be a strategic advantage.

I tilted my head, studying him as he studied me. I hadn’t planned for more than escaping the ship then running again. But I was tired of running, especially now that every merc in the ’verse had heard of me. I wanted a house and not to have to look over my shoulder every minute of every day.

My von Hasenberg genes kicked in—perhaps Loch was the key to that future. Father would drop my bounty if I gave him Loch. Oh, he wouldn’t do it easily, but Father could be swayed with the right incentive.

I shook off the thought. Loch had helped me, even if it was just for the money. While a true von Hasenberg would have no trouble stabbing him in the back in appreciation, I tried to keep my backstabbing to a minimum.

But by the calculating look on Loch’s face, I wasn’t the only one contemplating a double-cross. I’d need to be vigilant once we landed. After I paid him, I needed to disappear.

I stretched one last time then dropped into the navigator’s seat. Tau Sagittarii Dwarf Nine loomed large in the front window. We were approaching at the border of light and dark, so the planet looked like it was broken in half. Only a few faint lights glimmered on the dark side of the planet—a giant metropolis this was not.