Starfall (Starflight #2)(33)

They were nearly out of the market when a woman called, “Popovers! Hot popovers!” Renny stopped so quickly that Kane collided into him from behind. The pileup continued as Cassia stumbled into him, and then Doran and Solara into her.

The crew righted themselves while grumbling complaints, but Renny didn’t seem to notice. He stood there, stiff as titanium, staring at the woman selling breakfast from a food cart five yards away. Kane glanced at the vendor. She was about thirty years old with owlish blue eyes and a round, freckled face framed by scarlet curls. She was cute in a motherly sort of way, but he didn’t see what the big deal was.

Until Renny opened his mouth and said, “Arabelle?”

Kane almost sprained his neck craning for a better look. He stared at the woman through the fresh eyes of someone who’d heard stories about her—plenty of stories, none of them ending well. Arabelle was the love of Renny’s life, the girl he’d left behind years ago when he’d made an enemy of the mob. But what was she doing in the outer realm? She was supposed to be on Earth, leading a safe, normal life.

When the captain didn’t budge, Solara moved up from behind. “Who’s that?”

Kane was almost afraid to say. Losing Arabelle had wrecked Renny. He still talked about her in his sleep. The whole crew knew better than to mention her name unless he broached the subject, which only happened when he overindulged in Crystalline.

“It’s her,” Kane whispered. “Arabelle.”

Solara clutched Kane’s left arm while Cassia grabbed the right. At the same time, they hissed, “Are you sure?”

Kane watched the woman’s gaze meet Renny’s and hold there. The whites of her eyes grew while her lips parted. She went every bit as still and pale as the captain. Soon her fingers slackened, and she dropped a pastry to the ground.

“Yeah,” Kane said. “I’m sure.”

“What’s she doing here?”

That was what Kane wanted to know. It seemed a little too convenient that after years of no contact she happened to cross Renny’s path at this exact moment. The captain finally sobered up enough to process the questions buzzing around him. He kept his eyes glued on Arabelle when he spoke, as if afraid she might vanish if he looked away. “She’s wearing a collar. She belongs to someone here. Probably the owner of that restaurant.”

Kane took notice of the slim silvery choker around Arabelle’s neck. It was a device programmed to deliver pain injections if a slave or an indentured servant strayed too far from home.

“I have to buy her contract,” Renny said.

Kane nodded. “Of course. We’ll help you.”

“I hate to bring this up,” Doran cut in, “but what if she doesn’t want to come with us? She could have a husband, or someone she doesn’t want to leave behind.”

“I don’t care,” Renny told him. “I’ll buy her freedom anyway. And her husband’s or friend’s or boyfriend’s, too, if that’s what she wants.”

It was then that Kane saw two major snags in their plan. The first was Renny. “You can’t be here. You have to go to the ship and let us handle the deal. If Arabelle’s contract holder sees the look on your face, he’ll ask for the moon…and you’ll give it to him.” Which led to their second problem. “We don’t have much to spend.”

“I have the Banshee,” Renny said, confirming Kane’s worst fear.

The crew traded nervous glances.

“Renny, listen to me.” Cassia touched the captain’s elbow. When that didn’t get his attention, she cupped his cheeks and turned his face until it met hers. “Come back to the ship with me. Let the others do the negotiating.”

“But what if—”

“They won’t let you down,” she told him. “Kane could sweet-talk water from the desert, and Doran and Solara have more street cred than anyone in this hub.”

Doran cracked his knuckles menacingly. “It doesn’t matter who owns her contract. I promise he won’t say no to Daro the Red.”

Renny still didn’t look convinced.

“Do you trust me?” Kane asked.

Renny’s gaze wandered back to Arabelle. “Yes, but—”

“Then let Cassy take you to the ship.”

“But I have to talk to her first, to tell her I’m not really leaving.”

“No. She could belong to anyone. Maybe he’s watching right now.”

“You don’t understand,” Renny said in a small, broken voice that plucked at Kane’s heartstrings. “I walked away from her once, and it almost killed me.”

“I do understand,” Kane promised. “And I won’t come back without her.”

After a long pause, Renny took one backward step and then another. Each pace toward the docking lot seemed to cause him physical pain, but he kept his boots moving. A group of men passed in front of him, breaking his view of the food cart. That seemed to help because he turned around, paused for another moment, and strode away.

Right before Cassia followed him, she crooked an index finger at Kane and waited for him to lower his ear to her lips. “Don’t bring that woman on board until you scan her for weapons,” she whispered. “Com devices, too.”

For once, they were on the same page. “Already planned to.”