Starfall (Starflight #2)(62)

The guard held up seven fingers.

“Wow,” Renny muttered. “Now I know the national pastime here.”

Kane moved closer to the bed and settled a brief hand on Cassia’s shoulder. “You have Cassy to thank for that. We all pitched in, but she’s the one who wouldn’t leave your side. She resuscitated you, too.”

The guard turned his gaze on her. Strangulation had burst his capillaries, but beyond the veil of redness shone an unmistakable gratitude reflected by his smile. He took the notepad from Renny and tapped a message, then held up the screen so Cassia and the crew could see it.

When the baby comes, we’ll name him Cass.

An instant lump rose in her airway. No parent on Eturia would name a baby after her. It had been so long since she’d felt truly appreciated that she almost didn’t recognize the emotion, but her greatest reward came when she shared a glance with Kane and noticed the admiration shining in his eyes, enough to tell her she’d earned back his respect.

She cleared her throat and said, “I’m honored.”

Renny saved her from tears by changing the subject with no tact whatsoever. “Yes, yes. Very nice. Now back to the interesting part.”

The guard slid Renny a glare, which he ignored.

“Right before Captain Forrester was attacked, he overheard a conversation outside the infirmary. You’ll never guess where Fleece told the workers he was taking them.”

“Bet it wasn’t Narnia,” Solara quipped.

“You’re closer than you think,” Renny said. “Both are mythical lands no one’s seen.”

“Middle Earth?”

“Better.” Renny paused for dramatic effect. “Adel Vice.”

It took a moment for Cassia to recall where she’d heard that name. Then it clicked. Adel Vice had been written on the scrap of paper the ferret had left behind on the black market satellite. “Then it’s a location, not a flower?”

“So it would seem.”

“Did the workers say anything else?” Kane asked. “Like what planet it’s on? Or what they’re supposed to do there?”

Renny shook his head. “That’s the last thing Forrester heard before…” He trailed off with a glance at the guard’s bandaged neck.

“Still, this is huge,” Doran said. “Now that we know Adel Vice is a place, we can start putting out feelers.”

Cassia agreed. This information changed everything. “I’ll call Jordan and have him alert the tech team. Someone has to know where it is.”

“And what the mafia wants with all those people,” Renny added. “Speaking of which, we should head out soon. I don’t want Fleece coming back to finish what he started.”

The crew had no arguments there. They said their good-byes to Captain Forrester, who gave Cassia’s hand an extra squeeze when he shook it. She kissed her index finger and gently touched it to the man’s bandages, then left the infirmary with more spring in her step than she’d felt in at least a month.

She found the Banshee docked outside the merchant dome with its boarding ramp already lowered and ready for departure. Eager to tell Jordan what she’d learned, she jogged up the ramp but skidded to a halt the instant she reached the cargo hold and slammed into an invisible wall of fish.

She waved a hand in front of her nostrils and noticed Acorn scurrying from one storage crate to another, her tiny pink nose twitching furiously as she investigated the pungent new cargo. “Does the whole ship smell like this?”

The rest of the crew had the same reaction, each stopping short when they reached the top of the ramp.

“I didn’t think anything could smell worse than Doran’s burnt porridge,” Solara said. “I stand corrected.”

“Really?” Doran asked. “We’re still talking about that?”

Renny strolled into the cargo bay, the only person not cringing. Either his nose had died or else he really loved tuna. “Relax. I already found a buyer.”

“A close buyer?” Cassia asked.

“Very close. Only two days away.” From behind his glasses, his blue eyes twinkled. “You might’ve heard of the place—a little colony by the name of Pesirus.”

Cassia gasped. “Don’t play with my heart, Captain.” Pesirus was her mecca. Hellberry wine was made there from berries grown in bioluminescent bogs.

“It’s no joke. I think we can afford an hour or two, provided you lie low”—he slid her a glance, chuckling—“and history doesn’t repeat itself.”

She felt the color rise in her face while Doran and Solara snorted with laughter. Much like the topic of Doran’s burnt porridge, the crew loved regurgitating the tale of her infamous first visit to the hellberry festival, where she and Kane had overindulged on wine and woken up on the lawn of First Pesirus Presbyterian wearing nothing but grass clippings. That night had changed everything. They’d risked their friendship by sharing a first kiss. Maybe a grope, too. It was hard to remember.

But Kane didn’t smile, or even blush, when he walked on board. Without a word, he strode past them and continued up the stairs, reminding Cassia there was something more important to discuss before her call with the general.

She followed him to the residential level but made a detour to the washroom to retrieve something special before joining him in their quarters. When she shut the door behind her, he glanced expectantly at her from his seat on the lower bunk.