The Star Thief (Star Thief Chronicles 1)

Finn shook his head. “Quarters here will be fine. I’m sure Lieutenant Keva and the others will be grateful for the change of scenery.”

A squat gray alien with a thick, fleshy neck and four large eyes spread horizontally across his face appeared at the door. “This is my assistant Syna. He’ll take you to your rooms. I’ll order dinner to be served in two hours.”

She recognized Syna as a Conyara alien; they had some of the brightest scientific minds in the galaxy. She’d known several who’d made names for themselves creating the most dangerous weapons she’d ever used. Aldani must have more influence than she’d thought to have a group of them working here.

An idea sparked, and she hung back, casting one last look around Aldani’s office. It just might get her the hell out of this mess and into hiding. All she’d have to do was forget those two little words.

I promise.

FOURTEEN

Syna led them through the quiet hallways of Aldani’s complex, his short legs flashing as he trotted in front of them. The alien was silent, but then again, the Conyaras weren’t known for being talkative. Unfortunately, it meant the only sound accompanying them was Finn’s boots echoing loudly as they walked.

Renna cringed with each noisy step. “Do you have to stomp around like a wounded buffalo?” she snapped.

He raised an eyebrow. “Not all of us can have the grace of a thief.”

She let her gaze slide down his muscled chest and carved thighs. “I seem to remember a time where you moved as silently as I did. But I’m sure I could still teach you a few things.”

His face flushed unexpectedly, and he looked away. “I don’t think so.”

She bit back a smile. Gods, she loved baiting the man. He was so easy to rile.

Syna’s light voice interrupted. “Miss Carrizal, your room.” He pushed open the door, then gestured to Finn. “Captain, you’re down the hall.”

The two walked away, leaving Renna staring into the luxurious space. Now this she could get used to. Imported silk rugs covered the tile floor, while lush silks draped the large bed. She let out a happy sigh. She could get lost in that bed. Even better was the holoscreen on the wall. It was bigger than her window back home.

Too bad she wasn’t here on vacation.

She spotted her satchel on the table in the corner. Someone had brought her things from the ship. And there was a gorgeous bathroom tucked into the corner of the room. Right now, a shower was the only thing she wanted.

She stripped out of her clothes and climbed into the tiled space. Steaming water blossomed from the overhead spigot, and she stood beneath the spray, letting the events of the last few days wash away. Gods. It felt like years.

And seeing Finn again…

That was a shock she was still reeling from. And his obvious hatred. But those shoulders… She pushed away the image, the memory of the way his stubble shadowed his strong jaw. Whatever had been between them was long over. Right now she had to focus on getting in that damn building and then getting Myka back.

She finished washing her hair, then switched the shower controls to dry. The ultraviolet light evaporated the water from her skin and dried her long hair in under a minute. And the warmth from the lamp eased some of the tension from her shoulders.

Clean and dry, Renna pulled on a new pair of leggings and a tight-fitting black shirt before shrugging into her holsters. She slid back on her knee-length leather jacket and stared at herself in the mirror. There were dark smudges beneath her gray eyes, and her coffee-colored skin looked dull and lifeless. She was twenty-three, for f**k’s sake. If she wasn’t careful, she’d start looking old.

She needed a vacation.

She needed to retire.

If only this had been a regular job—return the particle destabilizer, get her last fee, sell the sapphire, and vanish to another planet. That had been the plan, at least. But now here she was, trapped on some gods-forsaken research station, plagued by guilt over Myka’s kidnapping and trying to figure out how to stop an unknown attacker to save him.

This was exactly why she didn’t establish relationships with her clients. It was too complicated. Too messy.

Her code wasn’t as black and white as most people’s, but it had always kept her sane in the messy mercenary world. As soon as she started breaking it, in her mind, she’d be no better than a common criminal. As much as she wanted to flee, she had to keep her promise.

That didn’t mean she couldn’t keep an eye out for her own opportunities. Just walking through the lab, she’d seen tech she could sell for millions of credits on the black market. Stealing a prototype or two would pad her nest egg quite nicely. That meant she needed to get back on her game. No more softie-Renna.

Like Viktis had said, this was business, not personal.

She turned on the holoscreen and pulled up a map of the facility. The place was larger than she expected, with three levels of labs and a storage area deep underground. The main level consisted of living quarters and Dr. Aldani’s personal lab space.

Renna tapped a finger against her chin. Now there was a place where she could find some interesting information, but she’d glimpsed his security earlier as they’d walked to his office. His lab was probably locked down even tighter, and she didn’t have time to do her homework. She’d have to go after the less secure labs in the level below, though they’d be difficult enough to get into on their own.

She glanced at her watch. Just a little over half an hour before she was supposed to meet the others for dinner. More than enough time to get “lost” and look around a bit. It wasn’t as much prep as she’d prefer, but she’d make it work.

Renna retraced her steps to the elevator she’d noticed on the way to their rooms and took it down to the lower level. The doors swished open, and she stepped out into an industrial-looking hallway lined with chrome and gray tile. A quick sweep of the space showed that the bulk of the labs were located to her left. She started toward the doors.

Most of the workers had gone for the day, but a few hardworking souls still moved about in their labs, examining vials of liquid or typing on their datapads.

She walked along slowly, like she’d gotten lost, knowing the cameras along this corridor were recording her every movement. Stupid implant. She could use an internal map of this place right about now. It was a maze.

There!

A heavy glass door barricaded a room full of small medical implants, and she smiled through the glass. Bionic dimensional probes if she wasn’t mistaken. She knew the perfect fence for those—a smarmy little doctor on one of the Outer Rim worlds. The mob he worked for was notoriously hard to patch up.