Without Hesitation, Talia Jager [warren buffett book recommendations txt] 📗

or anything really personal out in the open, except for the ceiling. That had to be personal. It was a painting of beautiful wild animals in a forest.

“Wow.”

She stood next to me. “Gives me something to look at. I don’t have any windows.”

“It’s beautiful.”

Her shoulder brushed against mine and every inch of my skin reacted as if she’d touched me intentionally. Think of something to ask. Think of something to say. Just do something.

“Where’s your planet?” I asked.

“I don’t have one.”

Her fingers brushed against mine. Now that was intentional. I looked at her and found that she was staring at me. My stomach did a lazy flip like it had that first time I’d jumped from one place to another. The air grew thick as my gaze traveled down to her lips and back up to her eyes. I tangled my fingers in hers, wanting to pull her closer, but afraid to make the first move. Everleigh swallowed and her mouth opened then closed again as though she was holding back words she wanted to say. After a minute, she broke our gaze and stepped away and the miniscule space she’d made between our bodies made me feel cold.

“So what now?”

“I have some work to do,” she replied.

“Is it strenuous?”

“What?”

“Your work?”

“No.”

“Good. You should still rest. Your body needs to heal. In fact, I should probably check the stitches.”

“Later.” She said then gestured for me to follow her out of her room.

“You said you steal things. Is that what all four of you do?”

She narrowed her eyes like she thought it might be a trick question, but then she nodded. “We’re a team.”

Raised voices greeted us as we approached the bridge. When the door opened, they stopped abruptly and stared at us. I must have been the topic of their disagreement and I could guess why.

Smile, I reminded myself. “Good morning! You have an awesome spacecraft. And Huxley, I hear you make eggs. I would love to try them.”

Huxley looked confused, but he nodded. “Sure.”

“She shouldn’t be here, Everleigh,” the one named Zabe blurted, his voice gruff.

“And where should she be?” Everleigh asked, her voice calm and even.

“She’s a target. She should be locked up,” he said as he glared at me.

“We’re not locking her up. She saved my life.”

“Hardly.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“You’ve had worse injuries. You’re playing with fire, Ever.”

“I promise you I’m not a threat,” I said, attempting to reassure him—to reassure all of them.

“It’s not you I’m worried about, Empress,” he said. He spat out my title like it was a dirty word. “Nor is it our place to decide. We were sent to acquire you and--”

“Enough!” Everleigh growled and went to her control center. Zabe kicked a chair across the room and stormed off.

The silence that followed his exit was awkward. I walked to the window and stared into the great dark. Thinking back to my conversations with Bristow and how we wanted to explore. He’d be very jealous right now. Well, except for the fact that I wasn’t on an adventure. Not really. Zabe had just made it clear that I was meant to be a prisoner. How long before Everleigh agreed? She was their commander and of course they would follow her orders, but…people did bad things for money.

“Everything okay, Empress?” Briar asked, coming to stand beside me at the window.

“Just Akacia.” I was never one for formal titles and Empress always felt like too big of a title for me. Besides I was trying to get these guys to like me. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“I did.”

“I have found news regarding the attack on Caipra,” Zia, the computer, interrupted.

Briar returned to the computer. “Go ahead.”

“The news reports say there were two Wapi spacecrafts involved. The Authority destroyed one. They’re in pursuit of the other,” Zia continued.

“See what the public knows about what happened at Caipra,” Everleigh said and soon they were all lost in research and talking.

With everyone busy, I found myself wandering around the spacecraft. Soon I arrived at the training room. There was an array of weapons. I knew many of them, but there were still quite a bit I didn’t recognize. I admired a black prince dagger with a leather wrapped handle. My eyes traveled around the room amazed at the collection. These weapons were impressive and dangerous and if all of them were as skilled as Everleigh, I stood no chance against them.

I picked up a rapier and swung it around for a minute. It didn’t feel right in my hands so I put it back and grabbed a sabre, but that wasn’t really my style either. One of the swords further down caught my eye—a broadsword—and I picked it up and gave it a few swings to see how it felt in my hands.

“Want to spar?”

I spun around to find Everleigh standing there with a smile playing on her lips that was somewhere between a flirt and a challenge. “Sure.”

She picked up a claymore and we stood a few feet apart in the middle of the room. Circling with swords up, I studied the way she moved. She seemed relaxed. Too relaxed. Was she underestimating my skill? I struck first, taking a looping swing that she blocked with little effort. We did that for a while, trading blows back and forth, striking and blocking. It didn’t seem to be going anywhere, so I leveled a stronger, more deliberate, blow at her chest and she barely evaded with a quick jump backward. Before she had time to renew her attack, I delivered a series of strikes that whooshed near her head.

Her lips widened into a sexy sneer and then she sprang at me, delivering a vicious and unrelenting attack, forcing me backward. Her blows were fast and solid, and she kept at it until she whacked the sword out of my hand.

I held up my hands, giving up. “You win.” She was good, perhaps better than me. This was nothing like sparring with Bristow. I realize now that he may have gone a bit easy on me.

Everleigh smiled and lowered her sword. “You’re good.”

“We should do that again. It’s been a long time since—”

“You’re bleeding,” Everleigh interrupted, grabbing my arms alternately, searching for cuts. .

“It’s not me. It’s you. Your stitches.”

“Oh.” Relief flooded her face.

“We shouldn’t have been sparring with your injury. I’m sorry. I forgot.”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

“Let’s go fix it.”

She gave a small nod and led me to the med bay. I pointed to the table and she let out a little sigh and then climbed on.

“Lay down.”

She huffed and lay on her back as I searched for all the supplies I needed. Turning back to her, I swallowed hard as I pulled her shirt up just enough to examine the wound. My fingers grazed her skin and a gasp escaped her lips. The bandage was soaked with blood. I peeled it off carefully, but quickly. Using some damp gauze, I cleaned the cut, sprayed a numbing spray, and then stitched her back up. A quick smear of ointment to aid in healing and keep it from getting infected went on before I applied a new bandage.

“Looks good. Don’t overdo it,” I said, pulling her shirt back down. I took a few more steps back and watched as she stood up.

“Thanks.”

For the next couple earthdays, I let myself get close enough for them to warm up to me a little. I could tell it was working, at least with three of them.

Briar and I were standing shoulder to shoulder while she studied maps of different galaxies.

Curiously, I inquired, “Are you looking for something in particular?”

The others looked at her. Their glares were almost cautionary. “No,” she answered. “Just fun places to explore.”

I knew it was a lie, but now wasn’t the time for me to push. “Have you guys been to many planets?”

This seemed to get Briar and Huxley to open up. They talked about many of the places they had been and shared some of the places they still had to see. Everleigh would even jump in here and there, her face lighting up when she spoke of the places she still wanted to visit. As usual, Zabe stayed quiet. I was beginning to wonder if the scowl on his face was permanent. He wanted nothing to do with me.

“I have a call to make. You can stay with the crew,” Ever said something to Huxley, who in turn nodded.

He walked over to where I was seated and asked, “Know how to play Loaded?”

Smiling, I responded, “Yes.”

He waved over Zabe and Briar. Zabe came reluctantly and as they sat down, I realized they all had the same arrow tattoo on their necks. One just like Ever’s. The four of us played a few hands of cards. I was good at this game and apparently that threw Zabe for a loop because he was used to winning. Huxley laughed at the even bigger scowl Zabe now had on his face when I won my third hand.

Huxley slapped Zabe on the back. “We finally found someone you can’t beat.”

“Don’t jinx my luck,” I teased. “How long have you guys been part of Everleigh’s crew?”

“Couple of years, but I’ve known Ever for a long time,” Huxley replied, dealing another hand.

“And you two?”

“We’ve all been together since the crew started,” Briar said. “I didn’t know her before.”

“Me either,” Zabe said. “But we’re all family now.”

“You all have the same tattoo on your neck,” I stated. “What does it mean?”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Huxley replied. “But it does show that we’re part of the same crew.”

“Everleigh has another symbol next to hers.”

“It means chief. It marks her as the leader of our crew.”

“What is she like?”

“She’s the best,” Briar responded.

I wanted to know everything I could about her. “She seems so guarded.”

The three of them nodded, but said nothing more. It was clear I wasn’t going to get any information out of them. They were loyal to Ever and any answer would be a betrayal.