Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Aiden loaded boxes into the trunk of the car. They’d been packing up the essentials from Evelyn’s house for the last few hours. Most of the essentials turned out to be books, movies in a strange, antiquated format, and band T-shirts.
“Everything else is replaceable,” she’d said, stuffing more shirts into the box than Aiden had thought it would hold.
He had built another one. Just in case.
Veselko came out to the car with a paper grocery bag balanced on top of another box. Aiden removed the bag so it could be stored in the trunk. Veselko took the groceries back.
“No sense in not emptying the fridge,” he said, gesturing with the bag.
“Very practical.”
Veselko shrugged. “It was Veronique’s idea. Also, Evelyn is like, fanatical about these cherries. I may be bludgeoned if I bruise them.”
“Since you come bearing perishables, I take it we’re ready to go? Anything else for the trunk?” Aiden hovered his hand over the closure button.
“Just those boxes Vinnie brought for your girl.”
Aiden liked the sound of that.
Not yet.
Veronique and Evelyn came out, loaded down with boxes and a backpack.
They were laughing at some private joke.
Aiden took a moment to enjoy seeing Evelyn with no weight on her shoulders.
She was exceptionally beautiful when she laughed, cheeks plumped, eyes twinkling.
If this all goes as planned, she’ll get to stay this lighthearted.
Veronique took a box from Evelyn so she could lock the door.
Once the key was back in her pocket, Evelyn took her box back as they walked to the remaining car.
The others had driven back to the ship with the first load of boxes.
Veselko stood aside as the boxes were placed in the trunk, clutching the grocery bag carefully, very serious about his transportation responsibility. Aiden pressed the closure mechanism and went to open the back seat for Evelyn. As he helped her into the car, he gave her shoulder a quick squeeze.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling up at him and giving him a wink.
He closed the door gently and turned to find Veronique and Veselko both staring at him.
“What?”
“That woman is a hundred and thirty years old. She knows how doors work,” Veselko said.
He shrugged. “I see no problem being courteous. Also, it’s rude to bring up a lady’s age.”
Veronique laughed. “You are so gone. Let’s go.”
The drive to the ship was uneventful. Aiden had programmed the car to drive them back on autopilot. Partially because he was not super familiar with the area, partially so he could seamlessly sneak peaks of Evelyn in the rearview mirror. Win win.
The moment they parked, Evelyn got out of the car and squinted at the ship’s faux designation. She cackled as she read it.
“This is the ship of a killer, Aiden.”
He gave her a blank stare. She sighed.
“You have so much homework to do.”
“And I shall be very diligent with my assignments,” he said. He nodded at the box she was carrying. “From what I understand, you do too. Anything I can help with?”
The smile fell from her face in an instant and her shoulders slumped. Aiden wanted to kick himself. She clearly wasn’t thrilled with the idea of exploring her abilities, whatever they were.
“Probably not, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
Open mouth, insert foot.
Aiden grabbed a box from the trunk and followed her onto the ship, determined to help her however she’d let him.
It took a few trips to unload Bankers Boxes, and by then the scent of grilled meat was drifting into the lobby from the kitchen. Evelyn could practically hear her stomach rumbling. Following their noses, they found the rest of the crew getting ready for a late lunch.
“Perfect timing!” Lillian gestured to the platters on the table. Towers of soft, warm pita, a pile of grilled chicken, thick slices of tomato and onions, and puddles of hummus and tzatziki made Evelyn’s mouth water. “Make a plate, and we’ll talk logistics.”
They settled into eat and discuss their next moves. Evelyn was ravenous, eating her lunch with gusto. Each bite was a different combination of texture and flavor.
“So,” she said, taking a break to sip her iced tea. “I admittedly zoned out back there. Where are we going now?”
“We, lass, are going to continue to hide you in plain sight,” Cairn said. “We’re taking a contract or two that will head us in the right direction for Tanalia while that Vinnie of yours gets things ready for us.”
“Please, no more poodles,” Veselko said around a mouth full of hummus.
“Your anti-poodle sentiment is noted,” Aiden said.
“And hopefully will be ignored,” Veronique said. “I love poodle duty.”
“We’re meeting a contact near a satellite colony on the way back toward 14 And.
Then, we take that shipment on in the direction of Tanalia, and so on,” Elenor said, shifting in her seat.
“Gives us all time to get our parts of the plan in order. Veronique, Tariel, and Lillian need to work out their video clips and how best to hack them into the Tanalian data streams. Veselko and I are going to be making connections with various . . . dealers we know.”
Evelyn was charmed that she’d tried to avoid mentioning weapons trafficking.
Aiden must get the impulse to pretty things up from her.
“Aiden and Cairn are mostly logistics and support for now. Depending on how long Vinnie takes to get her house in order, we may have to take on some cruise gigs we have scheduled, but I doubt we will. We’ll have to find a spot for you in the crew cabins in that case,” Elenor finished.
Evelyn swallowed a mouthful of pita. “That’s fine. I can sleep anywhere.”
Evelyn knew where she wanted to sleep, but she absolutely was not bringing that up at lunch. The first principle of not coming across as a clingy, desperate weirdo was to absolutely, under no circumstances, offer to bunk with someone’s gorgeous, funny, thoughtful, unattached child at lunch.
No matter how good of a kisser they were.
She was suddenly very glad she’d listened to Veronique about uninstalling her shower nozzle before they left the house.
Her guest cabin had a very luxurious rain head fixture that wouldn’t do at all in an orgasm emergency situation.
Evelyn hadn’t thought she’d be grateful that she hadn’t pounced on Aiden like a feral bobcat the night before, but their lives were about to become a lot more complicated.
He may want to step back entirely from this. . . thing.
“I do need a quiet-ish place to practice my. . . stuff.”
That was nicely vague. Not at all suspicious. Good job.
Aiden was staring at her, eyebrow quirked. He mouthed the word ‘stuff’ at her. She shoved more pita into her mouth.
“We can set you up in the VR deck. Or will that interfere with your practice?” Lillian asked. Evelyn was so grateful that the woman was made of tact and kindness.
“It would be better for me to be somewhere more low tech. I’d honestly probably be fine in a closet.”
“We have a dozen little hidey-holes around here we can stash you in for practice. Or, if it comes down to it, to hide from an inspection,” Elenor said.
“I’m making you a set of identification papers as an emergency precaution,” Tariel said. “Untraceable, just in case you need to be off everyone’s radar. They’re almost finished; I just need a name.”
“Thank you so much. I hope you’re charging Corrie an exorbitant fee for them,” Evelyn said. Her throat tightened a little.
I’m going to have to ask L.I.N.D.A. if she can find a way for me to train myself out of wanting to cry every time someone is nice to me.
“You know it,” he said with a laugh. “We’re all perturbed by all the cloak and dagger bullshit. There’s a fee for espionage.”
Nannette took her empty plate to the sink to rinse. “I’ll start loading your boxes into one of the bigger hidden compartments. Veselko can help me find a table and chairs for you to throw in there for practice. That way you can have a place to sort through all your essential items.”
Evelyn grinned. “I know they’re not as pointy as your knife collection, but I’m under good authority that the pen is mightier than the sword.”
“I would like a word with this so-called authority,” she said, arching an eyebrow. “Also, you didn’t pack pens. You packed a dozen series and more T-shirts than anyone I know owns.”
“Did they stop making commemorative T-shirts? What a dystopian future I’ve awoken into.”
“The horrors truly are unending,” Nannette deadpanned.
After lunch, Elenor herded Evelyn to the lobby. There was a hidden panel in one of the walls, obscured from view by another of Cairn’s lush plant displays. She made note of the exact tile to press to make the door slide open.
They were in a narrow, curved room that clearly hugged the lines of the ship.
Evelyn expected this to normally be full of insulation, or wiring access.
Something practical. Instead, the walls were lined with shelves that now housed her items from her home in Vegas.
Nannette was wrestling with a folding table and Veselko was timing her.
“I bet her she couldn’t open it successfully in under two minutes by herself.”
“What do you get if you win?”
“She has to say three nice things about me in public.”
Evelyn grinned. “That’s dastardly.”
The table legs clicked into place. Nannette wrangled it upright with a flourish.
“Hah!” She slapped the table. “Look at that beauty.”
Veselko waved his communicator at her. It displayed a time of 2:15.
“Balls.” Nannette crossed her arms and slumped against the table.
Evelyn chuckled as she scanned the shelves for her box of homework. No sense in avoiding it now. She found it on a low shelf and moved it to the table, wondering what Corrie had put inside. It rattled a little when she moved it around, and it felt too heavy to be strictly paper.
“Thanks for all the help today. I really will never be able to properly express my gratitude.”
Elenor patted her hand. “Nonsense. We know you appreciate us.”
“Make good use of this damn table,” Nannette said with a smile.