Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Eos sat on the bunk in her cabin, the Mona Lisa a heavy load in her hands.
She thumbed the protective casing, staring at the woman’s enigmatic face. No record existed of who she was, just that her portrait had become one of Earth’s most famous paintings.
Had she ever felt torn in so many different directions?
Eos had promised Dathan this piece of painting, but holding it in her hands made her question everything. She’d had a private call with the Odyssey to talk to Diego, and knew wonderful things waited for her back at the Institute.
He’d spoken with headquarters. They were going to offer her Head of Terran Expeditions. Her dream job.
She hoped her mother was proud of her.
She turned the fragment over in her hands. Everything she’d ever wanted was waiting for her to reach out and take it.
But maybe she wanted something different.
The door chimed.
“Come in.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
The door opened and Dathan stood in the doorway, one shoulder pressed to the jamb. “We’re about to dock with the Odyssey. I’m guessing you’re eager to get back to the Institute.”
Ask me to stay. She wanted to scream the words.
But something in his roguish smile warned her that the carefree adventurer was back.
She was in love with Dathan Phoenix, galactic treasure hunter.
Her heart gave two hard thumps. A part of her hungered for a life with him—adventure, travel, expeditions to the outer reaches.
She didn’t want to go back to the stuffy corridors of the Institute, waiting for the next time they doubted her.
She didn’t want to walk back into her empty apartment.
“Dathan—”
“It’s been a hell of an adventure, Doc.” He strode forward now, his blue-green eyes bright. “I certainly won’t forget it in a hurry. In fact, I was thinking I might hit the beaches of Duna for a bit to recover.”
She dragged in a breath and decided to take the biggest risk she ever had. “Dathan, I want to stay. I’m in love with you.”
His stride faltered for a second, but his smile never did. “Come on, Doc. This rusty old boat and a drafty moon can’t be much of an attraction for you.”
She lifted her chin. “It’s you I want, not your damn moon or ship.”
He paused in front of her. “We had a good time—”
She rose. “Don’t you dare give me the damn speech you give all the women you push out of your bed after a casual hookup.”
One brow rose. “Why not?”
Eos slammed a hand against his chest. “Don’t you lump me with all of them. You’re in love with me, dammit!”
All she could hear was her ragged breathing. She swore she saw something move through his eyes, but he turned away.
“You have a fancy new job to go back to. Your mother would be proud.”
“Dathan, please, look at me.”
He turned, reluctantly.
“I love you. I want you, just the way you are.”
He reached out, his fingers brushing her face. “You’re something special, Dr. Rai.”
She closed her eyes. He was saying goodbye. Her hand clenched on the Mona Lisa. Once she’d thought it was one of the most important things in the galaxy.
Now, while her heart was breaking, she realized that yes, it was important, but it was just a fragment of the past. The present and the future mattered more.
“Tell me you don’t want me.”
His face tensed. “Doc, there’s no room in my life for a woman—”
“Say it.”
“What I do is too dangerous. Surely you realize—”
“You’re a coward.” She moved to pull away, but he held her fast.
“What did you say?”
“You’re a coward. Just like your father.”
Dathan hissed in a breath.
The horrible pain inside her urged her on. “He gave up on life, on love, on everything after your mother left. You gave up on it without even giving it a chance.”
“Hang on.” Dathan’s hands slid over her shoulders. “You’re too good for me. One day you’d wake up in my bunk and wonder what the hell you’re doing here. You’d become bitter and twisted.”
“I’m not your mother.” His past was still there, a huge black void that wouldn’t let him go. Just like hers had been…up until this treasure hunt.
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything else. Then he yanked her forward and his mouth was on hers. His kiss was urgent, rough. She clung to him, gripping him as she returned the kiss, pouring all her churning emotions into it.
He groaned, his hands cupping her jaw, his teeth sinking into her bottom lip.
Then he pulled back. “Take care of yourself.”
Her heart shattered. A million tiny pieces.
“Don’t go ending up on any more slave blocks, okay?” He headed for the door.
From somewhere she dredged up some strength and forced herself to function. “Wait.”
He turned.
There was so much she wanted to say, but she knew it was pointless. He’d made his choice. Instead, she held out the Mona Lisa fragment. “This is yours.”
He stared at it for a minute, then slowly raised his arm. He was careful not to touch her fingers as he took it.
“You earned it,” she said.
“Didn’t think you’d part with it.”
“I always honor my promises. No matter what.” She held out another small parcel wrapped in protective cloth.
“This is for you too. Open it after…after I’m gone.
” She looked into his eyes, committing that beautiful color to memory.
“I learned an important lesson on this adventure. The pieces of the past are important, but living our lives, not being afraid to love, that’s precious. ”
There was a loud clang and the ship gave a slight shudder.
Eos scooped up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “That’s my ride. Goodbye, Dathan.”
She walked past him and down the corridor without giving in to the overwhelming urge to run back and fling her arms around him.
She had a future to plan, and it didn’t include Dathan Phoenix.
Tears slid down her cheeks.
“Breaking orbit. One minute to interstellar speed.”
Dathan sat slumped in the copilot’s seat. He kept his gaze averted from the windows. He didn’t want to watch Beta7 or the Odyssey disappear from view.
Zayn engaged the singularity engine and they shot away. Dathan unstrapped and shoved his boots on top of the command console.
“Watch it,” Zayn snapped.
Dathan ignored him and plucked an object from his pocket.
A small cloth-wrapped item.
With a churning stomach, he opened it.
He sucked in a breath. The Terran timepiece.
He rubbed a thumb over the cracked face. The little thing wouldn’t get as much as the Mona Lisa, but he knew a private collector who had a fetish for old Terran technology, and he’d pay a huge sum for it.
Dathan shoved the timepiece back into his pocket. Then he rose and headed for the galley. He returned with a bottle of kila, dropped back into his seat, and put his boots back on the console. He took a long swig. The clear liquid burned all the way down to his belly.
“You know what? I don’t want to look at your brooding face.” Zayn nudged Dathan’s boots so they thunked onto the floor. “Get out of my cockpit and take your stomach-burning booze with you.”
“Shut up.” Dathan took another swig, even though it hurt.
Zayn rolled his eyes. “You’re like a lovesick puppy that got tossed out in the yard. If you didn’t want Eos to leave, you shouldn’t have let her.”
“I said, shut up.” Dathan didn’t want to talk about her. He rubbed the heel of his palm over his aching chest. He didn’t want to think about anything. He wanted to get drunk, maybe let the kila burn a hole in his gut.
Zayn let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. Kill yourself, see if I care.”
Blessed silence. Dathan leaned back and closed his eyes. But an image of a smiling Eos, her cheeks flushed, her golden eyes glowing, seared into the back of his eyelids.
He opened them and stared out the windows. The stars were blurry trails smudged on the black of space.
“Why’d you let her go?”
Dathan sighed. “She’s too good for me.”
A snort. “You got that right.” Zayn’s voice lost the joking undertone. “But she’s crazy about you. Seemed to me, she fit our merry little band just fine. She even talked about going on other treasure hunts.”
She had? Dathan shook his head. “She’d hate it eventually. Wish she had that important job at the Institute.”
“Eos isn’t like that.” Niklas came up behind Dathan’s chair. “Do you think I want my Institute job back?”
Dathan glanced over his shoulder. “You hate the Institute. She might be happy for a while, but then she’d leave.” He wouldn’t survive.
“She’s not Mom, Dathan,” Nik said. “And you aren’t Dad.”
Dathan hunched down in the chair and lifted the bottle.
“Hunting gave her something the Institute never can, the freedom to pursue the digs she wants, adventure…you.”
Dathan lifted his head.
Nik shook his. “She loves you. Don’t know why, but I’ve never known Eos to love anyone. And I have to say the same about you, little brother.”
Dathan blinked and lowered the bottle. “I don’t know what love is. Mom and Dad were hardly a good example.”
“You’ve spent a lifetime trying to prove you aren’t like our father. This is the first time I’ve seen you follow in his footsteps.”
Jesus. Dathan’s gut churned, Nik’s words hitting hard. He stared at the bottle in his hand in horror.
“Where’s the Mona Lisa, Dathan?” Nik asked.
Hunching his shoulders again, Dathan looked away. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Where is it?”
Dathan let out a breath. “I snuck it into Eos’ bag.”
“You gave away a trillion e-cred artifact?” Zayn’s eyes goggled. “The legendary treasure hunter Dathan Phoenix gave away his greatest prize.”
The piece of painted wood hadn’t been his greatest prize. “We still have the treasure hidden on the ship. That alone is worth a fortune.”
“Giving up the Mona Lisa.” Nik clamped a hand on his shoulder. “That, my man, is love.”
The kila bottle fell from Dathan’s fingers and clattered on the grating. “I messed up.”
“Yep,” Zayn said cheerfully.
“I should never have let her go.”
“No,” Nik agreed.
“We have to turn around.” Dathan shot to his feet. The heavy weight holding him down lifted. He felt energy bursting inside him. “I have to go get her.”