Chapter 10 #2
As she fell, she managed to lift her stunner. She saw Krudon’s body jolt, just as she flew into the side of the bar with a massive explosion of pain.
Justyn barely gave the giant alien a look as he knelt beside Nissa. “Shit, sweetheart, that was a serious hit.”
“I’m fine.” She sat up. “If you hadn’t interrupted, I wouldn’t even be down here getting unknown muck on my hands.”
She was cradling her ribs, and as he reached to take a look, she pushed his arm away.
“Sorry for trying to help when a guy twice your size was beating you into a pulp.” Yeah, Justyn heard the sarcastic edge in his voice, but he was still raw from their earlier discussion.
“Sorry.” She huffed out a breath and grabbed his arm. “Sorry. Broken ribs make me cranky.”
The snarky apology almost made Justyn smile. Then he pressed a hand to her side and felt the knot on her ribs and winced.
She grimaced. “That bad, huh?”
“Ah, yeah.” He looked toward the bar. “Hey, Dob? Can you bring some ice?”
“This ain’t no med center, ya know.” The Taxalian had a heavy, broad accent.
“Just get it.” Justyn was used to the bartender’s grouchiness. He was all bluster. Seconds later, Justyn was pressing ice wrapped in cloth against Nissa’s ribs.
As they stared at each other, boots sounded on the floor beside them. Two young uniforms from the Freedom appeared.
“All finished, Captain?”
“Yes, Ensign. Please take Krudon and get him settled in the brig. Again.”
Justyn arched a brow. “This is a usual occurrence?”
“Krudon likes to dance with me at least once a month. I stun him, then throw him in the brig. Rinse and repeat.”
Justyn’s brow creased. “Nissa, the guy could kill you!”
“He’s pretty harmless, really.”
Justyn shook his head and studied her face again. “Your ribs might beg to differ. You’re going to need a medscope.”
“I’ll check in with my chief medical officer when I get back to the Freedom.” She cleared her throat. “Can you help me up?”
With an arm around her, he helped her to her feet. She glanced over at his table and he saw his brothers on their feet, waiting to see if they were needed. He waved them off.
“I thought you were ignoring me,” she said quietly.
He looked back at her. She’d turned her head away, staring above the bar.
“I was,” he said.
She wrapped an arm around her middle. “I was out of line earlier. You’ve been nothing but helpful in this whole Constitution mess and…I appreciate what you did to help me.” She nibbled at her bottom lip. “You have my apology.”
Jesus, this woman could turn him inside out in a blink. “Nissa?—”
“I know better than anyone that you hide a lot under your charming scoundrel persona. I shouldn’t have said what I said.”
She’d hurt him. And with a simple, honest apology, the ground leveled under his feet again.
She glanced past him. “Your girlfriend’s trying to get your attention.”
Girlfriend? With a frown, he followed her gaze and saw Aurina waving them over. He turned back to Nissa, watching her carefully. There was something there, shifting in her unique yellow eyes. It made a slow smile break out on his face.
He leaned in closer. “You really think I’d have a girlfriend and run my hands over you, and help you rub your clit until you came all over our hands?”
Nissa jerked, her cheeks flaming.
He ran a finger down her nose. “She’s my sister.”
“Sister?” Nissa started. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”
“Half-sister.” Not that the distinction made any difference to Justyn and his brothers. “It’s a long story that I’ll tell you another time. Aurina’s the scout for our convoy.”
“Oh.” Nissa shot another glance at Aurina. “She’s very pretty.”
“Let me check your ribs again.” He pulled the ice away and without warning her, yanked her shirt from her trousers and pulled it up.
“Justyn!” She slapped at his hands.
“Hold still.” He studied the bruise and swelling forming on her sleek side. His gut cramped. He hated seeing her skin marred, but even worse, he hated seeing the bruises in her eyes. “You spoke with the brass at GSS?”
“Yes.”
That one word held no inflection.
“That bad, huh?”
She shot him a look. “The admiral was thrilled to find out the Constitution revered throughout the galaxy is a fake.” She let out a long breath. “That’s why I came in here looking to get drunk.”
“No transfer?”
“No, no transfer, Justyn. I’ll be lucky to get another promotion.” A thin smile. “Looks like the edge’ll be my home for a long, long while. My dad will be thrilled.”
Yep, Justyn hated those damned shadows. And damned if he wouldn’t do anything to make them go away. He stroked his thumb along her jaw. “You think the real document is still out there?”
“I doubt it. It’s been thousands of years since it left Earth.”
For a brilliant, vibrant second, Justyn imagined it—the Constitution, lying somewhere, waiting for some adventurous soul to discover its resting place.
He gripped her shoulders. “Let’s find it.”
“Find what?”
“The US Constitution.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Are you crazy?”
“No. Come on, Nissa. It’s out there somewhere.”
She shook her head. “No, the odds are it isn’t. It’s probably dust.”
“Don’t you want to make sure? Imagine if we actually found it.”
She paused, and he could see her thinking. He didn’t want this woman to get a transfer and leave the edge. But…well, a larger part of him just wanted to see her happy.
Besides, if he lured her on a treasure hunt, they’d get to spend a hell of a lot of time together. He’d get a chance to convince her to take a chance on him.
She ran a hand over her head. “This is the most lunatic idea I’ve ever heard.”
Justyn shrugged. “I don’t know, I’ve come up with some crazy schemes before.” He smiled. “And most of those actually paid off.”
A reluctant smile. “I’ll bet.”
“Except for this one time…there was this Gaian dancer, a lastite explosive, and a bar fight.” He shot her a wicked grin and pointed to his forehead. “That’s how I got my scar.”
“Do you take anything seriously?” She shook her head. “You can’t expect me to drop everything and go gallivanting around the galaxy.”
“Come on, Nissa. Take a chance. I happen to know the galaxy’s best treasure hunter, and his treasure-hunter brothers, and his astro-archeologist wife. They’ll help us.”
Nissa looked torn, then her face turned serious. It was what Justyn called her “captain” face.
“I have a job. I have duties and?—”
“Responsibilities. I know.” Disappointment was a bitter taste in his mouth, but then an idea sparked. He gave a careless shrug. “Well, I’m going after it.” He started to turn away. “Make sure you get your CMO to take care of those ribs for you.”
“Wait!” She grabbed his arm and yanked him back around. “What do you mean you’re going after it?”
“I enjoyed our mission to Alchemia. I think treasure hunting is kind of fun. And if I find the Constitution, it’ll be very, very lucrative.” He raised a brow. “More so than say…smuggling. If I was inclined to smuggle.”
A crease appeared between her brows. “You’d give up a priceless artifact for just the finder’s fee?”
“Nope.”
Her frown deepened. “You’d sell it to the highest bidder?”
“Damn straight.” He wouldn’t but she didn’t need to know that.
“You can’t go after it!”
Justyn held his arms out. “Free galaxy. You can’t stop me.” He headed back toward his table. His brothers and sister were watching him with undisguised interest.
Nissa gripped his shirt and pulled him back a step.
“If you’re going after it, then I’m coming with you.” She drew herself up. “To ensure you hand it over to the Institute for the finder’s fee only. No selling a priceless document to some black-market dealer.”
He barely contained his smile. “You’re on, Captain Smooth.” He slung an arm across her shoulders. “Let’s go treasure hunting.”