Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The shuttle ride back to the Infinitas was silent.
Zayn slowed the shuttle and completed the docking. A moment later, the shuttle door opened with a hiss.
Ria was already walking off. She hadn’t looked at him or said a word during their journey back to the shuttle. He glanced at Nik.
“She okay?” his brother asked.
“No.” With a heavy sigh, Zayn followed her.
Dathan came striding down the hall. “How’d it go? We were starting to get worried because you guys took so long.” As Ria strode past him, Dathan pressed back against the wall and raised his eyebrows. Then he looked at Zayn, his brow creased. “Shit. You’re hit.”
Zayn pressed a hand to his shoulder. He’d completely forgotten about the injury. Now that he focused on it, he wondered how he’d missed the dull throb. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
He was more worried about Ria.
Dathan shoved the medscope at Zayn. “It went well?”
“We got the derringer.” Zayn flicked on the scope and waved it over his wounds. “I wouldn’t say it went well, though.”
His shoulder wound knitted and he hurried into the main area. Ria had set the bag down on the holo-table. The others crowded close. Lala hitched herself up on the corner of the table.
“What have I said about sitting on the holo-table?” BEll’s voice was loud and exasperated.
Lala rolled her eyes. “Chill your circuits, Bella. What are you going to do about it anyway?”
There was a zapping sound, and Lala leaped off the table with a squeak, rubbing her butt.
“Behave, you two,” Dath said. “Refereeing these kids is doing my head in.”
Eos and Nik were oblivious to the drama. They were focused on the bag.
Eos raised a hand. “May I?”
Ria gestured. “Go ahead.”
The astro-archeologist opened the bag carefully and let the sides fall away. The pistol sat on the folds.
“It’s a beauty,” Nik said.
“Yes.” Eos picked the weapon up, turning it over, looking at it from all angles. “A .44-caliber pocket cannon. Very old. Definitely matches the Lincoln Derringer.”
“An important piece of Terran history.” Niklas held out his hand, and Eos set it on his palm. He tested the weight. “It ended a presidency.”
Eos nodded. “Lincoln abolished slavery and set what was then known as the United States of America on a course for greatness. He was known as a champion of human liberty. He became a symbol of freedom during the future wars.”
Ria crossed her arms over her chest. “I need to contact the Guild.” Her voice was toneless.
Lala snapped her gum. “Shouldn’t we get out of here first? I mean, we are right in the Guild’s backyard after giving them a really big finger.”
“That’s what they’ll expect,” Zayn answered. “Best we stay here in orbit with the hundreds of other ships.”
“Hidden in plain sight.” The girl nodded. “I like that. Ballsy.”
Zayn moved closer to Ria. “When you make the transmission, I can ensure it’s scrambled. They’ll have no idea where you’re calling from.”
A nod. “I’m going to clean up first.” She disappeared in the direction of the cabins.
She was so distant. Zayn felt a pain under his heart. She was moving away from him, freezing him out, and he didn’t know what the hell to do about it.
“Something wrong?” Dathan asked.
Zayn dropped into the cockpit chair and hung his head in his hands. “I always knew the Assassin’s Guild was bad, but they are far worse than we thought.”
“Can’t get much worse than cold-blooded killers, surely,” Dathan said.
Zayn rubbed his chin. “They recycle dead bodies.”
He saw his family trade confused glances.
“What?” Niklas asked.
Zayn launched into an explanation of what they’d found in the secret Guild lab. Eos gasped, Lala made gagging noises, and his brothers both wore fierce frowns.
“This is unbelievable,” Nik said.
“That’s not all. Ria is…was…shit—” he still couldn’t believe it “—Vik’s body was used to create Ria.”
“Oh, God,” Eos said.
“Fucking bastards.” Dathan pulled his wife close.
“Jesus,” was all Nik added.
Zayn looked back toward the cabins. “She’s messed up by all of this.”
“That’s understandable.” Eos set a hand on Zayn’s shoulder. “You must be, too. You believed she was Viktoria all along.”
“Not as messed up as I thought. I don’t know when it happened, but I see Ria now.
I know Ria.” He ran a hand through his hair, grasping for the right words.
“I cared deeply for Vik but killing her…all my guilt…in my memory I’d turned her into this perfect shining paragon.
But that’s not who she was. She was a woman, a hell of a pilot, my friend, and if I had to go back, I’d help her again in exactly the same way.
I’ll always miss her. But she’s gone, I’ve accepted that. ”
“Does Ria know how you feel?” Dathan said quietly.
“Not yet. She needs some time.”
Eos shifted. “No, I think it’s exactly what she needs to hear. And she needs to not be alone right now.”
“You think?” He wanted to be there for her. To hold her.
“Go get her,” Lala said cheerfully.
Zayn shot to his feet and strode toward the cabins.
A shower hadn’t made Ria feel much better. She felt itchy and restless, like she was going to crawl out of her skin. By the dagger, it wasn’t even her skin.
Wrapped only in a towel, she dropped onto the edge of the narrow bunk and stared at nothing.
When the door clicked open, she knew it was Zayn even before he sat down beside her.
“I don’t know what to say to you,” he said.
“You don’t have to say anything.”
He turned a little, and she felt his gaze on her.
“I’m here for you, Ria.” He touched her bare shoulder, his fingers the lightest caress.
She shrugged the touch away and stood. “Here for me or Vik?”
“You aren’t Vik. D’aarn made that clear.”
“What if there’s a way to reverse the regeneration procedure?” Did he wish she was Vik? That he could have her back. Ria couldn’t bear being a stand-in.
“Vik’s dead.” His voice was flat.
She pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes. “Look, all this complicates things. It’s best I deal with the Guild and then leave.”
“Just like that?” He shot to his feet. “You said you’d come with me. Vacation, treasure hunts, remember?”
“That was before.”
He yanked her hands down. “Look at me, dammit. After everything you’ve fought for, you’re just going to give up?”
“I still want my freedom. But I don’t know who I am anymore.”
“You’re Ria Dante.”
She tried to pull away from him, but he tightened his hold on her wrists. He spun her, until her back was pressed against hard, angry male. He forced her to look in the small mirror above the desk.
“There you are. Tough, clever, stubborn Ria.” He released one wrist and ran his knuckles down the side of her throat.
She tried to move away again.
He wrapped one arm around her waist. “Don’t pull away from me. Please.”
She sagged against him. She didn’t know if she had it in her to give him what he needed. “I’m broken, Zayn. I’m transparent, no substance. I don’t have anything to offer you.” Now when she pulled away, he let her go.
Ria made it to her bag on the bed and grabbed some clothes. She dropped the towel and yanked on her clothes. “I need to call the Guild.”
His jaw was so tight, she thought it would break. He nodded. “I’ll see you in the cockpit.”
Everyone was standing in the cockpit when she arrived. She sucked in a deep breath and moved to the console.
She felt someone beside her and turned her head. Eos stood there, her face filled with a mix of emotions. The other woman touched a tentative hand to Ria’s arm. “Good luck. Whatever happens, remember you aren’t alone.”
Ria looked behind her and saw Lala lounging against the holo-table. The girl gave her a thumbs-up. And behind her stood the three Phoenix brothers, shoulder-to-shoulder. By the dagger, they were a handsome lot. Her gaze met Zayn’s. He gave her a nod.
She turned to the console and initiated the transmission.
Seconds later, the face of the head of the Guild, Master Kassius, appeared on the screen.
“Assassin Ria, I’ve been expecting your call.” The older man’s features were calm and solemn. “You’ve caused us a lot of trouble.”
Ria gripped the back of the chair, her fingers digging into the synth-leather. There was so much she wanted to say, so much bubbling up inside her. “I want my freedom.”
“In return for the derringer.” Master Kassius tilted his head. “Really, I should send an assassin after you. End this extremely troubling situation for the Guild.”
Zayn burst forward. “Try it, asshole. We’ll never let—”
Ria put a hand to Zayn’s chest. His defense warmed something cold inside her. “It’s okay, Zayn.” She looked back at Kassius. “I’m not offering the derringer.”
The silence around her was deafening. She felt Zayn’s regard, but focused on the flash of confusion on the master assassin’s face.
“I discovered the Guild’s dirty little secret.”
Kassius’ face was pinched. “I don’t know what you’re—”
Ria held up a hand. “Please, stop. I’m talking about your little body-snatching business.” The anger stormed through her. “Ring any bells now?”
Master Kassius pulled in a sharp breath.
“And we all know that the one tradition left over from Earth times, that almost all the galaxy believes, is that desecration of a dead body is not fucking acceptable.” Anger churned, an acid burn inside her.
“I’m guessing the Guild will lose a hell of a lot of clients when your sordid secret is out in the open. ”
“We’ll grant you your freedom in return for your silence and your—” Kassius glanced at Zayn “—associate’s silence.”
It was what she wanted, but she wondered why she didn’t feel something, anything. Elation, jubilation, happiness. She glanced at Zayn. During this week with him, she’d started to imagine a life. One where she decided what she wanted to do.
Now that dream was gone. The moment she’d stepped into that lab, her dreams had disintegrated.
“No.” Ria shook her head. “I plan to broadcast the details about your little regeneration scam to everyone and anyone in the galaxy who’ll listen.
” She squared her shoulders. “You, the Assassin’s Guild, you don’t have the right to desecrate remains, create new people without consent, and then treat them like slaves.
” Now she felt something—emotion stormed through her in a mad rush.
On screen, Master Kassius’ face turned a mottled red.
But Ria wasn’t finished. “You don’t have the right to play God and I’m going to stop you.”
“I’ll send every assassin in the Guild after you.” A deadly promise.
“I know you will.” She disconnected the call.