Preview Through Uncharted Space #2
“I’ll show you to your cabins,” Justyn said. “You can freshen up before we take off.”
Dakota cleared her throat. “How long until we’re underway? Will it be long?”
He glanced her way. “Less than an hour. You’ll have plenty of time to clean up and join us on the bridge.
” His gaze moved over her, but there was no spark of interest or curiosity, and she released a breath.
She’d purposely picked a disguise that blended, and, thankfully, so far, nobody had really noticed her.
Well, almost nobody. She shoved the thought of Dare Phoenix away.
This Phoenix brother here saw exactly what she wanted him to see.
Maybe she was worried about Dare for no reason.
Maybe that one shocking look they’d shared had been nothing.
She glanced at her timepiece. If any of the Golden Nova assassins had followed her to Galaxy’s Edge—who was she kidding, of course they’d followed her—she wanted to be away sooner rather than later.
“Thank you, I’m just eager to be underway.” She managed a bland smile.
“In a hurry?”
The deep, authoritative voice from behind her sent a shiver down her spine. Dakota stayed calm and turned her head a little, catching sight of Dare’s tall form. She kept her eyes downcast. “Simply eager for our journey to begin.”
“You mean adventure,” one of the young women called out. “We can’t wait, either!”
“Miss Johns, this is your cabin.” Justyn waved a hand at a nearby door.
Keen to get away from them all, Dakota nodded and moved forward, her gaze still on the metal-plate floor. Unfortunately, Dare moved at the same moment she did, and they bumped into each other.
Dakota pulled back so fast she almost stumbled. She’d gotten a hint of hard muscle and warm male.
Strong fingers wrapped around her upper arm.
“Steady there,” Dare said.
With another nod, she pulled away from him and hurried into her cabin. She didn’t look at anyone as she closed the door. It slid shut with a whisper of sound.
Fuck. She locked the door and then leaned against it, letting her head drop back against the metal.
Yep, Dare Phoenix was going to be a problem. She’d just have to lay very low and stay out of his way. Taking in a deep breath, she studied the cabin.
There was a double bed with a green cover, a built-in desk and cupboard on the far wall, and an adjoining doorway to a simple bathroom with a single shower stall. She wrinkled her nose. Starships used water-saving devices, which meant the shower would be little more than mist. She hated them.
There was one small, round window that right now gave her a close-up view of a battered section of the space station. She wandered closer. Not only battered, but replete with some laser burns, if she wasn’t mistaken.
Dakota tossed her coat off, glad to be rid of its bulky weight. Next, she reached up and ripped her wig off, letting her own dark hair spill around her shoulders. Stars, that felt good. The damned wig was itchy as hell.
She started to pace. Right now, Golden Nova’s brainwashed lunatics would be searching the space station for her. She rubbed the back of her neck. The itchy feeling there had nothing to do with the wig and everything to do with being hunted.
She stopped and sucked in a few deep breaths. Soon they’d be underway, and the edgy feeling dogging her would fade. She nodded to herself. Everything was going according to plan, and would be fine.
And she could handle Dare Phoenix.
Dakota was good at slipping in under the radar and doing what had to be done to get a job finished. And this was the biggest job of her life.
She picked up the orb nestled between her breasts, and cradled the small sphere in her hand. It wasn’t just a pretty jewel; it was actually an advanced holo-orb that held the map to the treasure.
As her fingers moved over it, the orb glowed a brilliant blue. The next second, a holographic star map projected into the air above the sphere.
Her gaze went straight to the golden planet glowing on it. The location of the Atocha Treasure.
An ancient Terran motherlode of gold and silver coins, artifacts, and fabulous jewels. Once, it had been lost under Terran seas on a shipwreck. It had been recovered, displayed, and then taken off Earth on a starship during the Great Terran War, never to be seen again.
Instead of being lost under the waves of Earth’s oceans, it was now lost in the depths of uncharted space.
And Dakota Jones was going to find it.
She stared at the planet. It was a shame the star map was currently undecipherable. It matched no known star maps. She touched the orb again, and the projection faded away. But she’d done her research and she had some hunches. And Dakota was pretty good with hunches.
Finding the Atocha Treasure would be everything to her.
Her heartbeat sped up. She’d started life with nothing and since then, she’d gone from job to gig to scam throughout her entire thirty years.
People had tried to swindle her and hurt her, and repeatedly stolen from her.
Her jaw tightened. All she wanted was to live in luxury for the rest of her life.
No hunger, no worrying about where she’d sleep, worrying who was going to take advantage of her next.
The Atocha Treasure was the key to that dream. And nothing—and no one—was going to stop her from finding it.