Chapter 20
“There’s no way it’s Jordan,” he argued.
“Keep your voice down,” I reprimanded. I was sitting behind Vaughn on the bed, massaging his very tight neck muscles, in the hopes that loosening them up might help with the migraines.
The fact that I got to run my hands all over his bare muscles was an added benefit that definitely hadn’t factored into my offer… Absolutely not at all.
“Her family perished in a territory skirmish instigated by Meridian, and she lost multiple unit members to Elysian overdoses. It’s not her,” he hissed, turning his head to regard me.
“Stay still.” I moved his head back to face forward.
“This massage isn’t very relaxing. You’re digging in too hard,” he whined.
“Stop being a baby. You have too many knots to work out.” I jabbed my thumb in harder, causing him to grumble.
“Well, I haven’t gotten to talk to her much, but she has excellent emotional regulation, is surely smart and strategic enough to lead a system-wide criminal organization, not to mention she’s well respected and has great influence over the crew, yourself included,” I reasoned.
He huffed. He knew I was right to look at her, but he didn’t want Jordan to be the Phoenix. He cared for her. I got that. I’d come to like most of the crew as well, Chadwick withstanding, as he was for everyone else. Whichever of them turned out to be involved would be devastating.
“We can’t rule her out.” I gently ran my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.
He released a soft groan, which went straight to my core. I hated that he was so sexy, even when he didn’t mean to be.
“Talk to me about the others,” he requested, “And keep doing what you’re doing.”
I smiled behind him, continuing to massage his scalp.
“I’d like to rule out our junior officer. He just joined the crew, and as we’ve discussed, is in fact a pretentious child, who’s never had to do a single thing for himself in his entire life.”
Vaughn chuckled. “Agreed.”
“While Natalie certainly is smart enough and has the most influence over the rest of the crew, she wears her heart on her sleeve, and it feels impossible for her to be capable of harming anyone.”
Perhaps it was naive to count her out, but keeping up her bubbly, astrology-loving, kind facade at all times was next to impossible, even for the most experienced covert operative. She’d have to be the most intelligent puppet master in the system to pull it off.
“I grew up with Natalie,” Vaughn divulged.
“You did!?” I paused my ministrations. She hadn’t told me.
“For a while—we were in the same foster home. She’s always been this way. There is no other side to her.”
Hearing that made me happy. Thinking that for even a little bit of his youth, he’d had someone like her around, and that he had reconnected with her, made a warmth spread throughout me. “Good.”
“What about Cassidy?” Vaughn raised a brow.
“Highly unlikely, in my opinion,” I stated.
“Why?” His tone indicated he disagreed.
“Because prior to joining your crew, he was stationed at a heliopause relay on the edge of the system for several years. You know as well as I do that their communication capabilities are ridiculously limited, which is why the posts are deemed so dangerous. If something goes wrong, you’d be lucky to notify someone within a week or two, and it would take even longer for them to get out to you to help,” I argued.
“You really think he could have been leading and building Meridian up to what it is today under such restrictions?”
“No, but he’s exceptionally skilled in comms engineering and architecture. It’s not impossible that he might have come up with a workaround,” Vaughn surmised.
“If he came up with a workaround, he could have sold the patent to Starlane and made a fortune instead of having to deal with your grumpy ass in the middle of space.” I refrained from sticking out my tongue to punctuate my point.
“But he has all the emotional qualities you’ve indicated are needed for the Phoenix, no?”
My brow furrowed. “Are you and I talking about the same Cassidy? What have you seen in him that would indicate he’s some sort of epic mastermind?”
“He’s quiet, but charming, and just like Natalie, he has the respect of and influence over the crew, and I’ve seen him code some ingenious comm solutions. I don’t think you should count him out.”
“I just can’t see it.” I shook my head.
“But you’re a bit too close to him to be unbiased, wouldn’t you agree?” Vaughn hedged, a nervous edge to his voice. So he knew we had our own past then.
“He told you,” I guessed.
“Why didn’t you?” he accused me.
“You were being mean to me. Why would I have told you anything?”
“Fair enough.” He backed down.
“His mother was my parents’ top aide, so he went everywhere with Xavier and me. He was like a brother.”
Vaughn choked out a laugh.
“What?” I asked defensively.
“Trust me, he doesn’t see you like a sister.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not like that,” I argued. “Maybe when we were teenagers, I had a crush on him, but—”
“But, not now?” Vaughn turned to look at me.
Was he jealous?
“I have an exception.” I gave him a pointed look.
“And if you didn’t?” he asked.
“That ship sailed long ago,” I replied easily.
“Cassidy is a good man, but—” I struggled to put into words how I felt, exactly.
It still stung that we’d so easily lost touch, and when I’d needed him most, he stayed gone.
I still cared about Cassidy, but I didn’t feel the same about him.
“I’m not the same girl he knew when we were kids. We’re better off friends.”
“Does he know that?”
“Vaughn…”
“Does he?”
“I mean, we haven’t talked about it. He knows I’m with you.” The weight of my words was heavier than I’d expected.
“Are you?” He turned to watch me.
“Yes, Vaughn.” I reached down and squeezed his hand. “I’m with you,” I repeated.
Vaughn’s palm came up to cup my cheek, gently pulling my face toward him.
He kissed me softly, more of a promise than the claiming kiss he’d given me earlier in the day.
It was easy to get lost in this one, letting my tongue slip past his lips and again sliding into his lap, like I had when he’d bandaged my hand.
I liked this side of Vaughn—the tender lover, having returned.
For a man so big and brawny, I wouldn’t have expected him to be so gentle and tentative, but this might have been my favorite version of him.
He was letting me see inside, allowing himself to be vulnerable, which made it easier for me to slowly start dismantling my own walls, a feat in itself.
“Are you ready to give me more?” he whispered against my lips.
Why couldn’t we just explore a little before I had to commit to something? I didn’t know what was going to happen after the mission, after this run, so why force things?
I shook my head.
“Stubborn girl.” He bit the skin at the juncture of my neck and shoulder before pulling away.
I grumbled in dismay.
“I warned you, we’re going at my pace.” He scowled at me. “Talk to me about the rest.” He let me stay in his lap, but repositioned us so his back was to the headboard, which he leaned against.
“Can’t rule either of them out,” I told him, gently pressing my hips against his.
He narrowed his eyes as he moved his hands to my waist to still me. “Why?”
“Ethan’s very unassuming. He could be feigning ignorance. If he was able to mask a more strategic side of himself, he’d be a perfect candidate, hiding in plain sight.”
Vaughn released an amused snort.
“Do you truly know anyone on this ship? Your crew could be capable of anything. If they’re running an empire, or at least helping to run it, they would have years of experience hiding their true nature from others. You need to keep an open mind,” I scolded him.
“He’d have to be running quite the long con,” Vaughn argued. “I served with his brother.” A shadow passed over his face, making me assume that meant he’d been lost on Enceladus, or before. “Ethan has always been Ethan, trust me.”
I realized I did trust Vaughn in that moment, but I also trusted that the Phoenix could pull the wool over all of our eyes.
“And Rion? What nefarious things have you uncovered?” he teased.
“You asked,” I snapped. “Darren sent me here to see what you can’t.”
“Lark.” He ran a hand down my arm in an attempt to calm me. “I’m listening.”
I huffed, unsure if that was true, but I continued regardless. “Other than Jordan, Rion is pretty high on my list,” I revealed.
Vaughn raised a disbelieving brow.
“He’s incredibly technologically savvy, has access to all the ship’s systems, and although he doesn’t have as much social influence himself, he is closest with Natalie, who could be unintentionally influencing others on his behalf.
” I let my shoulders slump. “Honestly, he seems sweet and shy, and I don’t want it to be anyone on this ship, but between him and Jordan, and maybe Ethan, it must be one of them. ”
“You forgot Cassidy,” Vaughn retorted dryly.
I rolled my eyes. “So what have you been working on after ruling out your entire crew from the suspect list?”
Vaughn took a deep, steadying breath. “So I should probably tell you about the code.”