“Of course.”
She smiled politely, folding her hands elegantly in front of her as the other mercs all but dragged Altav away. He turned to meet her gaze one last time before the crowds shifted like sand and swallowed him up again.
She smiled without humor, a plan forming in her mind. It looked like she had just found her way off planet.
All she needed to do now was lose Dav and Lenar.
1
Edanian ships looked the same as any other ship. Just… bigger somehow. Not actual size-wise, but the corridors and doors were weirdly large, like they’d been built for giants. That certainly fit. The mercenary she’d met in the market, Altav, had been huge. Perhaps the rest of them were the same size?
Marika shivered to herself as she huddled in what looked like a cargo hold. Her plan had worked perfectly. The riot in the market had given her the chance to escape. When she’d hidden on the shuttle in the desert scrublands, she’d expected to have to beg the big mercenary to help get her off planet, but the thing had taken off without anyone returning to it. That stroke of luck had allowed her to arrive here unseen. The main ship was smaller than she’d thought.
It had taken her just a few minutes to escape from the shuttle she’d stowed away on and scuttle down the nearest corridor to find somewhere to hide. She’d been here ever since although she wasn’t sure how long. About a day, a little over… She’d hidden away in a darkened corner behind some crates for most of it, managing to grab some sleep as the engines kicked up. The continuous dull roar had comforted her. It was loud and there was no escape from it, but it meant they were traveling away from Praxis-Four. Away from her father and her murderous would-be groom.
She’d managed to scavenge a little food from one of the open storage containers and had used the facilities in the corner of the bay when she needed, as quickly and quietly as she could. The last thing she wanted was to get caught on the john. A stowaway caught on the john… She giggled at the idea, hysteria almost overwhelming her. Probably stress-driven due to her situation. Halfway back to her hiding place, she froze as the door to the cargo bay opened.
Her heart stalled in her chest, her eyes wide on the door like a rabbit in the headlights. Self-preservation instincts kicked in at the last moment and she scuttled sideways behind a wall of crates. She had the vaguest impression of a large man framed in the doorway, the light behind him and his face in shadow.
Moving on silent feet, she slipped around the back of a group of crates as he stomped in, his low growl threatening but in a language she didn’t understand. Edanian. It had to be.
Reaching out, she picked up an iron bar to defend herself and slid out from behind the crates. She didn’t have a plan other than to stop him finding her, but the sight of the heavy axe in his hand had her reacting on instinct. Lifting the bar before he could turn and attack her, she hit him in the back of the head.
He went down, dropping to his knees with a grunt. Her breath caught as blood dripped to the deck plate by his hand. Then he sprawled full length on the deck and her heart stopped as she realized what she’d done.
“Please don’t be dead. Oh god, please don’t be dead.”
The metal pipe dropped to the deck with a resounding clang, and in the next moment Marika was on her knees next to the fallen figure of the man she’d hit.
“Shitshitshit. This is not happening,” she whispered to the empty air as she reached out hesitantly. Her eyes widened as she recognized him. It was the giant from the market earlier.
Altav.
He was huge, like a mountain. She’d never seen a guy that big—not even her father’s goons, and some of them were massive. Not as big as this, though. Her hands fluttered uselessly over his broad back, her lower lip mangled between her teeth as she looked at the cut on the back of his head.
Blood stained the short blond hair, rolling down the side of his neck to drop onto the floor. So much blood. Flowing blood. Her eyes widened. Flowing. That meant his heart was beating… So he was alive. He had to be.
“Please, I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.”
She yanked on her sleeve, tearing off the thin billowy fabric to wad against the wound. Instantly it stained scarlet, barely soaking up any of the blood, but it was all she had.
“But the pipe was so heavy when I swung it.”
She didn’t know why she was telling him this. He was down for the count, his big body utterly unresponsive. She closed her eyes for a moment, swallowing hard as she recalled the sickening moment the pipe had connected with the back of his head and he’d fallen like a ton of weights. Like a puppet with all the strings cut.
“Please... please wake up,” she murmured, her small hand on his shoulder to shake him.
Then she remembered that you weren’t supposed to move someone with a head injury... shit. She froze, hand still on his shoulder and her eyes wide. Had she caused yet more damage?
His skin was warm under her touch, like rough satin, and she couldn’t help but focus on the feel of it under her fingertips. She couldn’t help tracing a small scar that looked almost like a little crescent moon. How had he gotten it?
Thoughts of him filled her mind, as they had since that moment in the market earlier. Unwittingly, he’d been her method of escape. Talking to him had rattled Dav and Lenar so much she’d merely had to stumble and fake being unwell, gasping that the mercenary had slipped her something, and they’d been off like a shot to put him down. It had totally escaped their attention the big Edanian had never actually touched her.
He groaned and she gasped in relief, moving as he rolled onto his back with his eyes still closed. Blood smeared over the floor and over his shirt, but it didn’t matter. She hadn’t killed him. That was what mattered.
“Are you okay?” She scooted closer, her knees against the side of his massive chest as she patted it.
It didn’t escape her that his arm brushed against her calf as she knelt. If he were faking this... he could easily grab her and pin her. All her instincts screamed this was a bad idea. She should put space between them and get to a safe distance, but she couldn’t. Not until she knew he was okay. Even though she knew better, she stayed where she was, her hands on his bearded jaw as he dragged in a few shuddering breaths.
Her eyes wandered over his face. My god, he was even more devastating up close. His features were strong and masculine, even the scent rising from him was rugged… notes of woods and spice, something delicate and floral that shouldn’t have worked but did. Was that a woman’s perfume? Was he married? Her stomach clenched with unexpected jealousy.
No, no… he couldn’t be married. It didn’t fit with all the fantasies in her head she’d been trying to ignore from the moment she’d met him. Stupid thoughts, her father’s voice echoed in the back of her head. Why would a man like this look at someone like her?
He swallowed and her gaze riveted to the movement. Swallowing and groaning was good. Right? It meant he was alive, and… she nibbled her lower lip. Didn’t head injuries need the person to stay awake?
“Hey, big guy…” she murmured, one hand on his big chest as she stroked his cheek with the other. Sense returned for a second as she disarmed him, shoving the big pistol into a gap between the crates behind her.