She shook her head, and I released the air stagnating in my lungs. They still felt tight.
I stuffed the book into my bag, hiding it mostly from myself. I was probably going to have to destroy it, but I would read it first.
Apprehension simmered along my nerves, making me sweat. The walk back with that anonymous manuscript in my bag was going to be even more nerve-racking than the walk over here with an entire load of stolen and unsanctioned books.
“How well do you know that book?” I asked.
“I read it a few years ago. It’s just a story, Quin—”
“Tess,” I said.
“It’s just a story, Tess.”
I couldn’t tell if she sounded convinced.
There were tons of religious texts out there about the greatness of supposedly magnificent beings—the Powers this, the Sky Mother that. Now I could add the Fabulous and Incorruptible Mornavail to the list.
I didn’t buy into it, but I also didn’t begrudge anyone else their beliefs. One thing was certain, though. The Fold wasn’t something you just talked about, something you wrote down in a freaking book and then let loose into the universe.
“I’m glad you showed it to me.” So I could get rid of it, but I wouldn’t tell Susan that.
My fingers fluttered over the outside of my bag. I pressed on the hard lump the book made, making sure it was still there, even though I could feel the weight of it on my shoulder, and I’d just put it inside.
She smiled a little uncertainly. I’d probably freaked her out.
“I’m Susan, by the way. You never asked.”
I nodded. “I know. I heard the goons talking to you that first day.”
“Oh. Right.” She glanced at my bag. Maybe we both felt as if the book might burn a hole in the cheap material and fall right out.
I hiked up the strap. An awkward silence fell.
Susan finally spoke. “I don’t know if you’ve already got someone working on your ship repairs, but I know a man who I think will give you a fair deal, especially if you tell him that Susan sent you.”
My pulse picked up again, though not from fear this time. I had a sneaking suspicion I knew who she was going to suggest, especially since he’d pointed me toward Susan in the first place.
“Oh, yeah?” I still asked.
She nodded. “Shade Ganavan. He works out of the docks. Ganavan’s Products and Parts.”
Bingo. “He’s already on the job,” I said, warmth spreading through me. “And getting me a door for half price.”
She smiled, seeming to relax again. “Oh, good. He’s excellent. Very competent. And very nice.”
Very nice wasn’t quite how I would have described him—I liked a man with a bit of an edge—but my heart still did a little flip in my chest.
And when it came right down to it, he did seem nice. Cheap doors and vitamin D didn’t lie. Right?
“How do you know Shade?” I asked.
“I knew his parents first. When I opened this shop, his father bought a lot of books. So did Shade’s mother. Shade did, too, even as a youngster. In fact”—she laughed softly—“they might have kept me in business for the first several years.”
It sounded as though Shade had family money. Did that mean he could sell or not sell the things in his shop and take on any odd job he wanted, because he was already all set?
Susan’s expression gained a hint of nostalgia. “His parents were the studious sort, but Shade… He went for the novels every time.”
The warmth inside me grew, gathering around my heart. “What kind of novels?” I asked.
“Every kind,” Susan said, smiling again. “But he liked the adventure ones the best.”
I smiled back. So did I. “And what does he like now?”
She arched her brows. “If he’s smart, tall brunettes.”
A flush hit me like a solar flare, blasting heat off my face.
“Shower time?” Susan asked, bypassing my obvious reaction as though I hadn’t just turned bright red and held my breath.
“I can’t wait,” I admitted a little hoarsely, wondering what percentage being clean and fresh for Shade Ganavan factored into my enthusiasm—and even into my original request.
Chapter 14
Shade peeled himself off the dark wall and fell into step a good distance behind Tess, wondering what the hell had taken her so long. Three hours with Susan. What had they been doing? Drinking tea? Having dinner? Patting cats?
He’d followed her from the Squirrel Tree, watching her slip seamlessly through the city with her hover crate. She’d moved in a way that hadn’t been suspicious at all, somehow looking natural while still keeping to the shadows and melting into the coming night. She’d gone to Susan’s back door to unload her books and then hadn’t come out again until now. Finally.
“About time,” he muttered under his breath. He’d actually started to worry that she’d slipped out, and he’d missed her. He rarely dropped the ball like that, but Tess was discreet.
She’d left her container behind, but that wasn’t unusual. There was a sort of rolling galactic loan system where hover crates were concerned. You dropped one off, you picked one up. And they were cheap. Just tin cans made useful by a bit of tech.
Shade kept her in sight this time, not wanting to lose her in the dark if she took an unexpected turn. Earlier, he’d known where she was going, which had meant he could give her more space. This time, he couldn’t be sure of her destination or of the path she’d take. Nothing dictated that Tess would go straight back to her ship, or that she’d use the same streets as before, even if they were the most direct.
On the surface at least, she didn’t look any more nervous about moving through the city at night than she had at dusk. Everything about her screamed confidence, which made the flashes of confusion and embarrassment he’d seen in her all the more intriguing.
Considering he might ruin her life, the fact that he enjoyed bringing out that nuclear blush probably made him a real bastard. But Tess made him think all sorts of delicious and dirty thoughts. And the way she sometimes looked at him, like she was ready and willing to do wild things, sent his blood rushing straight to his cock when he really needed it in his head.
Tess drew the eyes of more men than Shade liked as she walked, but she let the attention roll right off her like she didn’t give two fucks. Women looked at her, too, probably wishing they could be that tall and striking. Tess was perfectly there, and perfectly unapproachable. She was hiding in plain sight.
More quickly than he would have thought possible—must’ve been those mile-long legs—Tess left the crowded and residential Windrow district behind her and headed straight for the seedier, significantly darker docks. The streets were mostly empty here, so Shade made sure not to get too close. Some people who were constantly hunted developed a sixth sense about being watched, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if Tess was one of them. She was clearly a professional. But a professional at what?
At theft, to start with. Those books must have been stolen, but he wasn’t going to worry about that. Not his job. Although he had spent a lot of time wondering about what was in that big attachment she had vacuum sealed right onto the back of her ship. It might have been extra cargo space and nothing worth thinking about. It could also have been something Nathaniel Bridgebane wanted enough to put up the biggest bounty Shade had ever seen in his life.
Tess seemed adept at getting things done and getting out. The problem was, there was no getting out this time. Letting Captain T. Bailey slip out of Sector 2 and disappear into the Dark would be the other worst move of his whole fucking life. He’d already colossally messed up once and didn’t plan on repeating the experience. He needed to stay on track. He had a payment to make on his future, one transaction to rid himself of Scarabin White.
He’d let that bastard rob him of his birthright when he’d been grieving and in shock over losing his parents in the shuttle crash—and facing debts he hadn’t even known about. He hadn’t been thinking straight. Now he was, and he wanted his docks back, even if getting them meant working for people he hated. Even if it meant ruining lives.