Free Not the Man She Thought by Paige Tyler Page B

she couldn’t help but wonder what it was used for.
She almost gave into her curiosity and asked Dev, but she didn’t want to seem
like she was prying.
    When they finally decoded the cipher an hour later, Dev let
out a cheer that echoed throughout half the ship. Leaning over, she opened the
ship’s com-line.
    “Kam, we’re in.”
    “Roger that.”
    Sitting back in her chair, Dev gave her a smile. “You’re a
lifesaver, Laken.”
    Laken returned the other woman’s smile. “I’m just glad I
could help. What was all that for, anyway?”
    Dev hesitated, then shrugged. “Just something for the job
the captain’s doing tonight.”
    Laken wanted to ask more, but ever since Rade had made it
clear she wasn’t to be treated like one of the crew, Dev and the men had been
careful not to say too much around her. So, not wanting to put Dev in an
awkward position, she changed the subject.
    “What kind of planet are we stopping at this time?”
    Dev made a face. “Not one you’d want to get off on, trust
me.”
    Why wasn’t she surprised? “Don’t you guys ever stop anyplace
fun?”
    The other girl laughed. “We try now and then, but like I
said, we go where the business is. As an independent, we get our best business
on the smaller planets, where the Federation doesn’t bother going.”
    When the ship landed a little while later, Dev didn’t seem
interested in going down to the cargo hold with the rest of the crew, so Laken
didn’t bother, either. Realizing she was hungry, she announced she was going to
the mess to make something to eat.
       “Don’t
you want anything?” she asked when Dev didn’t get up.
    Dev shook her head. “I need to keep an eye on this.”
    Laken nodded. “Do you want me to bring you something?”
       “No,
thanks. I’ll grab something later.”
       Apparently, Karsten and most of the men had left the ship on whatever
business had brought them there, so it was strangely quiet on board, but that
meant the mess was completely deserted, which was okay with her.
    She was just finishing up when she heard shouts coming from
the direction of the cargo hold. Curious, she got up from the table to see what
was going on, but then hesitated. If she went down there and got in the way,
Rade would be more than happy to spank her, and she’d prefer not to go over his
knee again. She was considering whether to go back to her room when the sounds
of booted feet behind her made her turn. A moment later, Dev ran down the
passageway, not even slowing down as she raced past. Laken hurried after her.
    “What’s going on?” she asked as she caught up with the
dark-haired woman.
    Dev flew down the stairs. “The guys ran into a problem.”
    Laken had known all that shouting couldn’t be good. Too
curious to go back to her cabin now, she hurried after Dev. As they ran down
the passageway, Kamran passed them going in the opposite direction. A moment
later, she heard the ship’s engines humming to life. The deck shifted at a
sharp angle and the ship took off and Laken had to grab the railing to keep
from falling.
    Down in the hold, Keir and Finn were hastily securing the
personal transport to the deck to keep it from shifting round. Dev muttered
something under her breath and ran over to them.
    Rade glanced down at her from atop the transport. “Jorn’s
been shot. He needs help.”
    Laken came to a stop on the steps, her stomach lurching. As
much as she wanted to help, something told her she didn’t want to be involved
with anything going on down in the hold. As she hesitated, Kellen pushed past
her to get down the steps.
       “What
the hell happened out there?” the first officer demanded. “This was supposed to
be a simple transfer.”
    Laken’s eyes widened in horror as Vance and Dev help Jorn
out of the back of the transport. One sleeve and half his shirt was covered in
blood.
    “Federation bastards,” Rade muttered. “They must have
followed the settlers. The moment we made the exchange,