Free Dark Runner: LodeStar 3.5 by Cathryn Cade

with that comparison. Not if he hated Stark enough to kill him.
    She stopped with a scowl, realizing one of her crispies was missing. Darn him. She finally got her hands on some quality sweets, and he stole one right out from under her nose.
    She went back to the menu and chose a chunk of frosted gremel-fruit cake and a chocolate nut bar. Then she took her haul back to her cubby to enjoy in peace.

    After her dessert, Scala used the lav again and slid into her bunk. She nearly moaned with pleasure as she snuggled into the soft, clean bedding, under the layers of cloud soft duvet. At least she’d be warm enough while she slept. She was warm, clean and full as a constrictor that had swallowed a whole bunny. Perfect.
    Her comlink chimed, startling her. Uneasily, she opened the link, and found herself gazing at a Serpentian with long, dark hair and a smile as cheery and practiced as a LodeStar flight attendant.  
    “Hi, cousin,” the other woman said, peering at Scala’s bunk with interest. “Nice. Did you get a new position?”
    “Hi, yourself, cousin ,” Scala replied. “I did. I’m aboard the Zharrdul , out of Earth II.”
    Since she’d never, as far as she knew, had a cousin, Scala found it somewhat ironic that her handlers had chosen this disguise for her relay contact with them. Daarla Yal lived on Serpentia and worked for a security firm run by an associate of Bronc Berenson. She was probably getting paid very well for this side gig.
    “Sounds exciting,” Daarla said with a wistful pout. “Where are you going? Think you’ll be anywhere near Gavial City? We could meet for dinner and catch up.”
    “I’ll let you know,” Scala said. “So far I have no idea.” She shrugged. “Not my business where we go, you know? I’m just here to protect the owner if we run into trouble.”
    “Well, at least you’re working guard duty again. Kind of like your old post on the Orion , right?”
    “Kind of,” Scala said dryly. Only not. Then she’d protected the passengers and crew from pirates, now she worked for one. She only hoped he didn’t get into a confrontation with the law here, because then which side was she supposed to choose?
    “Any starry guys on board?” Daarla asked with a twinkle. “Or gals?”
    “Three guys and a gal,” Scala said. “Except ... I don’t know if I’d count one guy as starry. He’s a Mau. Little scary, you know?”
    “So have you been to any fun places yet?”
    “Not yet.”
    “Well, keep me posted of your travels here. I really wanna get together. We haven’t had girl time in forever.”
    “Exactly what I was just thinking,” Scala agreed. As in never.
    The woman was pouring it on a little thick. But then again, Daarla wasn’t behaving any more foolishly than the younger siblings of Scala’s fellow students at guard academy. Family was irritatingly nosy at times.  
    Not that Scala would know firsthand. After her mother died, she’d had no one left to link. She’d made friends at the academy, but lost them after her arrest, and most of the beings she’d met on her latest jobs she’d been glad to see the last of, with the exception of Kiri.
    Figured that when she finally received a link from ‘family’, the connection was as false as her role here.

    * * *

    In the cockpit, Tal ate his chocolate crispie and listened in on Scala’s link with her cousin. When Scala broke the link with a yawn, he opened another link and checked up on Daarla Yal. She was a receptionist at a security firm in Gavial City, had a boyfriend and a rented condo.  
    The cousin had no ties to any organizations that roused Tal’s suspicions, so after a moment he broke the link and sat back to watch his newest hire lower the lights in her sleep cubby, pull the covers up around her shell-like ears and cocoon herself for sleep.
    He contemplated the top of her head, and the silky dark curls he could see on her pillow. He didn’t trust her, but then he didn’t trust anyone until they proved