Free Fortune's Risk: A Star Thief Novella (Star Thief Chronicles #1.5) by Jamie Grey Page B

lowering his head so only the four of them could hear.
    “I don’t want your money,” Viktis whispered.
    Finn’s skin erupted in goose bumps at the hatred in his friend’s voice.
    “Then what do you want? Name it.”
    “I want my sister back. Can you do that?”
    Kitty’s shoulders sagged in relief and she smiled encouragingly. “Of course, I’ll have my men find her. Whatever you need. Just end this.”
    “Oh, I will. The only problem is that you already killed her three years ago. Pretty Ileth girl who escaped from her Trezian owner? Pulled the trigger yourself from what I heard.”
    Kitty went even paler, her tongue darting between her lips like a lizard’s as she wetted them. “I…I didn’t…”
    “Of course you didn’t.” Viktis’s voice dropped to a low growl.
    The hair on the back of Finn’s neck stood on end and he put a hand on the pirate’s arm. “We need to wrap this up,” he said softly. Viktis had himself under control now, but if he tried to kill the woman, Finn didn’t know if he could stop him.
    “I’m almost done.” Viktis shrugged off Finn’s hand and turned back to Kitty. “One last thing. I’ve taken the liberty of depositing your tournament winnings into an off-shore account. Along with the proceeds of your latest sale. I doubt you’ll need them, since you’ll be spending the rest of your life in prison. I’ve also transferred the ship’s registry.” He smiled coldly. “Thank you for making me a very rich man.”
    “You are dead!” Kitty motioned to her guards, but as soon as their hands moved toward their blasters, plain-clothes security men grabbed them from behind.
    “No, I don’t think so. I hear the Great Western prison inmates aren’t fans of the Cordoza Empire. I’m sure you’ll face quite a welcome” Viktis stepped back. “Enjoy your new life. And be grateful you still have one.”
    Finn gestured to the chief of security, and his men took Kitty and the official into custody. As he watched the guards drag them away, a slow smile wound across his lips. Somehow they’d taken down the biggest slaver ring in this sector.
    He clapped a hand on Viktis’s shoulder. “I don’t know how you did it. But damn that felt good.”
    “Taking down that bitch is its own reward. But it doesn’t hurt that I got a shiny new ship out of it.” The pained look slid from Viktis’s face, replaced by his usual roguish grin.
    Finn eased his hand from the hilt of his gun. Thank the gods he hadn’t needed to use it. On anyone.
    “Yeah, how did you manage that, exactly?” Keva asked, shaking her head. Her lips were twisted into a smile Finn had never seen before. She looked…relaxed.
    Viktis cracked his knuckles. “I happened to access her accounts when I planted the evidence on her computer. Made the transfer, sold off a few of her biggest assets. The official had already signed the ship over to her so I just signed it over to me. The Fortune’s Risk is sitting in bay D24, ready and waiting.”
    “So are you off then?” Finn asked. He found that he was holding his breath for the answer, and he let it out softly.
    Viktis shrugged. “Nah, the Risk can wait for me a bit longer. Besides, I won’t always have you around to protect me. I may need her for a quick getaway when MYTH starts chasing me again.”
    Finn grinned. “And don’t you forget it. But right now, I have to admit, we make a good team.”
    Viktis raised an eyebrow. “That was pretty sappy, even for you.”
    With a chuckle, Finn headed for the casino doors, the others following him. “We still have a few hours of shore leave left. How are you going to spend it?”
    “Not with you, that’s for damn sure.” But Viktis’s eyes sparkled as he punched Finn in the shoulder.
    With a start, Finn realized they’d become friends. It was the last thing he would have expected when they’d met in the brig of the Athena as Viktis tried to steal his ship.
    The pirate shrugged. “I think I’m going to go visit