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Chapter 3
“It was an emergency. I had to get out as soon as possible. Apologies for taking your ship, but there’s no turning back now.”
“It’s an emergency for me, now. My crew is stranded on Nebu space station on leave, and you’ve interrupted the critical diagnostics I needed to perform.”
The Lorr seemed to have nothing else to say. Tinsley didn’t know how he wasn’t overcome with shame. She would have been humiliated, but he sat there as if he was the rightful captain of the ship, not her.
Something about this being, though, piqued her curiosity rather than her rage. How could someone come onto a ship that wasn’t theirs and just feel no compunction about the mistake? It was such a different mindset from her own, and she wanted to solve the mystery.
What kind of emergency could be so great as to cause a being to get on the wrong ship? Not to mention his entire crew, too? And, even more curious, to show no outward embarrassment.
His body language was confident and self-assured, as if he was on a righteous mission that she was interrupting—even though he had usurped control of her ship. He stood with an easy grace as if he felt comfortable with the power of his body, in control and command of his every move.
She looked around at the other crew members aboard the ship. They looked a little uncomfortable by that point, as if it had dawned on them all at the same time that no one had noticed the glaring flaw in their plan—that this ship wasn’t theirs.
It was the captain’s responsibility to lead his crew in the right direction, yet he’d failed. Tinsley couldn’t help but wonder about him. What was his story? What was he doing here? And what was this emergency? Whatever had caused him to make such a mistake must be big.
Tinsley let her eyes take in the sight of him. His muscled shoulders were broad and strong, his jaw chiseled, and his cheekbones high. His violet eyes were bright and intelligent. All these physical traits succeeded in giving him a look of determination and confidence he wore well, even in his current state.
As she watched him, he rose up to meet her, towering over her comparatively tiny five-foot-six-inch frame. Her eyes dilated and her heart beat faster. She swore his pupils seemed larger, too.
“Start from the beginning,” she said, trying not to let her voice waver as she saw how tall and strong he really was. He looked like he could lift her whole body with just one arm.
The Lorr let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair, passing over his horns as he did. The move sparked something in her heart again, but this time Tinsley could see he was carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders.
“It’s my sister. She’s gone missing,” he told her, and she felt an ice pick stab at her chest. “I don’t know much, but we have a couple of witness statements. I’ve been told she was seen being dragged off our home planet by a couple of Jorvlens. I was trying to get out of here and rescue her when you came along and informed me I’d accidentally taken control of your ship. Please excuse me. I was a little preoccupied. All of these transporters look the same.”
She couldn’t quite place all of the emotions on his face, but she recognized a look that was unmistakable, even though he almost succeeded at his attempts to conceal it. The deep look of pain came from unfathomable loss, which Tinsley knew all too well. It was her turn to let out a heavy sigh.
“It’s okay. I understand. I lost my sister, too,” she said, feeling the old familiar anguish course through her again.
The Lorr’s deep violet eyes widened, and she saw something she didn’t expect—compassion. It encouraged her to go on, even though sometimes the raw emotion from speaking flayed her right to the bone.
“It was a long time ago now, but it still hurts. Her name was Lara. She was a nurse, and the most beautiful human you could ever meet. She didn’t deserve what happened to her. But I guess no one ever does.” She trailed off, thinking back to the night she got the call.
The worst night of her life. Thinking about it still brought a chill down her spine.
“She was killed by a junkie. A Jorvlen actually,” she said, trying hard to keep the anger out of her voice. “It was a home invasion—a group of them came looking for stuff to steal to pay for their next fix, but she didn’t have anything. When they figured that out, I guess they got angry. So.”
She couldn’t say the rest, but it was obvious what she meant. The Lorr seemed moved by her words, as if he could feel the emotions through his skin. She didn’t see that reaction very often. Not that she told the story frequently, but when she did, she was invariably met with a response that rang hollow. Usually, manufactured anger or sickly sweet sympathy made her wish she’d never said anything in the first place.
This Lorr, though, showed her something different. He showed her real understanding. She could only guess it was because he found himself in a similar situation at the moment. It made her heart ache for him.
“You’ve endured much pain,” he said softly. “No one should have to go through what you and your sister have seen. May her soul shine on in the galaxies.” The words weren’t patronizing or artificial. They held a weight that only confirmed what she felt about him. He was different somehow.
Despite the bizarre situation of a mistaken hijacking her ship, despite her crew waiting for her on the space station, despite her reputation as a reliable contractor… She couldn’t stop the feeling that was rising in her chest. The feeling that, for no good reason other than the affinity she was somehow experiencing with this captivating stranger, she should help him.
What were the odds of him stepping onto her ship at all? What were the odds of them sharing a similar story? What were the odds of them feeling genuine empathy for each other’s plights?
“Do you have any idea why your sister might have been taken?” She could see a barely perceptible twitch in the Lorr’s eye when she spoke.
“Yes.” He held his head aloft but looked angry and resigned. “I come from an important family. Politically. My guess is my sister was taken as a trophy in part of the Jorvlen chess match with Lorr.”
She could hear the blood pounding in her head, as she remembered rumors she had heard on a space station about a tit-for-tat cold war that could be heating up between the royal family of Lorr and Jorvla.
Is he royalty? And does that make us a target, too? she wondered, careful not to give away her thinking.
“Are you from the…” she started to ask.
