“We’ve received a response with his coordinates. He’s invited Mierna to visit tomorrow. With her pet.”
“No.” Erick spoke before any other being had a chance to voice an opinion.
She slapped her hand down on Rok’s desk. “You don’t get to say no before you’ve even heard my plan.” Now that she had fire in her gut, she matched his gaze.
A muscle in his jaw jumped. “Fine. Tells us your plan.”
“Mierna brings me in. Preferably in a cage where we can hide weapons. The rest of you come along, either as additional prisoners—she glanced at Cambry and Lily—or as Mierna’s guards. A backup team will hide in our ship and sneak out to search the premises. Once the galactacarriers are located, the pilots take charge of them, and we all fly away.”
It sounded much crazier now that she said it aloud. It could only be their reverence for her father that kept them from scoffing.
“And if the galactacarriers aren’t on premises?” Rok demanded.
“They are.” Mierna used her cryptic sage voice.
Rok rolled his eyes, which made Mina like him. He was no-nonsense. He lacked the formality and pomp of the rest of their species. In fact, she liked his whole team. Somehow, it felt like she belonged more with them than with the Zandians. Perhaps because they each were oddities in their own way.
“So tell us, oh wise one, does this operation have a chance in hell of succeeding?” Sarcasm dripped in Rok’s voice.
Mierna ignored it and tilted her head to the side, losing focus in her eyes. “A good chance, yes.”
“What does a good chance mean?” Erick asked, then rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “I can’t believe we’re relying on a Venusian’s predictions to make a decision.”
“Eighty percent success. Maybe better.”
Erick slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair. “So what’s a partial success mean? We lose part of the team? That’s unacceptable. I am not sending a female—or any being—in as live bait. That’s insanity.”
Mina’s face flushed. She expected every male in the room to agree, but a silence followed Erick’s outburst. “I am the only reason we were given the coordinates to his ship. He wants me. I know this being. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that he won’t harm me. I’m nothing more than a rare object to him, but he cares more about his objects than anything else.” She lifted her chin in challenge directly at Erick.
~.~
By the one true Zandian Star. Erick rubbed his temples.
Mina had him hamstrung. The mere idea of sending her into danger had his pulse skipping erratically, his hands clenched into fists. He wanted to bash heads of his imaginary enemies. Break necks. Shoot first and forget the questions.
But Mina wanted this. And denying his female anything she wanted sent his heart lurching out of his chest, made him ready to fall on his knees, promising to do everything in his power to fix it.
The fact that she’d come alive since she’d come to Zandian Freedom wasn’t lost on him. His female was a warrior. She belonged in the fray. Whether he liked it or not.
“Do the rest of you believe we should go forward with this plan?” Incredulity crackled in his tone.
Guardo shrugged. “For the three galactacarriers necessary for our strike on Zandia? Yes. I’m in.” He looked at the rest of Rok’s crew. “We’ve successfully stolen or requisitioned goods with far worse odds.”
“Yes, we have.” Rok smirked. “But I’m reserving my vote until I’m sure Erick’s not going to pull a sword from his belt and start fighting us all just to keep Tara safe.”
The rest of the beings in the room swung their attention to Erick. He ground his teeth. “Vecking hell,” he spat. “Fine.” Somehow he forced the word out of his tightened lips. “But you’ll answer to me in private for this.” He glared at Mina.
Lily stifled a giggle, and he was pretty certain the rest of the group hid smiles, looking everywhere but at him and Mina, but he had his female pinned with his gaze.
A slow flush crept up her neck, but her blue-violet eyes turned more violet, and her nipples tented the front of her uniform.
Good. They’d both enjoy her punishment and then maybe he’d be able to move on and stomach this horrible plan.
“I’m in, then,” Rok spoke up. “But I’m not comfortable taking all of Zander’s top warriors on the mission. Lundric, you and Cambry will stay. My crew will go.”
“What about me?” Lily asked.
“And me?” Tal interjected.