Collision Course Read Online Free Page B

wondered where she was truly from, what had driven her away.
    It didn’t really matter what had happened. She was a scavenger and smuggler, and she had made it abundantly clear that she wanted nothing to do with the ongoing war between the 8 th Wing and PRAXIS. Profit was her motivation, and that was all.
    Yet as they stared at one another, he felt the edge of desire cut through him. Desire, and the uncharted map of a life he might have lived if he hadn’t found the 8 th Wing. A kid with dreams of something more, something better in the sky—he could have wound up just like her, another scavenger stealing a living. Stealing freedom.
    Is that what made her who she was now? Is that what he saw when he looked at her, what drew him to her?
    A warning beep suddenly filled the cockpit, breaking the moment. Mara spun to the control panel and softly cursed.
    He slid into the cockpit and took his seat. “Trouble?”
    “PRAXIS.” She tapped a few keys, and a PRAXIS patrol-class cutter appeared on the display. It wasn’t the biggest or most dangerous PRAXIS ship, but it had a goodly compliment of weapons that could blast a little towing ship like the Arcadia out of the sky.
    He tensed. “Tell me your ship is armed.”
    “She is, but it won’t be necessary.”
    The comm line shrilled. “Scavenger ship, prepare to be boarded.”
    “Affirmative.” She cut the comm line.
    He braced a hand on the control panel. “Don’t let them on the ship.”
    They both watched as a shuttle detached from the PRAXIS cutter and headed toward them. One shuttle could hold at least six PRAXIS troops. He wondered how many were on the shuttle now, and if he could take them all down. His plasma pistol was charged. He eyed the narrow passages of the Arcadia . They didn’t offer much room for combat, but he was trained.
    “Either I let them board peacefully, or they force their way on.”
    “I’ll pilot. Use evasive maneuvers.”
    But she shook her head. “Forget it.”
    The ship shook slightly as the PRAXIS shuttle came alongside and linked. He rose to his feet and drew his plasma pistol.
    “Holster that, flyboy.”
    As she started to rise from her seat, his grip on her arm stopped her. “Going to turn me over to PRAXIS?” It made sense. She could rid herself of her 8 th Wing escort, forget the mission, and possibly earn herself some leniency from PRAXIS.
    She stared up at him, eyes burning cold. “Just keep your mouth shut, and I’ll get us both out alive.” When he still wouldn’t release her arm, she said, “Trust me.”
    “Why should I?”
    Their eyes locked. “No reason. But you should.”
    Trust her? The woman was a scavenger, a smuggler. She lived only for herself. Yet, as their gazes held, he looked deep. His instincts had kept him alive his whole life, from his home world to the space battles in far-away solar systems, and they were the only thing he’d been able to count on when even technology failed. They told him that, yes, he could trust Mara Skiren.
    His fingers slowly unclasped from around her arm. He nodded tightly.
    Something shifted in her expression, a momentary hint of surprise that he would trust her, followed by a flutter of…gratitude. His trust was an unexpected gift—they both understood this at the same time.
    They turned when they heard the sound of the bay door open, and footsteps on the metal floor of the galley.
    “Don’t say anything,” she warned.
    He nodded again, and together, they moved into the galley. Kell kept himself loose, ready for anything. Mara asked for his trust, and he gave it, but he never trusted PRAXIS. They’d broken too many treaties, overtaken too many worlds, destroyed too many lives.
    A PRAXIS officer and two armed troops stepped into the galley. Kell fought down the demand to just take the fuckers out. If anything happened to the officer, the clipper would open fire, and then everything would be over.
    Unlike the 8 th Wing’s gray uniforms, the PRAXIS Group’s uniforms