Release(4)

The screen blinked, “Searching for target...”

“Come on,” Keirth snapped.

The screen blinked, “Target locked.” And then it spit out Risciter’s coordinates. Keirth sat back in his seat, shaking his head. “He’s going out of the Evon Sector. To Kush. That weasely little...”

“What?” said a panicked voice next to him.

Oh right. The Duke’s daughter. He’d nearly forgotten about her. She was staring at him with wide eyes. “Risciter wouldn’t leave the sector. He knows it’s far too dangerous out there in deep space. The colonies are barbaric and backward and violent.”

Keirth had to laugh. “You honestly think Risciter’s never been out of the sector before, sweetheart?”

“Don’t call me that.”

Keirth rolled his eyes. He had the coordinates. And Risciter, as much of a devil as he was, was too much of an idiot pretty boy to know the quickest ways to get there. You had to travel in darker circles for that kind of information. Keirth could beat him to Kush. And he’d even have time for a pit stop. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll drop you off first. We’ll make a quick stop in Ossile.”

“Oh,” said the girl.

Keirth quickly programmed in the coordinates for Ossile on the console. He turned to the girl. “Better strap in. We’re jumping to hyperspace.”

Ahead of him, Keirth noted that Risciter’s ship had just disappeared, winking out with a flash of light. He’d already made the jump.

Miss Gilit strapped her seat belts over her body. “This isn’t going to work, you know.”

Keirth strapped himself in. He palmed the light speed accelerator and squeezed. “Oh no? Why not?”

“You’ll get caught,” she said.

The ship lurched hard, and on the visual, the stars streamed out like bright ribbons, going green, red, and blue at the edges. They were pushed back into their seats and for a few seconds, they couldn’t breathe from the pressure. Then everything snapped, like rubber, and they were traveling through a tunnel of brightly colored lights—hyperspace. Keirth switched off the visual. Hyperspace always gave him a headache if he stared at it too long.

“You’re in a stolen space ship,” continued Miss Gilit. “The minute they figure out I’m gone, they’ll track it. It’s fitted with a tracking monitor, you know, and—”

“Is it?” said Keirth. “Thanks for telling me that, sweetheart. They keep it in the usual place?”

Her face had gone white as she realized her mistake.

Keirth unstrapped himself and headed for the back of the bridge. He reached above the doorway and yanked the material covering the wall away. Inside, just where they always were, was a hunk of plastic, wires, and blinking lights. Tracking monitor. Keirth ripped it down, dropped it on the floor, and ground it under his foot. It made a crunching noise.

“It doesn’t matter!” said Miss Gilit. “They’ll find you anyway. You’ve kidnapped the daughter of a duke, and you killed a man in the docking bay. You’re a kidnapper and murderer. They’re going to find you, and they’re going to sentence you to death.”

“I had my blaster set to stun,” he muttered. “Besides, I saw the other servants drag him out of the docking bay. I’m sure he’s fine. I don’t want to kill anyone except Risciter.” Miss Gilit was starting to get on his nerves. Maybe he should tie her up and gag her. That should keep her quiet.

“And why would you want to do that?” said Miss Gilit. “The Duke of Risciter is a good man.”

Keirth sat back down in the pilot’s seat next to her. “He’s the furthest thing from a good man there is, sweetheart. But considering the kind of people you come from, I wouldn’t expect you to understand that.” He cradled his head with his hands. “Now, we’ll be in Ossile before you know it. So why don’t you just shut your pretty little mouth and stop worrying about whether or not I get caught? You and I will be parting ways very soon. And then you can tell all your little high society friends about the time you were kidnapped by a murderer. Imagine how impressed they’ll be.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “You won’t get away with it.”

“Shut. Your. Mouth.” He smiled nastily at her. “Or I’ll stuff something inside it.”

She paled again. She didn’t speak.

* * *

Ariana’s heart was thudding in her chest as she sat next to the man. She wasn’t sure what he’d been doing on the console when they’d taken off. She’d seen Risciter’s ship disappear into hyperspace, but the man who’d captured her didn’t seem too upset about that, so she had to believe that Risciter wasn’t safe yet. This man planned to drop her off on the planet Ossile, but then he would probably go after Risciter. And he’d said that he planned to kill him. Risciter was her future husband. She couldn’t let this man hurt Risciter. She had to do something.