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“Who is this new Viktis and what did you do with my old enemy?”
He shrugged. “Things change. You can believe me or not. In the meantime, I’m going to go wait at the bar. Care to join me?”
Renna shook her head. “I have some things I need to do first. Comm me when you have Wall’s info.”
Viktis paused to study her. “When’s the last time you got some sleep? You look like shit.”
She scowled at him, rocking back on her heels. “You sure know the way to a girl’s heart, don’t you?”
“Get some rest before we go any further, Ren. These people aren’t screwing around. We need you at your best.”
“I’ll try.” She walked away, waving goodbye over her shoulder. Viktis’s gaze burned between her shoulder blades until she turned the corner. Once she was out of sight, her whole body slumped. He was right. She was exhausted, mentally and physically. And no closer to an answer than she had been earlier.
Run now or stay and save the galaxy?
She wandered toward the hospital. Maybe she’d make sure Finn was all right before she decided. A few more hours couldn’t hurt, and she had to wait for Wall anyway…
Excuses, excuses.
Renna found Lieutenant Keva pacing the hallway outside of Captain Finn’s room. Her usually immaculate uniform hung in wrinkles from her thin frame, and she’d pulled her silver hair back into a messy ponytail. Dark smudges framed her eyes.
Gods, was the prognosis that bad? Renna had to clear her throat before asking, “What’s the news, Lieutenant?”
Keva’s head snapped up at the sound of her voice. “He’s out of surgery. Doc says he stopped the bleeding. Captain’s going to make it.”
The muscles in Renna’s stomach unclenched in a giddy wave of relief. “That’s great news. Hey, why don’t you go get some rest? You’ve been here all day. I’ll watch him for a while.”
Keva glanced at Finn’s door, then down at the floor. “I don’t know. I think…”
“I think you should get back to the ship, update the crew, and get some sleep. Finn will be fine, and I’ll make sure he knows what’s going on the second he wakes up.”
“Okay.” Keva nodded slowly. “I’d like to make sure the crew is all right. There were some repairs we needed to make.” She smiled at Renna before turning to leave. “I’m glad you were around to rescue the captain. I know we didn’t get off to the best start, but I’m happy I was wrong about you.” Even exhausted, the woman still marched like a soldier as she walked toward the elevators.
Renna sank onto one of the benches lining the wall and played with her implant, downloading the schematics of the hospital, plotting out where the lab safes were, even inspecting the rankings of this place compared with the other galactic hospitals in the traverse. A few nurses bustled down the hallway, not paying any attention to her. Then a gurney bearing a familiar body rolled by, pushed by two orderlies.
She shot to her feet, pulse hammering in her ears. An ugly purple bruise shadowed Finn’s jaw, but the thing that shook her was how still and waxy he looked lying motionless on the bed.
He looked dead.
The air left Renna’s lungs in a violent whoosh. Had Keva been wrong? Did the doctor give her the wrong information? Had something else happened?
She couldn’t do this again. She’d already lost him once. Her hands curled into fists, her nails digging into her palms as she fought the wave of nausea that threatened to take her down.
“Miss? Is everything all right?” one of the orderlies asked. He put a hand on her arm, jerking her out of the spiraling panic that threatened to take hold.
“What?”
“Are you all right?” he asked again, looking concerned.
“The captain. How is he?” The words came out on a shrill whisper, but she didn’t care. She could only stare, wide-eyed, as a smile washed over his face.
“Yes, of course.” He shook his head. “Don’t worry, he’s still asleep from the surgery. It went very well. We stopped the internal bleeding, and his ribs should be mended in a few days. We’re going to get him comfortable before you go in to see him.”
Her knees went weak, and she sat down heavily in her chair. Finn was going to be fine. But as the fear drained away, the tsunami of relief was even more unsettling.
She cared what happened to him. Too much.
Pain bit into the palms of her hands. She looked down to crescent-shaped marks embedded into the skin where her nails had nearly broken through. She glanced over at the exit. If she was smart, she’d get the hell out of here right now before she got sucked in any further.
Renna rose to her feet. She couldn’t afford to get involved with a man like Finn. He stood for everything she’d fought against: law, order, blindly following the rules.
But instead of leaving the hospital, her feet took her into Finn’s room.
One of the nurses adjusted the Temifen IV and ran a small machine up and down Finn’s body. “Vitals stable. He should be coming out of the anesthesia momentarily.” The drone by her head flashed a bright light across the bed, and Finn blinked.
The latest surgery drugs used ultraviolet light as a catalyst to remove the medication immediately from the system, instead of leaving the patient groggy and confused. Most of the time, the patients were completely awake and normal within minutes.
“How are you feeling, Captain?” the nurse asked, hovering over him.
He blinked again and licked his lips. “Better than I expected.” His voice was hoarse, but there was still a hint of humor there.
“We have you on some pain medication for now, but the surgery was successful and you’ll make a full recovery. The facial swelling and bruising should be gone by tomorrow.” She patted Finn’s shoulder. “Try to get some rest now.” The nurse bustled out of the room, leaving Renna standing awkwardly near the door.
Across the room, Finn’s gaze met hers. “You’re still here?”
His blue eyes were the right color again.
Renna smiled. “Where else would I be?”
“I don’t know. Halfway to some garden planet? I wouldn’t blame you.”
“That hurts, Captain,” she teased. But inside, guilt snaked around her heart. How had he guessed the truth?
Finn’s head fell back onto his pillows, and he closed his eyes briefly against the movement. “I’m glad Dallas was right about you. We never would have gotten out of there without you.” He took a few seconds to catch his breath, then asked, “What happened? I don’t remember much after the beating.”
