Page 30 of Smuggler's Beauty

Tariel waved at Aiden’s pocket. “Hand those over. I need to sync the glasses with this tablet so we can have eyes in the cover vehicle as well as on the ship.”

Aiden did as requested, and Tariel started syncing the visual data streams while Cairn focused on the descent. The autopilot would do most of the work for him, but he preferred to land manually whenever he could. The test stream of the glasses popped up on a screen.

Then the promised turbulence hit. Cairn took over control of the ship as they bounced in the cabin.

“Hold on! Just a few minutes of this.”

Aiden’s knuckles whitened as they bounced through the atmosphere. He never had grown accustomed to the in between moments necessary for space travel and doubted he ever would. Getting a break from the constant jaunts between on and off planet living would be the thing he was most looking forward to.

To take his mind off the descent, he thought about the increased presence of Bauder’s scouting ships. They wouldn’t have scattered their presence throughout the entirety of the GPC territory if they had any idea where Evelyn could be. Sounded like Bellica was trying to keep her extraction quiet for the time being. A missing princess had to be bad for business, especiallywhen your whole regime was counting on her contributions to keep their experimental military operations up and running.

Maybe he’ll grab one of her other relatives out of deep freeze and shove them into that stupid pod now.

The ride smoothed out. Aiden breathed easier.

“There now. All done,” Carin announced. “Touching down in a few.”

The lights and colors of Las Vegas filled the view screen, a vibrant neon rainbow against the red of the surrounding desert. Sprawling housing communities emanating from the long stretch of the Strip filled the valley. The sun was setting behind the Spring Mountains, giving them a spectacular show. Midnight blue skies faded into baby pink in a stunning stellar ombre as Cairn docked the ship at the airspace port.

That’s Vegas for you. Drama around every corner.

Aiden slid the glasses onto his nose and remembered to unbuckle his seatbelt before standing.

Smooth. So smooth.

He, Evelyn, Nannette, and his moms were going to be in the first car. Veronique, Tariel, and Veselko would be following in the cover vehicle. Cairn was staying with the ship, readying it to take back off at a moment’s notice.

While Nannette and Veselko retrieved the cars, Aiden sat down next to Evelyn to wait, determined to squeeze every last minute he could out of their time together. He was now nearly expert at silencing the small nagging voice in the pit of his stomach, reminding him that she would soon be ripped away from him. Traitorous bastard could shut its mouth.

“It’s weird how little has changed. I mean, the names of the casinos are different. I’m sure the shows and restaurants are new. But the feeling of this place . . . It’s got its own unique energy,” Evelyn said.

“Often imitated, never duplicated. None of the satellite Vegas planets have been anywhere near as successful,” he told her.

“Don’t mess with success,” she said. She smiled at him and grabbed his hand. “Thank you. For everything.”

He squeezed her hand. “My pleasure, dollface.”

The cars arrived. Aiden walked Evelyn to the back seat of the one Nannette was driving, helped her into the car, and slid into the passenger seat.

The drive was largely made in silence. Every so often Evelyn would comment on a change in the scenery, and Elenor or Lillian would ask a follow-up question, but they were all too nervous about the drop to make much idle conversation.

Finally, Nannette rolled to a stop in the driveway of the house. The cover vehicle passed the driveway entirely, looping the block. The ranch-style home had a neatly manicured front lawn, the path lined with the red rocks that were synonymous with this desert. Aiden exited the car and then helped Evelyn get out, inordinately pleased at the little shiver she gave when his thumb swiped the back of her hand. She squeezed his before letting him go. She tilted her head and looked at the front path, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“I have a hunch about something,” she said. “Nannette, that large rock by the front door. It’s to hide a key. I want to see if it fits.”

“I’ll check it,” Nannette said. “Stay behind me and Aiden.”

Evelyn nodded and rubbed her hands together rapidly to ward off the chill. “It’s frickin’ freezing out here, Mr. Bigglesworth,” she said, huffing hot breath into her cupped hands. “I forgot how cold it can get after sunset.”

Aiden’s brows drew together.Damn turbulence.“Did you hit your head before we landed?”

Evelyn gasped in shock. “You have no appreciation for the classics. None. I have a list of movies for you now. Immediate homework. Ladies, you should be ashamed.”

Lillian laughed. “He got stuck onThe Princess Bride. I couldn’t make him watch anything else.”

“Not true,” Elenor added, “Don’t forget theCluephase.”

“Tim Curry is a god. I won’t apologize for that. We can embarrass me later,” Aiden said.