Page 84 of Spark Transform

She took a deep, shaky breath and let it out. On instinct, Renner reached through his webbing to rest a hand on her shoulder. A violent jolt knocked his grip away a second later, but she flashed him a fleeting, grateful smile. Renner hated being the helpless pawn requiring rescue, but Arco’s fierce loyalty settled deep in his chest. Trusting anyone had always carried lethal risks. Leaning on her felt profoundly comforting.

“Casualties are sky high and getting worse,” Arco continued, her voice tight. “Over ten thousand estimated dead for Ridderth Base alone. Just so you know, I sent Wutala a link to the raw news repository that Novo G set up. She deserves information she can use to save her people.”

Arco folded her tablet and put it away, then slipped her hand into his. Her fingers gripped his tight, a desperate anchor in the chaos, right up until another massive shudder and a flying wrench forced them to turtle back into the safety of their jump seats.

Finally, the ship reached orbit. The jarring impacts smoothed out into a steady glide, and the gravity compensators stabilized. The engine sounds still rumbled throughout the load-out dock, but they were smoothing out, too.

Soleil spoke via the ship-comms earwire. “We have about two hours to the jump point, assuming no other fun surprises from the gods of chaos. We’re burning flux now so we can beat the blockade if the fleet arrives early. Feel free to move around, but make sure you know where the nearest jump seat is. Not all quarters have them. The ship is a little rough around the edges, but it’s transit-ready, and the engines are solid. See Rustom for room assignments — he’s handling logistics.”

Renner unhooked his webbing and stood. Arco did the same. He pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair. Against all impossible odds, they were together and safe. He desperately needed her warmth. He loved her, and finally telling her those words earlier had shifted his universe onto a better axis. Sharing his feelings felt terrifying, but completely right and good.

She hugged him back fiercely, then pulled back just enough to speak near his ear. “Let’s find a room.”

The assigned two-person room was little more than a metal closet with two narrow bunks, side by side, but it offered privacy, two jump seats, and blessed silence. Renner sealed the door behind them. He turned and stopped short. Arco’s travel backpack sat on the floor next to the left bunk. Minan or N’Dwama must have grabbed it during the frantic scramble through the freight terminal. His entire focus had been on keeping Arco breathing.

As he lifted the backpack, Arco crossed to a small fold-down standing desk mounted to the wall. She powered up her pink tablet and dove straight into her digital empire. “Unpack that,” she murmured, her eyes already tracking streams of data. “I brought stuff for you.”

Renner opened the main section. Inside, he found two identical set of clothes and a pair of sturdy boots in his size, alongside two kits of basic toiletries. Her two similar sets of clothes and his gear weren’t packed so much as stuffed in like she’d shoplifted them. He couldn’t imagine when she’d had time to even think of it in the first place. He made a mental note to ask her what had happened after Wutala’s crew ambushed him in the snow outside Kooga’s soup kitchen. He hoped the Cyborg Queen and her sanctuary had survived the brutal raids. Not to mention the people who had given Arco her mental shields.

“Wutala wasn’t lying,” Arco said. Her voice carried a thread of regret. “The CPS has kill orders out for me and practically every other byline journalist in Ridderth. My name is even higher on the hit parade list than Tapio’s. Fame at last.” She wiggled her fingers in a fluttery, mocking celebration. “The orders got sent to every member planet. They’re baseless and illegal, but if I’ve learned nothing else in the past few years, it’s that the CPS will use any means necessary to keep the galactic peace. They’ll only stop when I’m dead.”

Her uncharacteristic bitterness rubbed him raw. She was hurting deeply. He hated seeing her light dimmed by the same ruthless agency that had nearly succeeded in leaving him buried in the rubble. He couldn’t think of anything else to do other than to sit on the bed closest to her and listen. The way Neirra had done for him when he’d been invisible to the universe.

“Fucking hell,” Arco swore softly, scrolling through another feed. “They’ll probably promote Pennington-Smythe to the Marshal position, assuming Shattered Chain really did manage to take out Temhathor.”

She set the tablet aside. She stood abruptly and turned to face him. “I need to change the game. I can’t win the one the CPS is playing. Arco Charrascos has to die.”

Renner’s heart stuttered in shock. “What?”

“I have to do it right now, before we reach the jump point,” she said, her words spilling out in a decisive clip. “I can’t use any of my pen names ever again, either. I have to be on the Ridderth casualty list and convince them I’m dead. It’s the only way to stop the CPS from doing whatever it takes to kill me.”

Relief washed through his chest as his brain caught up with her logic. “What will you do after you die?”

Arco shook her head. “I don’t know. I can’t let the CPS hurt anyone else because of me.”

Renner recognized the weight of her guilt. He understood the desperate need to protect the people she loved. “You’ll need untraceable funds and a new identity. And before you get any other self-sacrificing ideas, I’m staying with you. I’ll need a new identity, too.”

“Not as my employee, right? I was an asshole for taking advantage of you. I had other options.” A vulnerable softness entered her eyes. “I asked you because I was attracted to you. I admire you.”

He stood and pulled her into a solid, grounding embrace. “Ally. Partner.” A well of emotion took his voice to a whisper. “Friend. Lover.” He dropped his head to her ear. “Whatever you need.”

“You. This.” She pulled back just enough to press her warm palm against his jaw. “May I kiss you?”

He kissed her softly instead, intending to seal his promise. Instead, his blood ignited. He was entirely lost in the overwhelming sensation of her. Her soft body pressed flush against his hard angles. A wisp of her hair brushed his face. The taste of her flooded his senses. The reality of holding her far surpassed every fevered dream that visited his lonely nights.

She pulled back gently, her breath ragged. “I want to continue this, and soon. But I need to kill Arco first, while I still have my empire at my disposal and ways to get myself on official mortality lists.”

He loosened his embrace. Fighting the overwhelming desire to tumble her onto the narrow bunk and kiss her senseless, he forced practical, matter-of-fact words. “Want me to tell the team that you’re dead?”

Arco laughed. “Yeah, with just that tone. Please don’t leave them hanging. You may as well tell the Jumpers, too.” She sighed and patted the left side of his chest. “It’ll take me about thirty minutes. I’ll have to modify my old ‘final arrangements’ plan. I didn’t think I’d be the one executing it.”

Renner reached up and gently pushed the stray strand of hair back from her face. “Are you hurting?” Comforting someone was a profoundly novel experience for him. He wasn’t sure he was any good at it.

“Yes, I am,” she admitted, leaning into his touch. “I worked so hard for my career. It’s my… it was my calling. Starting over is scary.” A small, watery smile touched her lips. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “I think you have experience with this. Maybe you can help me.”

“You’ll find a new purpose. I did.”

Arco looked up at him. “What is it?”