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“And you’re not following them?” Tambi asked.
“I’m outside the family business, so I don’t need to listen to his demands. He doesn’t always approve of that.”
“And he wants the Hollow Chorus put on ice?”
I nodded.
“Anything else?” Tambi spun a finger in the air. “Did he mention anything that had you worried?”
“He... knows about this crew.”
“Sure, he does. Our reputation is A fucking plus with a cherry on top,” Tambi said. “How important is the Hollow Chorus to him?”
“The ship means nothing to him, but the family reputation means everything.” I gritted my teeth.
Doc sat forward, gaze focused. “Did Cass know about this meeting?”
I shook my head.
“She was tracking someone, though,” Monica said. She checked the camera feed. “And you left the ship just before she arrived. She could have seen you and followed.”
“Why would she follow me?”
“Lack of trust,” Tambi said.
I bared my teeth, my mate bond viciously protesting that my one true mate didn’t believe me. “We trust each other.”
Tambi smirked. “Cass takes time to open her trust bucket. You must have done something shady that tweaked her bullshit radar, so she needed to know what you were up to.”
My translator glitched on the end words, but I got the meaning. “Even if Cass knew where I was going, she wouldn’t have gotten near my uncle to question him. He likes his privacy, and that building is impossible to access if you don’t have clearance.”
“Wow! You really don’t know our girl as well as you think you do.” Tambi was already moving. “She clocked you sneaking off and wanted to know why. If she’d wanted to get in to see your uncle, she’d have found a way to do so.”
“She wasn’t there.” Sweat prickled on my forehead. If Cass had followed me, and my uncle caught her snooping, he’d be fucking furious.
Tambi motioned for the others to move. “Someone with Cass’s training doesn’t vanish without a word unless she got taken out of action. She’s in trouble.”
Monica grabbed her jacket off the back of a chair. “We’re going. Now.”
“Not blind.” Tambi held up a hand. “We need the building’s layout, the security configuration, and a way in that doesn’t get us annihilated by whatever high-tech systems we’re dealing with.”
“My uncle...” my words vanished. If he considered Cass a problem, he’d take her out without hesitation. He knew I’d connected with Cass. Would he use her against me?
“Your uncle is a jerk off abductor who has our girl?” Doc said. “Yeah, we figured that out.”
“It’s possible he’s involved. I’ll get us inside Pier Nine.” My voice came out tight, my stomach clenched. Would my fucker of an uncle stoop this low? Of course he would. Reputation over everything else. “Navarre won’t refuse to see me.”
Doc zipped the med kit and slung it over her shoulder. “Just in case he does, I’m prepping for injuries. We’re fighting whatever comes at us until we have Cass.”
“There was an alert when we were talking,” I said. “My uncle claimed it was rodents triggering the system, but maybe he saw Cass get inside. He has drones that deal with security breaches.”
“We’re not talking super cute, friendly drones who offer you candy and a soft drink, are we?” Tambi asked.
“No, he always has the best, so these drones will have military-grade settings. They can handle any threat.”
“Well damn! If they hit Cass, we’re looking at concussion, soft tissue damage, possible internal bleeding.” Doc checked her bag for supplies again and grabbed a few more items from a cabinet.
“Cass is tough.” Monica swiped her hands down her legs as if wiping something off. “She can get out of any screwy situation.”
