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“And if he doesn’t?” she voiced her fear.
“He will. Did Nas ever tell you what happens when a member dies in a pod?”
Her gaze shot to his. “No.”
“It’s instantly felt throughout the pod.” His eyes became distant as if he were remembering something painful. “It can be crippling.”
“You’ve experienced this?” she murmured.
“Yes.” He seemed to pull himself out of the past and focused on her. “I’ve lost two pod members since becoming a cyborg. Once when I served under Nas. The other when commanding my own pod. Both were like losing a brother.”
“I’m sorry.” Reaching up, she caressed his cheek.
“Thank you, but I’m telling you this because I haven’t experienced that loss for Nas.”
Hope filled her only to fade away when she remembered. “But you aren’t a member of Nas’s pod anymore.”
“True, but he and I never severed our link. We’d served together for too long.”
“So you’re saying,” hope bloomed inside her again, “you would know if Nas were dead?”
“Yes.”
The sob burst from her, and she buried her face in his chest. Gods, she’d never admitted, even to herself, the chance that her brother was dead.
“Shh, it's okay.” His arms tightened around her, pulling her close.
“I’ve been imagining so many terrible things since that execution.” She knew she could admit that to him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mention the link sooner. I assumed with everything Nas told you about us, he would have revealed that.”
“Nas only tells you what he wants you to know,” she huffed out humorlessly.
“Isn’t that the truth,” Ranvir agreed. “In all these years, he never said a word about you.”
“He takes being the protective older brother seriously.” She smiled up at him even though her cheeks were still wet.
“Nas takes everything seriously,” Ranvir smiled down at her. “He always had a backup plan for his backup plan.”
“I can believe that. Although I doubt even Nas could have prepared for what Shui did.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that. After all, he advised you to get this ship.”
“And arranged to have it outfitted with a few extras. Which reminds me.” Rising from the couch, she walked over to her comm station, unconcerned about her nudity.
Ranvir frowned but rose and followed her. “You mean there’s more than I’ve already seen?”
“Yes.”
He watched her sit down and then heard the hum when she slid her hand under the desk, palm side up. “Your comm station is palm coded?”
She smiled over her shoulder at him. “It is, and we need to get it to recognize yours, but first.” She entered a code, and the entire wall section retracted, and a new station descended.
“Gods almighty!” Ranvir swore, his gaze rapidly moving over the sleek station. “Do you know what this is?”
“A top-of-the-line comm station?” she asked, carefully glancing up at him.
“It’s more than that. It’s a stealth system.” He gave her a hard look. “This is how you accessed your credits, isn’t it? Where you filled those credit strips.”
