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Keon chuckles. “You’re right about that. I actually came to take you to the shuttle; Atlas has already boarded his own.”
“We won’t be flying together?” I ask.
“Unfortunately not,” Keon says. “Security risk. You understand.”
I nod. “Okay. Let me just grab my stuff.”
“Actually…before we go, I have a gift for you.” Keon slips his hand into his pocket and pulls out a little velvet pouch, then tips it upside down into his opposite palm. A shiny silver ring falls out—a match for the one he tossed down the drain last night.
“I don’t know,” I say. “Unless you forgot, the last one I put in had a tracker on it.”
I don’t dare look at Corvus as I say it. I’m sure Keon would notice.
“I have more respect for you than First Wave does,” Keon says. “And I don’t believe infollowing people everywhere they go.”
He glances over his shoulder, and flashes Corvus a snide smile.
Does he know?
For all I know, Keon could be keeping even more from me. He’s proven himself to be more clever than I thought, and I know he’s got plenty of secrets. Although…if he knew Corvus was the rat, I have to figure he would have already kicked him out of the operation, or at the very least insisted on leaving him behind in Solis while we traveled to the Ganivet Valley.
“Okay, I’m game,” I say. “I just hope it hasn’t closed up at all…”
I move to take off my shirt, but Keon catches my hand.
“Here,” he says. “Let me.”
He guides me over to the bed and I sit on the edge, more nervous than I should be. I’ve had almost more piercings than I can count, some of which have closed up over time—my ears, my nose, my lip, my nipples. Plus, both of the men in this room have seen me naked at this point.
Keon fucked me senseless last night.
Why would I be nervous?
He kneels in front of me and I pull off my top as he moves my knees apart to position himself between my thighs. He takes the ring in hand and his eyes lower to my breast, his attention focusing on it. I can already feel a glimmer of that electric touch sliding over my skin, then Keon’s eyes flicker up to me, a mischievous smile on his face.
“May I?” he asks.
“Yes,” I murmur.
He leans forward and takes my nipple into his mouth, rolling it in his tongue and sending a vibrating resonance deep into my chest. I groan and thrust my breasts toward him, but he pulls away…and I feel that strange numbness I felt last night as he moves his hand toward me. I barely even feel the ring go in, the sensation in my breast dulled until Keon seals it with a kiss.
“All done,” he says, his voice low and throaty. “You can put your top back on.”
I smile at him. “But do you really want me to?”
He barks out a laugh. “Of course not. But we can hardly have you traveling like this, can we?”
Ten minutes later, and we’re headed out to the roof of the compound, where a sleek Aelyd aircraft waits. Keon keeps hold of my elbow with a gentle touch, while Corvus trails behind. I wonder what Corvus’ plan is for if—when—I kill Atlas. Will Keon be next on the chopping block, given that he would then be in charge of the Ganivet Family?
I shouldn’t care. I shouldn’t even be thinking about this.
Keon helps me into the aircraft, and he doesn’t object when Corvus follows us inside, though he does shoot him another dirty look. I don’t think it’s because he knows Corvus is the rat he’s looking for; I think it’s more because of how obsessed ‘Shayd’ is with following me everywhere. I get the impression this isn’t the first time that Atlas’ bodyguards have stepped on Keon’s fun.
“So how long is the trip?” I ask as I settle in. No seatbelts required; they really have full confidence in their ship’s artificial gravity. “And what should I expect?”
“Flight time is three human hours,” Corvus cuts in. “A short trip—but far, since we can travel faster than you do on Earth.”
“And what should you expect?” Keon says, looking a little annoyed as he glances at Corvus. “Well…the Ganivet Valley is said to be the most beautiful place in all of Aelyd space. It was once a tourist destination, before the Families fractured.”
