The Jack's Story (BRIGAND Book 2) by Natalie French, Scot Bayless Read Free Book Online

They’re only supposed to travel on sanctioned craft, with full docs."
    I turned now, and watched her face. She sat stiff, her eyes fixed on the vast blackness outside. It was only then I noticed the faint shadows under her eyes. Didn’t look like she’d been sleeping much..
    Trying for a softer tone I said, "Just a wild guess here, but I’m betting you don’t have much documentation."
    Trig turned and looked me in the eyes. "And I suppose you do? I suppose this ‘ship’ is yours free and clear and you’re just an ex-marine turned cargo pilot?"
    "Oh I’ve got docs all right." I laughed. "For all the good they’d do me."
    Her expression made me laugh even harder. It felt good. Good to talk about it. Good that I wasn’t alone in my outlaw state. I leaned back in my seat and stared into the dark for a moment. She had more questions, but she didn’t need to be pushed.
    I waited.
    "So Mundus won’t ask?"
    "Nope. They make their money by being the neutral point of commerce among Earth, Mars and Jupiter. They couldn’t care less who I am and wouldn’t ask if they did."
    "That’s good." She shrugged and settled back into the padded seat. "So what are you going to do?"
    "I’m going to drop some stuff off, make a few cads, pick up supplies from the vendors that hang around the docks and then I’m going farther out. Someplace harder for the Confed to reach."
    I found myself wondering what Trig would do once we docked at Mundus. Wraiths are notoriously self-sufficient, but she seemed so different. The Belt was an unforgiving place. You added value or you died. There wasn’t much in between. It occurred to me that she might not make it on her own. I remembered a little boy who slept on a cot in a whorehouse and felt a pang of... something.
    Before I could think to voice my concern, she smiled. "I can steal."
    She said it so flatly that I was taken by surprise, but my lack of response apparently came across as a challenge.
    Trig tilted her head a touch and stared at me under dark eyelashes. "I can."
    My brain came unstuck. "And this would be useful because?"
    "Because maybe you can’t always get the things this ship needs, that you need, from the usual sources. Because you’re as far on the outside as I am. Maybe farther."
    "I didn’t think you wanted company."
    "I didn’t know if I should trust you – with you being, you know..."
    I folded my hand over my heart. "A generous host? A scintillating conversationalist? Male?"
    She glanced at  the ports in my wrists. "Confed."
    "But if you were going to turn me in, you’d have done it by now. Ceres is outside Confed space. Why take me all the way out there to hand me over?"
    "Maybe I can get a better price in Mundus."
    The color drained from her ivory skin, making her almost ethereal. Her eyes turned to blue ice. She looked ghostly. Like a Wraith.
    "Hey, that was a joke." I said softly. She quickly looked away. "There is one isn’t there? A bounty."
    Her shrug answered first. "Probably... Yeah I think so."
    I reached out to her, but she drew away. "Trig," I said quietly, "Even if I wanted to turn you in, I couldn’t. I can’t go near the Confed."
    "Look," I said, as I splayed out my fingers over the command console, "I’ve been thinking about putting together a crew anyway. Even with bots and AI’s, I can’t run this ship alone. So if you want... sign on. Stay."
    I could see her thinking it through, like a chess move. But there was something else too. Something more human. Relief?
    "But," I held up my hand, "no more deliveries. You want grub. You come to the mess and get it."
    She nodded. "How many more will you need?" I could see her weighing risks.
    "Maybe one or two. We don’t need be in each other’s business – in fact the less we know the better."
    She nodded again.
    "A tech at least. I’m whole lot better a breaking things than fixing them."
    "Okay." She agreed but added, "But can it just be one more?"
    I grinned. "Yeah. One more sounds about