Beyond Galaxy's Edge Read online

  For a second, a murky childhood memory flashed in Justyn’s head. The three of them, just boys, trapped in the darkness, hearing the thud of heavy boots on the basement steps. Rynan clutching a sharpened piece of wood he’d fashioned into a shiv. Dare’s unwavering gaze never leaving the steps, his hands clenched into fists. Justyn’s heart was pounding so hard, he thought he’d be sick.

  Rynan shifted, shattering the memory. “Funny that you work so hard to get loose when we all know just how much you want to be caught by a certain Patrol captain.”

  Justyn shook off the past and gave himself a brief second to imagine being completely at Nissa’s command. She was the most stunning thing he’d ever seen. He remembered the first time she’d boarded his ship, almost three years ago. He’d stared at her like some love-struck kid.

  She had a reptilian ancestor not far back in her family tree that had gifted her a long, sinuous body with toned curves that made his cock hard. Her head was completely hairless, covered in smooth, golden skin, and it suited her long, elegant neck.

  She had patches of bronze, diamond-scale patterns on her forehead and cheekbones. It drove him crazy wondering if she had that pattern anywhere else on her body. He knew—from the few times he’d gotten close enough to touch her—the pattern was just as smooth as the rest of her skin. Her eyes were yellow with an elongated black pupil. And her over-wide mouth…well, that had featured in his dreams all too often. And her smooth, smoky voice. There wasn’t much he didn’t find tantalizing about her.

  Fucking gorgeous and out of his league. He sighed. “We all know that isn’t gonna happen.”

  He pushed past them and into Galaxy’s Edge.

  The space station was a ramshackle, wild, floating hunk-of-junk far from the law-and-order of the central systems. It was a stopping-off point for explorers, smugglers, and anyone else looking to make their fortune out in uncharted space. Only the very courageous, the very desperate, or the very crazy, filled its halls.

  As he strode down the corridor, his brothers fell into step with him. Justyn noted the docks were busy today—filled with the bustle of ships’ crews, a group of robed missionaries, a young bunch of rowdy explorers and a lone cleaning droid fighting a losing battle against the rust and grit on the metal floor.

  A young woman escorted by a security team—no doubt some wealthy merchant’s daughter off to an arranged marriage—glanced Justyn’s way. He shot her wide smile and winked. A charming blush swept over her cheeks and she coyly dipped her head.

  “You know, if you tried a bit of your charm on Nissa, you might actually get somewhere,” Rynan said.

  Justyn swallowed a snort. “Nissa Sander is a Patrol captain, career GSS. She’d never lower herself to consort with a smuggler.” And damn it, he wanted more than an illicit roll in the hay that would be regretted the next morning. “Besides, what makes you think I’d take advice on my love life from you? You never share your bed with the same woman twice.”

  Rynan shrugged. “At least I have women in my bed. The action in yours has been sadly lacking of late.”

  Justyn shot him the finger—an ancient custom that had never lost its popularity.

  “Justyn.” Dare’s tone was deep and commanding. And it made people listen. Perfect for a convoy master. Out in uncharted space, he held the lives of those on his convoy in his hands. He expected swift obedience and knew how to get it. “Are you ever going to act on the fact that you’re in love with Nissa Sander?”

  Justyn’s hands curled into tight fists. He hadn’t admitted his feelings to anyone. But he should have known his brothers would read him like an open holo-doc. They’d grown up together in hell, knew each other better than anyone could. “I’d ruin her life. Her career. Everything she wants. She doesn’t need a smuggler with his name on every anti-smuggling list from here to the Frontier quadrant.”

  “You’re selling yourself short.”

  No. He was in love with Nissa and that meant he wanted the best for her. And he wasn’t the best. He scraped a hand through his hair. Damn, he needed a haircut. But he needed something else more. “I need a drink. First round is on me at Moonrakers.” Maybe if he got nice and drunk he’d forget about caramel-colored skin that he wanted to lick. And a wide, generous mouth he wanted to see wrapped around—

  “Actually, we have a possible job…if you’re interested,” Dare said.

  Justyn glanced at his older brother out of the corner of his eye, interest piqued. He knew their next convoy out of the quadrant wasn’t for another week, so it had to be something else. A job would be a good distraction…and it would feel better than suffering a hangover and having to visit a medbooth to get rid of it. “Something need smuggling?”

  “Nope. This is a retrieval.”

  Retrieval? Now he was really curious. “What?”

  “I think I’ll let our cousins do the honors.”

  “Cousins?” Justyn groaned. “Don’t tell me those glory-hound, treasure-hunting rogues are here.”

  “They aren’t,” Dare said.

  “They’re on the holo-com,” Rynan added, a faint smile on his lips.

  Justin groaned again. “And they’re trying to suck us into some treasure hunt? Ever since we helped Malin and her cyborg steal that treasure a few months back, they think we’re their own private treasure hunters.”

  “Let’s just hear what they have to say,” Dare said.

  They headed for the apartments they’d rented for their stay on the Edge. They didn’t keep a permanent base on the space station but Justyn had wondered if it would be a good idea to get a place. A place where he could actually keep a comfortable bed to fall into, maybe store some of his things. Not on the space station. It was too busy and the security issues would make Rynan’s head explode. Maybe something on a planet or moon nearby.

  What the hell? Justyn pressed his fingers to his eyes. Him settling down in one place? Not likely. He liked picking up and taking off when the mood struck him. He hated being locked in one spot.

  The apartments were…rough. Bare and spare. The gray walls were serviceable at best, down-right ugly at worst. The furniture had been new when the central systems were unexplored space.

  Justyn strode over to an armchair and dropped into it. The chair adjusted to his height and weight. Or tried to. As the gears ground noisily, obviously in need of maintenance, he gave the armrest a thump. The chair finished its adjustment, and he thankfully leaned back in it.

  Rynan strode to the holo-screen set on the wall and pressed the controls. Dare leaned a hip against the battered table in the center of the room and waited.

  It took a few seconds for the transmission to connect. The screen flared to life and the three-dimensional image of a downright beautiful female appeared. Justyn arched a brow and leaned forward. She was medium height and from what he could see of her, she had a curvy little body. Dark curls cascaded over her shoulders and golden eyes glowed in a lovely face.

  “Hello, gorgeous,” he drawled.

  The woman smiled. “You must be Justyn.”

  “At your service.”

  Her lips twitched. “Glad to hear that.”

  A man muscled in front of the woman, a dark scowl on his face. “Can it, Phoenix. She’s mine.”

  Dathan Phoenix—infamous galactic treasure hunter—was all lean muscle and dark hair. His blue eyes were hot.

  Justyn smiled. Nothing he liked more than pissing off his formerly estranged cousin. “Scared she’ll take up with a better Phoenix?”

  Dathan crossed his arm. “Nope. And she’s a Phoenix, too.” His scowl turned into a smile. “Justyn, Dare and Rynan, this is Dr. Eos Rai-Phoenix.” The smile turned smug. “My wife.”

  Justyn slapped a hand to his forehead. “Eos, what the hell made you do something as stupid as marry this rogue?”

  Eos’s smile radiated happiness. “Oh, just a pesky thing called love.”

  Love. Justyn tried to imagine Nissa smiling as she talke
d about him. All his teasing feelings evaporated, leaving him with a sharp pain under his ribs.

  “A pleasure to meet you, Eos.” Dare’s gaze switched from Eos to Dathan. “How’s Malin?”

  “Sickeningly happy living on Centax with her cyborg. She’s helping run the salvage yard there and Xander spoils her. Constantly.”

  Justyn smiled at the thought of their tiny, salvage-mechanic cousin taming the deadly Centax Security cyborg she’d come to the Edge with on a treasure hunt. “And Zayn and Niklas?”

  “Fine. Zayn’s happy being a married man.”

  “And Nik?” Justyn noted the omission. “He’s recovered from his…run-in with Darc?” Justyn had been there in the nightclub right here on the station when the rival treasure hunter had left Nik unconscious.

  “He’s…okay.”

  Justyn heard the hesitation but let it go. He knew he wouldn’t want to tangle with Nera Darc. The woman was deadly.

  “You mentioned a job?” Dare asked.

  Dathan nodded. “An artifact has been stolen from the Galactic Institute of Historical Preservation.”

  “So?” Rynan rested his steepled hands on the console.

  “A thief stole the US Constitution from the New Metropolitan Museum on Davyn V during a gala dinner.”

  Justyn blinked. Holy space dust. “The US Constitution.”

  “Is there another one?” Dathan asked dryly.

  “I assume there’s a finder’s fee?” Dare asked, one eyebrow raised.

  “Yep,” Dathan replied. “A big one.”

  “The news hasn’t been made public yet,” Eos added. “I only just found out from an old colleague at the Institute. I’m sure the GSS has been activated to search for the thief, but once the word gets out, every treasure hunter, collector and thief will be after the fifty million e-creds.”

  Justyn whistled. That amount of money would tempt the scum of the galaxy. “But the document is worth far more than that, right? They could keep the document and sell it.”

  Dathan nodded. “Sure, but it would be difficult to fence something like that. Still, there’d be a few buyers willing to risk the wrath of the government, the Institute and the GSS to acquire it.”

  Eos made a frustrated noise. “Enough talk about money. The Constitution is more important than that. It is a vital piece of this galaxy’s history. One of the five documents that all our law is based on—”

  “She always like this?” Justyn asked.

  “Yep,” Dathan answered. When his wife jabbed her elbow in his ribs, he groaned. “I kind of like it.”

  Justyn had to admit, Eos Phoenix’s face had lit up during her impassioned little speech.

  She made noise in her throat. “I want that document returned to the Institute, where it belongs.”

  “We’re too far away to catch the thief.” Dathan fiddled with the ends of Eos’s hair. “We’ve heard he’s headed to Galaxy’s Edge.”

  Eos leaned forward. “The finder’s fee will be yours. Please, find the Constitution.”

  Justyn looked at his brothers, eyebrows raised. This wasn’t their usual gig, but he had to admit he was tempted.

  Rynan shrugged and Dare gave a slight nod.

  “Okay, we’ll do it,” Justyn said.

  Eos released a breath. “Thank you.”

  Justyn nodded. “So, who’s this thief and where do we find him?”

  “My informants tell me it’s a gridrunner by the name of Hewett Kenth.”

  “Kenth?” Justyn laughed. “No way Kenth could have pulled this off. Guy’s keen, has a good ship, but he couldn’t organize his way out of an empty space dock.”

  Dathan looked thoughtful. “Someone else must be the brains behind this, but has handed it off to him.”

  “Who?” Dare’s voice was crisp.

  “No idea. I haven’t heard even the hint of a whisper. Only Kenth’s name came up, along with confirmation he’s been hightailing it through the quadrant on his way to the Edge.”

  Justyn stood. He’d wanted a distraction and finding a priceless galactic treasure was a pretty damned good one. “Any idea when Kenth will turn up?”

  “Yep. Based on his last verified location, four hours ago, he’s about an hour away from the space station.”

  Justyn locked gazes with his brothers. “Do we wait for him here or intercept?”

  Rynan shook his head. “I wouldn’t risk waiting. He could hand it off before we get to him or change course to meet someone off-station.”

  Justyn agreed. “I’ll get the Mercury ready to head back out. I think you two should stay here in case I somehow miss Kenth.” Justyn tossed a salute at his cousin’s wife. “Dr. Rai-Phoenix, I’ll get that document for you.” He winked. “Maybe I’ll be better at this treasure hunting thing than Dathan and his brothers.”

  Dathan rolled his eyes and gave Justyn the finger.

  Chapter Three

  “Captain, we’ve picked up the Trader’s Dart on sensors.”

  Nissa stood behind her chair on the bridge, gripping the back of the seat. “Let’s catch ourselves a thief, Lieutenant Allard.”

  “Hang on a second—” Gavin tapped at his screen “—there appears to be another ship with the Dart.”

  Nissa’s gut tightened. “What?”

  “No, wait…it’s gone. There’s sensor interference from electromagnetic radiation emissions from a nearby pulsar. It’s playing havoc with my readings.”

  Possibly another ship? Nissa frowned, a knot forming in her stomach. Well, there wasn’t much she could do until they reached the Trader’s Dart.

  “Hold course. And let’s squeeze a little more speed out of engineering.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  They’d spent hours searching the area out of Galaxy’s Edge for Kenth’s ship. She wasn’t going to let him or the Constitution get away.

  Nissa pictured handing over the document to Admiral DeRuyter and finally getting a command back near Thusia. Her father would be thrilled. It was just the two of them and had been since her mother had died and her brother had…left.

  “Kenth’s signature is on the far side of Ubinas,” Gavin added. “We’ll be in visual range momentarily.”

  Ubinas was a small, uninhabitable planet covered in volcanoes and acid lakes. The only people who visited it were crazy sulfur miners looking for valuable chunks of bright-yellow sulfur.

  Nissa tapped a finger against her chair. Come on, come on. She wanted that priceless document in her hands and then locked in the state-of-the-art safe in her cabin.

  “Rounding Ubinas now,” Gavin said.

  Nissa heard the excitement in the man’s voice. She knew her crew was thrilled to be involved in recovering something as important at the Constitution. They were used to less-exciting missions out here on the edge. Nissa scanned the bridge and all the familiar faces manning their stations. She’d spent three years whipping them into shape. They were a damned good crew. She felt a pang in her chest. She’d miss them once she was gone.

  Ubinas passed close on their port side—a black rock covered in spots of red and turquoise blue.

  Ahead, Kenth’s Dart came into view. Its engines were powered down.

  And docked beside it was another very familiar runnership.

  Nissa cursed and didn’t care that it was against protocol. Through clenched teeth she said, “Commander Tryker, prepare the boarding team for teletransportation. Keep it small.”

  “Affirmative, Captain.”

  As her security officer organized three of his best, Nissa pulled out her own laser pistol and checked it. She shoved it back into her holster and eyed Drayna. “You have command until I return.”

  Her second offered her a nod. “Try to remember we arrest criminals, we don’t kill them.”

  “I’ll try.” Nissa spun and stood with the boarding team. At her nod, the blue flash of the teletrans flared in front of her.

  The cockpit of the Dart was small,
so it was a tight fit for all of them. But Nissa paid no attention to her team rematerializing at her back.

  Instead, her gaze was on the tall man in front of her. She saw some look cross Justyn’s handsome face. Guilt, she decided.

  She flicked a look at the smaller man sitting at Justyn’s feet, his arms resting on his knees and his face bruised. Hewett Kenth.

  Justyn stepped forward. “I can explain—”

  “Where is it?” she said the words with a ruthless calm she didn’t feel.

  Justyn grimaced. “Well, there’s a story—”

  “No crap, Phoenix. Where is the Constitution?”

  “Captain Smooth—”

  Nissa strode up to him, her hand resting on her holstered pistol. “Now is not the time to test me. Where. Is. The. Document?”

  Justyn eyed her pistol, then shrugged his broad shoulders. “It isn’t here.”

  Damn him. Nissa’s jaw ached from clenching her teeth so hard. She was so angry at him and something in her chest ached. Wine, tobacco, luxury goods, she could forgive. But this…not even she couldn’t forgive him this. “Commander Tryker, arrest both these men and escort them to the Freedom’s brig.”

  Justyn’s silver-gray eyes flickered, but for once there was no careless grin on his face. “I can explain, Nissa.”

  She turned away from him and speared her head of security with a look. “Get more people over here. Tear this ship apart. I want the Constitution found.”

  Nissa strode out of the cockpit. She’d thought that finally locking Justyn Phoenix in the brig would make her happy.

  It didn’t.

  ***

  Justyn lay on his back on the low bunk, hands clasped under his head, staring at the ceiling of his cell.

  He’d spun his wheels in quite a few brigs in his time. Nissa’s really wasn’t that bad.

  Still, he felt…unsettled. That look she’d given him in the cockpit of Kenth’s ship had seared through him and left him feeling shredded inside.