EIGHTEEN

ALEXEI’S SHOULDERS DREW TOGETHER SO tightly they almost swallowed his spine. He, too, switched to Russian, but Mia clearly sensed trouble: her right hand rested casually on the pistol at the small of her back. “That is not negotiable,” Alexei snarled.

“Your loyalty to the woman who murdered your family is commendable,” Grigori replied coldly.

“She no more murdered them than I did.”

“You admit your role?”

“I said no such thing.”

“The courts were very clear.”

“The man who murdered my parents, my brother, he is dead.” Alexei clipped every word cleanly. “Whether by my hand or hers, I don’t even know. Nor do I care. We both shot him, and he died. Honor is maintained. Vengeance is satisfied. If you trust me so much as you claim, Uncle, you will take my word for it.”

“What are they saying?” Cage murmured in Mandarin, so softly I barely heard him.

I shook my head, in warning, not negation. I was already scouting the room for means of escape. If Grigori insisted on killing Mia, he’d have a war on his hands. Funny to think how I’d seen Mia as my enemy. Now, in spite of the fact that Alexei had just confirmed that he and Mia had shot a man, I thought of her as family.

The realization jolted through me. These anomalies, these criminals, they were my family. In such a short time they’d become the most important people in my life. I’d hated my mother for choosing the corporation over me. But if I had a choice between saving Dad’s life and Cage’s or Rune’s? I swallowed hard.

No point dwelling on imaginary what-ifs. I had a real problem on my hands, and no doubt as to where everyone in the room stood in terms of loyalty.

But what could we do? This was Grigori’s station. If it had Omnistellar security, even of an obsolete variety, we’d never make it far on our own. And God help us if we killed the station commander, a criminal lord in his own territory.

Would anyone’s powers help? Probably, if they knew what was going on. I nudged Alexei’s ankle with my foot, hoping he’d take the hint and switch to English. He didn’t.

“We have no need of your assistance.” Alexei spoke in a crisp, clear voice, enunciating every syllable. The others tensed at his tone. “Simply let us go, and we’ll be on our way.”

Grigori threw his head back and laughed. “Go where, my boy? You have no ship. No credits. You have nothing but an Omnistellar team on your tails and warrants for your arrest. Without my help, you won’t make it ten steps.”

“Leave that to us.”