Not the Man She Thought (2 page)

Damn. She’d hoped he was the captain. “I overhead some of
the crew talking in the Marketplace about going to Marlon Prime and I was
wondering if the captain would be willing to take on a passenger.”

The old man’s brow furrowed. “We’re a cargo ship. We don’t
take on passengers, Ma’am.”

She took a step closer and gave him her best beseeching
look. “But you’re already heading that way, and I promise I won’t be any
trouble. Please?”

The man eyed her thoughtfully. “Why is it that you’re
looking for passage on a cargo ship when there are plenty of good transport
ships?”

Okay, obviously her beseeching look wasn’t having the
desired effect. She swallowed hard, letting tears form in her eyes. It wasn’t
hard. She was desperate enough to cry. “I…I’m a little short on money at the
moment.”

His mouth only tightened more at her words. She hurried on
before he could dismiss her entirely.

She let a tear roll down her cheek. “Please. My fiancé is on
one of the neighboring planets in the Tobagee System and I need to go to him.
If you could just explain my situation to your captain, I’m sure he would make
an exception to his policy and allow me to...”

The old man shook his head. “His answer’s gonna be the same,
Ma’am. We don’t take on passengers.”

Laken put her hand on his arm, stopping him before he could
head back up the gangway. “Wait. If it’s a question of money, my fiancé will
pay...”

“It ain’t the money, Ma’am.”

“But...”

He sighed. “I’m sorry, Ma’am. Captain Karsten has a firm
rule when it comes to passengers. You’ll have to find some other way. Besides,
you don’t want to go to the Tobagee System right now, anyway. It’s not a good
place for a woman like you.”

The old man didn’t wait for a reply, but instead turned and
walked up the gangway to disappear inside the ship, taking with him her one
chance to get off Tellune and be reunited with Mallin. Couldn’t the old man see
how desperately she needed to be with the man she loved? Maybe he was like her
father, and had seen, but simply didn’t care.

She wiped the tears from her eyes with an angry hand,
another impulsive and even crazier idea than before coming to mind. She was going
to get away from her father and his plans for an arranged marriage, and she was
going to get back to Mallin, even if it meant stowing away on board that damn
cargo ship.

Laken looked around. While the dock was crawling with
people, fortunately none of them seemed interested in her or what she was
doing. She cautiously made her way up the gangway and was relieved when she
didn’t see anyone in the cargo hold. So far, so good. Heart hammering in her
chest, she took a deep breath and hurried the rest of the way inside. No sooner
had she stepped foot in the ship than the door closed. She jumped at the noise.
There was no going back now.

  
The hold
was filled nearly floor to ceiling with big wooden crates and machinery, but
none of the crew were around. She wasted no time picking a hiding place just in
case someone came down to that part of the ship, though, and quickly crouched
behind one of the crates. Ten minutes later, the ship took off and sped away
from Tellune. Without a comfortable seat, the take-off wasn’t much fun, but
beggars couldn’t be choosers, she supposed so far.

She sat down on the floor and leaned back against the crate
behind her, hugging her knees to her chest. While getting on the ship had been
easy, she wasn’t as confident about staying hidden for the entire journey. If
the crew found her, they probably wouldn’t be pleased. She could only hope
she’d be able to sweet talk the captain into letting her stay on board instead
of dumping her off on the first planet they came to. She could smile and
flutter her eyelashes with the best of them, but not all men fell for that kind
of thing. It would be smarter to make sure she stayed hidden.

That might be harder than it sounded, though, especially
when her stomach growled a few hours later. The sound seemed to echo in the
cargo hold and she groaned inwardly. When she’d decided to hitch a ride on the
cargo ship, she hadn’t thought about what she would do for food or water during
the voyage. It might take days to get to Marlon Prime. She could go without
food, but not water, which meant she was go to have to go in search of the
galley at some point. Not yet, though. Not unless she absolutely had to. With
any luck, the ship would get to the Tobagee System before that became an issue.

Ignoring her stomach, she rested her head on her knees and
thought of Mallin. The rhythmic hum of the ship’s engines were hypnotic,
however, and though she fought against it, she felt herself drift off to sleep.

* * * * *

That was how they found her two hours later.

 
“Who the hell
are you?”

Laken jerked awake at the man’s voice. Heart in her throat,
she lifted her head to find a tall, lanky red-haired guy standing over her.
Even half-asleep, she recognized him as one of the men she had followed from
the restaurant back on Tellune. Finn, she thought his name was. Damn, he looked
a lot less friendly now than he had back on her home world.

She quickly scrambled to her feet. “I...”

The words were barely out of her mouth before the man
grabbed her arm and dragged her across the cargo hold.

 
“Wait a minute!
I—”

 
“Save it!” he
snapped.

She tried to dig in her heels, but it did no good. “Take
your hands off me!”

He paid no attention to her, but just gave her arm a sharp
tug that had her stumbling after him as he dragged her up a set of metal steps
and into the main part of the ship.

Laken opened her mouth to plead her case again, but then
closed it. Why bother? He was only going to bring her to the captain anyway,
and she’d have to explain herself all over again. Despite the knack she had for
charming any man when she had to, her stomach was in a knot by the time they
came to a stop outside a door halfway down one of the passageways. Maybe
stowing away on board a ship hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

Holding onto her arm with one hand, Finn rapped on the door
with his free one. “Captain?”

There was a silence on the other side of the door and for a
moment, Laken thought she might get a reprieve, but then a man’s strong voice
called out.

 
“Enter.”

Finn thumbed the button that opened the door, then
unceremoniously shoved her inside. With its wood paneling and expensive leather
furniture, the room reminded her of her father’s study at home. But even her
father would be envious of the computers that covered one whole wall. So was she,
for that matter. They had to be worth a small fortune.

Laken’s surprise at seeing the computers was nothing to
compared to how stunned she was when the captain turned to face them.

She had expected him to be like all of the others she had
seen at the spaceport back on Tellune, which meant middle-aged with a slight
paunch and a receding hairline. But this man was nothing like that at all. In
fact, with his dark hair, rugged good-looks and well-muscled build, he looked
more like he should be a vid-actor or a holo-model. An extremely attractive one
at that. The only thing that detracted from the picture was the scowl he was
sending her way.

His dark eyes darted to the man behind her.
 
“What the hell is this?”

“I found her hiding in the cargo hold, Captain.”

The captain’s scowl deepened, but he didn’t say anything.
After a moment, he nodded to Finn. The red-headed man threw her a glare, then
left.

Laken held her breath, waiting for the captain to say
something, but instead he turned back to the wall of computers to focus that
glower of his on them. She swallowed hard.

“This is all a misunderstanding, Captain. I got lost and
boarded your ship by mistake.”

He spun around to pin her with those dark eyes again.
“Bullshit! What were you doing? Looking for a bathroom? Lady, this is a cargo
ship and you’re a stowaway. That’s a very serious crime, in case you didn’t
know.”

Her face colored. “I’m not a stowaway.”

Back on Tellune it was considered inappropriate for a
gentleman to raise his voice in a woman’s company, much less swear. But
obviously Captain Karsten wasn’t a gentleman. He was a clearly a man who was
used to intimidating people with his rank and his gruff manner. She pitied his
poor crew.

She lifted her chin. “I came on board to speak with the
captain about booking passage on this disgusting vessel, but got turned around
and couldn’t find my way out of the cargo hold. The next thing I knew, the ship
was taking off.” She gave him a disdainful look. “You really should have more
lights in there, you know. Exit signs, too. In fact, I should sue you for
putting me in such a dangerous environment.”

“You can cut the load of crap you’re shoveling because I’m
not buying it.” He folded his arms across his broad chest and regarded her
coldly. “I already know you tried to book passage with my first officer. When
that didn’t work, you snuck on board, thinking you could stow away instead.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, wondering if she
should continue to try to deny it or just admit her was right. When she didn’t
answer, he reached out and snatched her purse from her hand.

 
“What are you
doing?” she demanded.
   

He didn’t answer. Instead, he opened her purse and rummaged
through it until he found what he was looking for. Taking out her ident-card,
he tossed the purse onto the desk without a word, then turned to his computer.
Inserting the slim piece of plastic into the reader, he waited while the
computer brought up her personal information.

 
She folded her
arms and glared at his broad back. “You could have just asked me my name, you
know.”
 

 
“I could have,
but you’d probably just lie to me.”

 
Laken ground
her jaw. Bringing up her personal information only took a matter of seconds and
in a moment, her picture was gazing back at him from the computer screen. Beside
it was all the information he could ever want to know about her. She was
twenty-five, had been born on Tellune to a merchant and his wife, both of whom
still lived on her home world. She’d been at the finest and most expensive
university on the planet, and held a degree in computer technology, but didn’t
have a job. He probably thought she’d gone to school to get away from Daddy,
but that when it came to actually getting a job and supporting herself, her
father’s money had looked a whole lot better.

She fidgeted nervously. “Okay, you’re right. I did stow
away. But I had a good reason.”

Karsten turned to look at her, brow arched. “Go on. I can’t
wait to hear this.”

She wet her lips. “I...I’m meeting my fiancé on New Ashanti,
which is in the Tobagee System.”

“I know where it is,” he said. “What I don’t know is why you
snuck on board my ship? You couldn’t find a transport ship going there?”

She lowered her gaze, trying hard to look like the frail
female she wanted him to think she was. Standing up to him hadn’t gotten her
anywhere, maybe acting submissive would. “I...I couldn’t afford passage on a
transport.”

“Why not? Daddy didn’t want to pay for it?”

“He doesn’t know.”

“Oh, I see. So, you’re running away from home to be with the
man you love. How romantic.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What about
your fiancé? Is he as penniless as you are?”

She lifted her head. “Of course not.”

“Then why didn’t he pay for your passage?”

She hesitated. “He...he doesn’t know I’m coming.”

“Excuse me.”

“He doesn’t know I’m coming,” she said again. “He left
Tellune two months ago on important business and I haven’t been able to get in
touch with him. I thought I’d surprise him.”

Karsten chuckled. “He’ll be surprised all right.”

She frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means your fiancé dumped you, sweetheart, and that
you’ll only be making a fool of yourself by chasing after him.”

Laken felt her face flush. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t
already heard at least a dozen times from her father, and even though she refused
to believe that about Mallin, the words hurt more every time she heard them.
“My fiancé did not dump me.”

He raised a brow. “Really? Then why haven’t you heard from
him?”

Her color deepened. “I never said I hadn’t heard from him. I
said I hadn’t been able to get in touch with him. It’s like I told you, my
fiancé’s on New Ashanti on very important business.”