Through Uncharted Space: A Phoenix Adventures Sci-fi Romance (2 page)

Stealing the map was maybe not the smartest move…but Dakota loved to take a few risks. If you never took a risk, you stayed stuck. Without some risks, life wasn’t worth living.

Without some risks, you ended up with nothing.

She didn’t plan on having nothing.

No, Dakota’s biggest mistake was picking the Phoenix Deep-Space Convoy to hide out on.

Yes, they’d take her out into uncharted space, far from Golden Nova’s spies, assassins, and crazy followers. And she’d be a lot closer to the treasure she was determined to find.

But one look at convoy master Dare Phoenix, and her error had become apparent. One look in his silver eyes, and she knew he missed little. And that he liked to be the master of his own domain.

Dare Phoenix was going to be a problem. From the top of his handsome head, to the bottom of his long, lean, hard body. A
big
problem.

Her fingers curled into a fist. Too bad. Because Dakota Jones liked being in charge as well. No one was master of her or her life.

She suppressed a grimace. She had to stay in disguise and in character. Right now, she was Dena Johns. A plain woman with few prospects, looking for a new life.

Ahead, the passengers were all talking excitedly amongst themselves. They’d moved into a spacious corridor. At least she hadn’t made a mistake about the ship itself. The
Sky Nomad
was large and, while not fancy, it looked comfortable. This wasn’t a pleasure cruise, but she knew the cabins were well appointed, and the ship had a top-of-the-line galley, hydroponics system, gym, large cargo areas, and a small but experienced crew. Hell, it even had an arboretum.

Oh, and it had excellent weapons capabilities. In uncharted space, deep-space convoys could face anything: space pirates, hostile aliens, and some things never seen before in civilized space.

The group turned a corner, and Dakota quickened her pace to keep up. Ahead, she saw another tall man waiting for them.

“Hi,” the man said with a smile. “I’m Justyn Phoenix. Welcome.”

He was a shade shorter than his brother, with a more open and friendly face. He had shaggy hair, and a wide, sexy smile. This one was the charmer of the brothers, she guessed.

“I’ll show you to your cabins,” Justyn said. “You can freshen up before we take off.”

Dakota cleared her throat. “How long until we’re underway? Will it be long?”

He glanced her way. “Less than an hour. You’ll have plenty of time to clean up and join us on the bridge.” His gaze moved over her, but there was no spark of interest or curiosity, and she released a breath. She’d purposely picked a disguise that blended, and, thankfully, so far, nobody had really noticed her.

Well, almost nobody. She shoved the thought of Dare Phoenix away.

This Phoenix brother here saw exactly what she wanted him to see. Maybe she was worried about Dare for no reason. Maybe that one shocking look they’d shared had been nothing. She glanced at her timepiece. If any of the Golden Nova assassins had followed her to Galaxy’s Edge—who was she kidding, of course they’d followed her—she wanted to be away sooner rather than later.

“Thank you, I’m just eager to be underway.” She managed a bland smile.

“In a hurry?”

The deep, authoritative voice from behind her sent a shiver down her spine. Dakota stayed calm and turned her head a little, catching sight of Dare’s tall form. She kept her eyes downcast. “Simply eager for our journey to begin.”

“You mean adventure,” one of the young women called out. “We can’t wait, either!”

“Miss Johns, this is your cabin.” Justyn waved a hand at a nearby door.

Keen to get away from them all, Dakota nodded and moved forward, her gaze still on the metal-plate floor. Unfortunately, Dare moved at the same moment she did, and they bumped into each other.

Dakota pulled back so fast she almost stumbled. She’d gotten a hint of hard muscle and warm male.

Strong fingers wrapped around her upper arm.

“Steady there,” Dare said.

With another nod, she pulled away from him and hurried into her cabin. She didn’t look at anyone as she closed the door. It slid shut with a whisper of sound.

Fuck.
She locked the door and then leaned against it, letting her head drop back against the metal.

Yep, Dare Phoenix was going to be a problem. She’d just have to lay very low and stay out of his way. Taking in a deep breath, she studied the cabin.

There was a double bed with a green cover, a built-in desk and cupboard on the far wall, and an adjoining doorway to a simple bathroom with a single shower stall. She wrinkled her nose. Starships used water-saving devices, which meant the shower would be little more than mist. She hated them.

There was one small, round window that right now gave her a close-up view of a battered section of the space station. She wandered closer. Not only battered, but replete with some laser burns, if she wasn’t mistaken.

Dakota tossed her coat off, glad to be rid of its bulky weight. Next, she reached up and ripped her wig off, letting her own dark hair spill around her shoulders. Stars, that felt good. The damned wig was itchy as hell.

She started to pace. Right now, Golden Nova’s brainwashed lunatics would be searching the space station for her. She rubbed the back of her neck. The itchy feeling there had nothing to do with the wig and everything to do with being hunted.

She stopped and sucked in a few deep breaths. Soon they’d be underway, and the edgy feeling dogging her would fade. She nodded to herself. Everything was going according to plan, and would be fine.

And she could handle Dare Phoenix.

Dakota was good at slipping in under the radar and doing what had to be done to get a job finished. And this was the biggest job of her life.

She picked up the orb nestled between her breasts, and cradled the small sphere in her hand. It wasn’t just a pretty jewel; it was actually an advanced holo-orb that held the map to the treasure.

As her fingers moved over it, the orb glowed a brilliant blue. The next second, a holographic star map projected into the air above the sphere.

Her gaze went straight to the golden planet glowing on it. The location of the Atocha Treasure.

An ancient Terran motherlode of gold and silver coins, artifacts, and fabulous jewels. Once, it had been lost under Terran seas on a shipwreck. It had been recovered, displayed, and then taken off Earth on a starship during the Great Terran War, never to be seen again.

Instead of being lost under the waves of Earth’s oceans, it was now lost in the depths of uncharted space.

And Dakota Jones was going to find it.

She stared at the planet. It was a shame the star map was currently undecipherable. It matched no known star maps. She touched the orb again, and the projection faded away. But she’d done her research and she had some hunches. And Dakota was pretty good with hunches.

Finding the Atocha Treasure would be everything to her. Her heartbeat sped up. She’d started life with nothing and since then, she’d gone from job to gig to scam throughout her entire thirty years. People had tried to swindle her and hurt her, and repeatedly stolen from her. Her jaw tightened. All she wanted was to live in luxury for the rest of her life. No hunger, no worrying about where she’d sleep, worrying who was going to take advantage of her next.

The Atocha Treasure was the key to that dream. And nothing—and no one—was going to stop her from finding it.

Chapter Two

“Prepare to push away from Galaxy’s Edge, Captain Phoenix,” Dare said.

“Preparing now,” his sister-in-law, Nissa, replied from the captain’s chair.

Dare stood on the
Sky Nomad’s
spacious bridge, feet shoulder-width apart, hands clasped behind his back. He was flanked by his brothers. He watched Nissa and the crew working competently. He felt the faint vibrations of the ship’s engines beneath his feet.

Nissa turned the captain’s chair a little. She had some reptilian heritage and it showed in the golden skin that covered her bald head, and the patches of bronze, diamond-scale pattern on her forehead and cheekbones. “Galaxy’s Edge Docking Control, this is the
Sky Nomad
. We are ready for departure.”

“Acknowledged,
Sky Nomad
.” The rough voice of the space station’s controller came through the loudspeakers. “Prepare for docking clamp release in ten.”

As the controller counted down, Dare saw Justyn grinning from beside him. Dare’s youngest brother was a trader with the heart of a smuggler. He loved the adventure of each new journey they embarked on. Rynan stood on the other side of Dare, his arms crossed over his chest. He had a faint scowl on his face. Ry considered each new journey the opportunity for things to go wrong.

“Docking clamps released,” Nissa said. “
Sky Nomad
is underway.”

Through the viewscreen, Dare saw them move away from the space station. Behind him, he heard excited chatter.

He looked back and saw his passengers watching the pushback. All their faces showed eager excitement.

Except for Miss Johns’.

As soon as she saw him looking, she turned her head and looked at the very uninteresting control panel beside her.

His gaze narrowed. Something about the woman rubbed him the wrong way. The plain looks didn’t attract him, and she appeared uninteresting and unlikely to cause any problems. He stared at the surprisingly smooth curve of her jaw, and wondered what it was about her that seemed off.

“Galaxy’s Edge, we are free and clear,” Nissa said.

“Good travels,
Sky Nomad
. Docking Control out.”

Dare shook his head, and focused back on the viewscreen. The
Nomad
came around, and ahead lay the black of space, pinpricked by stars.

The vastness of uncharted space.

He looked to the screens showing his six convoy ships pulling away from the space station. He touched his earpiece. “Phoenix Convoy ships, fall into convoy formation.” He’d already met with all the ship captains and prepped them. He’d also warned them that he didn’t give second chances. They followed his orders, or they were out of the convoy.

Beyond the edge, everyone’s lives depended on sticking together and following the rules. His rules.

“Nissa, confirm all ships have correct course coordinates set,” he said.

She nodded at her navigator and the woman tapped on her screen.

Soon, they cleared the space station’s outer boundary beacons, and Dare was satisfied that all the ships were in line.

“Okay, we are officially on convoy.” He inclined his head at his crew, then looked at his passengers. “We have two hours until we cross into uncharted space.”

The passengers all clapped.

“As it’s our first night, we’ll have a group meal in the dining room to celebrate the start of our journey.”

There were more excited exclamations. Except, of course, for Miss Johns. She stayed silent.

“I’ll see you all there.” Dare watched as they all left.

Ry followed. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

No doubt fiddling with some new security device or program he’d invented. Ry was happiest alone, tinkering with something. “Don’t miss the dinner.” Ry hated them, and tried everything he could to avoid them.

Justyn gave Nissa a quick kiss and then slapped Dare on the back. “I’m heading to my office, as well. I have a few trade agreements I want to work on for planets along our route.”

Dare waited on the bridge a bit longer, to ensure everything was running smoothly, before he headed to his cabin. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, he was ready for the dinner.

He tied his damp, shoulder-length hair back absently, and then hit his palm to the door lock. His door opened, and as he exited, he almost collided with one of his passengers.

The blonde smiled at him. She’d changed into a short dress made of a shiny fabric that shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. She licked her lips. “I got a little turned around.”

Right
. The guest cabins were several decks below the crew quarters.

He held out an arm. “I’ll escort you to the dining room, Miss…?”

“Amber Lynn is fine.” She shot him a flirtatious smile and put her arm through his.

She was attractive, and he liked it when a woman was forthright about what she wanted. He was happy to take a woman to his bed—for the duration of the convoy, and no more. It’d been several weeks since he’d indulged in sex. But, so far, the lovely Amber Lynn wasn’t sparking his interest past mild.

When they reached the dining room, the other passengers and his brothers were already there. They were all milling around, sipping drinks and talking. Justyn was behind the bar, shaking up some sort of cocktail. He caught Dare’s gaze and grinned. When the lovely Amber Lynn didn’t relinquish her hold on Dare’s arm, Justyn rolled his eyes.

The long table was already loaded with dishes from around the galaxy. As Dare moved toward the head of the table, he saw that Miss Johns was seated to the left of his chair. When she saw him and Amber Lynn coming, she stood, her chair scraping on the floor.

“This spot is right beneath the ventilation outlet,” she muttered, looking at her feet. “I’ll catch a cold.” She hurried to the opposite end of the table.

Amber Lynn took Miss Johns’ vacated seat, while her friend sat beside her. Ry sat to Dare’s right. Dare knew his brother would eat and disappear as soon as he could.

As Dare sat, he watched Miss Johns pull her large coat around her, then hunch over her plate. He frowned. The temperature in the room was pleasant, so why the giant coat?

“It usually takes a few days on convoy before you get that unhappy look on your face.” Ry took a sip of his drink.

“Everyone, enjoy your meal,” Dare said, ignoring his brother.

His guests leaned forward, ladling soup and fragrant dishes onto their plates. Amber Lynn and her friend started chatting.

Dare broke off a hunk of bread. “What do you know about Miss Johns?”

“Miss Johns?” Ry’s eyebrows rose and he lowered his voice. “Thought you’d be more interested in our two lovely roses.” Ry discreetly tilted his head at Amber Lynn and her friend. “And not our…”