Read Online Atrophy by Jess Anastasi - Free Book Online Page A

me why you tried to stowaway on my ship.”
    “I would have thought it obvious.”
    Rian shrugged. “Humor me. I’m not that intelligent. I need it all laid out.”
    Tannin’s expression hardened, and for a moment she didn’t think he was going to reply, but then he glanced away from them all to stare across the medbay.
    “When I was sixteen, my friend, Broc, was killed. One of my other friends, Quaine Ayden, murdered him. Since Quaine’s father was chancellor of our city on Barasa, they blamed Broc’s death on me and I was sentenced to Erebus.”
    The results displayed on the crystal screen remained steady, showing no hint of untruth from Tannin. Relief coursed through her. At least she hadn’t set her mind on helping a murderer or rapist.
    She wrapped her fingers around the necklace her parents had given her when she’d turned fifteen, unable to imagine the desolation Tannin must have felt as a teenager, being taken away from everything and everyone he’d known and sent to live in hell.
    “So you really don’t belong here, you’re innocent—”
    Rian held up a hand before she could say anything else. “Hold on. Are we talking about High President Isah Ayden, Barasa’s world leader?”
    Tannin nodded. “He is now, yes. Then, he was only a chancellor, but still had enough money and influence to make sure my case looked watertight and his son was in no way implicated.”
    “I hope you’re not looking for revenge, because there’s no way you’re getting near any of them,” Callan commented from where he stood by the medbay doors.
    The emotion resonator showed Tannin’s anger rising, though his expression remained neutral. “I’ll admit, I spent nights dreaming about getting retribution and it partly fueled my desire to escape. But more than anything, I want freedom. I’ve wasted enough years on this hellhole.”
    The Imojenna’s ship-wide comms pinged, signaling an incoming transmission had been received, and Rian straightened. “I need to get that.”
    Zahli slid off the edge of the cot as her brother walked to the doors and nodded at Callan. Tannin had told them his situation and the ship’s diag systems had proven he hadn’t lied.
    “Rian?”
    He looked back at her and then glanced at Tannin. “We’re not going straight to the Rim. We’ve got cargo to pick up on Arleta.”
    Why did he have to make things so frecking hard for her? He knew what she wanted to know, but he’d make her ask. If Rian didn’t agree to help him, she didn’t know what she would do. She couldn’t tell Rian—or anyone else on the ship—the truth of what had happened to her. But neither could she leave Tannin to his fate here on Erebus.
    “What about Tannin?”
    “If anyone asks, I don’t know anything about the scumrat sneaking aboard my ship and skipping out on Arleta. I don’t want to hear about it, and I don’t want to see it.”
    Zahli bit her lip on a smile. Despite his interstellar reputation as a ruthless, callous, and very deadly ex-IPC soldier, when it came down to the line, Rian was an honorable man and always did right. So Tannin would be coming with them, at least as far as Arleta. She looked at Tannin, who appeared dazed. Callan sent her one last glare then followed Rian up to the next level.
    “Did he mean—?” Tannin’s voice had become slightly hoarse.
    “You can come with us.” She turned to Kira, who was packing away bloody towels and the diag-cart. “Do you need to do anything else?”
    “No, as long as he avoids any heavy lifting or sudden movements of that arm for the next few days, he should be fine.”
    “Come on, we’ll find you some quarters.” Zahli stepped back as Tannin stood, still looking totally confused. And kind of adorable. Ergh , where had that thought come from? Yeah, with those eyes, that thick black hair falling across his forehead and the square angles of his jaw, he was more than a little handsome. But he was complicated. Everything was complicated. And he