Read Online In the Devil's Nebula (Phoenix Adventures #2) by Anna Hackett - Free Book Online Page A

others killed because of your squeamishness.”
    “You can’t take a bullet or a laser blast
back,” he snapped. “BEll?”
    The computer bleeped and followed with a
garbled voice.
    “Where the hell is Nik?” Zayn muttered, fear
working through him.
    “There!”
    They raced to the figure slumped over in the
pilot’s seat. “Nik. Nik!” Zayn lifted his brother’s head. There was
no blood, no visible injury. Zayn pressed his fingers to his
brother’s throat. A strong pulse. Thank God . Zayn tapped the
console and the screen flared to life.
    “About bloody time.” BEll’s very irritated
voice filled the cockpit. “They set off a plasma pulse. It knocked
Nik out and scrambled my sensors for a bit.”
    “Okay, well I think Dath and Eos would
appreciate some help.”
    The Infinitas’ weapons flared to
life. Laser fire sprayed the ground in front of the advancing
guards, sending them diving for cover. Eos and Dathan managed to
reach to the ship and seconds later were boarding.
    Eos was breathless. “I don’t think I’m
getting that palace.”
    “Everyone strap the hell in.” Zayn
maneuvered Nik to another seat with Ria’s help.
    “I’ll strap him in.” She held Nik’s head
back but her gaze was on Zayn. “You get us out of here.”
    He nodded and seconds later, they lifted
off.
    ***
    As soon at the Infinitas broke orbit,
Ria wrenched off her harness.
    In her mind, she kept reliving that moment
on the landing pad, watching the Tekton bearing down on them. Zayn
Phoenix wasn’t a coward but he’d almost gotten both of them
killed.
    Eos and Dathan were maneuvering Nik’s
unconscious body off the bridge. “We’ll get sleeping beauty here to
a bed. Check him over.” Dathan grunted under his brother’s weight.
“Hope to hell you two got the plans.”
    Ria nodded and touched the bag at her waist.
After they’d left, she moved up beside the pilot’s chair. Blood
oozed from the wound on Zayn’s shoulder. “Put the ship on autopilot
and get up. You need your injury looked at.”
    He stared straight ahead. “Can’t. We aren’t
clear of the asteroid field yet.”
    Her jaw clenched. “Fine. I’ll heal you
here.” She stomped back to the medical alcove and snatched up the
medscope.
    When she got back, she yanked at his shirt
buttons until she bared his chest.
    “Hey.”
    “Shut up.” She gave the smooth muscles a
quick—and damn it, admiring—glance before focusing on the ugly
wound. She probed around it with a finger, hard enough to make him
notice.
    “Damn.” He scowled at her. “Lucky you didn’t
take up a career in medicine.”
    “Just shut up.” She snapped on the medscope.
“You’re lucky you didn’t die back there. You should have fired the
gun.”
    “I told you, I don’t use guns. End of the
fucking story. What’s your problem?”
    She clicked the medscope off, even though
his wound wasn’t finished healing yet. She shoved her hands on her
hips. “It’s not your fault she died. It’s the Guild’s. You not
firing a weapon just tells me you’re still fucked up about it.
You’re letting the Guild win and will probably get yourself killed
in the process.” She turned the scope on again.
    Zayn cocked his head. “Why are you so
angry?”
    “Because it could have gotten me killed.” And you, you stupid idiot.
    “And that stunt you pulled at the treatment
plant? Risking yourself instead of letting me go. Is that any
different?”
    She looked away from his penetrating gaze
and turned off the scope. “All finished. Not even a scar.” Just
smooth, warm flesh.
    He gripped her hand. “Thank you. For saving
me. Twice. And healing me.”
    His fingers were warm on hers and, unable to
stop herself, she let her fingers twine with his. “You’re welcome.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “We made a pretty good team down
there.”
    “Yeah, we did.” His fingers stroked over the
skin of her wrist.
    “In the Guild, we’re taught not to care for
each other. That we should sacrifice