out an uneasy chuckle. Turning around to head back inside, Lana tried to relax her tense shoulders. Maybe it was okay to let her guard down just a little bit. Bruce hadn’t tried to hurt her at all today. He hadn’t even hit her when he caught her with that smart phone. Instead, he’d kissed her. In fact, this was the gentlest she’d seen him so far.
The smoldering kiss they’d shared was still fresh in her mind. In a way, she was grateful it had finally happened – she couldn’t have taken much more of that sickening, unresolved sexual tension between them without losing her mind. But what should she do if Bruce came onto her again? Would he – or was the ball in her court now?
If it was, she should probably heed Chester’s words and be careful. No matter how much the tall, handsome pirate intrigued her, the lines between them shouldn’t get blurry. She would have to keep Bruce at arm’s length, or his advances would chase her all the way to the sun and burn her up without mercy.
9.
L ana spent a surprisingly enjoyable afternoon in the kitchen. The two Japanese brothers really appreciated her help. It was funny how intimidating these two had seemed when she first laid eyes on them, and how friendly they both turned out to be.
“Do you do this a lot?” she asked while cutting strips of cucumber on a wooden board.
“Enough to be called the Sushi Squad,” Shou replied with a wink. His dark-brown eyes glinted mischievously. “Hikaru started doing big sushi dinners because he knows oyabun enjoys this kind of food. He’s kind of a suck-up, really.”
Hikaru rolled his eyes. “Plus, I used to be a cook. Don’t leave that out of your story, Shou.”
“What does that word mean?” Lana wanted to know. “ Oyabun ?”
“It’s Japanese for ‘boss’,” Shou explained. “Just the boss of a criminal organization, though. There are a lot of different words for different kinds of bosses.”
“So you used to be a cook?” Lana asked Hikaru. “May I ask how you ended up here?”
“You may.” Hikaru glanced down at his hands, absently slicing a piece of raw tuna. “I worked for the Sanyo family – the Oceanian clan. When a horrible plague struck the region, my wife and son came down with the disease. They weren’t entitled to any vaccine, though, because they didn’t work for the Elite. They were useless to the rich bastards running the show.”
Lana stared at Hikaru in deep shock. “Your boss let them die?”
“Yes, he did. After that I decided it was better to work for a criminal who cares about his people and pays me a lot more. Shou was only too happy to join me, since he was jobless at the time.”
“Oh my God.” She rubbed her face, uttering a shaky sigh. “I didn’t know this kind of thing happened in Oceania.”
“It happens everywhere,” Shou said, his voice terse. “That’s just how the system works.”
“Not in Novi Moscow,” Lana objected.
Hikaru scoffed. “No, sweetheart. The Russians stick their workers in a separate dome so they don’t have to deal with all the unpleasant things related to managing a poor, discontented workforce.”
She opened her mouth, but her retort died on her lips. Hikaru had a point – the Russian Elite did have their laborers’ living quarters in several smaller domes on Ganymede and Europe. She’d visited a few times, but not long enough to really get a feel of the place. Actually, she’d felt uncomfortable walking around the factories, feeling the jealousy and distrust of the employees and wanting to get out of there as soon as she could. At the time, she’d figured they just hated her for being an Ivanov. In fact, even Elite people envied her sometimes for being an Ivanov.
“I’m sorry about your family,” she said. Her words seemed flimsy and hollow.
“Thanks,” Hikaru mumbled. “I’m happy I have a new family now.”
“You really see this group as your family?”
The Japanese ex-cook nodded. “Bruce can be a strict
The smoldering kiss they’d shared was still fresh in her mind. In a way, she was grateful it had finally happened – she couldn’t have taken much more of that sickening, unresolved sexual tension between them without losing her mind. But what should she do if Bruce came onto her again? Would he – or was the ball in her court now?
If it was, she should probably heed Chester’s words and be careful. No matter how much the tall, handsome pirate intrigued her, the lines between them shouldn’t get blurry. She would have to keep Bruce at arm’s length, or his advances would chase her all the way to the sun and burn her up without mercy.
9.
L ana spent a surprisingly enjoyable afternoon in the kitchen. The two Japanese brothers really appreciated her help. It was funny how intimidating these two had seemed when she first laid eyes on them, and how friendly they both turned out to be.
“Do you do this a lot?” she asked while cutting strips of cucumber on a wooden board.
“Enough to be called the Sushi Squad,” Shou replied with a wink. His dark-brown eyes glinted mischievously. “Hikaru started doing big sushi dinners because he knows oyabun enjoys this kind of food. He’s kind of a suck-up, really.”
Hikaru rolled his eyes. “Plus, I used to be a cook. Don’t leave that out of your story, Shou.”
“What does that word mean?” Lana wanted to know. “ Oyabun ?”
“It’s Japanese for ‘boss’,” Shou explained. “Just the boss of a criminal organization, though. There are a lot of different words for different kinds of bosses.”
“So you used to be a cook?” Lana asked Hikaru. “May I ask how you ended up here?”
“You may.” Hikaru glanced down at his hands, absently slicing a piece of raw tuna. “I worked for the Sanyo family – the Oceanian clan. When a horrible plague struck the region, my wife and son came down with the disease. They weren’t entitled to any vaccine, though, because they didn’t work for the Elite. They were useless to the rich bastards running the show.”
Lana stared at Hikaru in deep shock. “Your boss let them die?”
“Yes, he did. After that I decided it was better to work for a criminal who cares about his people and pays me a lot more. Shou was only too happy to join me, since he was jobless at the time.”
“Oh my God.” She rubbed her face, uttering a shaky sigh. “I didn’t know this kind of thing happened in Oceania.”
“It happens everywhere,” Shou said, his voice terse. “That’s just how the system works.”
“Not in Novi Moscow,” Lana objected.
Hikaru scoffed. “No, sweetheart. The Russians stick their workers in a separate dome so they don’t have to deal with all the unpleasant things related to managing a poor, discontented workforce.”
She opened her mouth, but her retort died on her lips. Hikaru had a point – the Russian Elite did have their laborers’ living quarters in several smaller domes on Ganymede and Europe. She’d visited a few times, but not long enough to really get a feel of the place. Actually, she’d felt uncomfortable walking around the factories, feeling the jealousy and distrust of the employees and wanting to get out of there as soon as she could. At the time, she’d figured they just hated her for being an Ivanov. In fact, even Elite people envied her sometimes for being an Ivanov.
“I’m sorry about your family,” she said. Her words seemed flimsy and hollow.
“Thanks,” Hikaru mumbled. “I’m happy I have a new family now.”
“You really see this group as your family?”
The Japanese ex-cook nodded. “Bruce can be a strict
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