Kayla stared at the monitor in amazement. The security system in Carl’s base was more sophisticated than she’d first guessed. Numerous, seemingly independent layers actually overlapped each other to create a complex web.

Her fingers flew across the screen. Fascinated by the intricacies of the design, she shifted through yet another layer and admired the way it aligned with its predecessor. She pulled up another monitor to line up the two layers side by side. There were definitely some security holes, but she could fix them.

Marking off the vulnerable areas, she shifted the screen to pull up the next layer. She would work on reinforcing those areas once she had them mapped out, but she wanted to see what she was up against first.

Cruncher leaned over her shoulder. “What was wrong with that last one?”

She pulled the previous layer back up and pointed to the areas she had isolated. “You’ve got some holes in your system, pal. It’s leaking like a sieve.”

“Shit, you’re right.”

“It’s not that bad. This is actually a sweet system. Who designed it?”

“OmniLab, but I made a few tweaks. Unfortunately, Ramiro’s security is similar. He’ll be familiar with the ins and outs.”

Kayla’s eyes glinted mischievously. “Oh, really?”

Cruncher nodded. “Yeah. The system was designed to protect against ruin rats and other troublemakers. Traders don’t usually go up against traders.”

Kayla pulled out her commlink and scrolled through her files. “I had to analyze Ramiro’s system when I scouted his base a year ago. I didn’t bother with his security system because it would have taken way too long, but I did play around with the maintenance and monitoring systems. They weren’t well protected.”

“What are you saying?”

“You can circumvent the security by going through the maintenance and monitoring systems. Your security system isn’t linked to everything. We need to fix that.”

Kayla located the file she was looking for and uploaded it. She displayed the code on the screen. “I can make a few changes to this and link them together. I’ll essentially add another layer, rather than modifying the existing ones. I still need to plug those other holes, but this is a pretty big threat.”

Shock and disbelief came over Cruncher’s face as he looked through the complex code. “You wrote this?”

She looked at the screen, trying to see it from his point of view. It was decent, but nothing spectacular. “Yeah. It’s a little sloppy. I didn’t think I’d have much reason to use it again, but I didn’t want to get rid of it.”

Cruncher let out a low, appreciative whistle. “Why do you even bother going into the pits, girl? You’re a natural tech.”

She wrinkled her nose. It might be okay for some people, but she prided herself on her ability to recover artifacts and wouldn’t change that for anything. The tech stuff was more of a hobby. “No way. I belong in the ruins.”

Cruncher shook his head. “Most techs I’ve seen can’t work this level of technology.”

She shrugged and finished modifying the code. Linking it to the security system, she fashioned another layer of security over the existing ones.

“I’ll need to polish this up a bit later, but it’ll provide some basic coverage for the time being. I need to go stretch my legs or something though. I’ve been sitting here too long.”

“Yeah, go ahead.” He waved her off with a nod. “Do you mind if I check out your code some more?”

“Not at all.” Kayla rubbed the back of her neck, trying to stretch out the kinks, and headed toward the practice room. She was hoping Elyot was around so she could work on some locks with him. Engrossed with the idea she might be able to talk him into making a small wager, she nearly bumped into Lisia and Jinx just inside the room.

Lisia glared at her. Jinx glanced at her friend before giving Kayla a hesitant smile. “Hey, Kayla. What’s up?”

“Sorry if I interrupted something. I was actually looking for Elyot. He wanted to work on some locks with me.”

“Carl wasn’t enough for you?” Lisia asked coldly. “Now you’re planning on moving in on Elyot too?”

“Whoa there, kitten,” Kayla said in surprise. “You might want to sheathe those claws before you get hurt.”

Lisia turned to Jinx. “I’ll talk to you later. I have things to do.” Without another glance at Kayla, she walked out of the room.

“Sorry about that,” Jinx apologized, shifting her weight uncomfortably. “I hope you don’t judge Lisia too harshly over it. She’s a good person, she’s… well, she’s got it pretty bad for Carl.”

Kayla tried to keep her expression neutral. She wouldn’t normally be interested in camp gossip, but given her own interest in Carl, she couldn’t help herself. “Carl mentioned they had been involved.”

Jinx nodded. “Yeah, it was pretty stupid of Carl. He started trying to recruit Elyot about a year ago. Elyot was interested in joining up but didn’t want to leave his sister behind. They went back and forth about it for a while. Lisia isn’t a scavenger, and we weren’t looking for more techs. They eventually came to some sort of agreement and Elyot signed up.”

Kayla’s eyes widened, surprised at the news. “Lisia is Elyot’s sister?”

“Yeah, I thought you knew.”

When Kayla shook her head, Jinx shrugged. “Well, when Elyot brought her here, Lisia sort of developed this hero-worship mentality about Carl. You know how some ruin rats are around traders. I think he was flattered at first and thought it was cute when Lisia would trail him. But it got a little intense. He screwed up and ended up fooling around with her. Carl immediately regretted it and tried to call things off with her.”

Kayla knew exactly what she was talking about. She’d seen quite a few ruin rats fall all over themselves in an effort to get into a trader’s good graces. She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed in Carl that he’d gone along with it. At least he realized his mistake and tried to put a stop to it though. “Did that cause problems with Elyot?”

“Yeah, some. After Carl told her he wasn’t interested, she freaked out and was pretty miserable around here for awhile. But after a few weeks, it started getting a bit better. Then, when Carl started telling Xantham and Cruncher to track your movements, she lost it again.”

Kayla frowned. “How long was he tracking me?”

Jinx grinned. “The past few months. We’d all heard about you. Carl was wondering if you’d be a good fit for the team. He had Xantham hack into your comms a few times, but you kept finding out. That impressed the hell outta both Carl and Xantham. Most scavengers don’t have a lot of tech skills. But then he had Cruncher manually install a sniffer directly into Leo’s system a few weeks back, figuring you didn’t handle the system comms. It was pretty risky, but he didn’t think you’d find that one.”

Kayla swallowed, not sure how she felt about the news. She knew Carl had been watching Leo’s camp, but she didn’t realize she was the reason. It seemed Leo was right; she wasn’t good at staying under the radar. “We found it. But not until a few days ago.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. Pretty awesome work routing it to that awful sound clip.”

Kayla shrugged and managed a small smile. “Not really. It looked like it had been on there for weeks. Our techs didn’t catch it.”

Jinx nodded, looking proud. “Xantham designed it. He’s good at what he does. Carl had him capture your transmissions. He started tracking your movements and Leo’s financials. When he realized how much you were scavenging right under his nose, he decided to be more aggressive in recruiting you.”

“But why is Lisia upset if I was just a potential recruit? She’s had a problem with me since I met her.”

Jinx was thoughtful for a moment. “At first, I think it was because Carl was focused on something other than her. But then she overheard Cruncher and Carl talking about the run-in they had with you over at Sector Twelve. Cruncher made some comment about how you were the most skilled ruin rat he had ever seen, and Carl told him you were also the best-looking one. It pissed Lisia off.”

“Look,” Jinx continued. “We’re a small crew. You can’t sneeze in here without someone knowing the color of your snot. It sounds like the boss is probably into you. You seem like you can handle yourself, so play him or not, it’s up to you. You know the risks. I hope you don’t judge Lisia too harshly. She’s normally a sweet girl, just a little confused.”

Kayla nodded. “I get it. Thanks.”

Jinx gave her a dismissive wave and turned back to her equipment. “No problem. If you’re looking for Elyot, I think he’s either in the comm room or the crew’s quarters.”

Still mulling over her conversation with Jinx, Kayla headed back toward the communications room. Carl and Xantham were leaning over the desk studying some readouts on a monitor. Xantham had an earpiece on but lowered it when she entered the room.

“Damn, girl, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

“That she is,” Carl agreed, his eyes warming. He stepped away from Xantham and motioned for Kayla to come closer. “We’re still monitoring Ramiro’s chatter.”

“Oh?” She moved to peek over Xantham’s shoulder.

Xantham tapped on the screen. “Yeah. He’s been trying to get into our system for the past two days. He hasn’t been able to do it yet, but he’s persistent. I imagine he’s pretty pissed off about it.”

Carl nodded. “Xantham’s been doing an excellent job at keeping him out.”

“Shit, Boss,” he said, grinning at Carl’s compliment. “I could do this with my eyes closed.”

Although Kayla was appreciative of their efforts, she felt a pang of guilt at being the one responsible for the heightened security. Although, she reasoned, it was Carl’s fault for contacting OmniLab. If he’d left things alone, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Xantham didn’t have anything to do with it, though, and she didn’t like having anyone else take care of her problems. “Anything I can do to help?”

Carl shook his head. “Xantham has this under control. But I still need to speak with you in my office if you have a few minutes.”

Kayla gave a half-hearted shrug. There were worse things than being alone with a gorgeous specimen of a man.

Carl slipped his hand around her waist to lead her toward his office. He seemed to take every opportunity to touch her. She normally didn’t enjoy unsolicited touches, but Kayla found herself craving his. For someone who had prided herself on not needing anyone, this growing addiction made her feel unsettled.

Once they were inside his office, Carl enabled the privacy divider and pulled out the bottle of scotch and two glasses. She raised her eyebrows as he poured her a glass and handed it to her.

“What’s this for? I managed to get through the day injury free so far.”

He smiled. “I just thought you’d enjoy it.”

Far be it for her to refuse his generosity. She picked up the glass and took a sip. Deciding to take the opportunity to explore, she wandered around his office. It was surprisingly neat and organized with a few old-world artifacts on display. She recognized some items from previous scavenges but others were unfamiliar.

A strange vase on one shelf caught her attention. She studied the lines of it, admiring the way it had been painted. It was simple but extraordinarily beautiful.

Carl approached her and gestured to the item. “Do you like it?”

“Yeah. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It almost seems to change colors when you move past it.”

“That’s one of my favorites. I purchased it from Warig. One of his scavengers found it. I had to have it.”

“It’s beautiful.” Kayla took another sip, moving away to continue her exploration. She paused at a small, red button on the wall. Curious, she pressed it and a panel slid open. “You have another entrance to your private quarters through your office?” She looked inside. It would have been handy if she’d known about it the other day. All the stupid shit with Ramiro could have been avoided.

“Yes. It’s convenient, and I enjoy my privacy.”

Kayla remained at the doorway and glanced around the room. It was almost as neat as his office. There were a few personal touches, but not many. Based on his office and bedroom area, she figured he was a man who enjoyed simplicity and beauty. There was more extravagance in these two rooms than she’d seen in her life. It was just another reminder they were from two very different worlds.

Finished with her brief tour, Kayla turned around to face him. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“A few things.” He took the empty glass from her and refilled her drink before handing it back to her. “Mainly, I wanted to see how you were doing.”

Kayla sat down on the edge of his desk and twirled the scotch around, trying to figure him out. Perhaps it was paranoia, but she wasn’t used to such scrutiny. “What do you mean?”

“I know it was a difficult decision for you to join. I hope you’re not regretting it.”

“Nope, I don’t believe in regrets.”

“No?”

She took another sip. “It’s our mistakes that make us who we are.”

He regarded her for a long moment. “You continue to surprise me, Kayla.”

She shrugged. “I get that a lot. It’s not usually meant in a good way either.”

He laughed and refilled her glass again. Kayla eyed it skeptically. “I thought you warned me against drinking too much of this.”

“I did,” he admitted. “It definitely sneaks up on you. But I didn’t think you backed away from a challenge either.”

There was a mischievous glint in his eye, and she couldn’t help but smile in response. This playful side of him was appealing. “What are you up to, Carl?” He didn’t reply. Instead, he took a long drink and put his empty glass on the desk. Kayla laughed in delight. “All right then.”

She drank the scotch and put her empty glass on the desk next to his. He refilled the glasses and moved hers toward her.

Kayla watched him toss back his drink before she grinned and did the same, wincing slightly as the liquid burned her throat. She tapped her finger on the desk, indicating she wanted another one. She was beginning to understand what he meant about it sneaking up on you. A pleasant warmth filled her belly, and her limbs were feeling much more fluid.

“You’re right, you know,” she admitted after he poured another round.

“Oh?”

Feeling bolder than usual, she sauntered over to him. She ran her fingers up his chest and wound her arms around his neck. “I’ve never been known to back away from a challenge.”

Carl slipped his hands around her waist and raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ve noticed.”

“So is this why you lured me into your office?”

“In part.” He reached up to caress her face, his touch sending little shockwaves through her. “But I also wanted to talk to you.”

Talking seemed highly overrated. She was enjoying the euphoric sensation brought on by his touch. Letting her body mold to his, Kayla gave him a teasing smile. “I’m not in the mood to talk right now.”

Desire flashed in his eyes, but he shook his head as though trying to clear it. “I’m not, either, but I think it’s important.”

She trailed small kisses up his chest and smiled inwardly when she felt his grip tighten on her hips. The problem with this trader was he liked to talk too much. It seemed like every time she turned around, he tried to have another discussion. She could tell by his body’s response that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. Carl needed to learn how to live in the moment.

“You know, OmniLab is investigating the issue with Ramiro. It’s likely they’ll remove him as a trader.”

“Mmhmm.” She ran her fingers along his arms, feeling him tremble when she lightly scratched him with her nails.

He took a ragged breath. “They need to know everything that happened.”

“That’s nice.” Kayla reached up and tugged out his ponytail. She’d wanted to see it loose for months. Running her fingers through his hair, she demanded, “I want you to kiss me.”

“Kayla, I don’t think you realize how irresistible you are.”

“Then show me.”

His mouth crushed hers as his tongue thrust forcefully into her mouth, sweeping against her own. When his hands slid upward from her hips to work their way under her shirt, she moaned in approval. He cupped her breast and rubbed his thumb against her nipple. It hardened in response, and she whimpered, wanting more.

With a curse, he broke their kiss. Resting his forehead against hers, Carl took a deep breath and groaned. “Kayla, I want you so badly right now. But not like this.”

She blinked up at him in confusion. Of all the things she expected, that wasn’t one of them. “Why not?”

“Because you’ve had too much to drink. I can’t take advantage of you like that. I think we should just talk.”

“Then let me take advantage of you,” she insisted and kissed his neck. “I want you, Carl.”

With a pained expression, he unwound her hands. “I know you think you do, but that’s the alcohol talking. Wait until you’re sober.”

A small giggle bubbled out of her. Go figure. A trader being noble. She touched the ends of his dark hair and decided she liked it much better down. In fact, she was hard-pressed to find something about him she didn’t like. Except for him wanting to talk. She could definitely do without the conversation. “I feel pretty good right now though.”

“I’m sure you do.”

Kayla frowned when he eased her into a chair, taking the seat beside her. He took her hand in his and began drawing small circles across her palm. “I’m worried about Ramiro, sweetheart. I don’t want him to hurt you. I need you to be honest with me and tell me what happened.”

She stared down at their entwined hands, remembering another time when someone else used to do the same thing. Her chest tightened, and she tried to push away the memories. “I told you already. That son of a bitch stole my damn data cube, and I got it back.”

He gave her an encouraging nod. “But you didn’t tell me how Pretz was involved.”

The sound of his name sliced through her heart. Guilt and loss rushed over her, and she took a ragged breath. Her emotions were too close to the surface, and she was having trouble keeping them in check. Kayla looked away, unable to meet his gaze. “I don’t talk about Pretz.”

“Why not?”

Because it was my fault! she wanted to scream. She blinked back tears, knowing she was responsible for what happened to him. Carl lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him.

“What happened, Kayla?”

She felt her emotional walls crumble at the compassion in his eyes. With that one look, he was offering her a chance at redemption. She choked on a sob, unable to hold in the words. “It was my fault. He died because of me.”

There was a long pause. When he finally spoke, there was no judgment in his tone. Instead, his voice was gentle. “What do you mean?”

Kayla squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the weeks before he died. “Pretz wanted me to try to join Ramiro’s crew, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t like Ramiro. He and Vex were… cruel. Pretz said he treated all ruin rats like that, but he would treat me differently if I were part of the crew.”

They had argued about it. Pretz had the same hero-worship mentality as Lisia when it came to traders. He’d been blind to Ramiro’s faults and only saw the possibilities afforded by working for OmniLab. Even Pretz’s brother had warned him about Ramiro, but Pretz wouldn’t listen.

“Pretz was waiting for me above ground when I found the cube. He was thrilled when he saw it. He was sure Ramiro would make me an offer to join in exchange for the cube. I didn’t think it was a good idea, but Pretz called him anyway. Ramiro and Vex showed up and demanded the data cube.”

She hiccupped and rubbed her arms, wishing she could erase the painful memory. “Ramiro told Pretz women like me were only good for one thing and not worth joining a trader’s crew. He said if I played nice with him, though, he’d give me a finder’s fee and other special perks. When I told him no, he said since we were in his sector, he could take anything he wanted, including me. He grabbed me and pushed me to the ground and ripped my clothes. I fought him, but he’s a big bastard. Veridian tried to stop him, but Vex broke his arm and dislocated his shoulder.”

“Jesus, Kayla. How did you get away?”

“Pretz,” she said softly. “Ramiro was on top of me, and Pretz grabbed him and fought him off. He told us to run, so we did. Later that day, we heard that Pretz had an accident in the ruins.”

Kayla couldn’t stop the tears from spilling down her cheeks. “We knew it was a lie, but no one would believe us over an OmniLab trader. That bastard killed Pretz. He told us to run, and we did. I didn’t know they would kill him.”

Lowering her voice to a whisper, she spoke the words that had been haunting her for over a year. “I loved him, and Ramiro killed him because of me.”

“Shh,” Carl hushed her and pulled her onto his lap. Burying her face against his chest, she let go of the emotions she had suppressed for so long. His hands stroked her hair, and she was dimly aware of his voice murmuring soothing words.

Lost in her grief, Carl’s comforting presence wrapped around her until her sobs subsided and she fell into a troubled sleep.