Read Fortune's Risk: A Star Thief Novella (Star Thief Chronicles #1.5) for Free Online

ominous feeling in Keva’s gut. This was it. If she didn’t convince Kitty she was for real, she might never leave this suite again. She took a deep breath before forcing herself to knock sharply.
    A moment later, she could hear footsteps as someone approached. The frosted glass door panel turned translucent.
    “What do you want?” The guard wore a black jacket with red cuffs, his dark hair neatly slicked back.
    Keva stood straight and confident. She could do this. Everything was going to be fine. “I’d like to see Ms. Cordoza, please. Tell her that Miss Troy, Revy Zero’s body guard is here.”
    The man frowned, but pressed a finger to his ear and repeated her words into his comm. Finally, he nodded and opened the door. “Please come in. Ms. Cordoza will see you.”
    Keva smiled and brushed past him, trying to channel Renna’s easy going personality. She needed to stay cool and calm or this whole plan would fall apart. “Thanks.”
    She found herself in a large foyer with a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and a sleek glass table holding a vase of stargazer lilies. The heavy scent filled the air, choking her. Keva fought back a cough. Why humans thought their flowers were so beautiful was beyond her. Give her the orange petals and delicate scent of a fleshy firecloud plant any day.
    The heavy perfumes humans always wore made Keva’s head ache and her sensitive skin itch. The slight atmospheric difference between Preill and Earth had allowed the Delfine to develop more complex sensory organs. Their eyesight, their taste buds, and their olfactory senses were all highly evolved from a climate of consistent temperatures and delicate scents.
    Since joining MYTH, her nose had been assaulted more times than she had, multiple times a day, and she’d had to learn how to deal with the odiferous humans. Luckily, the Athena’s air scrubbers were a Delfine creation and cleaned at a finer particle level than most ships or stations. But when she was on shore leave, the shock to her senses always made her reel a bit.
    “Through here, Miss Troy.” The guard opened a door into a large sitting room with two white leather couches and low granite tables. A fluffy rug sat between the couches, covering the dark wood floors. Windows looked out over the rest of the zone, a breathtaking floor-to-ceiling view of the entertainment district, with the bright flashing lights and billboards that dazzled, even in the middle of the simulated day.
    Kitty Cordoza sat on one of the couches, leaning back against the soft cushions while she studied a tablet. She glanced up as Keva approached and set the tablet down beside her with a welcoming smile. “Miss Troy. What a lovely surprise.” She gestured to the other couch facing hers. “Please, have a seat.”
    Keva sat on the very edge of the cushion. She resisted the urge to pull up the neckline on her dress while simultaneously willing herself not to pull down the hem of the garment. She surreptitiously inspected the room. Planting Viktis’s bug was her primary objective, but she’d have to find the perfect place — somewhere it wouldn’t be found, and somewhere it would actually pick up conversations.
    “This is a lovely suite, Ms. Cordoza. Puts mine to shame.”
    “Yes, I was very lucky they had it available on such short notice.” Kitty crossed her long legs, and Keva noticed she’d changed out of the red dress she wore at the casino into a dark pair of slacks and a red sweater. “What can I do for you, Miss Troy?”
    “Please call me Keva.” She licked her lips, glancing at the two men guarding the door. “This is very difficult for me, Ms. Cordoza,” she started.
    “It’s Kitty, if you will.”
    She nodded. “Kitty then.” Keva lowered her voice. “Earlier when we met you seemed interested in my services. Are you, by any chance, hiring new staff?”
    Kitty raised an eyebrow. “Trouble in paradise? Zero seemed very happy with your services.”
    “I can’t keep