Chapter 81

Chapter Eighty-One

Dinner was a pleasant fullness in Connor’s gut that produced a tear-inducing belch that shattered the silence in the empty passageway. Maybe he’d gone a little too heavy on the spices.

He took a long drink from the beer bottle, enjoying the bitter hops.

Then, without thinking about it, he came to a stop outside Kalpana’s cabin. He hadn’t checked in on her, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to yet.

How would she feel, being the sniper on overwatch and not shooting?

It would eat at her. She would have the same guilt he was feeling for escaping the ruins without Gregor. It might even be worse for her.

Connor’s fears about being alone in a cabin with Kalpana seemed foolish. Certainly, she’d changed since coming to the planet—flirting, skirting the line of professionalism, inviting conflict with Selen.

But he could always tell the scout no, and he owed Kalpana a chance to talk.

He activated the door chime.