If you loved Bleu Lies from the second Borealis Anthology, this is the follow-on, Kev's story. He's still a lovable geek.
Borealis XIII:
Don't Step On My Blue Suede Deuce
Keven Merriweather is ready to live life his way. His sister certainly can’t ask him to earn more than six college degrees just to keep him away from the Borealis space station. It’s time to take his place in the Rebellion and ease the burden of upholding a family tradition placed on the delicate shoulders of super spy, Bella Bleu.
Bregwen (Reggie to her friends) Carter has passed the tests to join the ranks of Rebellion operatives and, earned her chance at proving her loyalty by taking out the evil Commander Raines. She’s undercover mixing drinks at a lower level Borealis bar notorious for shady deeds and deals, waiting for her chance.
Each one suspects the other as the enemy. One of them is wrong. It takes a little blue dog named after an ancient song, cooperation, and buckets of faith to straighten things out, and bring the Rebellion’s favorite assassin home.
Excerpt
“So... ” Kev started off easy. “What brings you to Borealis?”
Stereo snorts came from Kal and Dread. Even Deuce stirred and looked up at him in disbelief. “Go back to sleep, kid,” he told the dog.
“This is your line?” Reggie asked on a giggle that did funny things to his heart. He hadn’t suspected she could be… cute. “You’re throwing a line at me?”
Heat infused his face, but Kev stuck out his chin. “How else do you get to know someone if not by asking questions? Since this place is no one’s idea of a dream destination, it seemed like a reasonable question.”
Reggie laughed softly and patted his shoulder before lifting her glass. The smile did incredible things to her face. “So it would seem.” Instead of answering she took a long, deep drink of her stout. On a heartfelt sigh she set the glass down on the bar. “Now there’s a drink to put ’air on your chest, eh?”
Dread snorted and turned away to dole out the credit chips to the other workers. Kal laughed outright.
“Yes, it will, but I’d love to hear your answer to Kev’s question. The only people who come here by choice are either on their way somewhere else, escaping someplace worse, or looking for something, or someone; a path that usually leads to trouble. It’s my job to stop trouble before it starts.”
“You think I’m trouble, Commander?”
“Oh yeah,” Kev said for him. He didn’t like the flirting tone in Reggie’s voice and wanted her attention back on him where it belonged. “You look like pure trouble to me.” The black leather clung to her like second skin, and he was pretty sure she wore only the vest, nothing underneath it.
The smoldering, half-lidded look she gave him went straight south and wiped his brain clean.
“Exactly what I thought,” Kal growled. “Be nice to the baby boy, will you? Don’t blow up his brain tonight. It’s a valuable brain.”
As much as Kev blushed -- how he hated still blushing -- Reggie looked stunned. “Blow up his brain? How would I manage that?”
Kal slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Two of them? Could it be?”
Reggie looked at Kal, then turned back to Kev, showing her confusion. “What’s with ‘im?”
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