Sasha "I'm fine" Barrett would like you to know she is absolutely, completely, totally fine.
She has the receipts for every piece of herself she's had to replace. She doesn't need help. Doesn't need concern. Doesn't need the unsolicited opinions about her life choices.
She especially doesn't need Castin and his lilac eyes tracking her every move like he's already written the eulogy.
Castin is very tired of pretending to believe her.
When Sasha takes a routine job that pays triple the going rate, he's not letting her out of his sight. When the station goes into lockdown, the package turns out to be more than advertised, and someone's already dead ? he stops pretending about a lot of things.
Some things are more dangerous than gunfire around a burning Christmas tree.
Turns out Sasha Barrett is one of them.
A Phantom Vengeance Christmas novella. Can be read as a standalone ? but the slow burn runs deeper if you've met them before. Part of a queer MMF sci-fi romance series.
Adventure, banter, and two people running out of reasons not to be honest. HFN ending.