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“This isn’t that type of place. We aren’t allowed to dance here.”
“Is there a sign that says we can’t dance here?”
“Well, no, but people are staring.”
“Let them stare. Let them be jealous I’m dancing with the most beautiful woman in this bar. Let them look at us, Hayden. Let them.”
He pulls me closer to himself and this time, I lean against Gaz and fall in step with his movements. This time, I close my eyes and just let him lead this movement. This time, I let him take care of me the way I’ve never let anyone take care of me.
“You always have to be so strong, don’t you?” He whispers, and I shake my head, but we both know he’s right. I don’t let people see me get scared. Not anymore. I was scared once, long ago, and now?
Now I know better.
Predators love it when you’re afraid. They love it when you get scared. They can smell your fear and they thrive on it. They can sense it. After Hector stole my innocence from me, after I outsmarted him and escaped from his fucking mansion, I promised myself I would never be weak again.
I would never let myself crack.
I would never show anyone the things that hurt me.
And until recently, I’d been doing just fine. I’d been strong and smart and quick, but then something changed. Maybe it’s because my brothers are both so damn happy. Maybe I finally realized that being vulnerable isn’t always a terrible thing.
“I’m here for you, Hayden.” Gaz strokes my hair as we dance, and the rest of the world seems to just fade away. He touches me, and I don’t feel so alone. I don’t feel so isolated. When he runs his hands down my back and holds me at my waist, I don’t feel violated.
I feel safe.
I feel secure.
I feel comforted.
When I’m in Gaz’s arms, I feel better than I ever have before, and that’s a dangerous feeling: one I’m not sure what to do with.
Eventually, he leads me back to our table and we sit down. Once more, we’re side-by-side. I lean my head against Gaz as he starts to tell me stories about his job, about his experiences when he first moved to Sapphira, about learning to be an alien on a strange planet.
And when I close my eyes and start to fall asleep, it’s with the knowledge that no matter what happens, Gaz will always be here to take care of me. He’ll always be by my side. He’ll always protect me.
I can trust him.
Chapter 4
Gaz
The sun hasn’t even set yet, but already, Hayden is asleep. While drinking at Galaxy, she passed out at the bar, though it was from exhaustion and not drunkenness. When I scoop her up in my arms, a Mirroean approaches me.
“Everything all right, here?” He crosses his arms over his chest and jerks his head toward Hayden.
“Quite,” I tell the man. He’s shorter than me, but he’s muscular and looks strong. Though I’m sure I would win in a fight, there’s no question he’d give me a run for my money. “My friend fell asleep and I’m going to take her home.”
“You sure about that?” The man asks. It’s then that I notice the nearly invisible talk goo in his ear. So he’s working for someone. Whoever has the other piece of talk goo in their ear can hear everything the two of us are saying. It’s not an uncommon practice on Sapphira. Talk goo was discovered here, after all, but it’s still annoying.
“You security?” I jerk my head toward his ear, and he frowns. So that’s it, then. Galaxy is known for being one of the safest bars on the planet. Apparently, this is why. “Look, this is my friend. You can call my secretary if you like and confirm that I know this woman and that I’m just taking her back to her house.”
“Acceptable,” the man says, and I tell him to call Izzie. When an image of her flickers to life in front of the man’s communications unit, she starts talking a million miles a minute.
“What the hell is going on?” She screeches. “This is my afternoon off. I’m supposed to be relaxing! I don’t want to spend today dealing with jerks who can’t even be bothered to properly check that a woman is being kidnapped or not.” My body tenses because that’s exactly what?
??s happening.
This guy wants to make sure I’m not stealing Hayden.
