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“If they find out I’m helping you, I’m good as dead,” I began, and I felt him shake his head.
“I will protect you,” he said, cutting me off as he did so.
“If they can’t get to me, they’ll kill my family,” I retorted.
“They won’t,” he answered, his voice hard.
That wasn’t a chance I was willing to take.
I wanted to believe him, but I knew the Association. I knew the leader, Credare. He was ruthless and mean. He didn’t even bat an eye when ordering the deaths of those who slighted him. He didn’t even pause when demanding the deaths of their families. I knew without a doubt that once he got wind of my treachery, my family and I would be dead within a month.
They were going to come for me, and I wouldn’t have anywhere to run.
Even Bane wouldn’t be able to protect me when they came.
I’d have to figure something out and soon.
“Come. Let’s eat some breakfast and then we’ll go meet up with the scheduled arrival of our next batch of smuggled goods,” he said, and I nodded, careful to keep my expression neutral. He glanced at me for a moment, cocked an eyebrow before he turned, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I followed him down to the kitchen, where he programmed a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs to appear on the table. I sat down and dug in, finding myself hungrier than usual.
“Worked up an appetite then?” he said with a chuckle and I shook my head, unable to keep myself from smiling, just a little anyway. Instead, I hid my face by turning toward my plate. I ate a few more bites before my curiosity got the best of me.
“What kinds of things do you smuggle here?” I asked and he shrugged.
“Pretty much anything. Weapons. Drugs. New tech,” he answered.
“People?”
“Sometimes. Yes, but that’s pretty rare,” he replied, his tone matter of fact.
“You profit from the slave trade?” I pressed, narrowing my eyes with suspicion.
“No. Not like that. Sometimes I smuggle them here to escape the Intergalactic Coalition. Aiding the escape of an innocent witness in a crime, or maybe the criminal himself for the right price. Others that want to get away from their sorry lives somewhere far away. I give people an option when they don’t have another,” he replied and the tenseness in my body softened.
He lifted his eyes to meet mine.
“Pricks like the one that tried to kidnap you yesterday are dealt with harshly here, under my leadership,” he added.
I nodded curtly, and it was then that I realized that I was beginning to respect him. He was strong and powerful, but under all that bravado, he might actually be a good man. I didn’t say anything about that though. Wouldn’t want to give him a big head or anything.
I smirked.
“I’d have given that bastard a piece of my mind, sooner or later,” I replied.
“Sure, you would have,” he countered, not believing me. That was fine. I’d happily let him underestimate me until I could find my way out of here.
Shortly thereafter, we finished our breakfast and made our way out the door after I pulled on my boots. We walked outside and were greeted by several guards stationed outside the doorway. At the end of the front walkway was a small, metal-plated flying shuttle. I looked at it with trepidation, eyeing the rusty shell. I mean, I’d flown in way worse-looking things before but this one looked like it was ready to fall apart in the next five minutes.
“Get in. It’s disguised,” he explained, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. I sighed and then he pulled aside the dingy-looking curtain. I climbed in first and gasped as I saw the luxurious interior, red velvet-lined seats, and gold trim. I reveled in the cool artificial breeze circulating inside the shuttle.
“This is nice,” I murmured as I took a seat.
“Freed it from some nice Coalition folk,” he said with a wink and I laughed.
“Yeah. Sure, ya did,” I replied with a grin.
“That was back when I was doing the smuggling myself,” he added.
