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“Leaving so soon missy?” the bouncer asked sadly.
“Do you have conductor droids on loan?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said, leaning down to pull a small conical droid out of a box beneath his podium. “Just press send when you’re home safe and he’ll hover back.”
“Thanks so much,” Emilia said, taking the droid.
She flicked her bracelet to release the gadabout’s hatch and slipped in.
Then she activated the droid.
“I am AIDD, your automated impaired driver droid,” the thing sang out. “Please enter your coordinates into my keypad for verification.”
She typed in the Drayven’s address.
“You selected the manor of Master Ra’as Drayven,” the droid said. “Is this correct?”
She swiped his screen to agree.
“I will enter the coordinates now,” the droid said. “If your conveyance should require manual controlling, I will take over.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Have a peaceful ride,” it told her.
She leaned back and wondered why she had come out in the first place. Why did every other woman her age have romantic flings, and Emilia couldn’t stomach the idea of them?
She forced herself to think about the man in the cage and his pierced chest and flashy sharp smile, and felt a little queasy.
You didn’t feel that way when Ra’as Drayven was kissing you, a little voice in the back of her head reminded her.
“That doesn’t count,” she muttered back to herself. “He’s an ass.”
“May I assist you in some way?” the droid asked immediately.
“No, I was just talking to myself,” she said. “Sorry.”
“Many impaired drivers enjoy soothing music,” the droid suggested. “May I play you a Hylvarian lullaby?”
“You don’t have anything by the Zyxrian Fourth, do you?” she asked hopefully.
“My apologies, madam,” the droid said.
“It’s okay,” she told it. “Let’s just get me home.”
They rode in silence until at last, the trees of the Drayven estate formed a canopy over the drive.
“Please rouse yourself, traveler,” the droid said politely when the gadabout was parked in the garage. “You are safely home. Thank you for protecting the community and yourself by using an automated impaired driver droid.”
“You’re welcome,” Emilia told it. “Thanks for the ride.”
She carried it to a wide part of the driveway and pressed the send icon on its screen.
There was a buzzing, and then it lifted off, heading toward the city again.
Emilia sighed with relief and headed for the house. She had gotten home in one piece, and early enough that she would be functional in the first half of the day.
Though she was technically off-duty on the weekend, she found she still wanted to spend time with the kids. Her brief foray into a personal life had only made her happier to lose herself in her work family.
But not Ra’as, she reminded herself.
She slid her hand over the sensor and the front door opened.
She tiptoed inside, glad that it was dark already. The last thing she needed was for anyone to be awake and see that she was a little tipsy.
No sooner did she reach the center of the foyer than she saw a tall, dark shape, silhouetted by the moonlight from the window.
“Where the hell were you?” Ra’as asked, his voice furious, and as dark as his shadowy figure.
