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He’s such a charming beast, I’m finding it hard to focus on the mission at hand. But I have to get out of this situation and find out if Jada made it to Tarvos. I need to let her know I’m okay, so I ask the all-important question, “You know they’re going to track us arriving at the door of your supposed safe house, right? They’re adding more troops and firepower for another attack. And this time I’ll be arrested too because I tossed out that smoke bomb and helped us escape.”
“Thank you for that diversion, by the way. It was a smart move. And don’t worry, they won’t find us. Their search will dead end at the public holosuites and from there they’ll have no fucking idea what happened to us. We will have simply disappeared.”
“Really?” I respond, impressed at his ingenuity.
He walks us down the hall and I follow along because we’re handcuffed, in addition he’s holding my hand in his huge, rough claw. And I’m allowing this touch. I’m not even sure he realizes he’s done this because he seems entirely focused on getting us to this safe house he was talking about.
“Where are we on the station that they can’t find us?”
“We are right now in the private corridor to my safe house. This area is cut off from the main Omega 9 security feed. No one can see this hallway and the entrance to my quarters.”
We stop in front of the impressive shiny metal door. He pauses as security equipment flares to life. It scans his left eye, then he gives it a drop of his saliva, and he enters a very long code. Finally, it accepts him as the owner and unlocks. An extremely thick door slides open and slides closed behind us with the click and hiss of an intricate locking mechanism.
“Wow. Think you’ve got enough security here?”
He shrugs. “I leave nothing to chance.”
“Obviously.”
Now we’re both standing in his quarters and I’m surprised to see a nice entryway and pieces of expensive-looking furniture. This, I didn’t expect. I thought we’d enter straight into standard issue station residence that I’ve heard are quite small, because accommodations on Omega 9 are notoriously expensive. But we’re standing on expensive flooring and there’s lots of empty space and we’re not even in the living or sleeping quarters yet. Wow.
“Let’s go,” he says gruffly, and takes me with him on a left turn down a hall.
“Your apartment is really nice,” I offer, because it is. “I didn’t expect you to be living somewhere so spacious.”
“You thought my safe house would be small and gray with maybe one mattress on the floor?”
I laugh, “Well, yeah. And also, now that we’re not running anymore, can I use a tablet to get in touch with my twin sister so I can make sure she’s okay and let her know that I’m fine? She’s probably freaking out over how we got separated.”
“No, zero communication with the outside universe yet. This is will just alert others to our presence. How did you end up on Omega 9 if your intention was to arrive on Tarvos?”
I try not to pout over his quick denial and remind myself that I know Jada made it to Tarvos and is most likely right now seated with Ariana at her residence. “It’s a long story.”
“Save it until we’re settled.” Then he pauses and stares down at me intently and I get lost for a moment in those glittering black eyes. His nose is large and crooked and his cheeks are harsh and red, but he looks almost noble. “Always tell me the truth and in return I will always tell you the truth,” he says, with an impossibly deep voice.
“Everything, even if it’s illegal?”
“Yes, I will tell you everything about me, and I will allow you to communicate with your sister as soon as I’m certain we can send a secure message. But first I need a shower, a change of clothes and then something to eat. What about you?”
“Food sounds nice,” I admit and then I lift my wrist. “But mostly I’m concerned that I’m still handcuffed to a criminal.” I lift my chin giving him a challenging gaze, waiting for him to unlock the cuffs now that he doesn’t need to use me as a hostage and we aren’t on the run. But he ignores me and just keeps pulling me down the hall. I dig in my heels, forcing him to stop. “Hey, how about you disengage these energy bands?”
“I don’t have the mechanism. I lost it in the rush to escape.”
“Wh…what?” I sputter. “How are we ever going to get unlocked if you lost the freaking mechanism?”
He shrugs like it’s nothing. “I can get this undone later. But for right now I have to get out of this prison garb and I need a shower. Do you feel you need the same?”
“Listen, jumpsuit, changing the subject won’t work. You’re telling me we’re stuck together like this, even though we’re safe now and no one is chasing us anymore and we don’t need to keep up this pretense that you’ve kidnapped me to use me as a human shield?”
A snort of smoke wafts from his nostrils. “Yes, the two of us are going to be stuck together longer than I expected. But despite the strange way we met, I can assure you that you are safe with me. It’s true that I’ve committed many crimes over the years, but I’ve never murdered anyone in cold blood. And I’m innocent of this particular crime that I’m accused of.”
“You know all convicts say they’re innocent.”
“But I really am.”
I place a hand on my hip. “Then tell me your story.”
“Later,” he repeats and opens the door to the bathroom. “Do you want to get clean too?”
