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When Zell doesn’t answer me right away, my head snaps up. “Where is my female?”
He looks behind him at the other human female then looks back at me. “She’s still on the station.”
She’s what?!I jump to my feet and crack the top of my head on the glass door of the medbot.
“Motherfucker!” I spit out, dropping to my knees and gripping my already pounding head.
The female is laughing as Zell reaches a hand down to me. “Calm down, V. I’ve already set a course back to the station. We’ll be meeting up with her shortly.”
That calms me, some.
“She’s with Raela,” he adds hesitantly. “Do you think that’s smart?”
For a moment, I rest on my knees before struggling back to my feet. “She’s safe with Raela.”For now,I add to myself. “But we need to get her off that station before everything hits. I don’t want to be wrapped up in that mess any more than I must.”
“Agreed,” Zell says.
I’m swaying on my feet when Zell turns me into the galley and shoves me down to the table. “When did you last eat?”
“I’m not hungry,” I complain, trying to push myself up, but Zell just shoves me back down.
“According to the medbot, all your levels are depleted.” When he’s sure I’m going to stay seated, he goes to the replicator and starts tapping on the screen. “You’ll be no use to your female if you can’t even walk a straight line.”
Damn him and his logic.
He sets the table with an armload of dishes and then sits across from me, pulling Danielle into his lap.
I arch a brow at them. “You two seem cozier than when I last saw you.”
“We’ve had nothing to do but wait for rotations; what else are we supposed to do?” Zell mutters. I don’t miss the hurt look that flickers across Danielle’s face. Or the way she presses her full lips into a thin line. When she tries to scoot off his lap, however, Zell only tightens his hold on her.
I wondered if the female was his fated when he started showing interest in her. Gut’tiambo can only mate with their fated, which is why their species is on a steady decline. It’s also clear he hasn’t told her yet.
I dig my utensil into the dish closest to me. What he does or doesn’t do with his female is none of my concern. But maybe I should warn him that Shae will have something to say about it if he hurts her friend.
Nope,I decide.I’ll let him figure that out on his own.
After the first bite of food, my appetite comes roaring back, and, before I realize it, I’ve cleaned every dish set before me. I feel much better. My headache has dwindled to more of a dull ache, and my mind is clearer.
I gather up the empty dishes and take them back to the replicator.
“Alright, I’m ready,” I announce when I turn back to face Zell and Danielle.
This time, when the female slides from his lap, Zell lets her. “I’m ready too,” she announces.
We make our way back to the front of the cruiser, and I take the seat beside Zell as co-pilot. My heart is pounding in my chest, and I wonder how much is anxiousness from being away from Shae so soon after claiming her, or if I’m somehow picking up on her emotions.
“What is our plan once we make it to the station?” I ask.
“We are to meet at the Section B docking bay,” Zell explains. “From there…” He shrugs.
That’s fine. I’ve never been much of a planner anyway.
Zell boots up the cruiser’s engines while I get navigation back online. We’re not far from the station, so it doesn’t take us long to get to the designated docking bay. What we aren’t expecting is for it to be filled with Federation ships.
After years of being an outlaw, and likely still wanted in dozens of sectors, I can’t help clamping up at the sight of them. But then I remind myself that my female is in there, and suddenly I don’t care if there are fifty or five hundred Federation ships; none of them will keep me from her.
It’s a squeeze to find a place to land, and when we disembark from the cruiser, we’re met by several agents, all with blasters trained on us.
