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I want to give him a rude response like a weasel or snake, but the meaning would be lost on him.
“There’s a bird called a crow. It’s clever with shiny black wings and somewhat mysterious—”
His eyes twinkle and he hums in appreciation.
“I like this—”
“And they never shut up, squawking all day,” I add. “If you feed them once, they start stalking you and following you around everywhere.”
Niko bursts out laughing, rolling onto his back and resting his palm on his stomach.
“Speaking of feeding,” he says. “You should eat. I stopped at the marketplace while you were asleep. It’s nothing exciting but—”
“You should’ve woken me up if you were going out,” I complain, sitting up to survey my current state. I’m wearing the same old jumpsuit I’ve been in since the day I was taken captive. I glance at Niko, who’s watching me closely with shamelessly obvious puppy dog eyes.
“You were sleeping like a corpse awaiting the funeral pyre,” he says. “You clearly needed it.”
“How long was I out?”
“A full day’s time. The lights went down a few intervals ago.”
I let that sink in. I’ve lost an entire day. Niko goes on talking as my brain works on becoming fully functional.
“I checked around the platform and in a couple of the flight scheduling offices. There was a big passenger liner that came through and it was able to take many of those desperate folks we saw yesterday. I wanted to talk to you and make a proposal about—”
“It’s night again?” I cry, hopping out of bed. “Forget it, Niko. I have calls I need to make, plans . . . I can’t wait for daylight.”
Niko watches from the bed as I shove my feet back into my boots and pull the straps tight.
“Won’t you just use the bathing facility and have your clothes washed at least?”
“I know what you’re up to,” I snap, “with your tucking me in and sharing a hotel room and—and—I’m putting a stop to it right now!”
I march across the room and slap the door open button. It chimes but does nothing. I tap it again, more gently this time. But again, the door remains closed. I whirl around, narrowing my eyes at him.
He’s watching me, a square chip poised in his hand.
A key.
“It’s locked,” he says. “Are you going to shoot me again?”
“I might!”
He tucks the key into his front pocket, dangerously close to his manhood. Every shred of gratitude I felt for him, every thread of trust we’ve built between us, the intimacy of almost dying side-by-side more than once . . . It all flies out the window as fury flows through me. I want to throttle him. I want to tear apart this room and throw every object at his head. But instead of going off the deep end, I take a breath.
If Niko wants to play games with me, that’s fine. And if his best hiding place is in his pocket? Well, I can think of a few ways to get my hands in a man’s pants.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
RAINA
I bide my time,taking care of myself while I calculate my next move. Niko has already moved on, assuming I’ve accepted his stupid ruling. He perkily presents a selection of food he picked up. There are silver canisters that store various preserved meals, fruits that have seen better days, and a few small, clear pill-shaped pods that have snack foods. Niko’s happy to help me use the alien microwave alternative, though he doesn’t hide his amusement at my cluelessness about what buttons to push. I’m learning that he’s a patient man, but taking note of his positive traits only irritates me further. He takes the time to teach me about universal symbols for “close,” “heat,” and “start.”
How dare he be so sweet and understanding while he has me trapped in here?
After I stuff myself with the first hot meal I’ve had in weeks, I bathe in the strange stall that serves as a bathroom. I’m too stubborn to ask Niko for help with this, so I simply poke at buttons until water comes out of the wall nozzles. Thankfully, I recognize the “heat” symbol now, so I’m able to enjoy hot water against my skin. The soothing heat makes me gasp with relief. I finally feel like a person again.
I once again have Niko to thank for a fresh set of clothes to wear. He told me he grabbed the bare minimum since he doesn’t know my preferences. I pull on the plain black unitard, finding that it fits me well. It will be a suitable layer for underneath my airseal, which he said we could take out to launder once it’s daytime. I might have acquired this flight suit while in captivity, but it would be impractical to get rid of it. Airseals aren’t cheap, and until I have the means to replace them, the memento of my suffering will just have to do.
