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Why would he choose to stay on a ship with jerks like Varger and a captain that would space him when he’s welcomed here with open arms by his own species? I’m not sure it’s my place to ask him about it, but I desperately want to know more.
Rossa and her brother both asked Niko if he was going home for a visit.
This place, this home, and the people in it must be what Niko referred to when he offered me a ‘safe place.’ He thought he was going to die then, and he wanted to send me to this mystery location. But he refuses to go back. Why? And who is Lalo? I teased Niko for his jealousy over the sheriff, but here I am suddenly wondering why he has a woman back home asking about him. He said he had no family.
While I inspect the room that’s been assigned to me, Niko hangs around, pulling out his comm device. He starts to pace while he types.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Sending a message to Kallasiko Bi’Salla.”
“You made it sound like you had no intention of doing that. Why didn’t you tell Rossa?”
“I won’t get her hopes up,” he explains. “Kalla is the kind of male that is only found when he wants to be found. He is known to most by other names, the kind of names that people whisper in secret. I can’t promise Rossa that he’ll appear when I make contact.”
“How mysterious,” I mutter, wiggling my fingers at the spookiness. “What is he, some kind of assassin?”
Niko gives me a smile, and I’m relieved to see it. After how he looked earlier, I was starting to worry.
“Essentially,” he says. “But it’s more complicated than that.”
“Oh,” I murmur.
So Niko casually texts mysterious assassins, too? Who the fuckishe? And what exactly happened withMakiva’s Revenge?He tucks the comm device back into his pocket and looks around.
“Is this going to work for you?”
“Of course. It’s great.” This room is nicer than any apartment I’ve lived in before.
“Perfect,” he says, running a hand through those pretty locks of his. I realize suddenly, in that exact moment, that I’d like to do that too. I’d like to run my fingers through his hair, combing it gently and untangling the braids that have been left in too long. It’s a shame those hair ornaments he had were ruined, and I only have myself to blame for that.
“Raina! Hello?” He waves in front of my face.
“Sorry, what?”
He chuckles. “You must be tired. I said, is there anything I need to show you how to work?” He mimes poking buttons and twisting faucets.
“No, I’ll be fine. Besides, I could call you.” I point to the passenger level intercom controls. “I know your room number.”
“Then I’ll leave you to relax.”
“Thanks . . . and goodnight,” I call to him.
He leans against the doorframe for one last look before exiting. “Goodnight, mykaia. Sleep well.”
Once I’m settled inside my room, I am faced with a situation I don’t exactly know how to deal with right now.
I have nothing to do.
So I laze about, take a long, hot bath, and fall asleep without a single alarm set. As I drift off to sleep in total darkness, without even the streetlamps and glowing signs of the station to impede on my slumber, I realize that I’ve never needed this more. My body has been aching; my sleep schedule has been off. I rest and rest, distantly aware that the only thing missing is the even breathing and body heat of a big man beside me.
In the morning, Niko returns to my room. He knocks politely at the door. There’s a gleam of mischievousness in his eyes as he asks to enter, proceeding to present me with an extravagant breakfast, complete with fruit pastries, meat pies, tea, and a rainbow of grilled vegetables on toasted black bread. When I’ve had my fill, he takes me to Rossa’s armory and gives me the basic instructions for using a Kar’Kali gun, which they call “stingers.” We spend the morning at the practice range, which is something like a video game come to life. The targets and the backgrounds can be changed to any number of options, from hunting games in alien locales to shooting jelly-monsters on a battleship.
When I mention the differences between stingers and guns used on Earth, Niko seems genuinely interested, making me promise to give him a demonstration back on my colony. I hesitate to make commitments to him, but this one seems easy enough to keep without accepting him as a forever mate. I’ll have to head home at some point, right? And there’s no harm in having him visit, right?
“How did you learn? My people have training programs that are open to all Kar’Kali.”
“There was a required training program on a bunch of different topics before I left Earth. But once I got to the colony, the sheriff invited me to join the militia, which was basically a group of colonists that would be ready in case of pirate attacks.”
