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“You’re doing everything you can to save them,” I remind her. “Their struggles don’t mean that you have to refuse happiness. If anything, I think your friends might agree that it’s all the most reason to feel happy, to feel beautiful. You live free in spite of those that tried to destroy your life. That’s a beautiful thing worth celebrating.”
“There’s this guilt that builds inside of me for every second I pass without thinking of them,” she says, her voice half-muffled by the front of my shirt.
The way she speaks of it feels so familiar. She’s putting to words every reason I’ve spent years living a shadow life.
I feel like a fraud when I tell her, “It’s your actions that matter. What you’re about to do is for them. Focus on that.”
She nods against my chest.
“That’s not half-bad advice, La’Nira.”
I mimic her rolling of the eyeballs.
“Don’t call me that, please,” I beg her.
“Niko,” she whispers sweetly. My name on her lips ties a tight string around my heart. “Wish me luck.”
I duck down to kiss her forehead. “Best luck to you, my mate.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
RAINA
Dash is a natural con man.It’s definitely not his first rodeo at playing pretend, because the charming red alien easily takes on the role of a half-drunk playboy. The man that usually gives me a wide berth is suddenly handsy, carelessly grabbing me by the waist and dragging me from room to room. He apologized in advance for what he planned to do, and I gave him my permission to make our fake relationship look realistic.
“All you must do is promise that La’Nira won’t strangle me over it,” he teased before we left the ship. “He doesn’t need any of the details.”
I whole-heartedly agreed with that sentiment. I can only imagine his flickering jaw and his black pupilless eyes drilling holes into Dash’s head.
While my companion excels at this mission, I am not a talented actress. I spend most of my time trying to keep a pleasant expression on my face. Considering I typically go through life with a resting scowl, that alone is a mental battle for me.
Thankfully, no one cares about my mood or what I have to say. In this part of the universe, I’m viewed as an object, a shiny accessory for Dash to show off. The intimidating cyborg is treated the same in his own way. The crew of thePrimordial Avengermight address him the same as any living being, but he’s mostly ignored as he follows us around. When we walk through a crowded area, aliens scurry out of our way, not making eye contact with the towering killer robot.
Before we enter the target location, we make a show of entering a couple bars downtown. First, we visit an upscale vid-bar where naked projections dance at each table. Dash orders me a fizzy pink drink and somehow disappears three shots of liquor without actually consuming it. After that, we head to a private club where Dash must show a special card to be allowed inside. The cyborg is forced to wait in the lobby while Dash makes a circuit around a room full of rich creeps that mostly ignore me. As we leave the club, Dash mentions to one of the staff that he’d like to see some entertainment for the evening. In a dizzying display of his conversational prowess, Dash somehow weasels an invitation to the private auction we intended to be at all along. He makes it sound like it was never his intention for the evening—that this was a spontaneous decision to give him something to do.
“You’ll just love it, won’t you, pet?” he says to me sweetly in front of the staff as they conjure up a glowing card that will grant us entry and allow us to bid. He tells them to give the bidding card to me. “She likes spending my money, but that’s always how it is with females.”
“What shall we get?” I ask loudly as we leave the club.
The cyborg silently falls back into step behind us. We’re finally on our way to the place where Frankie and Kaye are being kept. It’s easy now to be giddy with excitement. Thankfully, the passersby in the lobby might think I’m thrilled for the auction, because I can’t hide a grin at the prospect of seeing them again.
“I’ve been in the market for an antique particle rayzer,” Dash muses as we make our way down the street.
I look around to see if someone is listening to us, but not a single soul is paying attention. It’s then that I realize he’s actually considering what to buy.
“Are you dead serious right now?” I mutter.
“I am quite serious indeed,” he says with a swish of his tail. “There are only so many places you can find that kind of collectible, and it’s illegal in three of the major systems. My ancient weapons collection is my pride and joy.”
“You’re going to give money to this disgusting business we’re headed into?” I hiss at him from the corner of my mouth.
“Raina, one does not get treated like a VIP for simply showing up,” he drawls. “This mission is important, but maintaining my image as a desirable customer is all the more reason to be here tonight and spend money. It means I’ll have more invitations in the future.”
Dash doesn’t draw undue attention because this city is full of other Zaledians. I even see another with a human woman on his arm, shocking me right out of my skin. When the pretty companion notices me, she winks seamlessly. I manage to smile back awkwardly.
“Wasn’t expecting that,” I whisper in Dash’s ear.
“My prince has made it quite trendy to have a human companion, since he took one as his mate and made her crown princess of Rathe.”
