Rath's Redemption (The Janus Group Book 6)
Page 22
“The spaceport, please,” she said.
“Jaymy, where are you flying to?” another reporter asked, trying to elbow his way forward.
The taxi driver put a hand on the man’s chest, stopping him. “Give her a break, huh?” he said. He waited while Jaymy took her seat, then shut the door carefully behind her.
“I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you tell me what flight she gets on,” the reporter told him.
The taxi driver laughed. “I don’t think so.”
He stowed Jaymy’s bag in the trunk, then climbed into the driver’s seat. The taxi was airborne a moment later, gaining altitude as it headed for the spaceport, leaving the sea of press below it.
“Thanks for the help back there,” Jaymy said.
“No problem,” the driver replied. “Never been a fan of the paparazzi myself.”
“They’ve been hounding me all day,” she said. “I just needed to get away for a bit.”
The taxi driver nodded sympathetically.
Jaymy leaned back, adjusting her dress around her legs, but as she did so, her hand brushed against something hard: a small box lying on the seat next to her. Frowning, she picked it up – it appeared to be a jewelry box. She cracked it open, and found a crystal necklace inside, multi-hued, like the sands of the Rainbow Desert. She looked up in surprise, and found Rath watching her in the rear-view mirror, grinning.
“You big jerk!” she yelled, in mock anger. “Making me think you’d run off.”
“Sorry,” he said, sheepishly.
“I legitimately thought you were gone,” she scolded him.
“Well, that was the point,” he said, turning on the car’s auto-pilot and twisting around in the driver’s seat to face her. “Now no one will know where either of us are going.”
She scowled at him, then leaned her chin forward, and put the necklace around her neck, clasping it in place.
“It looks nice,” he said, when she was finished.
“Hmph,” she said, but her expression softened.
“Where were you going?” Rath asked.
“I honestly don’t know,” Jaymy said. “I was just going to get on a flight to the most remote planet I could find.”
“Can I come?”
“I suppose,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest. “Although I’m not sure I want an ex-con as my travel buddy.”
“Would you ever consider dating an ex-con?” Rath asked, lightly.
“Heavens, no,” Jaymy said, archly, lifting her nose in the air. “A girl’s gotta have standards.” She smiled at him. “But I’ll let you tag along on my trip, if you like.”
She unbuckled her seat belt, and climbed through into the front, but instead of sitting in the passenger seat, she sat in Rath’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him, tentatively at first, then with increasing passion.
“I assume you’re going to need me to buy your ticket for you?” Jaymy said, after a time.
Rath held up a data drive – Jaymy recognized it as the one Yo-Tsai had used to store Rath’s stolen Guild money. “Nope, I’m buying,” he said. “But I was thinking we’d get our own ship.”
“I like the sound of that,” Jaymy said, nestling her head on Rath’s chest. “What’s the plan?”
“We’re going to lay low for a while. A few months, at least. Let them all forget about us,” Rath told her. “And I’m going to catch up on some sleep.”
Jaymy laughed. “And after that?”
“I don’t know,” Rath said, frowning. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. Been kind of busy just surviving.”
“Fair enough,” Jaymy agreed.
“What do billionaires do with themselves?” Rath asked her.
Jaymy shrugged. “Try to make more money, generally.”
Rath made a face.
“A lot of them set up charities, I think,” Jaymy said. “Foundations and things. To support the arts, or for medical research, or to help kids pay for college.”
Rath cocked his head to one side. “Or an orphanage. A home for abandoned children,” he mused.
“Sure,” Jaymy said. “They say helping other people is the best way to be genuinely happy.”
“… or maybe not just a home,” Rath continued, stroking her hair idly. “A program. Schooling. Something that ensures the kids can stay off the streets and make something of themselves.”
“Well, if you’re thinking of starting a school, you’re going to need a nurse,” Jaymy pointed out.
Rath looked down at her. “That’s true,” he agreed. He kissed her again.
“… but before we establish Rath’s School for Wayward Boys, I think we both deserve a nice, long vacation,” Jaymy said.
“Mm,” Rath said. “I’ve never really had a vacation.”
“And you’re going to tell me your life’s story – the truth this time, your real life’s story,” Jaymy said, wagging a finger at him. “I might be willing to date an ex-con if I knew who he really was.”
“It’s a deal,” Rath agreed.
“So … where are we going?” Jaymy asked him.
Rath looked up, out the windshield of the air taxi. In the distance, he saw a shuttle launch from the spaceport ahead, riding a white plume of rocket exhaust upward into the bright blue sky above.
“Wherever we want,” Rath said.
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