by JC Cassels
He nodded. “As long as you’ll let me.”
The scantily clad server glided up to the table. “What is your pleasure today?” she asked.
He gestured for Bo to order first.
“Gallis Rye,” Bo said.
The server, a Joy Babe in training, arched an eyebrow in mild surprise but said nothing. She looked to Blade.
“Old Arturian.”
The server nodded and surreptitiously looked him over. “Would you like anything else?”
“Fried tikals,” Bo said.
That got her another disapproving look from the server.
“Double that order,” Blade said, not bothering to hide his amusement. “And bring us a couple of the chef’s specials.”
“Yes, sir.”
Blade studied Bo’s face as the server departed with their orders.
“Poor kid,” he said. “I thought she was going to choke over your order.”
Bo shrugged. “I see no reason to ask for something I don’t like when I don’t have to preserve my cover.”
He laughed. “Getting to know the real you is going to be a hell of a lot of fun, isn’t it?”
“Is that why you went to all the trouble to find me?” she asked. “To get to know the real me?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “Something tells me you’re worth all the trouble.”
Leaning forward, Bo propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “If you do anything other than run me in or kill me, you’re asking for more than trouble, Agent Devon,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Call me Blade, or Dev.”
“If your superiors get word that you’ve had repeated contact with me with full knowledge of who I am, not only is your career over, but you’re an accessory after the fact. You’re looking at a lengthy prison sentence for yourself.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” he said.
“Oh you wouldn’t?” she retorted. “Do you know something I don’t?”
He grinned. “I do, but it’s a state secret and I’m not at liberty to share.” He shrugged. “I could tell you, but – well, you know the rest.”
Unable to resist his infectious humor, Bo smiled. “You really aren’t worried about it, are you?”
Blade shook his head.
“Are you that arrogant, or that connected?”
He grinned. “A bit of both, I guess.”
The server returned and set their drinks and the large basket of fried tikals on the table, giving Bo a disapproving look before she departed. Bo exchanged a look with Blade and the two burst out laughing.
“So what are your plans?” she asked, reaching for her drink. “Are you still wanted for desertion?”
He laughed. “Maker, no,” he said. “My position with the IC is – flexible. We have an understanding. For now, I am an actor and they are content to let me be one.”
Bo smiled and set her drink aside. “Good. I enjoy your holofeatures. I’d hate to think you weren’t making any more.”
He braced his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “I visited the Kiara D’or Choh before I came here today,” he said.
“Did you?”
He nodded. “I spoke with your Aunt Misou. I like her. She confirmed that you are indeed a legally certified Joy Babe.”
“I told you she would.”
“She also registered our contract. It’s open ended.”
“She what?”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I don’t have any intention of holding you to that contract if you’re not interested,” he said quickly. “But, I don’t want to stop seeing you and I don’t know how else to make that happen.” He took his sunshades off and set them on the table in front of her. “I’m not very good with relationships.” He admitted scratching the back of his head absently. “But I can’t stop thinking about you. I don’t want to leave Altair thinking this is the last time I’m ever going to see you. Look, now you know that someone wants you dead, you’re going to be suspicious of everyone you meet from here out. Believe me, I know. That’s going to make you really value people you know you can trust. I hope you know you can trust me, Bo.”
She lowered her gaze, but didn’t answer.
“I wasn’t joking when I said someone or other has been trying to kill me for most of my life,” he said. “I know what it’s like to live under a death mark. It can eat away at your soul if you let it. It’s important to know that you’re not alone, that you have people you can count on to back you up when you need it.”
“Like Chase?”
He nodded. “Like Royce.”
“And like you.”
“Like me.” He smiled. “That’s why I had our contract certified. A Joy Babe can be under long-term contract with an actor and no one will think anything odd about it. It’s all perfectly legal and respectable.”
“I can never go to Cormoran.”
“It’s a vulgar place,” he said. “The entertainment industry is beneath the dignity of a Kiara. I wouldn’t expect you to lower yourself.”
“I can’t risk being holographed with you…”
He covered her hand with his. “Your Aunt Misou has already made all the necessary arrangements. She told me that it’s common for men to insist their Kiara mistresses wear veils in public. She assured me that no one would think it unusual for you to cover your face when we’re in public together.”
Bo nodded. “It’s not unheard of. It’s a more archaic practice, but Aunt Misou did mention it to me when I was going through training. She suggested I adopt it anyway to help keep from being recognized.”
“So what do you say?”
“You’ve thought of everything,” her lips curved into a slow smile.
“It’s what I do,” he said with a small shrug and a smile of apology. “I’m afraid I’m spoiled. I’m accustomed to getting what I want.”
“And what is it that you want?”
“You.” He grinned and slipped his sunshades back on before attacking his meal. “I’m sorry if it seems like I’m moving too fast, but I am falling for you. I don’t have a lot of time to spend here before I’m overdue to start principal shooting on a new holofeature on location in the Outland Fringe. I should have left days ago, but I wanted to see you first.”
“I have a ship now,” she said. “It’s a fast one. I’ll be happy to provide your transportation. The Outland is a long trip, no matter how you fold space. We’ll have plenty of time to work out the details.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “Just let me get my bag and I’ll follow you anywhere, Barron.”
Bo bit her lip and felt her cheeks heat as she blushed. She met his stare with an impish smile. “I’m ready whenever you are, flyboy.”
Needing no further urging, he tucked his data reader into the pocket of his jacket and rose, offering his hand to her. Without hesitation, she slipped her hand in his. His touch was warm, reassuring. Pulling her to her feet, he tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and led her towards the main building.
In the distance, ships rose gracefully into the sky above the spaceport while others followed the flight patterns, reducing speed and making planetfall. Bo’s hand tightened on his arm, reassuringly solid beneath her touch.
Even though her father was still missing, she was still wanted for treason, and her people faced the very real specter of war, a spark of hope flickered to life in her chest. She had her freedom. She had a ship. For now, it was enough.
The Maker had placed this man in her life for a reason. For the first time in a long time, she felt genuinely hopeful for her future. Perhaps, with him at her side, she would be able to prove her innocence and restore her honor.
It was a long shot, but it was one Bo was willing to take.
JC Cassels, a native of Tampa, Florida, traces her lifelong fascination with SF/Adventure to watching Star Trek on a tiny black and white portable television aboard the family boat as a child. The Space Opera trend that followed the release of Star Wars
fed an obsessive need for swashbuckling adventure set in deep space. Today, JC feeds that need by writing her own adventures, heavily inspired by 1960's television shows like Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and Wild, Wild, West and fueled by Firefly reruns.
When not writing in her haunted hospital, JC lives with her husband, three children, five dogs, twenty chickens and a horse in a century-old house in a tiny rural community, and enjoys spending her free time sewing, camping, and heckling theoretical physicists on the Science Channel.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE