by Lolita Lopez
Menace bristled at the admiral’s description of Naya but let it slide. He recognized that Orion was actually helping his case in trying to dissuade Flare from pursuing his claim to Naya.
“Is it legal?” Flare’s question calmed Menace’s frayed nerves. The man was considering Vicious’ option.
“It is,” Vicious assured him. “The arrangement would be treated the same way as the matchmaking services from Harcos Prime.”
Flare gestured to his ruined leg. “I can’t go down to the surface to get her. How do I know one of the members of the team you send won’t claim her for himself?”
It was a valid question. The tricky unclaimed-property laws made it very easy for another man to swipe a new bride. After the last Grab, there had been a massive brawl aboard the Arctis when a land corps sergeant had taken a pilot’s new bride and barricaded her in his quarters. The Special Response Unit led by Raze had ended up blasting the door down to get them out but the bride was so enamored with the sergeant’s brash “romantic” act that she’d refused to go back to the pilot. To say it had been a clusterfuck of epic proportions was the understatement of the century.
“I’ll go.” Menace held Flare’s disbelieving gaze. “I’m happily matched to Naya and have no reason to take your woman. I’ll go down to the surface and safely escort your bride back to you.”
Flare narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Why should I trust you? Can you honestly say I’m not your enemy now?”
Menace scoffed. “Enemy? We’re brothers-in-arms. Am I irritated that you scared my woman? Yes. Am I going to hold it against you? No. You’ve earned the right to a wife and a family. Naya didn’t mean to cause such a traumatic injury, but she was partially responsible for your current predicament. My wife’s debts of honor are mine. I intend to make this one right.”
Flare nodded stiffly. “Thank you, Menace.”
Orion pushed off his desk and straightened. “So it’s settled? No more talks of blood feuds and mess-hall beat downs?”
Vicious smiled. “I think we’ve managed to head off disaster.”
“Good.” Orion shook Vicious’ hand and clapped him on the back. He stepped forward and offered his hand to Menace. Voice soft, he said, “That bit about calling your wife a harpy? I didn’t mean it.”
Menace gripped the man’s hand. “Understood, sir.”
“I’ll leave this to you, Vicious. Will Raze’s team handle the extraction?”
“Yes,” Vicious confirmed.
“I’ll give you Zephyr for this mission. He’s my best stealth pilot.” Orion walked to his desk and tapped his communication unit. “Hunter? Send in the medics and call Zephyr into my office.”
“Yes, sir.”
A moment later, the medics entered the office. One of them used the controls on the back of Flare’s chair. The other waited by the door. Menace watched the broken man leave the office. He couldn’t shake the sympathy eating at him. It wasn’t completely Naya’s fault the man had hurt himself so badly. It was simply a freak accident, but for a military man in his prime to lose it all because of something as stupid as a rolling log? It was almost too painful to consider.
Menace received a nod of dismissal from Vicious and started out of the office. Just as he left, he heard Orion ask Vicious, “Are there truly many women who want to marry and leave Calyx?”
“There are. Why? Would you like one of them? I could make the arrangement for you.”
“No, no,” Orion quickly replied. He laughed nervously. “I was just asking for my men. There are some who have the points to enter a Grab, but not enough seniority to make it onto the lists every quarter. There are so many men aboard the Valiant with years of dedicated service, especially in the land corps, that the younger airmen among us don’t have much of a chance…”
Menace didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. The admiral’s thought was an interesting one. Menace had bumped a younger pilot off the Connor’s Run Grab list when he’d added his name. At the time, he hadn’t much cared. He’d earned his spot, after all, but now he wondered if there wasn’t a better way to do things down on Calyx. If Vicious was right and there were women who wanted to marry, why not give them access to matchmaking services like the ones on Prime?
“Well, that went better than I’d expected,” Vicious muttered upon rejoining him. “Looks like Hallie has saved my ass yet again. The moons know she won’t let me forget it.”
Menace snorted. “I can’t imagine your sweet Hallie crowing over such a thing.”
Vicious shot him a warning glare. “Don’t laugh too hard, Menace. The two of us made a huge tactical error earlier.”
“And what’s that?”
“We left our wives alone together.”
Chapter Nine
“Don’t worry, Naya. Vicious will protect you and Menace.”
Naya glanced at Hallie before stepping off the elevator into a private hallway. Her stomach was in knots. The idea of being taken away from Menace scared her. It wasn’t as if she was in love with him or anything, but he’d been very good to her. He cared for her and would protect her. She couldn’t say the same for other men aboard the ship.
“You seem very confident in your husband’s abilities.”
“He’s not the kind of man people challenge.” Hallie unlocked her front door with a press of her thumb to a red pad. “When Vicious gives an order, it’s followed without question.”
She wondered if Hallie was one of those people who followed orders given by Vicious. She had a sneaking suspicion the short, spunky woman was the general at home and Vicious was the one jumping to follow her orders.
One step into Hallie’s home and Naya’s jaw dropped. It wasn’t the size difference that stunned her but the homey, inviting warmth of the space. Hallie’s home was laid out almost identically to the one Naya now shared with Menace. The furniture and materials were all the same with only a few differences in upholstery colors and the paler, softer gray on the walls, but Hallie had done something extraordinary with the blank canvas of her home.
“Your home is beautiful.” Naya admired the framed painting on the entryway wall. It was a simple design with the letters V and H intertwined and nestled in two feathers. There was something familiar about the look of it. “Where did you buy this?”
“I painted it.” Hallie lovingly touched the frame. She gestured toward the open living area. “I’ve done all the artwork in our home.”
Naya entered the living room and scanned the stunning pieces on the walls. “You’re very talented.”
“Thank you.”
“And you sew!” She fingered one of the plush decorative pillows on the couch. The lilac hue complemented the silvery upholstery. She spotted the sewing basket on the floor. It was piled high with embroidery projects. A stack of completed pieces, baby clothes and bibs, sat on the cushion of the chair.
“You can order fabric and sewing supplies through the clothing store.” Hallie gathered up the sewing supplies on the couch and moved them to the basket. “I was finishing up some sewing when the alarms sounded. A friend of mine is due any day.”
Naya picked up one of the small bibs. “You’re very good.”
“I’m not nearly as good as my oldest sister but I do all right. Do you sew?”
Naya laughed. “No.”
“Would you like to learn?”
“Not really,” Naya admitted and hoped she wasn’t hurting Hallie’s feelings. Clearly this woman relished her homemaking duties.
Hallie surprised her by laughing. “I like honesty. Sewing isn’t for everyone. You could always barter if you needed sewing services.”
Naya perked up. “Barter? Now that’s something I know how to do.”
“Really?” Hallie motioned toward the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink? I’ve got tea and juice.”
“I’ll take tea if it isn’t too much trouble.”
“It’s not.”
Naya glanced into the large formal dining room. The embroidered t
ablecloth and centerpiece of candles and flowers were gorgeous. Hallie had even made chair covers to soften the harshness of the all-metal look. “How in the world do you keep houseplants and flowers alive up here?”
“A friend of ours brought me some of the hardiest houseplants available on Calyx. One of the biologists in the science department let Vicious buy a special growing light and some food for them. I move them under the light a few hours every evening and feed them once a week. So far, so good. Would you like one of the plants?”
“No way.” Naya shook her head. “I have a tried-and-true brown thumb.”
“I’m sure you’re not that bad.” Hallie showed her to the small table in the spacious kitchen. She brushed crumbs off the simple runner and caught them in her hand. “Sorry. Vicious seems to think kitchen elves clean up after him.”
Naya smiled and slid into a chair. “He’s, um, really intimidating.”
Hallie laughed. “He’s not as scary as he looks.” She dumped the crumbs in the silver trash receptacle. “Well, okay, he can be that scary but never with me or any other woman for that matter. He only shows the grrr side when it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Is it necessary often?”
“Only when he’s defending me or his men.”
Naya rubbed her finger across the bright-white flowers embroidered on the runner. “You’re happy here?”
“Very,” Hallie confirmed and took down the tea supplies from a cabinet. “You’re from Connor’s Run, right?”
“I am.”
“Well, I came from Harper’s Well. My life with Vicious is heaven compared to the hell I endured there.”
Naya didn’t doubt that. “He makes you happy?”
“Yes.” Hallie cast a quick smile her way before fidgeting with some strange machine built into the wall. “We love each other very much.”
“Was it hard in the beginning?” Naya watched as the contraption whirred to life and spit steaming-hot water into mugs. “That’s amazing!”
“You probably have one in your quarters. Most of the units in the officer housing section have the same built-ins.” Hallie carried the tray with mugs and sweeteners to the table. “Sugar. Milk. Honey. Help yourself.”
Naya sweetened her cup of tea with a drizzle of honey and gave it a stir. Hallie opened a sleek black door and retrieved a covered dish. “I did a breakfast casserole this morning. Would you like some?”
“I would. We didn’t have time for breakfast before the alarms started.”
“There will be another drill in a week or two, but it will be in the evening, which is just as annoying.” Hallie dished out a portion and put the plate into another weird device. She tapped a keypad and it started to hum. “This machine heats food quickly. They sell frozen boxed dinners in the commissary that can be quickly prepared with this. I don’t like them very much, but Vicious swears they’re delicious.”
Naya made a mental note to ask Menace about them. To a girl who couldn’t cook, the prospect of putting a frozen box of food in that super oven sounded like a lifesaver.
The machine dinged and Hallie removed the hot dish. She brought it to the table with utensils and a napkin. After grabbing a couple of cookies from a jar on the counter, Hallie came to the table. Naya poked her fork into the fluffy egg-and-bacon casserole. She spied bits of potato and specks of cheese. One bite proved that it was as delicious as it smelled. So Hallie could sew, paint, keep house and cook. Naya wanted to hate her but couldn’t. That smile and gentle air about her were too disarming.
“To answer your question, it wasn’t easy in the beginning. Vicious is basically the ideal Harcos male. What I mean by that is that he is maddeningly arrogant.”
Hallie said it with a grin but Naya guessed she hadn’t always found her husband’s arrogance so amusing. “Menace has an arrogant streak in him as well. He seems to think that if he just says something will be one way, it will be.”
Hallie rolled her eyes and laughed. “The whole I’m-going-to-make-you-happy thing, right?”
“Yes! What makes them think they can just catch us in a race, drag us back to their weird-ass ships and make us into happy little wives?”
“Tradition,” Hallie answered simply. “They’ve been taking wives from their treaty-controlled territories via the Grabs for hundreds of years.”
“It’s a bad tradition. Can you imagine how many unhappy couples there are?”
“Not as many as you’d think,” Hallie replied. “At least not in this sector. Our wives’ group has access to the census data from the ships taking part in the Grab program on our planet. The divorce rate is less than ten percent.”
Naya swallowed her mouthful of food. “Divorce?”
Hallie smiled knowingly. “They keep that part of the contracts quiet. I never saw it in mine, but it’s there.”
Even though Naya was starting to care for Menace, she wanted all the information she could get—just in case. “How does it work?”
Hallie didn’t hesitate to give her the answers. Naya respected her all the more for it. “Well, first, you need to know that the first thirty days of a Grabbed bond are on shaky ground legally. For instance, if you leave your quarters without an escort, you’re considered lost property. Whoever finds you first gets to keep you.”
“What?” Outraged, Naya dropped her fork “That’s ridiculous. What am I? A wallet?”
“It’s an awful rule. A few months ago, something like that happened on the Arctis.”
“Arctis?”
“It’s one of the guard ships that flies with us. After the last Grab, a bride got away from her husband and was taken by a land corps soldier. It became this huge mess. They deployed the SRU team from the Valiant.”
“SRU team?”
“They’re an elite group of soldiers who deal with so-called ‘special’ circumstances. Terrorist threats, hostage negotiations, escorts and other high-risk things like that.”
“Oh.” Naya breathed a little easier. “I thought maybe you meant they were secret police.”
“No. The men on the SRU teams are good, upstanding men.” She hesitated. “There is a unit that’s sort of like the secret police but they’re called the Shadow Force. I can’t imagine you’d ever come into contact with them, so I wouldn’t worry about it. They don’t go after citizens like the secret police on Calyx. They’re focused solely on the Splinter movement and terrorism.”
“Good to know.” Naya scooped up another forkful of her breakfast. “Being arrested three times in Connor’s Run was enough for me.”
Hallie’s gaze snapped to her face. She smiled sadly. “You can add me to that club.”
Before Naya could ask her why she’d been pinched, Hallie scooted back in her chair and stood. “Let me get you some of our pamphlets. We’re having a new wives meeting later this week but you may as well take the information with you today.”
Naya watched Hallie leave and tucked right back in to her breakfast. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten something so good. When Hallie returned, she slid a thin stack of pamphlets onto the table and sat down.
“Each pamphlet will give you information you’ll need to make your transition to this new life successfully. The first one is about navigating the ship and using all the different devices in your home. The second is about your rights aboard the ship and in this new society. The procedure for filing for a separation is in there. The blue one outlines your access to medical care and explains the most common medications and procedures. The green one is all about shopping in the retail section as well as understanding the monetary system here. It’s credits, by the way.”
“Credits?”
Hallie nodded. “You’ll get the hang of it.” She lifted her wrist. “The chip they gave you is your method of payment. It’s attached to Menace’s bank account. The money is deducted automatically.”
“That would have been handy back on Calyx,” Naya murmured. “I wouldn’t have had to chase down so many people who owed me money.”
“You were in business?”
“I owned a pawnshop.”
“How cool is that?” Hallie seemed impressed. “You’re going to be a great addition to our wives club.”
“I am?” Naya sipped her tea. “I’m not so sure about joining a social club.”
“Oh, you have to!” Hallie practically pleaded with her. “It’s so nice to get together with other women from our planet. We’re so outnumbered by men here. Plus we’re doing good work.”
“How so?”
“We’ve created a domestic violence resource center. Next month, they’re opening a new counseling division in the med bay for couples who need a little help adjusting or communicating. We’re getting a distance learning program so those of us who want to finish our educations can do so. Some of the mothers in the group have started a playgroup and even have a babysitting pool that they use to give one another a day or night off every week.”
Naya wasn’t so sure about that babysitting stuff but she thought the idea of counseling was probably a good one. Finishing school had always been a dream. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to come to one meeting.”
Hallie beamed. “You’ll love it—and I make cookies!”
Naya laughed. “I’m sure you do.”
Hallie held her mug in both hands and sat back in her chair. “What can I say? I’m a happy little homemaker. We all fill different roles in life. Who knows? Maybe you’ll open the first wife-owned business on the ship.”
Finished with her breakfast, Naya reached for the pamphlets. “Is that even possible?”
Hallie shrugged. “I don’t see why not. There are vacant storefronts in the market. You wouldn’t be able to run a pawnshop. I’m not sure the concept would work here. They don’t do debt or credit here.”
“I wasn’t really thrilled with running a pawnshop in the first place,” Naya admitted. “It was just the easiest business for me to get into at the time. The only way to make a business work is to find a need that isn’t being filled in the current market.”
“You mean like having access to comforts from home or clothes that fit and aren’t ugly as homemade sin?” Hallie pinched the front of her boxy dress. “If you saw what kinds of alterations I have to make just get my clothes to fit!”