There was a hand-pulled hover cart.
She stepped in and walked over to it. To her relief, when she switched it on it started smoothly and lifted up on its cushion of air. It looked big enough to take Leo from head to waist, but nothing else.
The cart suggested someone was using the tunnel to bring goods out or in, but whatever it was, they weren't taking or delivering large quantities.
She wondered who it was. She'd have to thank them, because the cart was a lifesaver.
Stretchy ropes with hooks lay beside it, to secure whatever was piled onto the cart's tray. She sighed. This wasn't going to be fun, for either of them.
Sometimes, she knew, life wasn't fun. It only made the times that were all the more enjoyable.
She turned back to the EM cart and Leo. He looked vulnerable, so unlike she'd seen him before, when he was all cool control.
Tonight had not gone as planned, for either of them.
She wondered with a little spike of worry if there had been anyone in the restaurant who could identify her.
There were scanners watching what happened in Felicitos, but she'd heard a rumor that that wasn't true of the exclusive restaurants frequented by the top echelon of the Cores. They didn't live in a do unto others spirit. With luck, no one would want to admit to seeing anything, either.
It was the safest way to go on Garmen.
She shrugged the worry off. Nothing she could do about it right now, and she had bigger problems on her hands.
She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and leaned in to the cart, getting an arm around Leo, bracing herself, and levering him up.
He came up a little way, and fell back down.
His eyes fluttered open.
“You have to help me, Leo.” She was panting with effort. “Come on, up you get. Just a few steps, I promise.”
He seemed to hear her, struggled up, and it was enough to get him on his feet, leaning heavily on her.
Once they were both upright, she was seriously worried he would take them both down.
“While I like all the muscles, believe me, they are very problematic right now.” She couldn't move more than a few shuffles at a time.
By the time they'd reached the hand cart, she was sweating, and close to collapse.
She felt a deep sense of dismay when she tried to work out how to lower him down without hurting him.
Eventually she threw his jacket on the cart where she thought his head would land, and bent, then knelt, grabbing at him as he slid down. He hit the cart, but not as hard as he could have, lying across it at an angle.
It was the best she could do.
She stood, catching her breath and stretching out the kinks in her back, then pulled the wall closed behind her.
She could have sent the EM cart off, but if the system was working, it would go where it was needed as soon as someone on this level hailed one, and if it were discovered in this strange place, the location would be put down to the bugs in the system.
From everything she'd heard, there were a lot of bugs in the system.
She gave a wicked grin, then turned back to the cart and Leo, and steeled herself for some hard work.
She maneuvered him, pulling his legs around to get him straight, and used the stretchy ropes to create a sling over her neck and shoulders to hold his legs off the ground on either side of her body.
The cart moved better if she was in front, pulling it, and she'd gotten about halfway down the tunnel when she heard him make a sound. She turned to look at him over her shoulder.
He was blinking up at her, bemused.
“Am I dreaming this?”
She shook her head. “I'm afraid not.”
“How embarrassing,” he murmured and then closed his eyes again.
She smiled. Turned back and carried on pulling the cart.
It seemed like he would live.
Chapter 3
Leo came awake to the sound of rain on a window.
He was in a comfortable bed, and it smelled like Sofie. He was warm, and the bedding he lay on was soft and smooth.
He vaguely recalled Sofie's voice, coaxing him into standing, remembered her hair just under his nose as they staggered into a lift, along passageways.
The only time he'd struggled against the pain and lethargy was when they'd climbed into a hover-for-hire. Sofie had spoken to the driver with a light, joking tone, but Leo had been aware of the danger they were in.
He thought the driver had helped her get him into another lift, and he remembered the faint click of ports as Sofie had handed the ones he'd given her over to the man.
He shifted in agitation, and realized his side was better. The laz must have been on a relatively low setting. Maybe Zan hadn't wanted to kill him, after all. Maybe they'd planned on knocking him out and taking him for questioning.
Like they had questioned Sunar and Petro.
That made more sense than a straightforward elimination. He had secrets they wanted to pry out of him.
Secrets that were causing them a lot of trouble.
He heard a creak from another room, as if someone shifted in their chair, but he didn't feel any sense of alarm. He wasn't in any immediate danger here.
Whatever unconscious evaluations he'd made up until this point, he knew he was safe.
He looked up to find a ceiling with a water stain in one corner and a pretty ceiling fixture in the middle.
When he rose up on his elbows he found he was still dressed, although he wasn't wearing his shoes or jacket, and he was clearly in Sofie's bedroom.
The room was small, and the window faced another building, close enough that he could see the stones in its wall. Despite the cramped quarters and lack of view, Sofie had furnished it in a way that made it seem like the inside of a beautiful box. It was nicer than his own massive space.
Light filtered in, but because of the rain, and the proximity to another structure, he couldn't work out what the time was.
Day time, anyway. He'd slept through the night.
He reluctantly swung his legs over the side of the bed, got out of the comfort and warmth, and took a few steps to the door.
The room beyond was an open plan living area and kitchen.
A deep couch was set against the far window, and Sofie lay on it, a blanket tight around her, her face almost buried in it. Her arm was curled tight against her chest, and he saw she was wearing the same pretty crystal charm bracelet she always wore.
She was curled in on herself and her eyes were closed.
She must have sensed his gaze on her, or heard him move, though, because they flickered open.
Her expression at the sight of him was one of instant relief and delight.
It jolted him.
Had anyone ever been so happy to see him?
She threw off the blanket, and he saw she had changed out of the gold dress and into tight stretchy leggings and a loose shirt.
Her hair was out of the smooth, sophisticated knot at her nape and lay on her shoulders, a rich, dark brown with hints of gold.
He stood still. This unaccustomed hesitancy, of feeling a little untethered, must be down to having been shot.
“You look better.” Her voice was husky, and she took a few steps toward him, and then stopped, almost as if she were suddenly shy. “I sat with you for a while, but your breathing sounded strong, and your color came back, so I crashed myself.”
He cleared his throat. “How did you get me here?” He looked around the room, found it the same mix of warmth and comfort he'd found in the bedroom.
She laughed, suddenly back to the sophisticated, amused woman who'd captivated him. “With difficulty.”
She moved to the kitchen, her manner confident and assured, as if she'd pulled strength around her like a blanket. There were still dark smudges under her eyes, though, and the gray of them was almost silver in the muted light coming through the window.
She switched on what looked like--thank the Stars--a jah machin
e.
She whirled pods and set the cups beneath it, and then reached into her cooler for a tiny jug of sweet syrup and poured a little dollop into the cup she then handed to him.
“How did you know--?”
She looked surprised. “That's how you took it when we went out to dinner that first time.”
He covered his confusion with a deep sip of the dark, fragrant brew.
Could he remember how she'd had her jah?
All he could recall from the evening was how riveting she was.
Then again, this was a woman who'd realized he was about to be attacked before he was. She obviously paid attention to the world around her.
He thought he did, too, but Sofie Erdo was in another league.
Either that, or she'd been watching him a lot longer than the time they'd spent together so far.
At that suspicious thought, he looked up, found her watching him over the rim of her cup.
“Care to tell me why your bodyguard and some fake waiter tried to kill you?” she asked.
He grinned. It was a good ploy, turning the tables and questioning him, but really the more interesting questions he had were all about her.
“Care to tell me where you learned to take out assassins with your sandals?”
She raised her mug in a toast, as if saluting him. “You are feeling better.”
A buzz of sound caught his attention and he looked over at the dining table. Something on it seemed to shake around in a tightly wrapped bundle. He tilted his head as he tried to work out what it was.
“It's your comm unit,” Sofie said. “It's been chirping and burbling all night, and as I wasn't going to answer it, and you were in no state to do so, I tried to muffle the sound. I couldn't find out where to turn the thing off.”
He set down his jah and pulled it out, saw he'd missed nearly fifty calls.
He put it down, and sat heavily on one of the green chairs set around the table, suddenly feeling not as well as he had a moment ago.
Sofie started pulling food and pans out of drawers.
He took a long sip of jah. “You're going to feed me?”
“Why not?” The question seemed to startle her. “You're in my apartment, and I know you must be hungry.”
He closed his eyes at that, adrift in a confusion of mistrust, gratitude and lust. He struggled to find a way out of it. “You never answered my question. Where did you learn to move that way?” As far as he knew, she worked for one of the Cores' export businesses in an Upper Reaches office. Exporting was his profession, too, at least officially. It had been the reason for their initial conversation.
“A woman needs to know how to defend herself on a Breakaway. Garmen is hardly a planet in the Verdant String.”
That was true enough. And because of it, he wanted to burn the whole place down.
Was trying right now to do just that. And the Cores weren't happy about it.
“You didn't answer my question.” Sofie tossed something in the pan and he realized she was making something from scratch, not heating a ready. The scent of it was tantalizing.
He shook his head, stretched out his legs.
“Better you don't know.”
She lifted her gaze to meet his at that, and he saw disappointment in her expression.
He wouldn't let it deter him, because it was the truth. She was probably in danger because of him already, but the more she knew, the worse it would be.
The bodies of Sunar and Petro haunted him. Just as they were meant to.
He should probably never have pursued her in the first place. He'd been targeted once already this month, but that was at the warehouse where he'd been meeting with his team, and he'd thought it was more a chance attack.
Given the latest attempt, and the deaths of two trusted staff members, that seemed unlikely now.
He had been fiddling with his comm unit, but now he got Sofie's address from her and tapped it in to his security chief. He had the depressing thought that he hoped at least Finkle was unbribable.
He would have said they all were until Zan tried to shoot him in the head.
“Here you go.” Sofie slid a plate in front of him, handed him cutlery, then sat herself.
She was too much of a mystery now to be a safe, easy companion, but he tried never to lie to himself, and he knew he'd never seen her as either, even in the beginning when he'd first come across her sitting quietly at one of the cheaper bars in the Upper Reaches.
She was too intriguing to be either safe or easy.
None of them had said it, but his lieutenants hadn't liked his obvious attraction to her. They thought she was a distraction, just when things were getting serious.
His lips quirked. Except, he knew now, he'd be dead without her.
He forked up some of the omelette she'd put in front of him and then raised startled eyes to hers.
“It's good.”
She laughed. Shook her head and started eating herself.
He opened his mouth to explain himself, then closed it. When had he turned into such an ass? And when last had he been so clumsy with a woman?
It had to be a side effect of his injury. He just wasn't at his best.
Usually he took women out to dinner, spent nights with them at one of the top hotels in Felicitos, and kept things exclusive until the zing faded, on either side. Everyone walked away happy.
So far, the relationship with Sofie hadn't progressed to a hotel yet, and he realized that for her own safety, it never would.
“Something wrong?”
He lifted his gaze back to hers, saw she was watching him with a little frown creasing her forehead.
“Just working through what to do about Zan,” he lied.
She nodded, her eyes softening. “Betrayal is always a punch in the gut.”
His comm unit buzzed and danced on the table again.
He ignored it, savoring the breakfast and finishing his jah.
It danced again, almost falling off the table.
He sighed. Picked it up. It was Finkle.
He knew it would be.
“The world of crime never stops.” She was looking at him with a level gaze.
He let his breath out, slow and easy. “Crime?”
“Leo, I know you're smuggling things out under the Cores' noses. That you're sticking it to them is fine with me.” She leaned back. “I guess the attack on you means someone in upper management got tired of you ripping them off. Or you're seriously cutting into their bottom line.”
“What happened to the woman who wouldn't give a straight answer about her feelings for the Cores? The one who played the charming export administrator?”
Sofie lifted her shoulders. “A bit pointless now I've saved your life. The charming export administrator probably couldn't have done that.”
Silence settled between them.
“I don't know what to make of you,” Leo said, quietly. He waved his hand to encompass the room, the breakfast, the bedroom beyond where he'd safely slept through the night. “How do you know about my operation?”
She quirked her lips. “In certain circles, it's well known.”
That was true. He knew it was, but he hadn't thought she belonged in those circles.
He'd obviously been wrong.
One thing he wasn't wrong about though, was the danger to her after last night's excitement. “It's not safe to be anywhere near me right now.”
She tipped back her head as he stood up, her expression neutral.
“Which means?”
“Which means good bye.”
He walked into the bedroom, pulled on his shoes, and grabbed his jacket. His comm buzzed again.
Finkle was waiting downstairs.
When he walked back into the living room, she was still seated, cup of jah in hand.
She was a mystery. A mystery he wanted to solve.
He fought every selfish inclination within him that told him he could somehow still see her and keep her safe.
But th
at was bullshit, and from what Finkle said, things were already ramping up now that whoever ordered him abducted realized the plan hadn't been successful.
Someone had tried to break into the warehouse.
He didn't have time to explore the secrets of the delightful Sofie Erdo.
He stopped at her front door, turned back to look at her.
“Thank you.”
She crossed her arms under her breasts. Inclined her head.
It seemed as if she was going to say something, but she changed her mind with a quick shake of her head.
“Keep safe,” she said as he opened the door, her voice husky.
He gave her a nod and forced himself to walk away.
He'd get Finkle to post watchers on her apartment and on her.
At least for a while.
Sofie Erdo was not going to be caught in the crossfire if he could help it.
And if it meant he'd get daily updates on her, that would be the sweetest torture.
Chapter 4
She didn't know how long she stared at the door after it closed behind Leo.
Her first reaction when he'd stood up and gone to collect his things was outrage, but she could tell he was sincere in his belief that she was in danger.
He was trying to protect her.
If he knew who she really was, and where her loyalties lay, he'd understand she was in far more trouble than she could possibly be as a crime lord's . . .
She frowned, annoyed she couldn't come up with the exact description of her relationship with Leo.
Lover didn't fit, not yet. Although if someone hadn't tried to kill him, they'd have gotten there soon enough.
She shrugged.
She hadn't been happy to see him leave.
It had been a long time since she felt attracted to a man, and the breathless, heady feeling she got around Leo was precious to her.
She didn't want to let that go.
She wouldn't fight his leaving, though.
She'd learned long ago that someone either wanted you or they didn't. You couldn't force it, and if you tried, you were the one who ended up damaged.
Years of her and Rach trying to get their father to give even half a damn about them had taught her that.
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