by Rena Marks
He looked saddened before nodding at her and heading down the hallway.
It wasn’t an hour later before the computer voice chimed. “There are two visitors at the door. Shawn Tanner and Tempest Xeno Sapien.”
Leah opened the door slightly, standing in the opening. Tempest and Shawn stood side by side in the hallway.
“Trance isn’t here,” she said.
“I know,” Shawn said. “We’re here to talk to you.”
Suddenly it dawned on her as to why Shawn had mentioned that he needed Trance at work this morning. It was during the dinner they’d shared when Trance mentioned taking the day off to integrate her into the city. She thought Shawn’s excuse sounded flimsy when he asked Trance to work just a few hours. Now she knew why. They wanted to get her alone. Warily, she opened the door fully, allowing them access. What could they possibly want now?
“Can I get you anything?” Leah asked. “Tea? Lemonade?”
“No, we’re good,” Shawn said, sitting on the sofa. “But we’d like to talk to you some more about your husband.”
Leah took a deep breath. They knew. They suspected what she did. The beatings were growing more violent—not just because he was crazy, but because he was preparing himself to not have her. And if he couldn’t have her, no one would. “I just have to hide out for ten more days. The divorce will be final then. I think he’s trying to kill me.”
“What?”
“I think he may have taken out a life insurance policy on me. As his wife and his primary source of income, he was able to. But any policy would be null when the divorce hits, so I just need a little time. He has a gambling problem and when the money source dried up—which was my earnings—he came up with another solution for a payout.”
“How do you know?” Tempest asked
“He was my manager before I married him. I was making a pretty decent living on Iota Nine as a chef. He focused our business on live streaming. We were able to jump around on the nine floating cities. It gave him anonymity.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not even sure when the beatings started. It was mild, at first. A shove. Then a slap. I was embarrassed and in denial. Hid it from everyone and tried to keep emotions on an even keel, but they happened more and more frequently and got worse as his temper increased from the stress of my popularity going downhill. Pretty soon he was handling all the bills, all the publicity, all the finances. I was a figurehead. We slowly got booted from one city to another as we racked up debts until my latest job—cooking for Xenia. I’m ashamed to admit it took me that long to realize things were never going to get better and that I needed out.”
“When you say you were a figurehead, do you mean you had no access to your job? Your credits?”
“Nothing. As my manager, he locked me from my bank account. I didn’t have the choice as to which jobs to accept. He told me my debts were racking up because my popularity was going downhill and I needed to make changes. So different clothing, longer hair. Sometimes my cleavage was exposed. I was appalled at the direction my persona was taking but when the position opened on Xenia, I was excited. Here I could be a normal person. No one expected me to be the sexy chef he’d presented to the world.”
“But he still took your Xenia credits? Do you even know how much you make?”
“Not at first. After the latest”—she winced, thinking about the time she’d spent in the hospital and the clucking tongues of the nurses—“recovery, I decided to lie. Tell him I lost clients because I was new and wasn’t at work for a couple weeks. I had to rebuild from scratch. Then when I returned, I asked Robyn to separate two thirds my income and my tips and hold them for me. I figured one day I’d have enough to escape. But he was furious at the cut in pay and the first stub that she gave me? I was floored. Floored that I’d cut my pay in thirds…and it was still more money than most people make full time. For the first time, I had some hope. I could save enough to hide out. But if I left Earth-Ground, I lost my job and income. And I love working here. But that amount of income made me wonder how much I had been worth. And it made me realize the danger I was in. He would never let me go. And yet he was killing me. Each beating grew more and more violent and being on Earth-Ground, he no longer seemed to care about avoiding hospital records. I started researching how to apply to be a citizen of the city, but it took time and I didn’t have time. So I mentioned that I wanted to show my support for the homeless ranks. Robyn allowed me a trial cabin, but somehow he knew. He found out and yes, mistook Amy for me. It could be because I had nowhere else to go, but I figured he’d find out the homeless boundaries were closed and would look elsewhere. I didn’t mean to put her in danger.”
“It was publicized,” Shawn said. “One of our city employees was testing the new structures that would replace the tents. We had a video on it.”
“Of course.” She groaned. “Robyn said it was a trial. I should have known, but since I wasn’t asked to interview, I didn’t think it had come out yet.”
“I just sent Robyn a message,” Shawn said. “She’s researching for any life insurance policies on you.”
“We must flush the human out,” Tempest said.
“No.” Leah panicked. Her limbs flooded with adrenaline, making her tingle. Did they not realize now that she was safe, she finally realized how much danger she was in? “No. I can’t do it. I can’t go outside and wait for him to spring.” She jumped up from the sofa, pacing.
“I would not ask my weak human friend to do that,” Tempest said, somewhat gently for her. “I would go in your place.” She turned to Shawn. “Since it’s now out that she was the one who was trying the new cabin, I will simply wear one of her white smocks. Keep my hands in my pockets to hide my skin color as I head into her cabin for the night. It may take a few nights, but there I will wait for him.”
“I can’t put you in danger, Tempest,” Leah said. She was well aware of what her husband could do to a female.
Tempest laughed. “Thank you for your concern, my friend. I have more strength than a human male.”
Leah felt her jaw drop.
Next to her, Shawn tutted as he reached for her hand. They were such a sweet couple. “Ahh, but, my pretty, you will not be allowed to use it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll be on the outside. There are drones out there and satellite cameras. Everything is recorded and we can’t have a Xeno Sapien on the outside harming a human. It’s against the laws we’ve set up with the President. So talk about the ultimate test of your strength. You’ll be forced to control yourself. I’m rather excited to witness this.”
Leah stared at them, confused. Tempest turned to her to explain. “Shawn has been teaching me control. When I lose control, I break my own bones and use them to stab people. He has been teaching me to fight without using myself as a weapon.”
Leah’s face froze. Okaaay. That was weird.
Shawn smirked. “This time, my pretty little Xeno Sapien has to depend on her weak human trainer to defend her.”
“It is agreed, then? I shall dress and act as Leah?”
“Yup. You’ll need to spend some time mimicking her mannerisms. You want me to send the rest of your girlfriends over?” He smiled as he said this.
Leah found it confusing, too. She wouldn’t think that Tempest had a lot of friends with her strange mannerisms of warning others from her boyfriend.
“How do you know about my girlfriends?” Tempest narrowed her eyes on Shawn.
He shrugged. “You have girlfriends, I have guy friends. People turn to others of their same sex for advice.”
The computer interrupted with a message. “Incoming notification from Dr. Robyn Saraven.”
“Pull up,” Shawn instructed.
A document highlighted in blue laser showed up against the white wall of their living room. “Active life insurance policy shows a payout for one million credits per month for the rest of the benefactor’s life. Manner of death overridden.” The computer voice spoke without inflection
, giving her no clue as to what the last sentence meant.
“What does that mean?” Leah asked.
Shawn was grim when he answered. “This is one of the most expensive policies out there. He has to pay a huge monthly fee for this…which makes sense considering you had no idea how much income you were bringing in. But basically, anything that overrides a normal policy is allowed. You can commit suicide. You can die under suspicious causes. And he still gets a payout for the rest of his life in monthly increments.”
“So that is why he is so desperate as to kill her,” Tempest said. “He is out of money and will be rich upon her death.”
Surely he would have to serve jail time for her murder. Before she could voice the question, Shawn spoke. “With that kind of money, he can buy the best attorneys to defend him. Counter for a plea bargain. Maybe serve ten years max for her death…and still have money rolling in monthly.”
Well, no wonder he was ready to part with her. “How is such a policy even legal?” Leah asked.
“We never hear of them because they’re nearly impossible to afford. But I’d say you were worth a lot more money than you ever realized. He paid through the nose for this. It explains why you went broke. He was guaranteeing his future on you.”
“And now he’s possibly in default of the policy?”
Shawn nodded. “That means he’s desperate to knock you off before the expiration date.”
Wondering how much time she had, Leah squinted as she peered at the hologram document. The date looked familiar. Of course it was. She’d been waiting for this day for the last ten weeks. She laughed as she choked out, “How ironic. It expires on my divorce date.”
Tempest reached over and patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. “As soon as the girls get here to help me study your mannerisms, we shall also plan a bachelorette party.” Leah’s jaw dropped again. Tempest really had no social skills. The poor dear tried, though.
“Um, I think those are normally for women who are about to get married,” Shawn told her.
“Yes, I know. But we don’t know if Leah will ever be stupid enough to get married again, so she will have to have hers upon her divorce.”
“No,” Leah said. “I will never again be that stupid.”
“As your best friend, I shall remind you of those words.”
Leah felt her mood lift. This woman was so funny. She could easily be her best friend, considering she had no others. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Chapter Seven
SHE HEARD A COMMOTION in the hallway outside of their home.
“Leah?”
It wasn’t necessary for Trance to yell out her name. He was noisy enough when he scrambled into the apartment, as if he’d run down the hallway and bashed in the door when it didn’t open fast enough.
“Yes?” She came out of the bedroom, where she’d just made the bed.
“What were Shawn and Tempest doing here? She sent me a communication that they’d talked to you and it was up to you whether you wanted to relay the discussion. Did they upset you? They had no business coming around without your sponsor here.”
“Trance, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. A sponsor is here to protect you, to help you integrate.”
“I’m all right. Really. And they’re right. I probably would have hidden what I knew if you’d have been here.”
She ignored the hurt look on his face. She was sorry to hurt him, she really was.
“But if you want to hear it, I’d like to share it with you. As a friend. Not as a sponsor because I’m required to tell you everything.”
He took a deep breath. “Of course as a friend, Leah. I’ll always be your friend. I’m sorry I was mad when I saw your husband. I just thought it should have been something I heard from you. As your friend,” he added quickly.
“Okay.” She nodded and he sat down on the sofa next to her. “What I admitted is noticing that Brock’s beatings became more and more violent. He was a stalker at first and I didn’t realize it until after we were married. At first the beatings were mild. He would apologize profusely and even got to the point where he’d beg me not to set him off so he wouldn’t hurt me. He didn’t want to hurt me, after all. I was his treasure. His prized possession.” He voice became mocking. “But lately he’d lost that fear. Shawn and Tempest figured out why.”
Trance’s gorgeous face was unreadable. There was no surprise that she admitted to the beatings, although, to be fair, it wasn’t like they were a secret any more. But she appreciated the fact that he tried to keep his face unemotional so she wouldn’t think he judged her. “Go on. Please.”
She took a deep breath before blurting it out. “He has a top of the line insurance policy on me. Paid for with my own money, no less. The policy is why we’ve gone broke, though I thought it was because of a gambling problem. It’s so high end, it’s rarely heard of and covers all manners of death. Suicide. Accidents. Murder.”
“So he can kill you and get away with it?”
“Essentially. He’ll be tried for my murder, of course. But with a million credits rolling in monthly, he can afford the best attorneys in the world. That’ll make his prison sentence easier since he can afford to donate to certain individuals to receive a stay in certain facilities. He can pay for his own incarceration, which means he can keep himself from general population. Hell, if he sends a judge’s kid to college, he can get a shorter sentence. All in all, he could easily be out in five to seven years and enjoy the rest of his life as a very wealthy man while I’m six feet under.”
“Wow. And your place in testifying at the trial is what?”
“To make sure all of those details come out. It’s about exposing the life insurance policies so this doesn’t happen to others in the future. The world needs to know I went broke so my husband could plan my murder. And while he may have been thwarted, there may be someone else who picks up where he left off.”
“I’m sorry, Leah. We have a couple of Xeno Sapiens with camouflage abilities. I’d kill to have that power.”
She cracked a smile, though it felt brittle and false. “Wouldn’t mind that one so much myself, Trance.”
“Thank you for sharing your story with me. I know it’s been hard for you to let out details of your life.”
“Yes, it has been. But not because I don’t want you to know. It’s mostly because I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid as to get myself into a mess this deep. I’m a normal intelligent woman. How did I become an abused wife?” She shook her head. “So anything I’m not forthcoming about is because of my shame. Nothing else.”
“You have nothing to be ashamed over. You’re a beautiful, graceful, amazing woman. You’re free now.”
“I know. I was just so stupid as to not see it.”
“Many Xeno Sapiens felt shame also. Even though we had no control over what we were forced to do in captivity. Logically we knew were not at fault but the guilt remained. A lot of people found therapy in talking to someone helped. Maybe you should consult with Robyn? She keeps the conversations confidential.”
“I’ll consider it.”
She wouldn’t. What Trance didn’t understand was Robyn was her employer. If she revealed horrors in her sessions, Robyn may decide she was too much trouble to keep protected in Xenia. There were other chefs she could hire instead of dealing with her.
“Do,” he urged. “Your friend Tempest sees her. I’ve seen her.”
“You?”
“Yes, me. There isn’t much she can do for me. My power is too invasive. While Tempest can control her power because it’s physical, mine can’t be controlled. It’s caused me a loss of friendships because others pull away from me.”
“What is your power?”
“Xeno Sapiens are comprised of different types of aliens, with their human DNA in common. Somehow, and the details aren’t public, we’re able to telepathically link. The link could include all of us, or it could reach a select few for a more private link. The only person who was
able to delve into links when she wasn’t invited was Lily, back when she was a teenager. When she became an adult, she understood etiquette and made the active choice not to invade private links. I don’t have that choice. I invade people’s minds without meaning to.”
“So Xeno Sapiens snub you because of that? Not deliberately, but because they’re embarrassed about having private conversations invaded?”
“Pretty much.”
She laid her hand on top of his. “I’m sorry, Trance.”
In response, he flipped his hand over to grip hers. “Don’t worry. I’ve gotten used to being a loner. And for that reason, I understand you.”
She liked the feeling of her hand in his—too much. For that reason she squeezed his hand gently and then broke connection so she could stand. “I picked up a few things at the commissary. Are you hungry? I can whip up something in twenty minutes.”
“I can eat,” he said, standing also. “But I’ll shower. I worked up a sweat running straight here when Tempest sent a message that they were talking to you. I didn’t want you to feel cornered or trapped.”
“So when you say sent a message, that’s the telepathic link?”
He nodded. “Tempest interprets for Shawn because he’s human. Steele interprets for Robyn. Renegade for Amanda.”
“I see.”
With a small smile, he left her for the back of the apartment, and she headed toward the kitchen.
“I’ll leave the bathroom door open so we can talk,” Trance called out, and then flipped the water on.
She’d been about to protest that he didn’t need to leave the door open, but then didn’t bother. Xeno Sapiens in general thought differently. And poor Trance, while not as befuddled as Tempest when it came to relationships, was enjoying his first friendship.
No wonder he’d been so upset with her when he found out she was married. It wasn’t necessarily only that he was crushing on her romantically, but he felt betrayed by their blossoming friendship.
Lunch was about done. She was putting the final touches on it, aware that the shower had long stopped. In fact, he’d called out things here and there, asking her what she was fixing, what she wanted to do the rest of the day. Offered to show her around the city, which she’d taken him up on.