by Rena Marks
Their five minutes was almost up. She waited a bit while her end of the time clicked. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
She leaned in and then cocked her head to the left, letting her eyes roam over Trance. The cameras cut to see her gorgeous, sexy bodyguard she was looking at. “Oh, but someone already has.”
Fury erupted over his face and what she assumed was a slew of curses spat from his mouth. But time had run out on the connection, so the sound was muted and no one could hear a thing. He continued his tantrum, and then his arms and legs jerked as the chair shocked him into submission. He stopped his tirade, staring with wide eyes into the camera. For the first time, he showed real fear over his circumstances instead of the cocky attitude that had proven money could beat all.
The light faded out in his booth.
The hovering ball lifted and the speaker boomed. “The verdict will be released to the public in three hours. You are welcome to stay. If you do not choose to avail yourself of that option, you may slip out the witness elevator. Access has been keyed for the roof. An unmarked shuttle is in place and will take you anywhere you wish to go.”
The lights of the roving, ball-like apparatus clicked out without waiting for her response. She realized it was best to keep her decision to stay or leave anonymous. Not even Robyn would be able to hack into the records to find out if they were returning because no one would know.
She stepped from the witness booth and headed straight to Trance. He pulled her into his embrace, her head falling onto his chest.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so.”
“You did great. I was so proud of you. Do they provide a waiting room that’s more comfortable?”
“Probably. All the lighted areas in the hall signal areas we, as the witnesses, can travel to. But we can also leave. There’s a shuttle on the roof that will take us anywhere. I don’t see any difference in hearing the verdict here or over the newsfeeds with the rest of the world.”
“Are you sure?” He looked at her quizzically.
“Yes, I’m sure. I want to go home.”
“Yours or mine?”
Good grief, she’d forgotten she moved out. “Yours,” she whispered.
He smiled at her. “Ours. I’ll call the front desk of the hotel and ask them to bring our bags to the roof. We’ll pick them up on the way home.”
The verdict came in while they were shuttling home. Guilty. A life sentence in one of the harshest mining facilities—on the planet Mars. After creating the floating cities, the Global Government was intent on adapting Mars to become a livable planet. His life expectancy was seven years with a good disposition. Less if he wasn’t able to adapt to his surroundings.
Leah had a feeling seven years was aiming high.
Chapter Fourteen
TWO DAYS LATER, they’d just gotten inside their apartment after a walk when a knock came. They’d been holed up together and everyone gave them space. Obviously the patience was over. They’d all heard the verdict, of course, but people wanted details.
“Open,” Trance called out. The door slid open to show Robyn and Tempest.
“Congratulations,” Robyn said. “You brought new awareness to the world of life insurance policies.”
Next to her, Tempest grunted. “I knew you could do it. You are not such a weak human as some.” She waltzed in, placing a bowl of dip on the table. “The rest of our girlfriends are coming over to celebrate. Trance, you will leave. We will take care of Leah. Shawn said you are welcome to join him and Jason and Beastly. They are taking Kaden to the indoor park so Steele can work with Pax in the lab.”
“I guess I’ll be back later, then,” Trance said, reaching for her hand. So careful not to pull her, the way Brock used to jerk her around.
She wrapped her arms around him, pulling his head down to hers. “I won’t take a sleeping tab until you get home.” And she needed it. Neither of them had been sleeping much because they’d spent hours making love, catching catnaps here and there.
“I hope they’re not planning on staying that late,” he teased, kissing her lips.
“I’m glad to see you both took my advice to share the same bed,” Tempest said, dipping a chip into the bowl.
Robyn choked when she sucked in her breath and kicked Tempest under the table.
“Ouch,” Tempest complained.
“I told you to be cool,” Robyn hissed.
“I was,” Tempest insisted.
Against Leah’s lips, Trance chuckled. “With that, I’m out.”
Great, he’d be leaving her to deal with Tempest.
Another light kiss on her lips and he headed to the front door, opening just as Lily, Sunny, and Amanda arrived.
“Hey, Trance. Heading out?”
“Quickly,” he agreed with a smile. “Dip’s on the kitchen table.”
“Come in,” Tempest waved. “We’re going to hear every detail about the trial. And Leah’s sex life.”
Leah blushed hard, her entire face heating from the back of her neck to the tips of her ears.
“This might call for booze.” Amanda winked at her.
“Ooh, I’ll get the girly drinks,” Tempest said, heading toward the simulator. “You still have an allotment?”
“If they don’t, Robyn’s here to override the system.”
“I’m sure Trance still has his monthly stipend,” Leah said. “We haven’t had any at all.”
“I’m not here to override all your alcohol allowances,” Robyn said.
“Why not? With your mother, I would think you need more alcohol than most,” Tempest said.
Sunny snickered and high-fived Tempest. The simulator dinged and the two of them brought drinks to the table.
“So will you be moving back into this apartment?” Lily asked Leah.
“I’m not sure. We hadn’t really talked about it. But I haven’t left since we got back.” She laughed.
“I just need the word and we’ll set up the construction again. We just have to knock out the hallway walls and you’ll have a two bedroom. You can have two separate kitchens or we can combine them by taking out a wall with a row of cabinets and moving the fridge,” Robyn said.
“Or you can be like normal people and just rely on the simulator,” Tempest said.
“Hey!” Leah, Lily, and Sunny said simultaneously.
Tempest held her hands up.
“Cooking has its benefits,” Amanda said, dipping a veggie into the dip. “It tastes so much better.”
“It wastes time,” Tempest said.
“It’s relaxing time,” Sunny said.
“Bonding time,” Lily countered.
“I, for one, am glad you gave Trance a chance. Though you look exhausted. Perhaps you should both wear pajamas tonight when you sleep so you can actually sleep.” Tempest peered at the circles under Leah’s eyes.
“I’m still wired up from the trial.” Leah caught Amanda’s scrutiny.
“If you’re sure it’s the trial keeping you awake and not Trance’s power,” Tempest said.
“His power? Why would his power keep me awake?”
All five women decided to reach for a chip at the same time.
“We thought a human might be immune,” Tempest explained. “But perhaps you’re not.”
“In any case,” Amanda cut in. “We can take a look at why you’re tired in medbay, Leah. Come in for an exam. You might need a stronger dose of sleeping tabs. Or, it could be nothing. It could be extra stress from the trial.”
“Speaking of which,” Robyn said. “The three largest life insurance companies on the planet have banded together to go over ways to prevent what happened to Leah with their policies. I’d say you’re a hero, my dear.”
“Hear, hear.” Amanda raised her glass so they could all toast.
The ladies cleaned up the few dishes and left at the same time. One of them must have linked to Trance because he came home shortly after.
“Hey,” she said—and gave a huge yawn.
She nodded. “Maybe the drink relaxed me enough to sleep.”
He looked a little sad. “Your sleeping problem’s on me. I need to stop making love to you all night.”
“No reason why you should punish me,” she teased. “Maybe you didn’t notice how many times I initiated it?”
“Oh, I noticed,” he said, stepping close enough to her to make her loop her arms around his neck. “But it’s still not your fault. I’m pretty irresistible.”
She laughed. “You are.”
“Can we make it an early night?” he asked. “I’ll just hold you. You’ll sleep fine.”
“Yes.” But something had changed between them. It was as if their perfect bubble had been broken and now they had to do something about it. She just wasn’t sure what.
Perhaps she missed her other Trance. She hadn’t dreamed in a couple of nights.
Two hours later, she lay next to Trance, their legs tangled together. She’d only slept for an hour, if that. He’d fallen asleep and she listened to his breathing. She’d been excited when she finally fell asleep, only to be woken after a power nap with renewed energy. She forced herself to hold still, thinking she could go back to sleep.
It was a miserable night.
But the most miserable part was missing something. Her sleep patterns were off and while she and Trance were having fun together, something was off. She deliberately didn’t want to speak of their future together, shutting him down the first night when they’d arrived home. Yet she missed her “marriage” to him. But she wasn’t foolish enough to believe a real marriage would equal the one she had in her dream life.
She wasn’t sure where to go from here, that was for sure.
But what if…what if she and Trance were incompatible because of his power? He’d hinted it was too intense for other Xeno Sapiens to deal with. They’d all thought she’d be different because she was human, but what if she wasn’t? She didn’t have telepathic abilities, but maybe he was the cause of her anxiety and lack of sleep? If so, she’d be forced to leave him eventually. She could only hope not to have to run into him here in Xenia. For some reason, it made her inexplicably angry with him. She couldn’t even explain why, other than she didn’t want to break his heart. She was okay with being alone, but she didn’t want him to have to lose her.
After all, she had her dreams to fall back on. What did he have?
She had the niggling suspicion there was maybe something he wasn’t telling her.
Chapter Fifteen
HE COULD SENSE SHE was upset as soon as they woke up. But it wasn’t until after breakfast that he broke into her contemplation.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. I think the sleeping tabs aren’t helping. I’ve been taking two but I’m struggling to fall and stay asleep.”
“Should you take three? Or head in to see Amanda?”
“I—I don’t know. I have a whole brand new box somewhere.”
“I have them,” he said, going to the bathroom to get the new container from the medicine chest. He returned to the table, setting them down. “I’d grabbed them for our trip in case you ran out.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll try one more night and then I’ll make an appointment to see her.”
“Maybe it’s me that needs a sleeping pill,” he said slowly, going to a window to look outside.
“What do you mean?” She was wary as hell.
This was as good a time as any to plunge into the matter she always avoided. “I can’t invade your dreams if I’m not dreaming.” Before she could demand he stop the conversation—like she had in the past—he continued on. “I know what your dreams are.”
“No. Stop. I don’t want to hear it.”
“You need to hear it. You tried to keep the content of your dreams from me, but you can’t Leah.”
“That’s personal shit, Trance. You can’t invade my thoughts.”
“You have nothing to be ashamed of. You don’t need to punish yourself, Leah.”
“I don’t punish myself!”
“Don’t you? Why do you struggle carrying a heavy box of ingredients to each house instead of simply grabbing a hovercart? They’re available for anyone’s use. Why is it I had to talk you into eating in the mess hall, with countless other humans who already enjoy the food?”
“I—I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to leave the food and hovercart for others who might need them more than me.”
“You need them as much as anyone,” he snapped.
“You don’t know that. You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know you won’t allow yourself to love. Because you’re afraid of it. I know you prefer to pretend. To live in your dreams.”
“You know as good as I do that I hated every minute of those dreams,” she snapped.
“Yes. The ones where I watched what you went through with Brock.”
Her face paled.
“But you didn’t hate the dreams where we were married, Leah. Did you?” His voice was smooth.
She couldn’t even answer. She stared at him, incredulous.
“You told me you could listen in to people’s telepathic links. Not invade their dreams.”
“I didn’t know I could with humans. I never meant to. But we can work through this—”
“So that was you there? For real? For every humiliating detail? Each time I curled into a ball on the floor? When I was dragged by my hair? You invaded my memories?”
He winced. “I’m sorry, Leah. If I could control it, I would.”
“No wonder people avoid you, Trance. I don’t blame them.”
He stiffened. “Yes, they do. But it made me understand you more. Because none of this is anything you would have shared with me. Just like you never even bothered to tell me you were married.”
“Because it’s none of your business,” she snapped.
“You’re my business. I love you.”
“You don’t love me! You just want to own me.”
Silence met her words.
“I love you. I’m not him. I pull people into my dreams but you were an avid dreamer. You took over, spinning the dreams to reveal all your secrets. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I never wanted you to know, okay?” she yelled. “But you watched. You watched everything. And as much as you tell me I kept things from you, you kept this from me, too!”
“I tried. You didn’t want to know, Leah.”
“You told me you invade telepathic links, not dreams.” She frantically looked around the apartment. “I just—I need to—”
“Leah, relax, baby,” he begged. “Let’s work through this. Tell me what you’re feeling.”
“I feel like I don’t even know you,” she lashed out. “I need a break from you.”
He tried to reach for her, but she evaded his arms and he let them drop useless to his sides. The front door slammed as she headed to her own apartment next door.
Chapter Sixteen
SHE WANTED TO SLEEP. To go back into her wonderful other world. Or was this one the nightmare? In which case she’d need to wake.
Who knew what was what anymore? She couldn’t sleep and her heart was racing a mile a minute. She reached for the sleeping tablets and inserted a slip under her tongue, then waited for the effects.
Nothing. She had the same problem while at the trial in Iota Nine. Perhaps she’d gotten used to the pills and they weren’t as effective. Did she dare take two? She should be safe. The computer was monitoring her vital signs while in her quarters.
She reached for the packet, but it was so light it flitted to the floor. She was almost out. But her full packet was still on the nightstand. The unopened one. Amanda had given her both in case she had to double up on the pills. She slit open the top, expanded the roll of paper-thin tabs, and tore one off, placing it under her tongue.
Then she hesitated. It dissolved, but her heart was racin
g so hard. Maybe the pills did lose their potency after being opened. That could be the problem with why she wasn’t sleeping with the old packet. It might take two out of the new packet to counteract her adaptation to the effectiveness. She slid another film under her tongue.
Finally. A hazy fog of sleepiness hit.
It was coming.
She welcomed sleep. She was so tired, ready to tune out and begin again with a clear head. Perhaps one more slip so she wouldn’t wake halfway through the night. Her finger shook and the next slip of sleep tab might have been two squares instead of one. She slid it under her tongue.
Had she taken two?
She didn’t want to wake up in the middle of the night so it was necessary to take an additional tab to hold her through the night. She slid the piece onto her tongue. Her finger was wet and it stuck to the additional tabs in the box. She shook it free.
Paper tablets flitted around the room as hazy darkness filled her vision and she sank into her preferred world.
The computer system woke him. “Trance Xeno Sapien. As sponsor to Leah Margulies, be advised her life signs have slowed. Medical has been notified.”
Of course. His computer monitoring system had been linked to hers when she moved out the first time. Trance scrambled out of bed, ran his hand through his hair and raced next door.
Her door was unlocked due to the medical emergency.
“Leah.” His voice was frantic. He ran straight through the apartment to her bedroom. Her skin was pale, her breathing almost imperceptible.
“Computer, lights on.”
A flood of brightness washed the room. Dozens of tiny slips of cellophane paper littered her bed, the floor. The box lay in her hand, another on the floor.
Her sleeping pills. She’d overdosed. Had it been on purpose?
“Leah. No, baby, please, no.”
He lifted her limp body, the tabs slipping through the air. Behind him, a female voice rang out. “Trance, what happened?”
“She must have taken a shitload of her pills,” he said.