by Frost Kay
Allie nodded and pulled back, noticing that her tears had seeped through her eyes and onto her friend’s uniform.
“Sorry,” she said, wiping at her face. “My grand-mère always said I was a terrible weeper. I’ve always been an ugly crier.”
Jer shrugged, smiling down at the tightfitting top. “I’ve had worse things on my clothing.” A shrug. “I didn’t really like this top anyway. It itches.”
Allie crawled back into bed, suddenly exhausted. “You’ve never liked your skin suits.”
Her friend cracked a smile that turned downright evil. “Well, at least I have a legitimate reason to make this one disappear.”
“What Bastian doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
“Exactly. I like how you think, Allie Sai.”
Jer cocked her head, her brows furrowing, and pulled Allie’s tank top to the side. “What’s going on with your skin?”
Allie shrugged her friend’s hand off and adjusted her tank top. “It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing. The blue marks are weird.” She glanced at Allie’s marks with worry. “Has Eve looked at it?”
“What do you think?” Allie crawled back into bed, nestling into her blanket. “She’s done tests, and everything is just fine.”
Her roommate eyed her skeptically. “How long has it been there?”
“It showed up three days after the attack.”
Jer froze. “And you don’t think that’s peculiar?”
It was more than peculiar. The cyan lines covered more of her body than she’d admit to Jer. She didn’t want to worry her friend needlessly. Eve was taking care of it. “Eve’s not worried.” At least, if she was, she didn’t show it.
“Okay. But I’m not letting this go.”
Allie rolled her eyes. “Do you let anything go?”
Jer sniffed. “What are you saying? That I’m like a dog with a bone?”
“I didn’t say it.”
Her roommate’s eyes narrowed, and she lobbed a pillow at her.
Allie laughed, feeling a little freer. Jer always managed to do that. “Love you.”
“I love you too, brat,” Jer grumped.
4
Busybodies and Probes
Wiping down the bar was oddly soothing. There was a measure of peace brought by doing something that was achingly familiar. It didn’t require any thought, and the shiny surface when finished was gratifying.
A hand touched her arm, yanking her from her thoughts. Allie jerked, knocking over a glass. She braced for the sound of shattering glass, but Bastian snatched it right out of the air before it crashed to the floor.
Stinking Kanji reflexes.
He slowly placed the glass down and stepped out of her space, his violet eyes finally meeting hers. He’d been doing that lately, staying out of her space. Before, they were always touching in a platonic way, but now he went out of his way not to touch her. Part of her was relieved, because she didn’t want anyone touching her, but the other part of her missed the interaction.
Her boss leaned a hip against the bar and crossed his arms, his tattooed forearms on display. “You doing okay, Allie?” he asked.
Okay. There was that stupid word again. Honestly, she was the furthest thing from okay, but she was doing the best she could. She was trying to be okay. Some days were better than others. She found she did better if she had a schedule. That way, she didn’t have a chance to wallow or use escapism to avoid the world.
“Your non-answer is answer enough. As it happens, I don’t think you’re fine, little one.”
“I am as fine as I can be.” She pasted on a fake smile and continued to wipe down the bar. He wasn’t trapping her into having this conversation now. She glanced around the Kiss. Who knew what busybodies were listening?
“You can take as much time as you need. You don’t have to be here,” he said softly.
Lord, save her from all the pity.
Allie slapped a hand against the bar and glanced up at him from underneath her lashes. “And where would I be, Sebastian? Where would I go?” She flung her arms out, the damp towel hanging limply from her fingers. “If I did as you said, what would I do? I don’t have any family or friends except for Sid, Jer, Elijah, and yourself. I’m so alone.” The words tasted like ash on her tongue, but it didn’t make them any less true.
Bastian reached out and touched her cheek in a gentle caress. “You’re not alone, and you’re right in one instance—we are your family. There are people who love you.”
She nodded, feeling guilty. She was being ungrateful to those who’d taken her in. Elijah caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back, but it felt wrong on her face. Her skin didn’t feel like it belonged to her any longer.
Pulling in a deep breath, she squeezed the towel in her fist. She knew what was bothering her. It had been three weeks since the incident. That night had been a horrid, awful blemish on her life, but it was the betrayal of those she’d come to count as friends that really ate at her. What was worse—she missed the blasted traitors. She missed working with Zune, missed Kale’s jokes, even missed that wrinkly bastard Virgil.
A dark anger burned in her gut. It wasn’t right for her to miss them. They had put her life on the line. They’d lied.
Dark eyes flashed in her mind. Her jaw clenched. Stars above, she was weak. The small part of her that still mooned over the liar made her furious. She snorted. A super match. That was probably a lie, too. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her in question. Allie lowered her head and focused back on the bar. If it was the last thing she did, she’d scrub the living daylights out of the bar top. It would shine like bloody glass when she was through with it.
Setting her shoulders, she growled. “I’ll be okay. I have to be okay. I’m not the type of person to let things go by and not fix them. I will be okay.”
“That was a lot of okay.”
She shot a dirty look in his direction that could have singed off his long black hair.
He held up his hands and inhaled heavily.
“Stop that,” she hissed.
“Now I know why you’re so touchy. It’s that time of the month.”
“This is not happening,” she groaned.
“Oh, yes, it is. Especially when it affects everyone around you. You Human females get crazy.”
Allie grabbed a knife and waved it through the air. His eyes widened, and he stepped back.
“I’m not going to stab you.” Yet. She set the knife down within reach and arched a brow at him.
“I’ll stay right here, thank you.” He frowned at her. “Why didn’t you give me warning? We all know how you get around this time.”
She colored. “Why would I tell you that, unless coerced or feeling like I needed to use it as a defense?”
“Well, it explains why you’re about to bite off my head. It doesn’t explain why there are black bags underneath your eyes. If anything, they’ve gotten worse this last week.”
He wasn’t wrong. She’d stopped taking the meds to sleep. She wasn’t sleeping at all now, but at least she wasn’t stuck in perpetual nightmares.
Allie rolled her eyes and forced herself to chuckle. “And people think you’re oh-so-charming. It must be lucky that I get the crass, rude version of you—”
His hand reached out and nimbly snagged the rag from her fingers.
Her humor slipped, and she glowered at him, her hands slamming down onto her hips. She did her best impression of her mama. “You give that back right now!”
Bastian tsked and shook his head, holding out the rag, his face going uncharacteristically sober. “Humor always makes things easier to bear. It’s either laugh or cry.” He blew out a breath. “I’m worried about you. You don’t appear well.”
How did he know? She’d taken care to hide all of the damage.
“Have you gone to see a doctor?”
She blew out a heavy breath and lifted her hair off her hot neck. “I saw Eve last week. She said everything’s healing as it
should be.” Allie slipped her hand down the black dress that hid her bandaged skin. “The bruises are almost gone, my hands are healed, mostly, and she took out the stitches days ago.”
He searched her face, his expression skeptical.
She turned her back on him and ducked under the bar to escape. She didn’t want to deal with his questions any longer.
“You can’t run away from this conversation every time.”
Allie straightened and faced the bar to glare at him over the now-shiny top. “I don’t want to have the conversation at all. I’m not going to do it with you, no matter how much you probe me. You’re not going to force my hand.”
Bastian held up a finger. “You just said probe.”
“Really?” she said, somewhat hiding her smile.
He grinned at her, but it melted into something more serious. “You have to do it at some time. You have to deal with it.”
It always came back to that. Her temper was about to snap, and that wasn’t a sight anyone would want to see. Allie leaned forward and hissed at the Kanji: “If I want your help, I’ll bloody well ask for it. I’m fine.”
Bastian shook his head. “You should widen your vocabulary. ‘Fine’ is a boring word and increasingly overused.”
“Indeed.”
He winked at her and threw her rag over his shoulder, as if taunting her.
She didn’t have time for his rubbish today. “I’m taking my break.” Maybe the fifteen minutes would give her enough time to calm down and not murder someone. Specifically, the violet-eyed Kanji.
“One Cravakian ale, please.”
Allie snapped upright. This night just kept getting better and better.
She glared to her left at the wrinkly alien sitting at her bar, utterly unwelcome. “What in the Sam Hell are you doing here?” she barked.
Virgil, the snitch, attempted a smile, his lips lifting up at one corner. He raised a hand and placed it on top of the bar. “I wanted to get a drink at my favorite place before I head home to the dragoness.”
His favorite place. What a joke. “Get out.”
“No can do.”
Was every male going to test her patience tonight? Her gaze flicked to Bastian, but he was ignoring her. What a lout. He wasn’t going to throw Virgil out. “Traitor,” she muttered.
Resigned, she quickly poured his ale and slammed the glass onto the bar, before spinning on a heel. Never let it be said that she was an unprofessional mixologist.
Before she could escape, he reached out and grabbed her hand. Allie froze and glared at him, and then at the hand curled around her wrist. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”
Sebastian materialized by her side. “Is there a problem here? I suggest you let the lady go.”
“There’s no problem,” Virgil drawled slowly. He released her and pulled his hand back. “I wanted to have a word with Allie.”
“It seems the lady doesn’t want to talk to you.”
Virgil, again, gave his version of a smile. “I’m not going anywhere until I’ve had my say.” He chuckled. “Had my say to Ms. Sai.”
“How clever.” Allie rolled her eyes. “I’m not doing this with you.” She glanced at her boss. “Bastian, please take care of this tonight,” she said, bustling down to the other side of the bar.
She didn’t have time for Virgil’s games. The Kiss had been slammed since she’d gotten back from her break. There were so many people ordering that she’d rushed a few times and already broken three glasses. It was a lucky thing she hadn’t poisoned someone yet.
Poison.
Her gaze flicked to Virgil, who slowly nursed his Cravakian ale, wishing he would just go.
One hour passed, and then another, and he didn’t move. Heck, it didn’t even look like he was breathing. Her nose wrinkled as she wiped down the bar again. Where was his nose? How did he even breathe? She’d never asked him that. Allie shook her head. It would bug her until she looked it up. Thoughts for another time.
Two more hours, and her shift ended. He was still there. Chances were that if she didn’t have the conversation here, he’d follow her home. At least here, she had allies to boot the old alien.
Allie glided over to Virgil. He didn’t look at her. She cleared her throat to get his attention. “What do you want?”
“What I want and what you need are two very different things.”
Her forehead scrunched up. “That’s a strangely cryptic answer. I haven’t a clue what that means, but whatever you need, ask so I can go home and have some peace and quiet. I’m tired.”
He stared at her with his beady little eyes, his expression keener than she’d have liked. “You don’t look so well, Allie,” he whispered softly. “You haven’t been sleeping.”
Not a question, a statement. She glanced away. “I’ve been sleeping some.” But some equated to almost none. Every time she fell asleep, nightmares plagued her. Waking brought confusion and the taste of blood to her mouth. “I’m okay.”
“That’s good, because I need you to come with me.”
Allie’s breath sped up. They’d finally come for her.
“We feel we waited long enough, and we need to have this conversation.”
“I told you I will never go back there again,” she growled. “I did my part. I did what you needed.”
“Allie, we need to debrief you. It’s important for your health.”
“Sure.”
His eyes searched her face. “So, you’re going to be difficult.” He sighed. “I would prefer it if you came willingly.”
She chuckled, the sound hollow. And there it was. The blanketed threat. “Of course, you would resort to more threats and blackmail. I’m not sure why I’m surprised. Y’all keep getting better and better.”
Allie thought of a million ways to escape, but they’d catch her. And, if she didn’t go in today, then it would be tomorrow, or the day after. She couldn’t get out of this. Might as well get it done quick.
She wasn’t ready to go back into the viper’s nest, but sometimes you had to do things you didn’t want to do. That was just life. And life sucked.
Allie tucked her blond hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head and glanced over to Sebastian, who was clearly listening in on the conversation. “I need to go.”
He set the tumbler down and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Do you need company?”
“I don’t want to involve you.”
“I’m already involved.”
“This will be quick.” She let him pull her into a hug. “Can you pick me up?” She didn’t know what exactly they wanted from her, but it wouldn’t be pleasant.
“Sid and I will come get you. Whenever you need us,” Bastian murmured.
Tears pricked at her eyes. She understood what he wasn’t saying. If she needed out, they’d break in and get her out.
She squeezed him and stepped back, giving him a tight-lipped smile. “See you soon.” Allie turned her attention to her temporary jailer, her gaze going cold. “By all means, lead on.”
5
Friends or Foes
“You’re thumping.”
Allie pulled her gaze from the window and looked to Virgil’s beady little eyes, which were focused on her knee. Her jiggling knee. It was a terrible habit, but she found no matter what she did, she couldn’t break it.
She stilled and focused on her peep-toe heels. Maybe if she stared at them hard enough, some of the anxiety would dissipate. The hover swerved, and she grabbed onto her knees, her fingers biting into the skin. Stars above, she hated flying.
“What’s wrong with you? I can smell your fear from here.”
She scowled. “I hate flying. I can’t help it, and, when I get anxious, I get twitchy.” That was only part of the truth. As if pulled by a magnet, her gaze moved to the window and to all the dead space between the hover and the ground far below. A glutton for punishment, that’s what she was.
“Why do you keep staring if you’re afraid?”
“I want to know
how far I have to fall if something bad happens up here.”
“That’s morbid.”
“You have no idea.” The sensation of falling slammed into her, and she braced a hand against the cool glass of the window, her breaths coming in pants. By sheer force of will, Allie pried her gaze from the drop to the buildings that flashed past in neon lights, shiny metal, and shimmering glass.
Since she’d arrived on Sars, her anxiety of flying had waned some, which was a blessed relief. It irritated her that it had come back with such a roaring vengeance on tonight of all nights. But, deep down, she knew it wasn’t just flying to blame.
Her stomach bottomed out as a familiar building came into view, all sleek lines and reflective glass. The Lock headquarters. That was the root of her fear. Going back to the lab. Seeing everyone again. Then, there was Blade… She set her jaw. He didn’t matter. She’d get in, tell them what they wanted to hear, and get out.
The glass wavered, and their hovercraft glided through the sparkling wall. She experienced a sense of awe every time it happened.
“You’ve seen the wall before.”
Allie rolled her eyes. “Yes, but it’s still fascinating.”
Virgil grinned. “You females, you like anything that sparkles.”
She shrugged. He wasn’t far from the truth. Her family had considered her part crow, because of all the shiny baubles she collected.
The hover slowed and shut down, the soft whirl of the engine falling silent. She inhaled deeply and tried to think past the pulse that thundered in her ears. She could do this. One hour and then she was done with this mess.
Virgil heaved himself out of his chair with a groan and pressed his hand to the hover wall. “I’m getting too old for this.” He negated his comment by jumping through the opening door like a blasted jack rabbit. He then held his hand out for her.
Allie ignored his hand and jumped out herself, tottering on her heels. She straightened and ignored the older alien shaking his head at her.
“Always gotta be difficult.”