Total pages in book: 175
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
“I know who he is,” I say, and try not to wince. Zakoar is the best at what he does, but he’s pricey and he might still be mad at me for trying to get Dora fitted with some prosthetic limbs. “Are you sure we should comm him?”
“Do you trust anyone else with your mate’s life?” Jerrok stares at me as if I’m insane.
He’s got an excellent point. “Will he come here? I thought he never left Three Nebulas.”
Jerrok eyes me. “If the price is right, he will.”
Ah, kef. “Just…don’t tell him it’s a favor for me, all right? He’s not one of my biggest fans at the moment. Mention Jamef’s name but not mine.”
“Did you steal something from him, too?”
“Me? Never!” When he continues to stare at me, I mention, “I might have tried to get Dora outfitted with an arm cannon against her wishes, but that was weeks ago! Everything’s different now!”
“You…what?” Simone asks, startled and probably a little scared.
Jerrok just groans. He shakes his head and walks away. “Why did I even ask?”
One Hundred Twenty-Five
BETHIAH
Waiting is the worst.
It takes Jerrok a full day to convince Zakoar of the Broken Back that he needs to come here to fix Jamef’s prosthetics. They haggle over the price for a bit, and then Zakoar asks me a thousand questions about Jamef’s enhancements that I don’t know the answers to. Things like “Is it a split connection or a quad connection.” As if I know. It’s a keffing leg. One that isn’t working.
Finally it’s agreed that Zakoar and his mate will arrive in two days.
Two days doesn’t sound so terrible in theory.
Except that it’s two more days that Dora refuses to leave med-bay and Jamef’s side. It’s two more days that someone has to babysit Simone so she stays away from Rhonda. It’s two more days of Rhonda’s whining that she should be let out, or that her bedding needs to be cleaned, or that her clothes are wrinkled.
It’s two more days that Jamef lies, still as death, under a glass bubble. Two more days that our triad remains broken, because Dora and I can’t really function while he’s hurting, nor do we even want to try.
It’s a very keffing long two days.
The others help out where they can, of course. Simone does her best to stay out of everyone’s way, and I suspect that’s how she’s managed to survive as a slave—by being out of sight. Sophie, who is possibly the nicest human in the history of all humans, does her best to be a gracious hostess, bringing food to the Pleasure Spot and spending long hours talking with Dora and Simone and trying to keep them occupied. Jerrok is, well, Jerrok. He scraps by himself, suiting up and hauling ship carcasses into the cargo bay so he can tear them apart. I try to help him some, but Jerrok works best alone, so I retreat back to my ship and go through Rhonda’s valuables, looking for things we can trade to Zakoar in exchange for the repairs on Jamef.
Even going through Rhonda’s things doesn’t give me pleasure. I miss Jamef too much. I worry about Dora.
I just want things back to normal for us.
I want us back.
I feel like Dora with her face pressed against the glass as I watch the smooth, delicate little cruiser settle itself in the landing bay next to the larger, piecemeal Pleasure Spot. I’m on the other side of the hangar, watching impatiently as the doors close and the environmentals come flooding in again.
Keffing finally, he’s here.
Once the green light flicks on, I charge out into the cargo bay to meet Zakoar and his mate. He pauses at the top of the exit ramp, looking fearsome. There’s far more metal on him than Jerrok and Jamef combined, and Zakoar makes no effort to hide his prosthetics or even to get them to blend in with his skin. They’re a stark, silvery metal against his deep blue skin, his head covered with metal and the most jarring of all is the metal, artificial jaw that covers the lower half of his face. I’ve met Zakoar plenty of times, but I always find him to be an ugly cuss.
Now I could kiss his ugly cuss face.
He turns and extends a hand, waiting. Tessa emerges from the ship, her hand slipping into his, and they come down the ramp together. She’s an athletic human with brown hair and an attractive figure, and dresses in flowing, delicate clothes that show off her status as a prized possession. Zakoar’s name is tattooed boldly across her throat in our language, and she gives him a sultry little smile that promises a lot of fun for both of them later. I’ve heard they can’t keep their hands off one another, and it makes my heart twist in a wistful sort of way, because I miss that between Dora and Jamef and myself. That casual touching, the eagerness of a willing participant who cares about your pleasure.