Protected Read online

  “You’re not asking—I’m offering,” I said firmly. “If this place you’re going to is an all-female planet, well, I can come with you and do the talking.”

  “Would you do that?” The old man leaned forward, looking at me anxiously from the silver surface of the viewer. “Would you help recover my precious granddaughter? I promise you, I’ll give you mountains of shimmering geblex if you’ll only return her safely!”

  “I’m not doing it for the, uh, geblex,” I said, having no idea what in the world geblex was anyway. “I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”

  “You’re not doin’ it at all,” Grav growled, frowning. “This is a damn dangerous mission, Leah. And I’m not just talking about infiltrating Gemina, though they will kill us if they catch us profaning their sacred laws. I’m talking about after—when we go after the Biters who have Teeny.”

  “What about them—the Biters?” I asked, frowning.

  Grav blew out a breath in frustration.

  “What about them? They’re fuckin’ cannibals—that’s what about them! They’ll skin you and eat your flesh while you’re still alive! I’m tellin’ you, Leah—it’s too damn dangerous.”

  I swallowed hard but refused to back down.

  “All the more reason for me to come,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “This little girl is in trouble and you have no way to find out where she is or how to get to her unless you have a woman—a female—to help you make your way on the planet and question her guard, right?”

  “Well…” Grav frowned. “I can hire a mercenary to come with me.”

  “And waste more time?” I demanded. “She’s being held by cannibals! You said so yourself! We need to get going now.”

  “What about your friends and family? What about not wanting to leave Earth because they didn’t know where you were?” he challenged me.

  “If we can just get a message to my friend Charlotte, she can tell the rest of my family that I’m fine,” I said calmly. “If not, well, I’ll come back when I can. Zoe left us without any word and we survived. I hate to do the same to Charlotte and my family but this little girl’s life takes precedence over my feelings.”

  “Thank you, thank you! May the Goddess of Mercy rain down blessings on your head, my dear!” Kiv’orop beamed at me and then looked at Grav. “You have a female of rare courage and beauty there, Gravex.”

  “Yeah, well…she’s a La-ti-zal.” Grav shifted uncomfortably, still frowning. I could tell he still didn’t like the idea of taking me on his dangerous mission but I intended not to give him a choice.

  Kiv’orop’s purple eyes widened.

  “A La-ti-zal? No wonder!” He looked more closely at me. “Tell me, my dear—what kind of La-ti-zal are you? A Finder? A Healer? A Seer? Or something else? It may be that your special powers are useful in locating and rescuing my Teeny.”

  I cleared my throat. “I…uh…”

  “That’s not important,” Grav growled, saving me from answering a question I had no answer for. “The main thing is if we agree to try, you have to promise to put Teeny in a safe place of my choosing when this is over.”

  “Of your choosing?” Kiv’orop bristled. “She is the future Principae-ah of all Thonolax! It’s not up to you to say where she should be housed and educated.”

  “It will be if I take this mission,” Grav snapped. “I want to make sure she’s happy, damn it! She was scared to death to go to that damn Finishing Academy where she didn’t know anybody but you forced her to anyway. I want her someplace where she’ll be safe and happy.”

  Kiv’orop frowned. “What do you care about her happiness? You were hired to protect her body—not care for her emotional well being.”

  Grav crossed his thick arms over his chest. “You don’t get it, do you Principae? You may have dissolved the contract between Teeny and me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about her anymore. Otherwise I’d tell you to go fuck yourself.”

  “Why…you…” Clearly Principae Kiv’orop wasn’t used to being talked to this way.

  “It’s my final offer,” Grav rumbled. “Take it or leave it.”

  The older man frowned and grumbled but at last nodded his balding head.

  “All right. Anything—just go find her.”

  “More like it.” Grav nodded. “I have to make a short stop at Sincon Delta and then I’ll be on my way to Gemina to interview that fuckin’ guard.”

  “Thank you, yes! Please hurry and I will pay all expenses.” The Principae—which I was beginning to think was some kind of royal title—nodded again.

  “I’ll be in touch,” Grav told him. “In the mean time, you let the priestesses at the Temple of the Goddess where the guard is being held know that some emissaries are coming to question her.”

  “Yes, yes—I can do that.” The Principae nodded eagerly again and again until finally Grav turned off the viewer after promising he would keep the man updated on any progress.

  “Sincon Delta? What’s that?” I asked as Kiv’orop’s image finally faded from the viewscreen.

  Grav shot me a frown. “Only the most notorious black-market tech district in the whole fuckin’ galaxy, darlin’.”

  “And we’re going there…why?” I asked, still not understanding.

  Grav gave me a grim smile. “To hide my ugly mug. It’s the only place close enough I can buy an image generator. But it’s damn dangerous. You sure you’re up for it?”

  I lifted my chin. “I’m up for anything.”

  Grav studied me a moment, then gave me a nod of approval.

  “All right, darlin’. I believe you. And I want you to know, we’ll split the reward on this, fifty-fifty.”

  “I’m not doing this for any reward and I don’t believe you are, either,” I said softly. “This Teeny—she means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”

  He sighed and rubbed his temples again.

  “Yeah, she does. Look, I need to set a new course for the hopper and then we’ll call the Commercians and see if they can get a message to your friend, okay?”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Just sit tight.” Grav shook his head grimly. “It’s gonna be a wild ride, darlin’. Just hope you’re up for it.”

  Chapter Eight

  Grav

  “Negative. It is forbidden for us to use the AMI to contact or communicate with a female.” Char’noth crossed several of his long, skinny arms over his blue, wormy chest and frowned at us.

  “Forbidden why?” I demanded, gritting my teeth with frustration.

  “It is against regulations.”

  “Whose regulations?” Leah asked, leaning forward. We had called the Commercians station on the viewer, hoping to get a message to her friend, but now we were having trouble. The little blue bastards were stonewalling us for some reason.

  “Well, my regulations, as I am the director of this station and the Alien Mate Index project.” Char’noth shifted defensively. “I cannot break my own rules. Besides, contacting a female would be warning her that she might be picked and taken by a male who bought her contract. That might incite her to run.”

  “But this particular female’s contract has already been paid for,” I pointed out. “It’s the other La-ti-zal you showed me—the one whose contract Sarden bought when he bought Leah’s, that we need to contact.” I motioned at Leah.

  “Well…” Char’noth made an expression which I thought might be a thoughtful frown. It’s hard to say with Commercians.

  “What if we sweetened the pot?” Leah asked suddenly.

  “What?” Char’noth and I asked, looking at her at the same time.

  “What if we paid you,” Leah said, clarifying. “To get a message to my friend, Charlotte?”

  “Um, I don’t think the Commercians are gonna be interested in Earth currency, darlin’,” I murmured to her, under my breath.

  “I’m not talking about paying