Falling for Sky (Cyborg Seduction Book 11) Read online

  “You said the pay is bad.”

  “It is, but it gets you off Earth. I didn’t want to be forced to work in a brothel.”

  “A sex house, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “It sounds less dangerous.”

  She snorted. “Says someone who has no clue about what happens to women living in brothels. They don’t care what a customer does to you as long as they pay. You’re not a person but a piece of breathing meat. I never met a retired brothel worker. Do you want to know why? None of them come out alive. There’s always some asshole willing to put down a lot of credits to do sick and demented things to other human beings. Even murder them. That’s the only way you leave a brothel. In a body bag. I may have died in a digger rig, but at least some sicko wasn’t raping and torturing me first.”

  His gray skin paled.

  “Earth is a miserable place, but especially for the lower classes. That includes me.” She paused. “We’re always monitored and every movement is tracked. The group home I lived in tried to force me to work in brothels, swearing they’d make sure I couldn’t get hired anywhere else. I think they were getting kickbacks for selling girls directly to those places. And not having a job is a death sentence on Earth, too. They either kill you for being indigent, or you hide from them until you starve to death. Does that sound like a place anyone would love?”

  “No.”

  “That’s why I signed on for the job on Velion One. I would have been alone for ten years, but I didn’t have to worry about some asshole getting a hard-on then being killed by him if I said no. That happens sometimes to women on Earth, regardless of what duty you’re assigned. You catch the wrong eye and you’re screwed, either way. They can pay to have you kidnapped, do whatever they want, then have your body dumped when they’re done. Nice place, right? No one gives a shit if some poor person disappears. Especially if they don’t have family.”

  The tall cyborg inclined his head, studying her. “Can you offer proof of what happened to your parents?”

  “Can you access Earth news records? They ran stories on it, and even reported the truth, but nobody cared about the fate of miners. We’re not important enough to cause trouble over. Check out the name Richard Caroboll.” She spelled it. “He was my father, and his death made the news because he was an advocate for miners. My name is Mickayla, and my mother’s name was Cora. The story mentioned me because I was orphaned. I got punished with no food rations for a week when the story broke, as if it were my fault.”

  “I’ll investigate.”

  “I’m telling you the truth.”

  “I can access Earth records and find your file.”

  “Okay. Go ahead. I spelled my last name for you to make it easier. Do you want my code number? We all get assigned one at birth.”

  “Give it to me.”

  She did. He didn’t write down the thirty-six digits, but she figured he probably had a good memory since. “Are you some kind of cyborg cop?”

  “I am today.”

  Mick sighed. “Fine. I’m not lying. I’m fine with never returning to Earth. I’d have to take another mining job on some hellish planet or moon all by myself again. Four years was an eternity. I didn’t think I’d be so lonely.” She reached up and gripped the data chip around her neck.

  He immediately noticed. “What is that?” He stepped inside the quarters and reached out, opening a palm. “Let me see it.”

  “It’s a backup data chip for my android. I saved his memory every charging cycle.”

  “Why?”

  “Androids are expensive, so I had to buy him used. He would break down once in a while, and I was able to fix him, but I always worried I wouldn’t be able to keep him going. I couldn’t get spare parts for him delivered to Velion One. That’s why I did constant backups. I could afford a new body for him when my job finished. I didn’t want to lose his memories.”

  “It’s a robot.”

  She tried not to feel insulted on the behalf of Jorg. “He had some basic emotion programs, and we were together for four years. His model adapts and learns. He may have been an android, but he was my best friend. You could say his personality is stored on this.”

  “Let me see.”

  She hated to remove the necklace but did, regretfully handing it over, unwilling to cause trouble for Sky. “Please don’t take Jorg. That’s the one belonging I care about. I even stored vids of my parents in his memory. I just lost everything on that planet.”

  He gently accepted the necklace. “I will take care of it, but I need to confiscate this until I check your records.”

  “Okay.” She understood. “But please return him to me.” She hated the tears that filled her eyes and tried to blink them back.

  Teg tilted his head, his expression appearing a little confused. “You really care for this android?”

  “I don’t know how I would have stayed sane without him. He was my best friend.”

  “Understood.” The cyborg backed away. “I’ll treat the chip with utmost care.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  Then he spun around and left, the doors sealing behind him.

  Mick reached up where, her hand touching where the chip had rested, already missed the slight weight around her neck.

  She returned to the bed and sat, hoping Sky returned soon. It would help her feel less afraid and worried about her uncertain future.

  Sky pushed off against the wall of the corridor and faced Teg. “Are you satisfied? I’ve allowed you to speak to her.”

  “But I had to stay in the entrance, with the door open. Did you think I’d harm her?”

  “I’d have attacked you if you had. I told you she’s under my protection. She’s just a miner, not a spy or a soldier. Tell the council. They’ll listen to you. You have connections.”

  “I tend to believe her, but I have to verify facts if you want me to speak on your behalf. I don’t want to be mistaken.”

  “I get that, and it’s why I allowed you access to her. She’s not a threat, Teg. You saw her.”

  “Cyan appears harmless, but I would never consider Krell’s female non-threatening.”

  “Mick isn’t some hybrid created inside a lab by her genius father and his team.”

  “The odds are slim, but I have to investigate before I make a conclusion.”

  Sky tried to control his frustration. “Why did you take her necklace?”

  “It stores data. I want to review it. Engineering is my specialty.”

  “I thought you left your last assignment for the Bridden to get away from running scans on all the systems, looking for viruses and bugs?”

  “I was sick of living on such a large vessel with too many cyborgs. The crew on this shuttle is usually between four to nine males. There’s less work to do here.”

  Sky definitely understood getting sick of dealing with too many of their own people. “Don’t destroy it. It’s important to Mick.”

  “I believe that. Or she’s good at deceit.”

  “She’s just a miner, Teg. Remember the term ‘disposable workforce’?”

  The male sighed. “I do.”

  “Her life is about as valuable to Earth Government as ours once was. I doubt they’ll even investigate what happened on Velion One. It will irritate them that the planet isn’t being mined and because they suffered property damage, but her life is worthless to them. She isn’t a threat to Garden or our kind.”

  “I’ll check all the data we obtain from Earth to verify what I can. I hope for your sake she is telling the truth. I can see why you’d take a chance on rescuing her.” He paused. “I agree with Onyx. You should join in a family unit. I can’t officially recommend that, but off the record, that is my advice.”

  “She just found out about our existence and doesn’t know me well. I need more time to get her agreement. That’s why I want to avoid returning to Garden right away.”

  “It is a logical plan.”

  “I’m a cyborg, after al