by E J Frost
darkens with each pass, until it’s as black as
mine, if I let it grow out. The result is eye-
catching. The black stubble makes the long
blonde bangs framing her face brighter.
Against the black hair, her skin glows like
pearl. Her bare neck looks twice as
vulnerable. I lift an admiring eyebrow and
Kez smiles at me in the mirror. “Better?” she
asks.
“Fuck, yeah. C’mere.”
She puts the brush down and moves into
my arms. Breathes a minty breath up at me. I
smile down at her before I claim that clean
mouth. Kiss her deep. Her fingers drop to the
towel around my waist; she gives it a tug.
I break the kiss. Lift her onto the counter
and pull her thighs around my hips. “Quick
and on the counter now, or slow and in a bed
later?”
Kez tilts her head to the side. “Is both out
of the question?”
“Nope, but this is gonna be real quick.”
Between the unrelenting ache in my balls and
the fact that either door might open
momentarily, we might be counting this one
in seconds rather than minutes.
“Quick is good.”
“Not if you don’t come.” I slide my hand
up her thigh. Rub my thumb over her labia
and find her slick with more than moisture
from the shower.
“I’ll do my best.”
She does, and I hold out for seven
minutes, and we’re back in the shower by the
time Ape pokes his head through to door to
tell us that lunch is ready.
Chapter 29
After lunch, we sit on Kez’s bed,
surrounded by rabbits, with the latest black
box between Kez’s knees. I pet Ronnie, who
is upside-down in my lap, paws in the air,
tooth-purring hard enough to shake the bed.
Petting the bunny keeps my hands off Kez,
who is pressed warmly against my side. She
probably doesn’t want my hands off her,
given that she’s been trying to entice me to
fuck her again since about five minutes after
our last go-round. And I’m going to oblige
her, once we deal with Tyng and get rid of
the fluffy swarm, because the quickie on the
counter may have taken care of my ball-ache,
but it did nothing to relieve any deeper need.
“United front,” I remind her, tipping my
chin at the black box between her knees.
She shivers and works her hand between
my back and the headboard until she can put
her arm around my waist. “Where should we
hold the meet?”
“Let him pick. Anywhere on neutral
ground.” The beauty of my plan is that it gets
the knives into any meet with Tyng,
anywhere. If Doc Gray does a good job with
the sheaths, I should even be able to pass a
full security scan.
“Okay.” She leans forward and fiddles
with the side of the box. A holodisplay pops
up, with a red eye across it. Kez has turned
off the vid again. Smart kitten.
The response is instant. “Miz Kerryon.”
She bows her head and tucks herself
tighter against my side. “I’ve finished the
two runs.”
“So I understand. At some personal cost,
or so my watchers tell me. For your
companion at the very least. Are you quite
recovered, Mister Snow?”
“Recovered enough,” I grunt. Perceptive
bastard.
“Very well. Payment was made this
morning as arranged. I trust you are
satisfied?”
“Yes,” Kez says. That musta been part of
what she was talking about with Gig, or she
wouldn’t be agreeing without checking first.
She’s very careful about getting paid, as she
should be. She also owes me forty percent,
but I don’t mention it, and I won’t. She’ll be
as careful about paying as she is about
getting paid. She’s a good businesswoman,
my kitten.
“Then we can finish this distasteful
business,” Tyng says. “Two hours, at the
warehouse where we first spoke.”
Kez stirs against my side, and I clamp
down hard on my impulse to interrupt. This
is still her show.
Kez clears her throat. “I’m sorry, but I
had to trade another run to get us off the
Clouds. I need two days.”
There’s a long silence from the holodeck.
Kez squeezes my waist. I turn my face to
nuzzle her ear. “Hang in there,” I whisper to
her.
“Very well,” Tyng says finally.
“Midnight tomorrow.”
Kez glances at me for confirmation. I’d
feel better if Tyng had given us the full night,
but I sense that’s stretching his patience. I’ll
have to be quick carving the knives. I nod.
“Thank you,” she says.
“I’m looking forward to meeting you in
person, Miz Kerryon. At last. And to
collecting the debt you owe me.”
“Yes, sir.” Kez shrinks into herself even
more if that’s possible.
“I’m lookin’ forward to meetin’ you,
too,” I say, when it doesn’t look like Kez is
going to mention me.
“Ah, Mister Snow. I was going to suggest
that Miz Kerryon’s brother accompany her,
since it would not be appropriate for her to
meet me unchaperoned. If you would prefer
to take his place, since I understand you have
recently become connected with Miz
Kerryon on a number of levels, I have no
objection. I trust you will report our meeting
to Mister Kerryon faithfully. And you will
understand if I am also accompanied to the
meeting.”
“Seems only fair you bring someone if
Kez is.” I put the emphasis on one.
“Even so. Until then.”
“Yeah.” I lean over and flick off the
holodeck. Sit back and put my arms around
Kez. She evicts Ronnie and climbs into my
lap. I stroke her head into my neck. Hold her
tight. “You still don’t want me to kill him?”
“No,” she breathes into my skin.
“If it comes down to him or you?”
“I agreed . . . I said I’d give him flesh.”
“Yeah, but that’s not what he’s gonna
demand. He’s gonna break you. That’s not
part of the deal.”
She shakes her head against my neck.
“If it comes down to him or you, I gotta
know you’re behind me.” I tip her chin up so
I can look into her eyes. They’re dry. Pupils
contracted so tightly they’re just pinpoints in
a sea of blue. I can feel the trembling she
tries to control. She’s letting fear eat her up.
“I gotta know you’ll forgive me if I kill him,
kitten.”
She puts her arms around my neck. “I’ll
forgive you anything.”
“Then we do what’s gotta be done.”
“Okay,” sh
e sighs. “Okay, but you have to
let me try first. If he demands something I can
give . . . even if it’s really bad. I have to . . .
will you let me try?”
“Yeah, I’ll let you keep your word if you
can.” I know how important it is to her. And
there will be fall-out if I kill Tyng. Bad fall-
out. For me and for Kez. I understand that.
But none of that is more important than her
sanity. She may not know it, but there are
worse things than dying. Worse things than
what Tyng has threatened her with. I’ve had
some of them done to me, and I’ve seen
more. I’m not letting any of that happen to
Kez. It would destroy the beauty that makes
Kez so essentially . . . Kez. “He doesn’t get
to torture you. No rapin’. No skinnin’.
You’re not agreeing to anything like that.”
She swallows hard and grips my neck.
“I’m not going to argue with you.”
“Good.”
She snuffles into my neck. Chokes. I feel
the moment she lets fear overwhelm her.
Feel the wetness on my skin. The trembling
that shakes the whole bed. I don’t try to stop
her. Two days ago, I would have. But now I
know better. She needs to let it out;
otherwise she lets it build until she explodes.
So I hold her tight, rub her back, kiss her
forehead, and let her cry it out.
The rabbits huddle around us. Ronnie
tries to climb into her lap, but she’s curled
too tightly against me. He ends up between
my knees with his front paws on her hip,
butting her with his soft nose. She reaches
out absently to pet him, and then the others
when they butt her hand. Looks like this isn’t
the first time they’ve comforted her. Maybe
it’s the first time she’s had anyone other than her rabbits to comfort her.
She finally reaches out of our clutch to
pull a wipe out of the dresser drawer. She
blows her nose. I chuckle.
“What’s funny?” she asks indignantly.
I cup her face in my hands and kiss the tip
of her swollen, red nose. “You’re beautiful.”
“Oh, right.” She waves the wet tissue at
me. “Really beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful. Snot and all.” Would
Marin ever have let me see her blow her
nose? Would Mouse? I lived in a four by six
cell with Mouse for months and I never saw
her blow her nose. I never saw her cry. I
only saw her use the damn zap can a couple
of times, usually while we were on
lockdown. She was careful to hide those
sorts of things from me. At the time I thought
she was trying to maintain some privacy. But
now I realize it was because Mouse didn’t
want to let me in. She was afraid of me, no
matter how gentle I was with her. She’d been
hurt too bad to ever trust anyone completely.
Kez has trusted me from the start. I can’t let
anything happen to her that would damage
her sweet trust.
“You’re insane,” Kez says, drawing me
back to the here and now.
“Absolutely,” I agree. “Now you want to
call your rat friends and set up this run so
you and me can have some real alone-time?”
She nods. Snaps together her viewie
without uncurling from my lap. She scrolls
through picture after picture until she finds
the furry face of Rat-Wisdom. Taps it up and
waits.
When she doesn’t pick up after a dozen
rings, Kez sighs. “She might be sleeping.
They’re nocturnal.”
“Real rats are crepuscular,” I say.
“Creepy-what?”
I chuckle. “That, too.”
“So are rabbits. But as soon as I let ours
have free run of the house, they adjusted to
our schedule. They nap a lot, though.” She
finally takes pity on Ronnie, spreads her
knees and makes a lap for him to wriggle
into. He flops across her thighs with enough
force to shake the bed.
“You are a big fucking lump,” I tell the
bunny, just as Kez’s viewie connects with a
soft chime.
The picture’s of Rat-Wisdom, but it’s
Acker who appears on Kez’s viewie as the
call connects. “Lightfoot,” he says, his deep
voice resonating in Kez’s small room.
“Acker.”
“Has something happened?” Alpha Rat
asks. The little tech is good. No doubt Acker
can see Kez’s red eyes and swollen nose.
Kez shakes her head. “We’re ready to do
the run.”
“The food will be in Nock at dawn. I’m
sorry, I cannot arrange it any sooner.”
“That’s okay,” I say. That gives me and
Kez the night together, which suits me fine.
“Have it dropped at Nock Port, berth
SM2662. The Pack know we’re coming?”
“Yes. Diamond has given me the
following message: Swift Wings.”
Kez nods. “I know that entrance.”
“They will be waiting for you. They have
the . . . items you have asked for.”
I arch an eyebrow at Kez.
“I put the message on the K-Net board as
soon as we cleared the Cloudline,” she
clarifies.
“We do not trade in human parts,” Acker
growls. “I want this understood.”
“Loud ‘n’ clear,” I say. “Remember what
you said about the measure of a man?”
“Yes,” he says slowly.
“That’s why I need them.”
Expression is hard to read on Alpha
Rat’s furry face, but I think he looks
surprised. “Very well,” he says. “I will . . .
trust you in this.”
That must have been hard for him to say. I
nod in acknowledgement. “So, when’re you
comin’ to Nock?”
“I . . . have not yet made any plans.”
“Dinner. Next fiveday. I’m cookin’.
Bring whatever you want to drink.”
Kez knocks me with her elbow. “Snow.”
I give her a squeeze. “If it’s a date we
can’t keep, I’m sure Acker will give us a
raincheck.”
“Indeed, I will,” Acker says. “May I
bring my Wisdom?”
“Yeah, anyone you want is welcome.”
“Thank you,” he says slowly. “We will
. . . look forward to it.”
I nod into the viewie before Kez taps it
off. She leans her head against my shoulder.
“Do you really think we’ll be able to keep
that date?”
“I think if we start livin’ like there’s
nothin’ beyond tomorrow, then Tyng’s
already won.”
“He scares me so much,” she whispers.
“I know, kitten.” I hug her close. Rub her
back. I can’t promise her it will be all right. I
don’t want to lie to her. But I give her
everything I can. “You’re not gonna face him
alone.”
She wraps her arms
around my neck and
hugs me fiercely. Which makes the rabbit
getting crushed between us wriggle
indignantly. We break apart laughing.
With her backpack at the bottom of the
bay, Kez has to resort to another of her black
nylar bags for her equipment. I stretch on her
bed, in the middle of a sprawl of rabbits.
Most of the rabbits are watching her pack,
probably hoping for the appearance of
something edible. A couple are sleepily
licking each other, while Ronnie has flopped
on his side along my forearm and is
alternatively licking my wrist and his own
paw. I scratch him behind the ear. I’ve never
been around animals that weren’t predators
before. Kez’s rabbits are very peaceful. Very
cuddly. Wholly relaxing. But when one of
them climbs up and settles in the small of my
back, I object.
“Get the bunny off my back.”
“Helas, shoo!” Kez admonishes, looking
up from folding some clothes into the bag.
There’s no change in the weight on my
back.
“That is a fucking heavy rabbit,” I
observe.
“Females get that way. Particularly after
they’ve finished breeding. Helas, I mean it.
Get off.”
The rabbit doesn’t shift.
“You realize this is a challenge,” I tell
Kez.
“Oh, I know. She’s asserting her
dominance. If she starts humping your butt,
you’re her bitch for life.”
“If she starts humpin’ any part of me,
she’s stew.”
Kez chuckles, then reaches over and
removes the bunny, depositing the large
white ball onto the floor. “Ow, bad rabbit.”
She sucks on one of her knuckles.
“She bite you?” I ask, watching the rabbit
disappear through the hatch in Kez’s door,
kicking her back feet at us in indignation.
“Yes, and damn if she doesn’t have sharp
teeth,” Kez mutters around her knuckle. She
returns to her packing, pulling a box from
underneath her bed. I lift an eyebrow at the
contents. She’s got more equipment in the
box than I’ve used in all my escapes put
together. She takes two coils of snake chain
and loads them into the nylar bag. Then a
collection of straps and D-rings which look
like they might be useful for some bedtime
activities as well as whatever she’s
planning. When she takes out a flat fabric
circle, twists a tab on the side and it pops up
into an impact helmet, I raise an eyebrow.
“You know the drop off in Kuus?” At my
nod, she says, “It’s exactly that. A drop.”
