by Laurie Roma
There was a stack of plain black t-shirts and pants on a shelf in the linen closet, and she put one of the shirts on instead of trying to locate her own clothing on the bedroom floor. It was so long on her, it fit like a dress. She couldn’t help but grin to herself as she remembered that he had torn her own clothes to pieces. Until she officially moved into the sanctuary, she could happily make do with Trip’s shirts.
That thought made her freeze.
How could she have forgotten? She’d need her own clothes when she left the city in a few days. There was no choice. She had to go, but what in all the worlds was she going to tell Trip? Part of her wanted to tell him everything, but she didn’t know if she could risk it. Lives were on the line, and if she made the wrong choice, she could end up destroying everything she’d worked so hard to protect.
She quietly made her way back into the bedroom and studied his sleeping form. Trip was such a strong, fierce male, yet he used that strength to defend those who couldn’t protect themselves. Her heart told her that she could trust him completely, but fear demanded that she keep silent.
Struggling with her dilemma, she left the bedroom. She made sure to shut the door before glancing around the living room. Trip didn’t have many personal items, but she guessed what she did see had significance to him. She should have felt out of place, like an intruder in his private space, but she was excited by the realization that she felt comfortable surrounded by his things.
When she went into the pristine kitchen area, she shook her head as she saw the appliances looked like they had never been used. That wasn’t surprising since there was a high-end, fully stocked food console available. That was just one of the differences between them. She couldn’t afford anything but an old, basic food console model at home, but she knew that most people in the city didn’t do their own cooking like she did.
She got herself some water, then noticed the garbage bag on the floor. Opening the bag, she took her coat and her knapsack out. The old bag was made of different color patchwork cloth pieces. It had definitely seen better days, but she loved the thing, and would continue to use it until it completely fell apart.
When the bag began to vibrate and chime, she quickly opened it to find the wrist unit she stored there while she was working. She didn’t bother wearing the device most of the time because it would have gotten dirty, but it was a necessary evil. Only a few people had her contact information, so she knew that any call was from someone important to her. The chime was louder as she pulled the old unit out of the bag. The volume controls were broken, so she couldn’t turn the signal off unless she answered the call.
Not wanting the sound to disturb Trip, she hurried toward the entrance and stepped out into the hallway after the doors automatically slid open. She realized her mistake too late. Still, she spun around, intending to go back inside, but the doors had already slid shut. Heaving out a sigh, she raised the wrist unit and tapped on it to connect.
Brielle Lee’s face appeared on the holo-monitor. A brilliant scientist and inventor who worked for Artane Electronics, one of the largest companies in the universe, Elle was a half Helios elite hybrid with a scroll tattooed on her face. Despite appearances, the two females had more in common than anyone knew, and there was no one either woman trusted more.
They lived in different cities, which was part of the reason no one had ever suspected the two of them were best friends who spoke daily. Secrecy was vital, so they had to keep their real connection hidden. They’d made the decision years ago to deny the truth, but staring at Elle’s face onscreen, Emma missed her cousin desperately.
Elle had personally tweaked the wrist units they were using so if anyone ever attempted to monitor their communications, they would assume that the tech was old and unreliable. Emma’s unit looked crappy enough that no one would even bother trying to steal it. In truth, it was just the opposite. They were using priceless technology, though, only a few people on Earth could or would ever recognize its true value.
They lived by the old adage...appearances were definitely deceiving.
“Hey, Elle!”
Brielle Lee smiled in greeting. “Emma! Took you long enough to answer. I thought you got off work an hour ago.”
“Actually...I sort of quit this morning.”
“Oh, my—are you serious? Finally!” Elle shouted with glee. “What happened? Tell me everything!”
“Umm...hold on a sec.”
Feeling extremely uncomfortable, Emma rubbed one of her bare feet on top of the other one as she glanced down both directions of the hallway. At least no one was around to witness her blunder. Remembering the lounge near the elevator, she hurried down the hallway, then tried to tuck herself away in the corner. It was better than sitting on the floor in the hallway.
She took a few minutes to recap what had occurred that morning, leaving out some of the more intimate details. Nevertheless, Emma knew that Elle could read between the lines and guess what had been omitted from the story.
“It’s all been like some crazy dream.”
Elle’s eyes went wide with shocked amusement. “Where are you now?”
She glanced around to assure herself of privacy before saying, “I’m in a lounge outside his apartment, wearing a t-shirt and nothing else. Stop laughing. I can’t believe I’m going to have to wake him up to let me back in.”
“Well, you get points for trying to be courteous. Please tell me you aren’t stuck outside.”
“No, I’m still in the building. I just can’t believe I locked myself out.”
“That’s because your building doesn’t have auto locks. You aren’t used to them,” Elle pointed out.
“I’m just so embarrassed. What if he gets mad?”
“If he gets annoyed with you for waking him up, just take the shirt off. That should put him in a better mood. I think most males can be distracted by sex. It’s a constant, like the stars in the night sky.”
“You are a cynic through and through. I guess I am, too,” Emma confessed, feeling self-conscious.
Elle immediately sobered. “What do you mean?”
“I just realized I keep thinking about my relationship with Trip as having an end date. Like worrying about waking him up. I keep thinking he’s going to look at me and say, you’re not who I want.”
“But you are who he wants,” Elle insisted. “I can’t wait to meet him. Actually, I think I’m going to fly out and meet you tomorrow.”
“You can’t do that,” Emma protested. “You know you bosses will never let you leave without them knowing exactly where you are.”
“That might give me the excuse I need to quit. The Artane brothers are driving me crazy.”
“You quit every week.” Emma laughed. “If you come here, they’re just going to follow you or send guards.”
“They would put my brain in a box and lock it away somewhere, if they could.”
“Elle, they care about you, not just your brain.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” she said sadly. “Are you still planning to go visit our friends? I’m not comfortable with you going alone. Can you ask Trip to go with you?”
Emma stared at the holo image in shock. “I haven’t told him!”
Elle sighed. “If he means as much to you as I think he does, you’re going to have to consider telling him. What were you planning on saying to him when you disappear for a few days?”
“I don’t know. I do know that I can’t lie about this. I can’t move here or start working here without telling him about this first. Even if things don’t work out between us, I can’t put anyone else in danger. Especially not him.” Before Emma could say anything more, she heard the sound of doors opening, then footsteps heading her way. “Elle, I have to go.”
“Contact me later.”
Ending the transmission, Emma stayed seated as a Krytos male walked into view. Anton worked security at the sanctuary, and she knew he was friends with Trip since he was one of the males who had recently started
coming into the donut shop.
He did a double-take when he saw her. “Emma? What are you doing out here?”
“I sort of locked myself out of Trip’s quarters.”
“You should probably go back inside before he realizes you’re gone.”
“He’s sleeping, but I’ll—”
Anton snorted. “Wore him out, did you?” He smiled faded as he winced. “Shit, sorry. I’m going to go before Trip comes out here and kicks my ass for seeing your legs. Or talking to you. Or breathing.”
She laughed, sure he was joking. “He wouldn’t do that.”
“Oh, yeah, he would.” He turned, and before he could call for the elevator, the doors slid open and a large, young Krytos male bounded out.
“Good afternoon, Anton!”
“Rex. Aren’t you working today?”
“I am, but I feel I should speak to Trip before I start my shift.”
He sighed. “You don’t have to apologize again. And Trip is off today. I don’t think we should bother him and his lady.”
When Anton gestured toward her, Rex’s face lit up with a smile. He lifted a hand the size of a meteor and waved, then he visibly gulped as Trip roared.
“Emma!”
She jumped, and Anton and Rex both went pale as feet pounded down the hallway. Anton grabbed the younger male and lunged inside the open elevator. As the doors slid closed, Emma hurried toward Trip, then flinched when she almost ran into him.
He had run down the hallway bare-ass naked. His chest heaved as his breath billowed out, and his amber eyes were wide as he caught her to him, lifting her off her feet.
Concerned at the way he buried his face against her neck, she said, “Hey, hey...what’s wrong?”
“You left.” The accusation was said on a snarl.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I came out here to take a call, so I wouldn’t wake you, and the door locked behind me.”
He pulled back and eyed her. “You really weren’t trying to leave?”
Frowning, she shook her head. “No. I was going to wake you up after I was done talking to Anton and Rex.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why were you talking to them?”
“Trip? I think we need to talk about the difference between possessive-crazy and crazy-crazy.”
“Is there a difference?”
She laughed at his baffled expression, then she leaned in to press her lips against his. She hummed with pleasure but pulled back before he could take the kiss deeper.
“So, what exactly were you planning to do? Run around the city naked looking for me?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Still carrying her, he started walking back toward his apartment.
It took her a moment to realize what he meant. “I’ve never seen anyone shift before.”
“I can show you whenever you want.”
The offer made her smile, even as her stress level increased. “I guess there is a lot we still don’t know about each other.”
“We have time.”
“We do,” she agreed. “But it might be better to learn some of those things sooner rather than later. There is something I’d like to talk to you about. Something serious.”
“Okay.”
He carried her back to his quarters, and once the door had closed behind them, he strode over to the sofa and sat down with her on his lap.
Nervous now, Emma rubbed the collar of the shirt she was wearing between her thumb and index finger. “I have something to tell you that...well, I have something to confess. This morning, when Doug said all of those things about accusing me of stealing from them—”
“He can’t hurt you, Emma.”
“I know you wouldn’t let him,” she said in a rush. “And I’ve never stolen anything from the shop.”
“I believe you.”
Tears stung her eyes as she whispered, “But I did steal something.”
Trip tensed. “What?”
“Maybe it’s better if I just showed you.”
She got up and hurried over to where she’d left her bag. Putting the wrist unit down, she opened the bag and pulled out the two small objects she’d hidden in the inside pocket. Holding them in her palm, she walked back over to where Trip was sitting.
Her heart hurt when she saw he had pulled a blanket over himself. Taking that as a sign she was no longer welcome on his lap, she sat down next to him and opened her hand.
Trip saw the two small vials in her palm. He took them from her to study the labels. Medicine. She had stolen medicine. “Why, Emma? Are you sick?”
“It’s not for me.” She took a deep breath, then said, “My family lived in a rebel camp outside of the city. Actually, Avalon is a decent size settlement now, but when we lived there, it was just getting started. Fortunately, we had access to an underground source for fresh water, and it was by the ocean, so we were also able to find food. The only thing we didn’t have access to was medicine. I watched my parent die of an illness that could have been treated. We’d tried to take them to the closest fort, but they were turned away because we were rebels.”
“Oh, fucking hell,” he growled.
“I moved to Zion after they were gone. Even though I don’t live there anymore, I still keep in touch with some of the people in Avalon. And when they contact me, I try to do everything I can to help them.”
He held the vials up. “They asked you to get this?”
Emma nodded. “Several people are sick, and all they need is a small injection of that. Without it, they’ll die. I know it’s wrong that I stole it, but I’m not sorry I did. I could get in trouble. I could get you in trouble now that I’ve told you, and for that, I am sorry. The last thing I want to do is cause a problem for the sanctuary, so I knew I had to tell you. I understand if I can’t stay here—”
“Stop,” he demanded. “Just, stop.”
Emma held her breath as he leaned over and set the vials down on the low table in front of the sofa. When he turned back to her, his amber eyes were blazing with heat.
“Don’t ever apologize for helping people. If they need more, you tell me, and I’ll get it for you.”
She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears from her eyes. “Trip—”
“Do you honestly think anyone here at Exodus wouldn’t do exactly the same thing you did? I know I would. You belong here, Emma. Don’t doubt that. Whatever the fuck you need, all you have to do is tell me.”
With a sob, she lunged at him.
Trip shifted her back onto his lap, holding her tight to him as she cried. Her tears made him ache, but the rage that simmered inside of him was caused by the injustice done to her family and others like her. If she wanted to help save hundreds of people, she no longer had to do it alone. He would keep her safe, no matter what.
That was a promise.
EPILOGUE
“Trip is at it again!”
Emma paused in the process of ladling gumbo into a bowl to glance over as Jais and Fiona walked into the main kitchen at Exodus. The throbbing beat of music poured in from the open doorway, then was cut off as the door slid shut again.
The other staff members in the kitchen continued to work, ignoring the new arrivals.
All except for Rex, who asked, “What is Trip doing again?”
Once Emma had been properly introduced to the young Krytos male, they’d become fast friends. He was a sweet kid, and she enjoyed his company. Over the last few weeks, they had discovered that he liked to cook, so he spent a lot of time with her in the kitchen. She pretended she didn’t know that Trip had also personally asked Rex to watch out for her. The result of that request was she had gotten a bodyguard who made it his mission in life to guard her every time Trip wasn’t around.
“He’s fighting!” Fiona huffed out as she took a seat on one of the stools set near the counter. “I don’t know what has gotten into him lately, but the med-center is full again.”
“She’s just mad because the doc chewed her out about all the new
patients,” Jais explained as he walked up to Emma with a hopeful expression.
Shaking her head with a laugh, she finished filling the bowl, then handed it over to him. “You just ate an hour ago. Where do you put it all?”
“It’s a gift.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “It’s definitely something.” She filled another bowl and set it down on the counter in front of Fiona. “So, why did the doc yell at you?”
“Because she didn’t want to go near him in the mood he’s in. What have you done to him?”
“Me?” Emma gasped. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I saw him ten minutes ago, and he was just fine.”
“Well, he’s not fine now. It’s not like he’s ever been a mellow dude, but seriously, he is out of control.” Fiona pointed her spoon at Emma. “You need to fix him.”
Throwing her hands in the air, Emma did a little growling of her own. “Why is this my fault?”
She let out a yelp as Jade and Rogan Adaro suddenly transported into the room right next to her. Emma didn’t think she’d ever get used to the Dragon Warriors popping in and out like that.
“You have not mated him yet,” Jade said, leaning back against the counter. “You should just get on with it.”
“You’re such a romantic, mate.” Rogan tugged a strand of her long purple hair before he made a beeline to the stove. “Mmm. Food.”
Emma blinked at them. “How exactly am I supposed to do that? He hasn’t asked me to mate with him.”
“The Helios male does not ask. Trip is posturing. It is part of the mating ritual of his race. You walk out into the bar, and males notice you. Trip watches the males, then stops them from noticing you. It is their way. You are supposed to ask him.” Jade paused to frown. “Do you love him?”
Swallowing hard, Emma nodded. “Of course, I do.”
“Then why have you not told him?”
“You’re saying he’s beating people up because I haven’t told him I love him?”
