by Lolita Lopez
Naya sized up Hallie. “You must have a ton of fabric left over.”
“I turned some of it into napkins or throw pillows The rest is in my scrap box.” She made a face. “Vicious thinks it’s silly for me to keep the scraps but old habits, you know?”
“Oh, I know.” Naya’s gaze fell to the top pamphlet. Surprise gripped her. The drawing on the front was all too familiar. “Who drew this?”
Hallie broke a cookie in half. “I did. Why?”
Naya’s startled gaze jumped to her new friend. What had Danny said? The Artist had been Grabbed and lived happily on a ship. Could it be? Was Hallie the young woman she’d known only as the Artist? “I bet my aunt Ruthie Frances would love one of your paintings.”
Hallie stiffened. Her shocked expression slowly faded. “I know Ruthie would.”
Ruthie Frances. Red Feather. “Should we keep talking in code or do I just come right out and ask?”
“Ask me.”
“You were part of the Red Feather. You drew passports.”
“I did. And you?”
“I’m very good at smuggling.”
Hallie’s eyes widened briefly. “Wait! Are you Dankirk’s contact in Connor’s Run?”
Now it was Naya’s turn to be surprised. “I was. You know Danny?”
“I spoke with him via my sister just the other day. He has a list of women who want out of Harper’s Well. Dankirk helped my sister escape to the colonies. How are things now? Has the smuggling chain been busy?”
“There were riots in The City five weeks ago. The government clamped down pretty tightly.”
“Riots?”
“Over food shortages,” Naya explained. “We had people pouring into Connor’s Run and Grogan’s Mill. There were so many cargo ships from the Jesco colony making illegal flyovers and taking passengers that the colonies put up a barricade. The backlog for customs processing in Safe Harbor and Jesco is so bad that some of the illegal immigrants were dying in the cargo holds.”
Hallie gasped in shock. “That’s awful.”
“The fees for those kinds of transports have gone up tremendously. The ships we work with like the Shepherd are still doing low-fee transports, but it’s getting harder and harder to move people. Finding people to sponsor immigrants is almost impossible. The colonies have also stopped offering paperless entry for women who win the Grabs. I had to buy fake papers for Jennie and me. They weren’t nearly as good as yours.”
“Jennie?”
Sadness squeezed her chest. “She’s my friend. Her number was pulled in the lottery so I bought my way onto the list. We had a pact that we’d both run together and get taken together if we couldn’t escape.”
“Is she here with you? I can put a call through to her quarters and have her over if you’d like to see her.”
Naya gulped down the grief that swamped her. “No, she actually made it to the safe zone where her boyfriend was waiting.”
“Oh,” Hallie said quietly. She reached across the table and grabbed Naya’s hand. “I’m sorry.”
Naya looked at the friendly hand gripping hers. Hallie’s kindness overwhelmed her. “Thank you.”
“I know how hard it is to adjust to your new life. I’m not promising it’s going to be sugar and sweetness. There are going to be bumps. You’re probably going to want to thrash Menace a few times but you’ll get through it. If you’re meant to be together, that is. If you’re not? You come to me. I’ll make sure you get your separation papers and I’ll help you find your way to the colonies and your friend.”
Naya gawked at Hallie. “You’d do that for me? But Menace is your husband’s friend. Wouldn’t that make things difficult between you?”
“You let me worry about Vicious. You just worry about your relationship with Menace.” Hallie pulled her hand back. “If you can make it work, I think you’ll be very happy. Menace is a wonderful man. Vicious wouldn’t count him among his closest friends if he wasn’t loyal and honest.”
Hallie hadn’t said anything that Naya wasn’t already thinking when it came to Menace. “I do like him. He’s been patient and sweet with me. The sex is pretty awesome too.”
Hallie actually blushed and dipped her gaze. “Yes, these Harcos men seem to be masters of seduction.”
“Boy, that’s no joke. I thought Menace was going to make me pass out last night.”
Hallie laughed. “Yeah, I’ve, uh, been there quite a few times.”
Naya knew enough about Hallie’s hometown to guess that she was probably a virgin when she’d come onboard the Valiant. What a shock her first introduction to sex with her sky warrior must have been!
“Why don’t we go dig through my closet and see if we can find you some shoes?” Hallie gathered up their dishes. “The first pair Vicious brought me was too big, but I bet they’ll fit you just fine.”
Naya followed her out of the kitchen. Once in the spacious master bedroom, she couldn’t ignore the door to the couple’s playroom. Naya didn’t even want to imagine what a frightening man like Vicious did to poor Hallie in there.
Following her gaze, Hallie shot her an apologetic look. “I should probably warn you about the officers-only club. Menace will want to take you there.”
“A club?”
“It’s a place where officers and their wives and sometimes their single friends get together to play in public or the theme rooms.”
Naya’s gut clenched. “I’ll pass.”
“You might not be able to,” Hallie replied, her voice muffled as she stepped into the oversized closet. A moment later she reappeared with a pair of simple black flats. “These aren’t the most supportive shoes, but they’ll do until Menace can get you something else.”
Naya sat down on the bench at the end of Hallie’s massive bed and slipped on the shoes. “Why wouldn’t I be able to pass on the invite to the sex club thing?”
“Vicious and I had only been together a day when he came home with an invite to a private party given by General Thorn. I didn’t want to go. I was terrified, honestly, but I knew that if we didn’t go, Vicious might be snubbed by his superior. For officers, the promotion game is one that includes making appearances at a variety of functions. Vicious gave me the choice to say no, but I couldn’t do it.” Hallie sat down next to her. “I ended up wearing a cat costume.”
“Wait. What? A cat costume?”
Hallie giggled and clasped her face in her hands. “I know. How ridiculous, right? General Thorn has a fetish for cat-play games. There are actually groups of couples who get together here on the Valiant for puppy-and-cat play parties.”
“I don’t understand.” Naya tried to process Hallie’s information. “You dress up like a cat or a puppy and pretend you’re one?”
“It’s a little more intense than that for couples who are really into it but, yes, basically,” Hallie said. “It doesn’t do anything for me but I know a few women who enjoy it very much. They find extreme pleasure in giving total control to their husbands, their masters.”
Naya shook her head and slipped on the shoes. “That’s batshit crazy, Hallie.”
“In this society, they believe everyone is entitled to their desires and their brand of kink. If you go to the officers’ playroom, you’ll probably see some strange things. Well…strange to women like you and me,” she clarified. “To these guys, it’s as normal as breathing to see a woman tied up, flogged and taken in public by her husband and his two best friends.”
Naya blinked a few times. She would never admit it aloud but there was something oddly alluring about Hallie’s description. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“To each their own, I guess.”
Naya took a few test strides in the shoes. They were a little roomy on the sides but they’d do. “Were you really angry when that party was over and Vicious brought you home?”
“No,” Hallie said, her face flushed. “Actually I found it all rather arousing there at the end. Vicious showed me that there’s no shame in exploring
my sexuality. When I’m with him, when his hands are on me, I feel braver than ever and so incredibly secure.”
Naya understood that. “I felt that with Menace this morning. It was…uncomfortable.”
“I know what you mean,” Hallie assured her. “This mix of pleasure and pain and dominance is confusing. Even now, I sometimes have nights where I struggle with giving up control to Vicious, but when I do? He always rewards my trust.”
Naya caught the subtle emphasis Hallie used when she said reward. Oh yeah. One night with Menace and Naya understood all about rewarding trust.
A chime interrupted their conversation. “What’s that?”
“The front door,” Hallie explained. “Have you used your control console yet?”
Naya shook her head and Hallie gestured for her to follow. In the entryway, Hallie showed her a big green screen. The word visitor flashed in white in the center.
“This alerts you when someone is at the door. You can tap this corner square to see who it is. If you don’t want to answer for some reason or you’re busy, your visitor will be able to leave you a vid-message that you can watch at another time.”
Hallie tapped the upper corner and the screen changed from green to a picture of a man. With his face down, only his dark-brown hair was clearly visible.
“I haven’t seen many of these guys with dark hair.”
Hallie smiled. “Darker hair is common in the men who have mothers who were taken in Grabs.”
The man on-screen lifted his face. Naya winced at the sight of such a scarred face. One eye had been totally gouged out and was nothing but a puckered scar. A gash like a lightning bolt marked that same side of his face. “What happened to him?”
“Terror was attacked on a mission. Vicious had to sew him back together.” Hallie touched her arm. “Please don’t stare at him.”
Naya glanced at the scarred man on the screen. “I won’t.”
“Thank you.” Hallie walked to the door.
“Is he like Vicious and Menace? You know, scary on the outside but soft on the inside?”
Hallie shook her head and grabbed the door’s handle. “No, Naya. He’s even scarier on the inside than he looks on the outside.”
With Hallie’s frightening assessment ringing in her ears, Naya hung back and waited. Hallie stepped aside and Terror entered the apartment. His gaze moved to Naya and then back to Hallie again.
“I should have known your little welcoming committee would have reached Menace’s new woman first,” Terror said. “Have you finished interrogating her or do I need to drag her down to a holding cell to get her life story?”
Hallie dared to thump his arm. “Be nice, Terror.”
Naya didn’t find his teasing remark very funny. She warily watched Terror as he strode toward her. He had an air of mystery around him. The way he carried himself reminded her of the secret police who had terrorized her so many times. Her internal alarm pinged instantly. She knew the type. He might have Hallie fooled but this guy wasn’t what he pretended to be.
Terror stopped a bit too close, purposely invading her personal space, and extended his hand. “I’m Terror, a good friend of Menace.”
“Naya.” She quickly shook his hand and tried to let go but he held tight. His fingertip rubbed her wrist, right where her pulse beat wildly. She wasn’t amused and yanked her hand free from his.
Terror’s one eye narrowed. “You’re from Connor’s Run.” He wasn’t asking. “I hear you ran a pawnshop down there. I can only imagine what kinds of interesting things came through your front door.”
Naya’s gut clenched but she schooled her features. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to deal with some slick government type trying to get her to incriminate herself through friendly conversation. “I had a unicycle come through the front door once. That’s about as interesting as it got.”
“A unicycle?” Oblivious to Terror’s subtly aggressive questioning, Hallie interjected herself in their conversation. “From the circus three years ago?”
Naya dragged her gaze to Hallie. “You remember that? Did you get to go?”
Hallie shook her head. “We didn’t have the money but I got to see the animals and some of the performers from afar.” She tugged on the sleeve of Terror’s shirt. “Would you like some tea? I have cookies.”
Terror nodded. “I’d like that. It will give Naya and me time to get to know one another a bit better.”
Hallie hesitated. “You won’t be rude?”
Terror laughed, the sound dry and harsh. “When have you ever known me to be rude?”
“Oh I don’t know. How about last week when we had lunch on the observation deck?” Hallie arched a dark eyebrow. “If you make my guest uncomfortable in my home, I’ll make sure that Vicious makes things very uncomfortable for you, Terror. Got it?”
He actually smiled at Hallie. “Yes.”
Naya wanted to run after Hallie but didn’t move. She wasn’t about to show this frightening man one glimmer of weakness. He couldn’t possibly know anything about her past. Even if he had somehow gotten his hands on her police reports, there wasn’t anything concrete in them. She’d never been formally charged after her arrests.
“Let’s sit.” Terror gestured to the seating area. Naya calmly made her way to the closest chair. Terror took a spot across from her, probably so he could watch her every move. “You must have been very scared when your number was pulled in the lottery.”
“I’m not sure scared is the right word.” Naya didn’t miss the peculiarity of that question. He asked it almost as if he knew she hadn’t been on the original roster.
“What word would you use? Excited? Determined?”
Now she knew something was up. “Resigned. Hopeful.”
“Really?” He eyed her carefully. “You’re lucky that you were Grabbed by Menace instead of the pilot, Flare. You caught yourself a very good man. Very well-connected,” he added.
“You seem confused. I didn’t do the catching. I was the one taken down and collared. Menace was just lucky enough to catch me.”
“We’ll see.”
Naya fought the urge to tell Terror to go fuck himself. “I don’t know what your deal is, Terror, but if you have something to say to me, just fucking say it already.”
“Is everything okay?” Hallie appeared in the living room. She took one look at Terror and frowned. “What are you doing? Did you upset her?”
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Terror smoothly replied. “You know I’m not very good at making pleasant conversation, Hallie. I think I may have accidentally offended Naya.”
Naya couldn’t believe how slick Terror was. She glanced at Hallie. The other woman looked supremely annoyed and not at all convinced. “Terror, I think you should—”
The front door opened and Menace’s familiar voice met Naya’s ears. She sagged with relief as he came into view with Vicious. She had to force her feet to stay still. She desperately wanted to jump out of her chair and run to him.
“Terror!” Menace grinned at the other man. “I didn’t know you were back onboard.”
“We got back last night.” Terror gripped Menace’s hand. They clapped each other on the back. “I was just talking to your lovely wife. She’s quite a catch, Menace.”
Naya wanted to shoot him the finger so badly but kept her hands folded in her lap.
Menace turned his gaze on her. It was a look of pure adoration that warmed her skin. “Yes, she is.”
He held out his hand and Naya happily joined him. She was afraid to ask but had to know. “Is everything okay now?”
“Everything is fine, Naya.”
Burrowed close to Menace’s strength and heat, Naya wanted to believe him but one glance at Terror shattered her hope. She’d seen that look on the faces of the secret police investigators who had roused her out of bed in the middle of the night and thrown her in a cell for weeks on end.
Somehow Terror had caught a whiff of her past. Like a dog with a bone
, he was never going to let go. He would unearth every misdeed she’d committed as a teenager. There was no escape now. The past had finally come back to haunt her.
Menace slid an arm around her shoulders and kissed the crown of her head. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. No one is going to take you away from me.”
Oh how she wished that were true.
Chapter Ten
Menace sneaked a glance at Naya as they waited for the elevator. She seemed uncommonly quiet and almost nervous. She clung to his arm and nibbled her plump lower lip.
“Stop that,” Menace ordered softly and brushed his thumb over her sweet mouth. “You’ll break the skin.”
Her fingernails bit into his arm. “Sorry.”
“Are you okay?” The elevator dinged and the doors parted. He put his hand on the small of her back and pushed her forward into the gleaming silver box.
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. What is it?” He swiped the navigational screen and chose their floor.
“Nothing. I’m just tired. It’s been a crazy morning.”
He didn’t care for the half-truths coming from her. Certain she wouldn’t tell him the truth unless thrown off-kilter, Menace spun suddenly and trapped her smaller body in the corner of the elevator. Naya gasped and put her hands on his chest. Before she could tell him off, he captured her mouth in a slow, easy kiss. Naya whimpered and gripped his uniform shirt.
“Tell me the truth,” Menace commanded and dragged his lips across her jaw. “What’s wrong?”
She swallowed hard. “Terror scares me.”
Menace chortled. “He scares everyone, Naya.”
“No, it’s not that. I….” Her voice trailed off as she toyed with one of the buttons on his shirt. “I don’t think he likes me.”
“He doesn’t like many people. Don’t take it personally.” Menace studied her face. He spotted the tense lines around her mouth. “Did he say something to you? Because he can be a real son of a bitch without realizing it.”
