Page 102 of Throwing Fire

Acker twitches his nose at me. “You may want to bathe first.”

“What’re you sayin?” I ask in mock-annoyance. “You’re the one who dragged me through the sewer.”

Acker grooms his whiskers with three sharp claws. “And yet I am not the one still carrying it with me.”

I elbow him before I go avail myself of his ‘fresher.

CHAPTER 36

Idrag Kez into the shower with me, despite her protests that she’s already shed hereau de sewer.

I don’t really care how she smells; I want to be alone with her. Acker’s guest ‘fresher is like the bedroom: minimal and utilitarian. The walls are bare stone. There’s a flashcan and a drain in the permacrete floor. No sink. Guess the rats aren’t much into visitors. Or maybe they just want to discourage visitors from overstaying their welcome.

Kez and I strip down and step under the water, which is at least hot, even if it smells strongly of chemicals. I tuck her against my chest, enjoy the warm, slippery softness of her skin, and lather her hair with some cleanser from a bulb attached to the wall while I ask, “What’s goin’ on, kitten?”

She shrugs.

“I saw that look earlier. You really think Jaxon’s going to get away from me?”

She shakes her head. “It’s not that. Even if you get Jaxon, that won’t be the end of it, will it? What you said when we were last out here on the Clouds – I’ve been thinking about it ever since –I’llalwaysbe a target. That’s what you were really saying, wasn’t it?”

I stroke her cheeks, tilt her face up to me so I can see those blue eyes. “That’s not what I was sayin’. I’m not gonna let you be a target. That’s why I’ve been burnin’ everyone who takes a shot at you down to the ground. I’m sendin’ a message, Kez. I’m lettin’ everyone and his fuckin’ clone know what the price is for comin’ at you. When the price gets to be too high, they’ll stop comin’.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do.” It was a favorite M.I. tactic, so I’ve seen it work. “It’ll give us the breathin’ space we need to get out of the Hex business, like you wanted. Then no one’ll have a reason to gun for you. It’ll happen. Just give it time.”

She hugs me suddenly. Fiercely. “I feel like I don’t have any.”

“We got all the time in the universe, kitten. You an’ me.”

She squeezes me tighter. “Do we?”

“Yeah. You think I’m lettin’ anyone take you away from me?” When she smiles, I continue, “I made you a promise. You’re not gonna face this alone. No matter how ugly it gets, we’ll get through it, you an’ me. After that, we’re getting’ off-world. We got some serious business on Yrillo, figurin’ out a way to tie you upside-down without you pukin’ on me.”

“I’ve never thrown up on you.”

“Pretty sure I’ve heard you gipping once or twice.”

She rolls her eyes. “Never.”

I tip her head back into the water, rinse her hair. “I could gag you, I suppose.”

She closes her eyes against the spray. Smiles a smile that would make a threedee villain proud. “Only if you want to be castrated after you untie me.”

“Leave the long bit in workin’ order. I need it to keep my woman satisfied.” I stroke her wet head and hold her close. “Want you to promise me somethin’.”

“Anything. You know that.”

Yeah, I do. “Just keep breathin’, Kez. That’s all you gotta do. In and out.” Focusing on breathing – the essentials of life – will help her manage the fear that’s grinding her down. Sometimes that’s all that has kept me going, taking that next breath. “As long as you keep breathin’, everything else is fixable.”

She nods and I give her a wet kiss before I let her go.

I consignmy clothes to the flashcan since even I can smell the stink on them, now that I’m clean, and pull on the last set from the bag Gig’s brought. Acker’s waiting for us outside the ‘fresher when we emerge. He flares his claws down the tunnel, towards the big cavern, where the rats were having their Flaming Pink Flamingo rave the last time we were here. Kez starts off down the tunnel. Acker lays one black claw on my forearm as I start to follow.

“Yeah?”

“You smell better,” Acker says, twitching his whiskers. “Before you go in there, I would have you know that I had planned only the first surprise. The second is a surprise to me as well.”

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