Page 55 of All or Nothing
“Nothing! She said she was done pretending she liked you and went off on her own.” She yanked her hand back and placed it on her hip. “You know, I meant what I said. I really do miss you, Xoll. We had some pretty good times together and I regret not forcing myself to stick it out. I’d say it’s obvious that we’re meant to be together, you and I. We make such a lovely couple, don’t we?”
I didn’t even bother answering her; I just turned and left, leaving her to squawk in outrage.
I jogged through the familiar halls of my parents’ house until I was outside and able to gulp in fresh air. It felt deliciously cool against my overhot face. I tried comming Joss, but it went straight to her mail; her comm was either off or she was already in a call. I kept walking, stomping over to the rented hover and sliding into the driver’s seat. I’d just have to keep trying until I got through. Dread pooled low in my gut, making it clench, but I tried my best to ignore it and keep my dinner down.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Uraka Like a Hurricane
JOSS
I USEDthe hygiene room quickly so I could get back to Xollen and support him in this viper’s nest. But when I slipped out only Verilla was waiting for me, her hip cocked and her long, slim arms crossed over her chest.
“Joss,” she said, her voice distant and cold. “A word?”
I knew it was a bad idea, that Verilla was nothing but bad news wrapped up in an intimidatingly pretty package, but I nodded, crossing my own arms defensively. “Alright,” I allowed, wary.
She smirked at me, slinking closer. “You seem like a nice enough female,” she began, looking me up and down like she didn’t believe that at all. “But do you really think you’re worthy of being Xollen Me’Tirri Be’Faan’s mate? Do you have any idea what power and influence his family carries? What sorts of expectations are set for a male of that caliber?”
“I have a pretty good idea,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “He’s told me a lot about it.”
She snorted, rolling her striking silver eyes. “Clearly he’s done a poor job of it if you’re still all too happy to soil his name and reputation by agreeing to a mating.” She stepped closer, looming over me. “You’re clearly cut from a different and much more….budget-friendly cloth. You can’t seriously mean to drag him down with you.”
It hurt. It hurt to hear that, because a very loud part of myself had been saying exactly that for weeks now: that I couldn’t land a hottie like Xollen. He was out of my league like crazy and I was doing him harm by letting him be with me. But at the end of the day, he was choosing me as much as I was choosing him. It was a deep and mutual thing that we were building, and I wasn’t going to let Verilla make me forget that.
“You had your chance, Verilla,” I ground out, keeping my shoulders back and my chin high. “He wants me. I want him. We care about each other. It’s as simple as that, and I don’t care what you and his parents are up to here, we’re not going to fall for it.”
Her silver eyes hardened to steel. Like a switch being flipped, all pretenses of civility and calm evaporated. “Listen here, you fat stupid bitch,” she hissed, her hands curling into fists at her sides. “I put inmonthsof time with that hideous loser, and I am not going to let you confuse him about what he really wants.” She grabbed my arm in a vise grip. I tried yanking free, but her hold was surprisingly strong. “Xollen is going to sign that deal, I’m going to star in those holos and get my big break, and you are going to fuckingdisappear, do you hear me? How much do you want, hmm? 50,000 should be plenty of credits to suck all that fat off your body and fix that frizzy mess growing from your head.”
I blinked, shocked at just how quickly she’d gotten this nasty. I hated that she’d been able to zero in on two of my biggest insecurities. How often had I wished for the money to get plastic surgery, so I could finally look acceptable to the rest of the world? How often had I dreamed of chopping off all the bleach-damaged hair, to start over fresh and get back to my beautiful natural hair?
Verilla was a seasoned bully.
“You can take your credits and shove them up your ass, Verilla,” I shot back, taking a step away from her to reclaim my personal space but keeping my posture sure and confident so she didn’t think I was backing down. “Xollen’s a goddamn adult and makes his own decisions, now. And he chooses me.”
Her jaw ticked with how hard she was clenching it, and then she was grabbing me, spinning me around and marching me out towards the front door. I kicked and struggled, trying to use what Uraka had taught me in that cell all those weeks ago, but she was much stronger than me and I was out of practice, so in the end, she managed to drag me out the door and put me in a hover, locking me in and sending me to coordinates I didn’t recognize. I tried to stop the car from taking off, desperate to get out and beat Verilla’s ass then go and rescue Xollen from what was clearly an attempt to take advantage of him, but none of the commands I tried worked. That asshole had managed to lock me out of the automated systems somehow.
I screamed and fumed, slamming myself against the door hard enough to make the cab sway and rock, but I was well and truly trapped, helpless but to let the hover take me where she’d sent it. I screamed, I cried, and then I took a deep breath and started making calls.
“Joss, my best friend, how are you?” Derris responded cheerily, Gesea just behind him and waving her own greeting.
“Not great, guys,” I sighed, giving them a hurried explanation of what was happening. “Do you know how to get me out of here? I could also use your help getting Xollen away from his parents. He put his comm on silent for the dinner and I don’t think it’s back on yet. I tried calling him before you and it just rang and rang.”
Derris and Gesea’s faces were twin masks of fury. “We’re leaving now,” Gesea snarled, spinning on her heel to start grabbing her things. She was muttering furiously, too quiet for me to hear, though.
“You heard the boss,” Derris chuckled, standing and looking much more serious. “I can’t help you with the hover, unfortunately. But we will go to his parent’s house to try and stop whatever awful thing they are doing. May the Goddess grace us all.”
I agreed, then hung up, dialing Xollen’s number a few more times and still not getting through. I tried Uraka next.
“Joss, my tiny warrior! It has been too long since I have heard from you!” Her three eyes narrowed, lips pulling into a scowl. “Has that cursed idiot harmed you? How shall I kill him? I have thought it would be fun to rip his spine out while he still lives.”
“Jesus, Uraka!” I blanched, my gorge rising. “Don’t you dare, I love that idiot!” I wouldn’t necessarily grieve it if that had happened to Verilla, though. In fact… “I am in trouble though. Xollen’s ex has me trapped in a hover, going someplace. I don’t know where and I’m locked out of the controls somehow. Do you know what I can do?”
Fury hardened her already stern features. “My love!” she barked, “please ready our hover. We are needed!”
From “off-screen” I heard a yelp, and then Djelani was skidding around a corner, her tawny fur puffed like a scared cat’s. “What is it, what’s wrong?” She spotted me, her delicate feline features settling into a frown. “Joss? What’s happening?”
“No time to explain, sweet flower!” Uraka shouted, surging to her feet. “Joss, ping your location and send it to me. Then repeat this every thirty seconds so we can plot your trajectory. Worry not, little Joss.” Fire blazed in her golden eyes, Djelani still looking confused in the background, though she was at least de-poofing. “You have the might of an yvrenii vanguard captain behind you.”
