Page 13 of Zalis
She reached for his hand, which was warm and solid. Real.
ZALIS
Zalis held Gemma’s hand until her deep, even breathing convinced him that she was asleep.
Good. Her injuries required rest to heal properly, and her sleep patterns had been erratic.
Zalis had plenty to keep himself occupied. He did not have to stand guard. There was much to be done. Data for him to sift through.
At the moment, Havik and Ren were interviewing the other survivors. Ren was personable enough for the task. Zalis would only hamper their efforts. Thalia would be there soon, and shewas a true master of gathering information from reluctant or frightened targets.
Referring to the trafficking victims astargetswas yet another reason for Zalis to stay away from the interviews. The traffickers left behind equipment and equipment did not shrink back in horror at his stature. He could pull as much data as possible for analysis and recover old messages in peace.
There was no reason to stay.
The poorly encrypted message that led the team to the warehouse had clearly been a trap. Of all the captives, Gemma was the only one equipped with a translator. The Suhlik spoke to her. More disturbing, they knew Gemma and details of her life.
Bait to sweeten a trap.To what purpose? Why draw a Mahdfel team to Tholla’s moon? Why let a captive overhear casual conversation? Why single out Gemma?
Zalis did not like it. There were too many unknowns, and he would not make progress finding answers if he continued to sit by Gemma’s side.
Inexplicably, Zalis found himself reluctant to leave. Nightmares haunted Gemma. She had not shared her dreams with him, but he saw the wild, panicked expression on her face when she woke.
He should stay, in case she had another nightmare and needed her hand held.
GEMMA
Rescue was as boring as abduction. Or maybe it was the hospital. There was endless waiting for a specialist to give a verdict on her ankle. No one wanted to treat anything else until the fracture was resolved, but a human ankle was complicated. Apparently. Everyone told her to rest—what else was she going to do with her foot in a temporary cast?
No one answered any of her questions. Where were the others? How are they? Did they catch the bad guys? When would Emry get here?
Nothing.
Zalis did hook her up with a comm unit that apparently had the unlimited plan to call Earth.
She should. Her fingers hovered over the screen, ready to dial her assistant manager. The bakery’s rent and utilities were on autopay, but not the suppliers or the payroll. She couldn’t imagine any of her employees sticking around when the paychecks failed to arrive. She didn’t blame them. Bills had to be paid.
Gemma hesitated. Business could wait. She’d been gone for weeks. Another day wouldn’t matter. Besides, there’d be questions.“I was abducted by a human trafficking ring and sold to aliens”was never going to be a quick conversation. Everything that she had to say, she wanted to say to Emry first.
Except Emry wasn’t answering her phone. Ren assured her that Emry was on her way, but until Emry showed up, the parade of non-sister visitors continued.
Gemma folded her arms across her chest. “I’m sorry. I’m done.”
Her latest visitor was a cop, or constable, as they were called in the Sangrin system. The quaint job title did not lull Gemma into a false sense of security. Constable Pama radiated hostility, from her tone right down to the way she tossed her horns back and sniffed when she didn’t like Gemma’s answers.
“I am gathering information,” Pama said, with a horn toss and a sniff.
“You’re asking the same questions three different ways.”
“For veracity.”
For veracity.
“You think I’m lying? You think I got into that cage for the fun of it? Or maybe for attention?” Gemma wanted to leap out of her bed and throw hands. She glared at the cop, and just in case she missed the subtle body language that she was pissed, she added, “Good thing my ankle’s broken or I’d bea?—”
Ren’s hand on her shoulder stopped her from finishing that threat. Cops were cops, no matter the star system. Threatening them was always a bad idea.
“Gemmarae is in a great deal of pain from a fractured ankle and requires rest before surgery. Your information gathering can wait,” Ren said.
