Page 3 of Tail Me No Lies
“No. Absolutely not.” The human female crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.
“You do not know the purpose of my visit,” he said. “Perhaps I seek the pleasure of your company at dinner?”
“I know who you are, and you’re not here to ask me out. If you were, the answer would be the same. No.”
Notoriety had its perks. It also had its difficulties. He had been sent to this station to cause a distraction. Easy enough. Distraction made. Now he needed to leave the station fast, and his face was too well known. If he could purchase a ticket with a false identity, he would already be on a ship. His options for escape were down to hiring a smuggler and hoping he poured enough credits into the smuggler’s account to not be betrayed, or this scheme.
Nox disliked having limited options. They were a sign of the failed imagination of a desperate male, and he loathed being desperate. An alternative option dropped into his lap last night, which is how he found himself in the Celestial Mates office.
“You are too law-abiding to know me,” he said, still laying on the charm. His tail swayed behind him. He noticed how the female’s eyes followed the movement. He had a very nice tail, after all.
The female rolled her eyes. “The agency screens all applicants, so you’re out of luck.”
“I had a chat with our mutual friend Distinction.”
“Ugh, that man,” she said with disgust.
Nox nodded. “Yes. Indeed. He must have been difficult to match.”
“You have no idea. Too old, too young, too fat, too thin, too human, too far away, too smiley.” She held up her hand, ticking off reasons on her fingers. “Absolutely impossible, but Celestial Mates believes that your perfect match is out there, and we found it for him.”
He admired the way she stuck to the company line. It was misguided but admirable.
“Distinction is scheduled to leave for Corra in—” Nox took a theatrical look at his wrist comm. “Three hours. He has decided not to go.”
“What? He signed a contract!” She slapped her hand on the desk. “If that asshole shows up here tomorrow wanting another match, he can—”
“He is most inconsiderate. I understand there was a bonus,” Nox said, pouring on sympathy. After all, he’d recently been screwed on a business deal too.
“My bonus. It’s already in my account. I’ll have to pay it back.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I was counting on it.”
“He has left you in a bad situation. Fortunately, I have the solution that will benefit us both,” he said smoothly.
She gave him a dubious look but said, “I’m listening.”
“I will take his place.”
“No. Absolutely not. Get out. I’m calling security.” She stood and pointed to the door.
“It is a good solution. A mate will be delivered. The contract honored,” he said. He placed an unmarked, untraceable credit chip on the counter between them and said in a darker tone, “No bonuses have to be taken away.”
Her eyes flared with indignation. For a moment, Nox believed he miscalculated, and the female would call security.
With a sigh, she grabbed the chip and sat back down, her shoulders slumped. “I shouldn’t. You’re…you.”
“Yes, I am. Thank you.”
She tossed him a sharp look. “It’s not right unleashing you on some poor, unsuspecting widow. She wants a husband, not whatever scheme you have planned.”
“I need to leave this station. Discreetly. That is all. It is a matter of substituting my face for Distinction’s on the boarding pass. I will disappear once I get to Corra, and the widow will think her mate never got on the shuttle, which will be true.”
“You just need a ticket down to the surface?” she asked.
Nox’s tail swayed happily behind him, and he did not mind the display of emotion. He had convinced the female. He would be on a shuttle to Corra in less than three hours. He’d figure out his next move from there.
Ruth
A tall man leaned against Ruth’s vehicle. A wide-brimmed hat shaded his face and twisting horns protruding from the top of the hat marked him as Corravian, but Ruth recognized her nemesis immediately.
