Page 17 of Alien's Luck
“Yes. A fresh beginning.”
“What if I don’t want to start over? And what about my stuff? Do you know how hard it is to find shoes that fit human feet?”
“Possessions can be replaced.”
“Easy for you to say. Special orders cost extra. I don’t know if you have any idea what the cost of living is on this planet, but it ain’t cheap. Plus, it’smystuff.”
Her tone implied her unwillingness to abandon her meager worldly goods. Trivial matters, in his opinion.
“I will provide you with sufficient funds to outfit a new wardrobe if that is your concern,” he said.
“My concern—” Whatever she had to say, he would never know. Fury burned in her eyes as she bit into the sweet roll, chewing aggressively.
“My words are not hollow,” he said.
She closed her eyes and sighed. When they opened, a more amiable expression replaced her open hostility. “Your offer is very generous. Thank you. But I really am worried about my friend. I won’t take any of your money if you help me rescue her.”
“Your loyalty is admirable, but would this female be concerned about your fate if she had been the one to escape?”
With the sweet rolls gone, she buttered a slice of toast. The way she held the butter knife made him uneasy, like she considered several actions and would likely choose violence. Her grip tightened on the knife’s handle. It was an impractical weapon, but resourceful, and resourcefulness was very attractive.
Her grip relaxed, and she set down the knife. She said, anger very much in her voice, “Poppy would never.”
“Is this female your mate?”
“My… what? My mate?” Anger vanished, replaced with bafflement. “She’s my friend.”
“I am trying to understand the root of your devotion.”
She sighed, her fingers caressing the knife’s handle. “You know how humans got here, right? We were all abducted, and the ship exploded in orbit. I don’t know anything more, I was asleep, but Poppy was the one who found me. She pulled me out of the wreckage and saved my life.”
Now, he understood her loyalty. He said, “Her actions were noble, but you do not owe her anything.”
“She’s more than my friend—she’s my sister.”
Ari had no siblings and had no family he cared to mention, let alone mount a rescue for. His mother, yes, without hesitation, but she had been dead for many years. His father, however, could fall off a very steep cliff.
Again.
“Familial obligation is no reason to endanger yourself,” he said in a tone that implied she was being irrational, because she was.
She stared at him like he was defective. “It’s not about obligation. It’s about love and friendship. Don’t look at me like I’m talking nonsense. Poppy would tear the city apart brick by brick to find me.” She took a shaky breath, struggling to contain her emotions. “It’s not about owing Poppy anything. She’s got my back. I’ve got hers.”
“You cannot help her,” Ari said.
“Which is why I’m asking—begging—you for help. Do I need to get on my knees?” she asked. Before Ari could protest that was unnecessary, she slipped to the floor, got on her knees, and clasped her hands together in supplication. “Please. I’ll do anything,” she said, sounding desperate enough that he believed her.
A less honorable person would take advantage of her desperation. As it was, Ari wound his tail tight around his ankle to keep it from wandering. He said, “No, I mean that it is too late to help your friend. Do you not know who Tavat is?”
She lifted a shoulder, as if that were an answer. “Some high roller with hired muscle. Guys like him are a dime a dozen.”
His implanted translator informed him that this idiom meant a fraction of a unit of currency for a large quantity, implying that the subject was common and inexpensive.
Wrong in all regards.
“You have not been on Reazus Prime long,” he said. He himself had not been long on the planet and found the petty crime and casual lawlessness to be a delight. It was simple and honest.
Not like his homeworld. He had the advantage of an aristocratic upbringing. All that breeding and good lineage fine -tuned his family’s capacity for cruelty and deception. The familynest had nurtured vipers. While Ari had managed to escape—and get himself exiled in the process—his upbringing gave him the useful ability to spot the truly vile from the everyday petty criminal.
