Four endless hours later her shift ended. She picked up her small bag from Manya’s office and headed out the door, glad that it wasn’t her turn to close. She wasn’t up to it.
She nodded goodbye to Brant and headed out the door, keeping one eye open for Black Leather. She doubted he was still around, but you couldn’t be too cautious. Blessedly, the open, two-story arcade that served as a thoroughfare through the space station’s port was almost deserted.
Here and there groups of drunken spacers lurched by her, talking to themselves and calling out to every woman they saw. Ahead of her were three men dressed in engineer’s coveralls. They waved at her, shouting something. She couldn’t make out the words, but she knew the tone. They wanted to get laid. She laughed, shaking her head at them. Typical spacers. They were no threat to her, years of experience had taught her how to distinguish between men who were truly interested and those simply going through the motions.
She doubted the engineers would be capable of making it with a woman at this point anyway. They could hardly walk, yet two of them peeled off from the group and lurched toward her. She rolled her eyes and waved them off with a short, shooing gesture. A dark shadow detached itself from a narrow passageway between two stores.
She sensed him right before he took her arm.
“She’s with me,” Black Leather said coldly to the drunks, who looked confused. He gave a low noise, almost a growl, in the back of his throat and they took off down the street. So much for chivalry, Giselle thought in disgust. It hadn’t occurred to even one of the engineers to ask her if she wanted to be with Black Leather.
“I told you, I’m not for sale,” she said tightly, turning away from him. He was wearing his jacket now, but it didn’t fully hide the bulge of his blaster. She tugged at his arm, trying to pull free. He ignored her.
“Where do you live?’ he asked shortly. “It’s not safe out here. I’ll see you home.”
Like hell you will, she thought darkly. She was suddenly sick of his attitude, sick of men treating her like some kind of play object. She had worked a long shift, and she was damn tired. Was it too much to ask to simply go home and rest?
“I’m not headed home, I’m going to visit a friend.”
“Male or female?”
His tone froze her.
“Male,” she said slowly, wondering if that might get rid of him. “I’m seeing someone. We’ve been dating for several weeks now.”
“No,” he replied shortly.
“What?”
“No,” he said. “You won’t visit him. Tell me where you live and I’ll see you home.”
She searched her mind, wondering what to do now. She didn’t want him to know where she lived, and didn’t want to lead him to any of her friends. Hell, she’d only been on the station a couple of months. She had acquaintances, not friends. How was she going to get rid of him?
“I forgot something at the bar,” she said suddenly. “Can you take me back there?”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Well, it’s the truth,” she said, putting a note of irritation into her voice. “I forgot my keycard, and I’m not going to get into my apartment without it. Let’s go back to the bar.”
She eyed him sideways under her lashes, wondering if he’d go for it. Without a word, he tugged at her arm and started walking back toward Manya’s. When they reached the door, she asked him if he wanted to wait outside for her, but he just shook his head. Brant stepped aside and let them pass through the door without a word. She tried to signal him with her eyes, but the big man seemed distracted. Damn. She waited for the alarms to go off as they passed through the security sensors guarding the door, but nothing happened. Would anything go her way tonight? Why the hell didn’t anyone but her seem to notice his blaster? Disgusted, she opened her mouth to catch Brant’s attention; this had gone too far already.
Black Leather squeezed her arm tightly, pulling her close to his body so she could feel the outline of his weapon.
The message was clear.
If she tried signaling someone for help, they’d pay the price.
True fear filled her as she realized Manya’s might not be the sanctuary she’d hoped to find. Manya and his employees had been good to her. She shouldn’t have brought them trouble like this, she thought in disgust.
“I have to go behind the bar into the office to get my keycard,” she said slowly.
“Will you let me do that?”
“Take me with you.”
“It’s not allowed.”
“Make an exception,” he said smoothly. “Don’t make me do something you’ll regret.”
“Don’t you dare blame me for this,” she muttered in disgust.
“If you want your friends to live, be good,” he replied in a low voice.
She quieted at that, visions of Manya’s broad, friendly face covered in blood flitting through her head. Bastard.
“I’ll be quiet,” she muttered grimly. Manya saw them and raised one eyebrow in question. She wasn’t quite sure, but something about his gaze seemed different.
Unusual. Did he suspect something?
“Manya, I need my keycard for the apartment,” she said slowly, looking him directly in the eye. “I forgot it here earlier. Can you help me out?”
Manya smiled and nodded.
“Sure thing,” he said. “It’s in the office? You wait right here and I’ll get it for you.”
He turned and walked down the bar into the back room. She stood nervously, trying to figure out what to do next. There was no keycard in the office. She’d had a retinal scan lock put in just last week. Would Manya remember?
Manya came back out, a triumphant smile on his face. He held up a keycard.
“I’ve got it right here, Giselle,” he said. “Looks like it fell out of your bag when you pulled it out of my desk drawer.”
She reached out for the card, wondering what to do next. Just shy of the bar, Manya slipped in a puddle of beer, falling on his back with a startled cry. Black Leather held her back as she started forward to help the man. There was a loud, cracking noise, and then Black Leather sagged against her body, pushing her to the floor. She fell with a thump. Manya jumped over the bar to kneel beside her, lifting the heavy man’s body to one side. She looked up to see Brant holding a metal club smeared with blood.
“That one ain’t gonna be botherin’ you no more, Giselle,” Brant said with a smile. “I don’t like it when people sneak blasters past my security. Makes me look bad.”
Chapter Two
Jerred could hear the people around him before he could see them. There was a burning, roiling feeling in his stomach. Was he sick? His head hurt… Shot?
“He’s waking up,” a deep voice said. He opened his eyes and saw the big bartender standing over him, both arms folded across his chest.
“I don’t know how you did it,” the man said, face filled with anger. “But you brought a blaster into my bar. Nobody messes with Manya. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you.”
“Back off, Manya,” another voice chimed in. Jerred rolled his head to one side, focusing on a man dressed in a station security uniform. By the Goddess, he thought in disgust. He’d thrown everything over for that damn witch. The last thing he needed was Imperials breathing down his neck. What had come over him?
If he had blown his cover over her, Nicolai would kill him.
Hell, if he’d blown his cover over her, he’d kill himself and save Nicolai the time.
“Sir, you’re been hit on the head,” the guard said, his voice carefully neutral. “It is illegal to carry weapons such as your blaster into an establishment that sells alcohol.