Chapter 18

AVA

I wake up the next morning with a hell of a hangover and the most horrible taste in my mouth ever.

I rush to the bathroom and wretch up the light-blue remnants of the most regrettable drink in existence before brushing my teeth and crawling pathetically back under the heavy blankets on my bed.

I briefly consider going down for breakfast before a spasm of my stomach tells me that it’s a really horrible idea.

Instead, I wallow in bed and replay every moment I spent with Koza in his office, which is maybe an even worse idea, honestly. He leaves soon, and I’m pretty sure he’s gonna leave me behind here.

I keep trying to insert myself into his space when he’s made it abundantly clear he is not interested.

~Take a hint, Ava.~

A nap and a hot shower later give me a much-needed attitude adjustment, and I make it downstairs in time for my normal security detail to the market.

Despite my defensive argument to Olean yesterday, I absolutely do not do anything besides visit Hannah, so I may as well close up that little plot hole as best I can while she is gone.

I wander through the stalls of the market, even buying some little pots of paint from one stall, which is my first actual purchase since I’ve been here.

Unfortunately, my raging hangover and breakfastless stomach get the better of me, and I finally agree to share my guard’s preferred snack of deep-fried rodent out of sheer desperation.

It’s pretty terrible, as expected, and I decide to call it a day, heading back to the base early.

I go to bed before the sun is even down, since I’m still nursing my hangover. Tomorrow is the second stage of my substitute rebel assignment, and I’ll be back at the bar to see it to completion.

***

I try not to fidget as the sweat trickles down the side of my face, hidden under the same full-body costume as last time.

Mr. Four Arms, whose name was very intentionally not offered, just as I did not offer him mine, slyly gives me the signal as I approach the bar from my last drink run.

A single glass of something like beer with condensation running down the side of the smooth surface, is set out on the tray for the recipient of the chip. I retrieved it from the bed frame and taped it to the inside of my arm this morning.

I take the tray, and glance at the ticket that tells me where to deliver it.

It’s one of the private rooms upstairs. This makes me feel way better than last time with a table in the main room.

~Rebel plots are much better conducted in private spaces, surely.~

I lift the tray with the single drink perched in the middle, taking a deep breath to calm myself as I fight to keep it steady this time. Then I head to the stairs at the back.

GENERAL KOZA

The air in the bar is thick with smoke and the low hum of conversation, but as soon as I arrive my nerves are mysteriously on edge. Something else is in the air, something familiar. I scan the crowd with a predatory gaze as I make my way up the stairs in the back and to the meeting point, trying to pinpoint the source.

Once alone in the private room where the contact will meet me, I drop into a chair and lean back, rubbing a hand over my face with a deep sigh.

I leave tomorrow. This intel is crucial for my trip, and the next steps to advance the progress of the Multic Rebellion. But all I can think about is Ava.

I have worried over her since the night in my office, tempted to seek her out despite my earlier resolve. Perhaps I will, after getting what I need. I feel an urge to see her before I leave, though I know Olean will make sure she is safe while I am away.

My thoughts should be on the upcoming transfer of information, and not on Ava. I scold myself for my lack of focus. While this pick up is relatively low risk, rebellion business is never fully safe, and I need to be on my guard.

I steel myself, take a deep breath, and push my worries for the little human aside as the door to the private room slides open.

The waitress steps inside, carrying the tray with a single drink gracefully. Her body is completely concealed by the dark Calibryn cloak worn by the servers in this establishment, making it the perfect location to pass information between rebels posing as employees.

As the door slides shut, the air shifts toward where I sit at the table. I catch the unmistakable scent of her.

~Ava.~

I know immediately that she is the one who is hidden under the heavy cloak, even though visually she is well concealed.

She freezes at the sight of me, sucking in a sharp breath of shock I can faintly hear over the music piped into the room.

A growl escapes me at the realization SHE is the contact.

~How in the depths of hell did she become involved with the rebellion?~

I surge to my feet, and she shrinks back, the tray she carries tipping perilously in her hand. I sweep it from her grasp with little effort and dump it on the table. I step toward her, intent on slinging her over my shoulder and carrying her out of here whether she likes it or not.

AVA

I keep my eyes on the floor as I enter the room, as I was told. No acknowledgement, no conversation, just hand off the chip and leave quickly. Just like when I accepted it the other day.

But as a familiar, rumbling growl sounds through the small space of the room, my eyes surge up, and I freeze.

~Oh fuck.~

~It’s Koza.~

~Koza is the contact?~

~FUCK.~

As I whirl to make my escape from him, I feel the weight of the tray leave my grasp followed shortly by his fingers trapping my right wrist in their tight embrace. He pulls me back and I stumble.

He tugs the hood of the robe off my face with his free hand. I’m frozen in his grasp, staring up into his amber eyes that regard me with heated fury.

His mouth lifts into a snarl as he looks at me, and I stare back at him with as much confidence as I can muster.

“This is dangerous, little one. You should not be here.”

While the growl in his words makes me shiver, a rush of anger overtakes me.

“And why exactly is that?” I demand sharply, twisting my wrist out of his grip. “I was stolen from my home planet, sold like nothing more than cattle. Everything I ever knew, even though it wasn’t much, was taken from me in the blink of an eye. Now I’m here, unwanted, with no future to speak of. What makes you think I wouldn’t do everything I could to stop it from happening to others? Die for it, even? What other purpose do I even have at this point?”

Never mind that none of this self-righteous anger had consciously crossed my mind when I agreed to step into this mission in the first place. I just wanted to help Hannah. But as I hurl the words at his scowling face, I mean them wholeheartedly.

I feel his disapproving growl right down to my toenails.

He grabs me firmly around the waist, pulling me sharply against the hard surface of his chest while his other hand snakes behind me, grasping my neck tightly.

I’m so close I feel the ridge of every hard muscle of his abdomen. The way he has me caged could be utterly terrifying, but instead it feels comforting and safe in his arms.

“Do not, for one heartbeat, think you are unwanted, Ava.”

Then his mouth is on mine, the sharp points of his teeth grazing gently over my lips, and I forget what we were even arguing about as I eagerly return his kiss.