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Someone hammers on the window, making both myself and Skritch jump. I turn, and to my surprise, it's Salvotor. He's one of the crew on the Scarlet Gaze, and Dopekh's love interest. He shoots me an excited look, gesturing, and then races for the door. "I found her, Erzah," he bellows, just as the doorway slides open.
"Can I help you?" Skritch asks, drawing himself up and fluffing his neck feathers in the way he does when he's annoyed.
"I was looking for Ruthie, but she's right here." Salvotor bounds across the store. "You gotta come talk to Erzah. He's been looking all over for you."
"Is something wrong?" I ask, even as Skritch hands me a small bottle and then another. He hands me two more before I run out of the ability to hold everything and give him a polite smile. "I'll start with this, thank you. Ring me up?"
"Can I interest you in more soap? We just got a fresh batch and you humans love smelling like plants."
"Just this, please." I move to the counter and Salvotor leans against it, twitchy like an over-caffeinated kid. "What's Erzah want? Tell him I can help him with the cantina when I get back. It's two days from now?—"
"It's not about the cantina. It's about Kaz."
I freeze, my arms prickling with goosebumps. Thunder roars in my ears. "What about Kaz?" I manage to ask. "What's wrong?"
Skritch mentions my total, but I don't even notice how much it is. I'm too focused on Salvotor and the roaring in my ears. To think that while I've been hanging around in my room, bored out of my mind, something terrible has happened to Kazex. Maybe there was an accident on the ship. Maybe the wiring. Oh god. What if he's in med-bay right now and I'm sitting here buying hair dye?
Salvotor yawns, watching as my purchases are bagged, and I want to shake him. Why is he so calm right now? Why won't he say what's going on? Is it something that Skritch isn't supposed to hear? Piracy news, perhaps?
Maybe that's it. Maybe Kaz has taken a commission on another corsair ship. Maybe he's leaving without me. The thought staggers me with how painful it is. But...no. Kaz wouldn't do that. He loves me. He said he'd wait forever for me. Forever is longer than five fucking days.
I take the bag handed to me and head outside. Salvotor follows me, taking his sweet time, and I want to grab him and shake some fucking urgency into him. The moment we get out onto the street, I whirl on him. "Spit it out."
"Wow, Ruthie. I don't think I've ever heard you use that tone." He gives me an astonished look. "For a moment there, you sounded just like Ruth."
It takes everything I have not to nab him by the collar and just start choking. "Tell me what's going on with Kaz. Right now."
"Erzah—"
"I'm not waiting for Erzah! Spit it out!"
He flinches backward. "Jeez. Well, Erzah was going to tell you that you need to talk to Kaz. We're supposed to leave you alone—Kazex says so—but Erzah says he's costing him a fortune and he needs his credits for the cantina."
I focus on every word coming out of Salvotor's mouth...but none of them are making sense. "What are you talking about ? Why is Kaz costing him a fortune?"
"Oh. Because he keeps getting arrested and Erzah keeps having to pay the fines to bail him out."
"WHAT?" My shriek echoes in the street, and I wince when a woman passing by turns and gives me a paranoid look. I move closer to Salvotor. "Why is he being arrested? What the fuck is going on?"
"You," Salvotor says mildly. "You're what's going on. You're here in town, and Kaz can't camp out on your doorstep to watch over you, so he's been hanging out on the street at night and watching the dorm. But some of the locals are complaining and so he got arrested. Every night he keeps doing the same thing and every night he keeps getting arrested all over again. He says he won't stop, either. That he made a promise to keep you safe and he's going to keep his word."
I press my hand to my heart, and I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Probably both.
My sweet, patient Kazex is the creep that Melody warned me about.
He hasn't forgotten about me, either. He's giving me space...while keeping to a promise he made to me when we first met. He said he'd always look out for me, and he is. He doesn't care if he gets arrested. He's determined to take care of me.
It's the most ridiculous, most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me and it fills me with affection and love. "Is Erzah with him right now?"
