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“I’ll take that as a no. It’s a portable machine that produces electricity. In the old days, they used to run on gasoline. Now they’re solar-powered. You have to plan ahead. Once you need it, it’s too late to charge it. But all of that is moot because you don’t have one.”
“I didn’t realize New Terra had power outages.”
“Any good storm can knock out the electricity.”
“What does a bad storm do?”
She snorted, the first chuckle I’d heard from her all evening.
“How long does it last?” I asked.
“Depends on how widespread it is, and how long it takes for the crew to fix it. Could be a few minutes, could be hours. Twelve years ago, after a storm, some areas lost power for an entire day.”
What might this mean for Imana’s plan? Would the storm cause a delay, or, worse, result in her abandoning the effort altogether? My mind raced. Electrical storms could interfere with a ship’s controls. The slave ship had already landed. However, if lightning struck the grounded ship, it could knock out the shimmer. The ship would be visible. If it got spotted by authorities…
Imana hadn’t gotten where she was by taking foolish chances. She’d made bold, brazen moves, but she didn’t hesitate to cut her losses and move on if the odds weren’t in her favor. That’s why she’d eluded capture for so long. A couple of times in the past, the LOP had closed in on her location only to have her vanish.
She was a master at protecting the principal—and she was the principal.
Now I was getting as anxious as Jessie had been. I had to reach Garrison, but I couldn’t do it with her right here. I would have to wait until she fell asleep and then I could slip out and call him.
I faked a loud yawn. “Sorry,” I apologized. “It’s getting late. Since we don’t have any lights or vid, maybe we ought to go to bed?”
Chapter Twenty
Jessie
In case going to bed euphemistically referred to sex, I feigned a big yawn and said, “I’m pretty tired, too.”
“A night’s sleep will do us both some good.”
“Yes, tomorrow will be an…interesting day.” I leaped off the sofa and collided with the coffee table, banging my shin. “Ow!”
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Fine.” I crept in the direction of the hall. I was glad I felt wired so I wouldn’t accidentally fall asleep. As soon as he was out, I’d try his handheld, search the house again. Try to break into the attic space. A feeling niggled at me like I was overlooking something important.
Like I stared right at the answer but didn’t see it. Dammit. What is it?
Something from the broadcast maybe? I cocked my head, trying to extract buried info.
A hulking shadow lumbered toward me. “This way.” He took my arm and guided me down the hall to the bedroom.
Hyperconscious of his unwanted touch, I steeled myself not to jerk away. “You must have good night vision,” I commented.
“Better than you, but this is dark even for me.”
Aflash of lightning lit up the room, enabling me to find the bed without crashing into it. I scooted to the far side, away from him. The mattress depressed as he got in.
Would he try to cuddle? Please no. I did not want to curl up with this liar, this betrayer, and how would I extricate myself from his embrace when he fell asleep?
He rolled toward me. I heard him yawn. Then he brushed his hand over my face in a caress, leaned over, and kissed me softly. His enticing smell, his warmth surrounded me, and I felt like I was being stabbed in the heart. I forced myself to kiss him back. “Good night, Jessie,” he said.
“Good night.”
As he started to move away, his bare foot touched me. “You’re sleeping with your shoes on?”
“I already banged my shin on the table. If I have to get up to pee, I don’t want to stub my toe.”
