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It made him sick just contemplating that possibility. He’d known placing an order with DJD Clone Corp had been extremely dangerous.
Their finance department shouldn’t have detected the money he’d spent. He knew their systems inside out and had created that hidden stash of funds with another clone. It had once been his job on Clone World to pay bills and keep track of all purchases. He felt certain that the account remained safe to use.
If I’m wrong…
That would mean that humans had figured out his order was fraudulent. Fear of that being true had him quickly leaving the cockpit and hurrying through his ship to the cargo hold.
“Be there,” he muttered, feeling frantic as he reached the cryo unit and began to disengage it.
He keyed in the number on the lock that would gain him access to open the lid. It made a slight hissing sound as the seals broke, and he yanked the lid up with a little too much force. A big grin spread across his lips when he got his first look at what was waiting inside.
The woman inside the cryo unit appeared to be peacefully sleeping. She had very pale blonde hair and delicate features and was more beautiful than he’d imagined. Fig crouched near her upper body, reached inside, and gently grasped her hand.
She felt chilled to the touch, but she’d been in cold storage during transit. The skimpy two-piece outfit she wore was standard issue, but he regretted not taking the time to grab a blanket. Clones were always shipped in nothing more than undergarments.
He typed more commands into the controls. A soft whirl of a motor sounded as the unit withdrew the needle from her hip. The drug being given to her to keep her asleep had ceased. The minutes passed slowly as he waited.
The magnitude of what he’d done hit full force. What if he’d made a huge mistake? What if she woke and hated him for the decision he’d made? It was possible that his thinking had been majorly flawed. It was too late to change anything, though.
Her breathing suddenly increased, and Fig knew she had begun to wake.
“Open your eyes,” he rasped, leaning in closer.
Her eyelashes parted, and he stared into her green eyes. They were even more lovely and lively in color than he remembered. She focused on his face inches above hers, blinking a few times.
“Fig?”
He nearly groaned from relief as she softly whispered his name. Anna remembered him. It meant he had done everything right by getting her into cold storage before extreme damage had occurred to her brain. The freezer he’d stored her body inside hadn’t malfunctioned on the trip to Earth either. “It’s me.”
“Am I in a hospital?” Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper.
“No.”
Anna looked above him at the ceiling. “It looks sterile like one. Is it some kind of medical clinic on the station? I thought I was a goner for sure.” She met his gaze. “I don’t have the credits to pay for this. It was kind of you to do, but they will be mad when I can’t pay the bill.”
Fig grinned, amused at her words. She was worrying for nothing. Anna’s voice was a little different from what he remembered, but it was understandable. She still sounded pleasant to his ears. “You’re not in a clinic, and no one is going to demand payment. I promise you. I’m going to lift you out of there, okay?”
“I feel strange.”
“I have a lot of explaining to do, Anna. You said you like adventure, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Fig was suddenly nervous. What if she wasn’t happy with what he’d done? She could hate him. It wasn’t the first time he’d debated everything that could go wrong. He released her hand and carefully slipped his arms under her body.
“Up we go, Anna. I want you to close your eyes. I have a surprise for you.”
She wrapped her arm around his neck and closed her eyes. It felt right as Anna rested her cheek on his chest. The female was petite and didn’t weigh much. It was easy to carry her away from his cargo hold.
“What kind of surprise?”
“I hope you think it’s a good one.”
“I’m cold.”
“I know. I’m going to get you warm. Just hang on for a few more minutes. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes.”
