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“And I appreciate that, because anything you can tell us helps the investigation.”
“That’s why I’m here. I want to find her.”
A nod. “I’ve found no signs of her. In fact, I believe she never left the Azza empire after they dropped the bounty call for human subjects.”
The reason we were kidnapped in the first place was linked to the Azza’s attempts to land on the volatile planet of Kar’Kal, where lava flows and eerily targeted eruptions would destroy any non-native life that set foot on the ground. The Azza put out a call for human subjects to play matchmaker with a Kar’Kali prisoner. When they found a match, the bounty was dropped, and the humans they didn’t need flooded the illegal intelligent-life trafficking market—myself included. At this point, the majority of victims have been recovered through efforts by the Alliance and people like Captain Rossa, the Kar’Kali woman who made my freedom possible.
“What? Why would they hold onto her?” I ask. “Or is she…?”
“I wish I had an answer, but the trail’s been cold for a while now. The good news is that if we can get ahold of the bastard that bought you, we might find new info that leads to her.”
“He won’t be easy to catch,” I sigh. DJ is a blessing for not talking down to me or treating me like fine china. “But he didn’t have any other humans.”
“Come on into my office,” he says with a grim nod of agreement. “Tell me everything, and we’ll see if we can’t make some headway.”
Describing everything that happened from the start of captivity to the moment I woke up feels a bit like recounting someone else’s story. I leave out ugly details, brushing over the worst of it because it doesn’t help anyone. DJ is kind, and he’s experienced, so he doesn’t pester me with unnecessary questions or push when he senses my walls go up. My talent for recalling details might come in handy for him, even if it’s been plaguing my nights recently. All the while, that face from the bulletin board looms in my head. It’s not fair that I’m here and she isn’t.
Luck has been on my side before, but this time my luck doesn’t feel good. This luck feels cursed. Not a bone on me broken or a hair out of place, and there’s a handsome king who wants me as his wife. It feels like a trap. That angelic face who woke me up didn’t seem real, and neither does the fact that he thinks I’m the only woman in the universe fated to love him.
Fate should know better, I think. It put me through this, made me incapable of loving ever again.
“That Kar’Kali guy,” DJ says, startling me with his eerie ability to bring up precisely what’s on my mind. “He bothering you?”
“That guy?” I snort. “You know he’s a king, right?”
The sheriff’s lips crinkle. He’s been carrying a torch for Raina since the moment he saw her, but she has her own Kar’Kali now. She even married him, which is more fodder for convincing myself I awoke to a cursed timeline. Raina Jones, happy wife? It’s ludicrous but true. And the sheriff is nursing that wound with petty suspicion of all Kar’Kali men.
“He’s not bothering me,” I assure him. “He graciously accepted my rejection.”
He didn’t even show his face after I screamed bloody murder at him. I feel guilty about that, but I wasn’t in my right mind at the time. That happens to be the case more often than not recently. Shrieking, shivering, and sleepless nights are all par for the course these days. All the more reason I have no business meeting anyone with romance on the brain.
Whatever uncharitable thoughts DJ was chewing on slide away, and he slaps on a relieved smile.
“Good,” he says, shuffling his folder contents into a neat pile. “If there’s anything else you remember that you think could be helpful, don’t hesitate to call or come on down in person.”
We bid each other farewell, and I’m on my way, but not before I take one more look at Ilya’s photo in the lobby. I snap a copy of my own for my comm device. I’m not about to let her be forgotten.
Taking a spin through the market while it’s still early is a good way to test my limits. There’s plenty of space to avoid brushing against anyone, and most of the faces around me are familiar ones. I pick up fresh groceries and flowers to brighten up the house. I’ll split the bouquet and walk half over to Kaye’s house as a ‘thank you’ for the diligent attention she’s paid to my health these past weeks.
I stop by the post office before heading home. The last time I checked it, I had a massive folio waiting for me. The worker had to keep it behind the desk because it wouldn’t fit in my mailbox. Plenty of the modern alien tech out here in Alliance territory makes for compact communication—entire documents stored in microchips or clear coins that sync up with any comm device. It was a gift from my so-called fated mate, but I haven’t brought myself to open it. I’m not sure I should touch it at all.
A clean break is best. Even if he’s close friends with Raina’s and Kaye’s husbands, it’s easier for both of us if I ice him out for a while.
There’s a yellow light shining on my mailbox that signifies contents inside.
“Frankie! Hi!” The sweet lady at the desk greets me. “What did that big package turn out to be? I’ve been dying to hear.”
“Oh, I haven’t gotten around to opening it yet,” I tell her.
“What are you waiting for?” she asks, bustling out from behind her desk to my side. “A special occasion?”
I force a smile. She’s getting awfully close.
“Exa—”
She places a hand on my shoulder. “Let me hold your bags, hon. That way, you can open the mailbox.”
Her fingers are warm, pressing into my skin lightly. It’s a casual touch, but a wave of nausea flows through me upon contact. I stutter a thanks, trying not to insult her by jerking away on instinct.
