He studied the girl and tried to pinpoint the reason for his hesitation. Everything she said made sense, and yet…
“Listen,” she told him. “I know you’re hungover, but we’re going to miss our connecting ship if we don’t hurry. This outpost is kind of scary.” She shrugged. “For you, anyway. With a pretty face like yours, the ship hands won’t look twice in my direction.”
That made him chuckle, but not for long. The added movement hurt too much.
“So are you coming?” she asked. “If not, I hope you have enough credits to cover your fare, because I only paid your way to this stop.”
Did he have enough credits to buy a ticket? He had no idea.
“They arrest stowaways,” she added with a raised brow. “Just so you know.”
He glanced at his indenture band and wondered if he was being paranoid. All the evidence confirmed what the girl had told him, and he really did want to visit the Obsidian Beaches. Looking at the girl, he figured she didn’t weigh more than a sack of potatoes. Even if she was lying, how much harm could she possibly do?
“All right,” he decided. “But I still want to see the contract.”
“You will, once we’re settled in. Can you walk?”
He moved his legs in a brief inventory. They were wobbly but usable. “I might need some help.”
She slung his arm around her neck, and together, they hauled him upright. His brain spun a rotation inside his skull. “Steady, there,” she said while leading him toward the stairs. “If you throw up on me, I’m adding another week to your service.”
“That’s a joke, right?”
“Let’s not find out.”
Once they’d made their way up the stairs, she stopped to retrieve a glove, then kicked aside a discarded luggage trunk and keyed open the exterior door. A burst of canned oxygen washed over him, followed by piercing, artificial light. Right before they stepped out of the ship, he stopped her.
“Wait,” he said. “Remind me what my name is.”
“It’s Doran,” she told him. “Doran Zenith.”
“Doran,” he repeated. Yes, that felt right. “And who are you?”
She looked up at him with a smile so wide it drew out a dimple in her left cheek. Despite the drumming in his head, he couldn’t help smiling in return. The girl wasn’t beautiful, but she had an honest face, and he finally understood why he must’ve indentured himself to her.
“I’m Lara,” she said. “But you can call me Miss Brooks.”
As Solara guided her new servant across the outpost floor, she couldn’t decide if she was a genius or a fool. Taking Doran’s money was a no-brainer. Once she’d hired a ship and reached the outer realm, the Enforcers couldn’t touch her. Their jurisdiction didn’t extend to the fringe settlements, and as a matter of policy, the settlers didn’t extradite.
Everyone knew that.
Taking Doran along for the ride, however, wasn’t one of her better ideas. At some point, his memory would return, and she couldn’t keep stunning him forever. Her device had only one use left, two at most. Maybe she should ditch him here after she withdrew his credits. That was the smart thing to do.
“I was thinking,” she said. “Let’s see if we can get you wait-listed for a ship back to Earth. You shouldn’t continue on like this.”
“What?” His eyes went round. “No!”
“I’ll pay for your ticket.”
“You can’t leave me here!”
“Oh, come on. It’s not that dangerous.”
He cast her a skeptical glance. “What about my ‘pretty face’ drawing in all the ship hands?”
“Just strike up a conversation with them,” she said. “You’re a lot less attractive once you open your mouth.”
“Very funny.” His muscles tensed as a hulking man with a long, jagged scar where his left eye belonged passed by. “I need to get to the Obsidian Beaches,” Doran said. “There’s something important I have to do there.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I remembered it’s the whole reason I came on this trip. Whatever it is, it’s urgent. You have to take me with you.”
She stalled and tried to think of an excuse to send him home.
“Let me rephrase,” he added, sharper than barbed steel. “I’m coming with you.”
“Excuse me?” Solara came to a sudden stop, forcing him to do the same. “You’ll go wherever I send you.”
“I’m not—”
“Don’t interrupt.”
He sealed his lips shut.
“Our relationship is simple,” she told him. “I say ‘Jump,’ and you say ‘Through which window, Miss Brooks?’ You don’t make demands of me. Are we clear?”
Instead of answering, he cringed and used his free hand to grip his temples. Solara decided not to press the issue, because it wasn’t any fun taking Doran down a peg when he was in so much pain. But that didn’t mean she would let him order her around. She was the master now…for as long as this farce lasted.