“Give me a few minutes of your time. In private. If you feelthat threatened, you can always shoot me. You wouldn’t be the first.”
“I could shoot you now.”
The azhera nodded. “But you won’t.”
She arched a brow. “You’re so sure about that?”
“I don’t doubt you’re capable. But if you truly thought I was going to harm you, you would’ve shot me in that tunnel weeks ago.”
Shay stared at him for a moment, lips pressed together. Finally, she sighed, took several steps back, and waved him in with the blaster. Her arms were burning from holding it steady for so long, but she for damned sure wasn’t going to point it anywhere but at him. “Get in and shut the door.”
His ears perked slightly. Though it was a relatively subtle change, Shay had the impression that it was the result of deep surprise and delight he was trying to hide. Keeping his palms raised and facing her, the azhera stepped forward, stopping to press the button and close the door behind him once he was through the doorway.
He seemed even bigger now that he was inside her apartment. Her landlord, Vrisk, was at least half a head taller than this azhera, but she’d bet the azhera could rip that scaly son of a bitch to shreds with his bare hands.
“Weapons?” she asked.
“Only two.” Keeping his left hand raised, he slowly moved his right down to his belt. He flipped open a container behind the empty holster and removed a hilt identical to the one she’d found in the stolen belt. He tossed the hilt onto the floor near her feet.
“And the other?” Shay prompted. It wasn’t just her arms bothering her now; her feet were aching, and that discomfort was slowly working its way up her legs. And that wasn’t evencounting all her now-typical pregnancy pains. Without letting the blaster waver, she backed up to the table.
The azhera’s brow furrowed as Shay lifted the utility belt—formerlyhisbelt—off the back of the chair, laid it atop the table, and sat down. She rested her arms on the table, keeping the blaster trained on him, and stifled the relieved sigh that threatened to escape her. How could it feelso goodjust to rest her arms and take some weight off her feet?
His expression didn’t ease, and his gaze lingered on Shay as he slowly shrugged off his jacket, revealing a sleek, black prosthesis with red highlights that ended midway up his left bicep. He draped the jacket over his right arm and moved his right hand to the top of his prosthesis. His fingers pulled an unseen release. There was a soft hiss, a much louder click, and Shay’s eyes widened as he slid off hisarm. The stump beneath ended several centimeters above the point where his elbow would’ve been and was capped with a curved metal brace that had an open socket on the bottom.
Without looking away from her, he walked forward and gently placed his prosthesis on the floor beside his discarded knife.
Shay stared at the prosthetic limb for a few seconds before raising her eyes back to him. “I…was not expecting that.”
“And I didn’t expect to find you at Foltham’s, but here we both are.” The azhera walked toward her, his pace measured, and grabbed the empty chair.
Shay leaned back in her own chair as he drew closer. She was wary of him, but there was no flare of panic, no wave of fear. Despite everything, she believed him when he said he wouldn’t hurt her.
That didn’t mean she’d let her guard down, though.
He dragged the chair backward until it was several metersfrom the table. He draped his jacket over the back of the chair and sat down. The chair groaned as he leaned back. Though he kept his right arm loose and relaxed, he moved the remnants of his left like it pained him to keep it still—or, perhaps, like he was uncomfortable to have it exposed. Overall, he assumed a casual posture, but his tail, which hung off the chair to one side, undulated restlessly.
“My name is Drakkal vor’Kanthar,” he said. “But just Drakkal is fine. You willing to share yours yet, or do I just keep calling you terran?”
Shay tilted her head. “We’ll see. How did you find me?”
“City surveillance. Used it to track you back here from the tram station.”
“Why?”
For a few seconds, his features were strained, and indecision danced across his expression. “I didn’t get you out of that place just to toss you into this city with nothing. I know how hard that is. I…was in a similar situation when I first came. But I had help.”
“Why me? Why not any of the others trapped there? All the others?”
Drakkal’s brow furrowed. “You were the only one I had the chance to save.”
Shay had a feeling that his response was only part of the truth—there was something more he wasn’t saying. She studied him a little closer, and when her eyes met his again, she recalled the heat, the desire, theneedthat she’d seen burning in their emerald depths. “So, you’re telling me it wasn’t to be your freaky sex slave? You just wanted to help a helpless female?”
That fire rekindled in his eyes, which searched hers for a few seconds before he spoke again. “You weren’t helpless.”
“You didn’t know that.” One corner of her mouth quirked. “Clearly.”
“I knew you were a fighter. I saw it in you right away.” He shook his head and made a sound partway between a grunt and a chuckle. “Didn’t expect you to rob me, but I wasn’t really surprised. You’re a survivor. All you needed was the right opportunity. And Idowant you, terran. Just not as a slave.”