I’d only managed to get a couple hours of sleep before Mom woke me up for my shift at the diner. She was too afraid of someone noticing my absence to let me skip it, even though I begged. Two hours into my shift, I regretted listening to her. Lorne wasn’t kidding about waking up and being more on edge than ever. The stupid implant wasn’t just making my finger burn constantly anymore. It was starting to malfunction, which meant I was messing up every entry. As I jammed in the order via the kitchen’s tablet, I wished I’d let Declan cut it out. The thing was a pain in my ass and now slowing me down while I worked. It was useless. I was seconds away from grabbing a knife and getting rid of it myself.
The more the day wore on, the more I realized staying polite to my customers was going to be an impossible feat. The one currently sitting at my counter was looking at me and licking his lips like I was a juicy steak he wanted to take a bite of. I wasn’t sure I had it in me to be civil to him, let alone polite.
The man gestured to the line of display bottles behind the counter. “I’ll take an Orange Fizz.”
Figured he’d want such an expensive drink. The way he was looking at me like he could own me if he wanted, made me think he must have money.
“Plus, eggs scrambled with extra cheese. Extra bacon. Extra butter on my toast.” His gaze traveled over my body as he spoke, making my skin feel extra greasy.
I showed him my teeth, hoping he’d mistake my expression for a smile. “Anything else?” My tone was a little too sharp, but he didn’t notice. His gaze stayed fixed on my chest.
“Not right now, sweetheart. But maybe later.”
I bit back a retort and turned around carefully. Spinning too fast would make my short skirt rise, and no way would I let him see even a glimpse up my skirt. I reached into the metal fridge, bending at the knees to find the Orange Fizz.
It took me entirely too much time and effort to find the last bottle hiding under a mountain of other sodas and ice cream. When I turned back to the jerk, his head was tilted to the side.
Pervert.
I knew it. I had him pinned from the second he walked in the door. He was at least a decade and a half older than me—maybe more—and he was trying to see up my skirt? Disgusting.
I grabbed my multitool from the counter, popped the cap off the bottle, and barely stopped myself from slamming it down in front of him. Losing my cool wouldn’t be smart. Especially not when I was so close to escaping this hellhole. But, thankfully, Declan had been right. Not a single officer in uniform had entered the diner today. This perv’s haircut had me wondering for a second if he was one in plain clothes, but he was too tubby around the middle to be SpaceTech. They had fitness requirements because of all the space travel that was required of them.
I dropped the multitool in the sink under the counter, placed a glass of ice next to the bottle, just in case, and showed him my teeth again. “Anything else?” Even with my clipped tone, the idiot mistook that as an invitation, wrapping his fat hand around my arm before I thought to pull away.
My finger burned again, and the urge to unleash every emotion I was holding inside grew so strong my hands shook. It was taking everything in me not to kick his ass, grab my go-bag from my locker, and leave the diner.
But that’s not what Declan said to do, and I wasn’t about to blow my chance at getting away from here by losing my temper with some random customer.
I clenched my fists. Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t be stupid now, Maité.
I let out a breath for the count of six, and then let the air slowly back into my lungs for a count of three, using the Aunare breathing technique just like Declan had taught me.
Tonight, I’d be gone. I could do anything for a few more hours. I’d been through so much worse.
But still, as his thumb moved up my arm, I couldn’t think of one worse second in my life.
“You been in Albuquerque long?” The sound of the perv’s slightly nasal voice irritated me.
“All my life.” The lie I’d uttered so many times before slid smoothly off my tongue. I had to get away from him without causing a scene, but how?
“You ever been off planet?” he asked.
An idea came to me. This would end in bloodshed, but not his.
The perv’s eyes stayed glued to my breasts as I slowly reached for the multitool again. “No,” I said.
“This close to the oldest spaceport on Earth and you’ve never gone anywhere? You’ve never been off planet? Not even once?”
“No, sir.” My heart hammered. Why was he asking me this? What did he care?
“You ever meet any Aunare?”
“No, sir,” I answered him as calmly as I could. My voice didn’t waver, but it was a little higher than normal. I had to fix that. “I was only a little kid when Liberation Night happened. I don’t remember them at all.” My voice sounded more natural. I knew he wasn’t asking because he suspected anything. He didn’t know anything about me. The perv was just being a jerk.
“You sure? Pretty girl like you would attract them. You almost look like one, but then you can’t be a halfer. Right? I saw you using a chip earlier.”
Shit. I should’ve worn my hair down.
I took another practiced breath, hoping to prevent my skin from glowing. He didn’t know anything. Not yet. But I couldn’t give him any reason to ask more questions, and I had to get out of there. Now. “The Aunare were exiled from Earth when I was barely more than a baby, so there’s no way that I could know any.” I flicked the corkscrew open under the bar with my thumb and twisted it around in my hand. It was awkward, but I managed to slice my palm.
“Ouch!” I said with a heavy dose of whine and jerked my arm free from his grasp. “Damn it.” I held out my bleeding palm. “Excuse me. Gotta clean this up.” I tucked my palm against my chest and spun toward the kitchen a little too fast.
My skirt flew up. Air brushed the back of my legs.
I tugged it down but it was too late, and his chuckle made me feel dirty. I moved a little faster to get away from him before I did something I’d regret, but the sound of his laughter followed me into the diner’s kitchen.
What a perv.
The diner’s uniform wouldn’t bother me so much if it wasn’t so revealing. The dress was supposed to look like the diner’s original 1950’s uniform, but the manager updated them two years ago. It was now made of a stretchy fabric. The top clung to me like a second skin. The bottom was still flared, but it’d lost three inches. For most of the customers the waitresses were invisible, but every once in a while someone would come in here and think the missing three inches meant that we were open for other kinds of business.
The noise of the kitchen covered up his laughter as the door swung shut behind me. A round bot zoomed past, nearly nailing me in the face with its bowl of chopped onions. “Watch it!”
Mom caved a couple weeks ago and let the boss buy a bot to help her with prep work. I wasn’t used to it flying around here yet. It made the diner more efficient during rush hours, but neither of us liked it.
Mom was alone in the kitchen, busy in front of the large griddle top. Bacon strips sizzled as she placed them on the hot surface. Her thick black hair was pulled back in a ponytail as she cooked. It was just us here today, thankfully. From the way she was working—a little slower than her usual frenzy—I knew I wasn’t the only one tired and on edge.
I spotted a towel and grabbed it.
“Order up, table five,” Mom said as she looked over her shoulder at me. She spotted me wrapping my hand in the towel, and her eyes went wide. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing, but there’s a guy at the counter. I needed a distraction to get away from him and—”
“Maité. Don’t you dare pick a fight with anyone. Please. I know you’re on edge, but…” She wiped her hands on what used to be a white apron and looked at the screen to check the orders. “It won’t be long now. Just stay focused. Do your job.”
Was she serious with this? “I am doing my job. I just—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Mom’s voice was more than snippy. “The sun was almost up when you came home. You had me so worried. Anything could’ve happened, and you didn’t call or message or answer any of my million messages.”
“You’re right. I wasn’t paying attention, I was…” I’d been so focused on trying to stop the glow that I’d filtered everything else out. It was a shitty thing to do, especially now. “I’m sorry. I’ve been on edge, but that’s exactly why I was out late. I was at the warehouse, burning off some energy.” I had to keep my emotions in check, and working out helped. She knew that. “I don’t know why we’re even talking about this right now.”
“We’re too close to leaving for you to mess up,” Mom whispered, even though there was no one around. There wasn’t any surveillance at all in the kitchen, and the bot was so basic, it barely counted as a bot at all.
Mom didn’t even look at me as she flipped over some hash browns. Her cheeks were red, and the circles under her eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them. I knew that was probably at least a little my fault.
“I don’t need to be worrying about where you are or wondering if you’re running around with the Crew playing savior to people who would hate you if they knew who you really are.” Her movements were sharp and choppy as she added cheese to an omelet. “Especially when you’re supposed to be at home, where I can keep an eye on you.”
Was she really saying that I was going to be the one to mess it up? I knew she was tired—we both were—but I didn’t deserve that. “Mom. Seriously?”
When the silence stretched on, I glanced out the back window. Soon we’d be far away from here, but Mom was kind of right. I had to be nice to our customers until then.
“I’ll continue to be polite. Even if he’s a giant skeeve. And—just so you know—I haven’t been going out with the Crew. If you were worried, all you had to do was ask. You didn’t have to snap at me.”
Mom finally stopped moving and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m just…scared.”
“I am, too. Every damned day. But we can’t let that fear take over our lives.”
Mom’s eyes grew watery. “How did you get so smart?”
I shrugged. “Maybe I learned from my mother.”
Mom rolled her eyes at me dramatically. “Sucking up now?” She reached down into a cabinet, pulled out a first-aid kit, and crossed the kitchen. “Let me see it.”
“Don’t worry. It’s fine. Not much worse than a paper cut.” The angle of the corkscrew had been too weird to do any major damage.
“We can’t let it get infected. We can’t risk going to the doctor. Not ever again.”
I winced. I hated when she brought up that nightmare. “Fine.” I held out my hand. She doused it with disinfectant, and then covered the cut in a clear liquid bandage.
“There.” She brushed a kiss against my forehead before getting back to work.
I silently loaded three omelets and a basket of biscuits from the warmer to my tray and shoved through the swinging door. Today would be over eventually, and soon, I’d be light-years away from here. Until then, I’d hang in.
Mr. Creeptastic waved me over as I served the food to another table, but I pretended not to notice. I had at least five minutes until his food was ready, and I planned to respectfully ignore him until then.
I strode through the kitchen, waved at Mom, and went out the back door. I’d already taken everyone’s orders so everything would be fine for a few, but I needed a break. I really, really needed a break.
I leaned against the brick building and stared out at the mostly abandoned train cars. There was a family living in one, but none of them were in use anymore. At least I didn’t have it that bad. Not anymore. And even if the last few days had been exceptionally stressful, things were going to get a whole lot better.
I tried to let that thought relax me, but then I started thinking about what life would be like on Sel’Ani and my mind started spinning. So, I quickly gave up on relaxing, pulled up my messages. I had one unread from Roan.
How’re you doing today?
I typed a quick reply. Better. Just want today to be over.
I’d only been working at the historic Route 66 diner for five years, but it’d been around for centuries. Working here, with the vidscreens decorating the walls, showing how Albuquerque used to be before the Spaceport made me miss a past I never knew. Life seemed simpler then. Not to mention easier. I used to watch screens and think maybe it could get better—easier—here, but it never did. Now I just wanted today to be done, so that we could leave.
My finger burned, and a floating bubble appeared in my vision. I swiped to the left, and Roan’s face popped up. With one tap, I accepted the call.
“Hey.” Roan’s voice came through the tiny device I kept clipped to my ear. “How are you hanging in?”
“I’m fine.” I lied and then felt instantly terrible about it. “It’s been a long day, and it’s only just started.”
“You look like you’re doing okay though.” He kept it vague because we never knew if someone was listening in, but the worry in his voice was thick.
“Order up,” Mom said through the door.
She didn’t have to say which order it was. I shouldn’t let the perv wait, but going back out there… “Listen, I’m working. I can’t really talk now.”
“Roger that,” Roan said. “But I want to see you before that thing tonight.”
“Pick me up after my shift.” I checked my watch. Only eightish more hours to go. “I want to see you, too. Okay?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Good.” I ended the transmission and pushed away from the wall.
“Go take the man his food. Por favor,” Mom said as soon as I stepped into the kitchen. “The quicker he’s fed, the quicker he’s gone. And be polite.”
I wanted to say something snappy back to her but stopped myself. “Will do.” I grabbed the plate from the warmer and shouldered my way through the door.
Be polite. I could totally be polite. I’d been doing this for years now, and he wasn’t my first handsy customer.
I needed to check on my other tables, so I went around to the customer side of the counter and set the plate piled high with his breakfast—extra everything—in front of the perv. “Do you need anything else?” I gave him a smile.
If only Mom could see how freaking polite I was being.
Without the counter between us, he grabbed my arm again before I could pull away.
I had a moment to think about how I shouldn’t have gone to his side of the counter before my body tensed. I waited to see what he’d do, but each second seemed to last an eternity.
I couldn’t mess this up. Not now.
“Why don’t you sit right next to me, sugar? Keep me company while I eat.” He pulled me toward the seat next to him.
I could be polite for maybe two more seconds but not longer. I had to get out of this. Quickly.
“I’m working.” I motioned to a full table across the room. They’d finished their omelets, and one of them looked like they were about to snap their fingers at me. “I have to go see what they need.”
I stepped back and tried to wrench my arm free, but his fingers dug in painfully.
No. This was bad. This was very bad.
“Please let me go. You’re hurting me.” I said the words a little louder. People were noticing, and maybe if they noticed more, he’d back down.
But from one second to the next, something changed in him.
I’d told him he was hurting me and now he was grinning.
It wasn’t the crooked leer from before. It was the smile of a person who was finally getting what they wanted.
He liked that he was hurting me, but there was something else to it. Maybe it was that I was cornered. I was powerless. A guy like him must love that.
My mouth felt like it was filled with cotton balls as I tried to figure out what to do next. If I fought back, I’d be screwed. He had money or he wouldn’t be ordering what he ordered. Which meant he’d call the police.
I had to get free before I lost my shit, but there was no corkscrew to save me this time. “Please release my arm, sir.”
His fingernails felt like fat daggers digging into my arm.
“Don’t be that way. I’m sure we can both have a good time.” He jerked my arm, and I fell against him, my chest pressed against his and I didn’t have a second to think before he squeezed my butt under my skirt.
All thoughts fled my mind except that I wanted him gone. Now.
His fingers slid under my panties, and I couldn’t breathe. It was like all the air had been sucked from the room, and I just wanted him to let go. He had to let go. And I knew in that instant I’d do whatever it took to get him off me.
I tried to shake free, but he was still gripping my arm painfully tight, and I was pinned between his body and the counter.
I couldn’t get away without hurting him, and I shouldn’t hurt him. Because he’d call the po—
His hand slipped deeper into my underwear, his finger trying to press inside me, and I snapped.
Everything that I’d felt for the last few days—for the last few years—boiled up. I couldn’t stand having this slimeball touching me. Not there. He didn’t get to do that. He didn’t get to violate me like that without getting his ass handed to him.
I moved fast—Aunare fast. In between one racing heartbeat and the next, I slammed my fist into his face.
Blood splattered onto me as his nose crunched and for the first time in a while, I smiled and meant it.
He screamed a pile of curses and released my ass to hold his face with one hand. The asshole wouldn’t release his grip on my arm. That had to change. Now.
His short nails ripped into my skin as I tried to free myself again, but I couldn’t get him to loosen his grip. Not without hurting him again.
“Let go.” It was the last warning I was going to give.
“You bitch—”
I spun, twisting my arm as I did, and he went with me. His shoulder gave a sickening pop as it dislocated.
There was a fraction of a second where I felt proud of standing up for myself—proud that I took this fucking pervert down because he deserved it. Who knew what he’d done before to someone else. What he was capable of doing to someone who didn’t know how to fight back. How many women he’d pawed and gotten away with it because he thought he was owed.
But then his screams brought me crashing back to Earth.
I froze as I took in the blood covering his face and the way his arm dangled from his shoulder.
Oh shit. Oh shit. What had I done?
Even with him lying there, I could still feel where his fingers had been in my underwear. I felt dirty as I stepped away from him, straightening my skirt and pulling it down as far as the material would stretch. But no matter how dirty I felt, I knew I’d fucked up beyond all repair.
This was the worst moment of my life. With one action—one time that I stood up for myself—I’d given SpaceTech everything they’d always wanted.
I’d be arrested. They’d figure out who and what I was. And then, there would be war.
What now? What the hell was I supposed to do now?
“What’s going on out here?” Mom’s voice cut through my panic. She was stepping out from the kitchen, her eyes wide.
I glanced around the diner. Everyone was staring. Oh shit. Oh shit. This was really bad.