Page 109 of The Safest Place She Knows

“Airport on theway to the island. I didn’t know who he was, and he was so verypretty. So, we started something which continued about a monthafter the show. So, I was on the show honestly, but I had the badtaste to follow my instincts, and now, the relationship isestablished. But the burn unit has been given the money I wouldhave gotten if I had won.”

“So, happilyever after?”

“For now. Let’ssee how long it takes for the morning sickness to wear off.”

The hostblinked. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you. Iwas just happy to be nominated.”

Laughterrippled through the audience.

“How did youcreate your last build?”

“Well, to beginwith, I read the map and knew the last leg would be difficult andacross the water. Since I deal with manual tools, it was tricky, soI asked questions casually about how many drones they were puttingon the set and how many spares they had. I crept around andcaptured them, one by one, and then rigged them together on abamboo pole. From there, I used one of the parachutes that had beenseeded on the island, and making my bamboo strut-supported chutemeant I had to find the highest place to fall. The drones couldn’tdo much more than support a few pounds each. The parachute and windhad to do the rest of the work. And they did. It was me in a fewseconds ahead of Lya and her shredded motorbike ultralight.”

Lya smiled andlifted her mic. “Parachute fabric for the win.”

“Thank you,Zelle. There are going to be follow-up questions at the nextaftershow.”

“Oh, can’twait.” She smiled and nodded.

“Now, Lya. Youtook a motorbike that had been damaged deliberately and got itrunning in a few minutes. How long have you been a mechanic?”

“Ten years. Istarted in a school program, fought my way through the excessiveuse of the word unladylike, and really enjoy being able todiagnose vehicles by sound and sight.” She smiled. “It gives me abit of confidence to be able to do it well.”

“Lya, I hearthat you are actually an omega.”

“Oh. That.Yeah. I know I am a bit on the tall side, but everything is inplace, and it all acts according to spec.”

“And are youtaken?”

She turnedpink. “The polite answer is yes.”

“In fact, Ibelieve your alphas are here.”

“Yes, they arehere, with my daughter.”

“Daughter? Howold is she?”

“Nearlythirteen.”

The hostpaused. “Uh, not to be indelicate, but how old are you?”

“Nearlytwenty-eight.”

“So, youwere...”

“A child. Hewas retrieved by the Stronghold and destroyed as he was obviouslytoo dangerous to be loose.”

There wassilence in the room.

The hostrallied. “Is she an omega?”

“Oh, absolutelynot. She’s one hundred percent alpha. She is the one who said tomention it, by the way. No shame in what I have been through, andmy alphas agree.” She grinned. “And my daughter definitelyagrees.”

There was a“Woo!” from the audience.

Lya smiled.“So, I like to mess with cars and now have alphas to spend my timewith, and my daughter is hitting a growth spurt right now, so thistrip was a lovely distraction for a while. Now my reality hasdefinitely shifted.”

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