Page 35 of Under His Skin

Tracht held his hand up in front of Alex, warning him off from doing anything else. “Influence his testimony? How would I do that, any more than has already been done? You cannot possibly expect Alex to have a clear and sound mind after five years of bondservitude. He is completely unreliable as a witness, and no amount of separation will change that. There is absolutely no need to keep him isolated from his… family.”

The word family was so shocking that Alex turned to look at Tracht. There wasn’t any hint that he was lying, but… he had to be lying, right? Because Alex’s only family was Nick, and look how that turned out.

“You expect me to believe that you or Judge Tracht have any warm feelings towards Alex?” Galanis shook his head. “I’ve seen how Judge Tracht handles bondservant cases. Not to mention…” He trailed off there and switched tracks. “Whatever the case, there’s a legal order to have Alex kept away from you to prevent witness tampering. As of right now, Alex is in station custody.”

“And what’s that got to do with you?” Tracht sneered. “You don’t work for the station.”

“I’ve been contracted by the prosecution to help supervise on this matter. As an expert on the bondservant system as well as psychology, they asked me to personally ensure that Alex received the care he needs once this went through. As per the document I just copied to you.”

Sometime when they’d been standing here, they’d gathered a small crowd. Alex saw somebody filming, their tablet held high, while others whispered to themselves. Kuroyama had parted from the lawyers in order to corral some of the onlookers, but Alex wouldn’t be surprised if this got uploaded to the net somehow.

Tracht must have noticed too. He crossed his arms and stood taller, smoothing his expression over into firm neutrality. “Very well. I can’t argue with a legal order. But I insist on making a lawyer available to Alex.”

“Absolutely not!” Galanis interjected. “Any lawyer paid by you would have a conflict of interest. He will be getting a station-provided attorney.”

Alex’s urge to hit Galanis only rose. “Aren’t your lawyers also conflicted? They all want to take Anna down!”

“Alex, shut up,” Tracht said sharply. “Don’t—” he started, but he cut himself off quickly. “Regardless. You’ve made your point, Dr. Galanis. It appears that I have no choice but to concede here. Rest assured that I will be contacting the station attorney’s offices about this harassment.”

This wasn’t fair. He and Tracht were doing good. Last night had been amazing, Tracht was pissy at people who weren’t him, Anna was stuck dealing with other people so she couldn’t be as much of a bitch to him…

Tracht put both of his hands on Alex’s shoulders and forced eye contact. “I suppose this is goodbye for a little while. I don’t suspect the trial will drag on for very long. In the meantime, don’t cause trouble. And…” Tracht paused and then leaned even closer, lowering his voice to just a whisper, “If you think this means I’m done with you, you’re sorely mistaken. You’re still mine. Understood?”

Alex’s face heated up, but he nodded quickly. “Yeah. Yeah, got it.”

Nearby, Galanis sneered with disgust. “Did you just threaten him?”

“I wouldn’t dream of threatening Alex.” Tracht let go and took several steps back, closer to his lawyer. “I suppose I’ll see you at the trial.” He didn’t make a move to leave though, and as long as Tracht was there, Alex wasn’t going to leave either.

Except Galanis inserted himself between them again, and this time he actually pushed Alex towards the main street. “Come on. We have various things to cover, and we can’t get them done here. The sooner we get you away from this family, the better.”

Alex raised his fist in a threatening manner, but Tracht had said not to cause trouble. So, fine. Alex wouldn’t cause trouble. That didn’t mean he had to play nice. He shoulder-checked Galanis and started walking, radiating his displeasure all over.

When he looked over his shoulder, Tracht was still staring at him, frowning intensely.

Chapter 10

“This can’t stand,” Tracht said to Krantz as soon as Galanis had removed Alex from the scene. “Whatever loopholes you need to find to stop this forced separation…”

“I can try, but I don’t think it’s worth the effort,” Krantz answered. “You were right that the trial won’t run too long. They’re going to accelerate it based on all the media attention and who Anna is. I think we’re better off focusing on the Sigrun and ensuring she doesn’t stay grounded for longer than the duration of the trial. We could also build a lawsuit against the station for damages to your business.”

Tracht almost snapped at him to forget the business, but that would have been too rash. Krantz wasn’t wrong. Just because Tracht currently wanted to see Galanis whipped bloody didn’t mean it was the right choice.

The anger that bubbled under his skin was irrational. His contract with Alex was almost over anyway. It would have been over already, if he hadn’t stormed out that day in a fit of immaturity. He wasn’t going to lie to himself, especially not now: he simply hadn’t wanted to let go of Alex, and the news of Anna’s arrest had been as good of an excuse as any. Why he’d thought he’d be able to stretch it out until the full remainder of their contract had expired, he didn’t know.

He regretted that rash decision now. Not even having made the active decision to end the contract early, to have it forced on him, was so much worse. If not for all the onlookers, if not for those cameras, if not for the damn reporters he’d spotted at the edges of the street…

“Fine. Let’s get to the courthouse. I don’t want to waste any time.” Tracht called for a cab and resisted the urge to yell at the gawkers. They wouldn’t even be here if not for Anna. He valued his privacy enough that he was happy to blame this on her too, even if he could have avoided some of it by not being so sentimental over a brutish idiot.

“Would they prevent me from contacting him completely?” Tracht asked Krantz once they were in the cab. He could already imagine Alex lashing out in frustration at everybody. He wondered if he could in the very least give Alex some assurances, or turn that angry energy into something productive, or something destructive.

He saw he’d surprised Krantz. The man’s eyes drew together in confusion, and there was a pause while he considered his response. “I suspect they would. But, Captain Tracht—I really think you’d be better off cutting your relationship with Alex Stone here. He’s no longer your bondservant.”

“No. He’s not my bondservant. He’s…” Tracht didn’t know how to continue that sentence.

Partner was laughable. Significant other? Absolutely not. Under no circumstances would Alex ever become a spouse. The closest thing that felt right was pet, and he knew he could never introduce Alex like that out loud.

Krantz seemed to be waiting for Tracht to finish his sentence, but Tracht just made a dismissive motion. “Never mind. Alex will remain in my employ after this. He has absolutely no prospects, and he’s liable to end up in a bad situation if left to his own devices.”

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