Page 46 of Under His Skin

He didn’t want to fuck Bahjat at all, and he didn’t hate when she talked with him. So maybe she did count as a friend.

The lawyer sneered at Bahjat. “Don’t lie to us. I’m sure Captain Tracht sent you. What did you tell Mr. Stone? If you’ve influenced his witness statement in any way—”

Bahjat started laughing loudly, the way she sometimes did when she thought people had said something really stupid. Back when Espinosa was first officer, everybody cowered when she snapped harsh words. Bahjat rarely yelled or snapped, but if she was laughing like this, everybody knew they’d fucked up really bad.

Even the lawyer seemed unnerved.

She laughed for a good thirty seconds straight, ending it by wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “Oh wow. I thought lawyers were supposed to be smart.”

The lawyer chick bristled. “Excuse me?”

“No, it’s just…” Bahjat looked at Alex, then back to Galanis and the lawyer. “If you think Alex is going to give you any sort of usable testimony, you’re pretty naive.”

“We went over the process with him yesterday, and we talked about what questions we would ask. And we’re going to go over it again today,” the lawyer responded through gritted teeth.

It was true, they’d done that, but Alex had only half been paying attention. What’s your name, where were you born, how did you end up as Tracht’s bondservant, etc. etc. By the end of it Alex had just shrugged and said yes or no, depending on what seemed to be the answer the lawyer chick wanted.

“Sure. I’ll believe it when I see it.” Bahjat winked at Alex. “Maybe I’ll come to the trial after all. When are you testifying, Alex? I think it’ll be interesting.”

Alex looked over at Galanis. “Tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow.” Galanis didn’t stop glaring at Bahjat. “If that’s all? I think you’ve overstayed your welcome. Mr. Stone doesn’t need your undue influence here.”

She smiled at him again. “Doesn’t Alex get to decide who he sees? He’s a free man now, after all. No debts to bind him, nobody to control him. Or are you telling me that he’s not free to do as he pleases?”

That was the same point Alex had tried to make the day before. Alex glared at Galanis again. “Yeah! You keep saying I don’t have to do anything I didn’t want to anymore. Well, I don’t want to stay locked up in a hotel room all day.” He also didn’t want to testify, but he’d had that argument with them for over an hour the previous day and he didn’t feel like letting them talk big words at him again.

“I know this is frustrating for you right now, Mr. Stone, but until we can be sure of your safety, it will have to be this way.” Galanis’s voice sounded very strained, like he was trying very hard to keep himself under control. “And Ms. Bahjat, I would appreciate it if you would simply remove yourself right now. You are incredibly disruptive and in no way conducive to Alex’s recovery.”

Recovery? Recovery from fucking what?

Bahjat winked at Alex again. “That’s all right. I was leaving anyway. I’ve got a date or something now.” She waved to Alex. “I’ll see you when this is all over.”

“Yeah, okay,” Alex mumbled, still stuck on trying to decipher what Galanis had said. He wasn’t sick. He wasn’t feeling any worse than usual. He was pissed off, but nobody needed to recover from that.

The lawyer and Galanis sat down at the table with Alex as soon as Bahjat had gone.

“I would advise against socializing with people from the Sigrun,” Galanis said in a much softer tone. “You’ll have a hard time integrating with society otherwise.”

Who wanted to integrate with anything? Alex didn’t understand half the shit Galanis said. “Okay, whatever. Can I go shopping or something?”

Maybe he could find a gift for Tracht for when they saw each other again. Tracht probably didn’t expect him to do that. And Alex had his own money, so Tracht wouldn’t even see that Alex had bought anything for him. He started daydreaming of what would make a good gift. Torture tools, duh, except anything Alex bought for Tracht would end up used on Alex and that meant he had to get something he didn’t mind getting hurt with. Plus Tracht was super particular about that stuff.

Better think of something else.

“Mr. Stone!” the lawyer said sharply, startling Alex out of his daydreams. “Please, pay attention. At this time, we can’t allow you to wander around. After you’ve testified, you’ll be free to do as you wish.” Her expression softened somewhat, although Alex couldn’t say she looked nice or approachable. “I would strongly recommend that you follow Dr. Galanis’s advice and see a professional. It’s been well documented that many former bondservants have a hard time adjusting to life once the contract is over, particularly if it was a long-term contract.”

This shit again. “Fuck off, lady,” Alex said cheerfully. “I’m fine.”

Neither of them looked happy about that response, but Alex could honestly say he didn’t care.

Chapter 13

They made him wear a suit.

It didn’t fit well. That was Alex’s first thought. They must have taken one look at Alex’s bulk and thought they could just give him the largest suit size, which ended up with slightly too long sleeves and a suit jacket that draped off him badly. Tracht would never have stood for this.

There was a perfectly fine, well-tailored suit on the Sigrun, Alex wanted to say, but he also didn’t want to risk anybody going back there to search through their stuff again.

---