Page 71 of Claiming Sarah

I shrugged noncommittally.

“What are her friends like, back on Earth?”

I finally glanced at him, irritated with his line of questions. “Why do you care?”

“Her family? Colleagues? Her job?” he continued.

“She was a kept woman, what of it?” I snapped.

He smiled, but it was smaller than most of his smiles. “Seems to me, the two of you need to get to know one another better.”

My jaw clenched. “Seems to me, my union is none of your business, Rex.”

“Oh, but it is.” Now, his smile widened to the one I had grown to know and hate over the years. “You three are my partners in a very personal endeavor. I want you in top form, all of you.Myneck is on the line here, not just yours. If you are off your game, that could be the end of us all. So, make up with your consort and your companion, preferablybeforewe leave for the swamp forest to confront the conduits.”

My eyes glued themselves back to the trees as I quietly admitted, “I am not sure how to make it up to them.”

“Do what any man does in your position. Lie and buy them things.”

I laughed, in spite of myself. As much as I hated Rex, I appreciated his comic relief. “Clearly,youhave no idea who they are, if you think that would work.”

“I may not know who they are, but I know what works in general. Though I must admit, you are likely right about that in Sarah’s case. She is a singular woman. Jewelry will not dissolve her anger. She is smart, cunning—the guards at the gate are still talking about her pulling her knife on one of them. She’s not fragile, like so many people would be in her peculiar position.” Rex was quiet for a moment, before saying, “But I think my favorite thing about her is her lack of judgement.”

My insides churned. Only a lack of judgement would have allowed her to take Rex inside of herself for a possession. “Did you and she…” I gestured grotesquely with my new fingers and waited expectantly for an answer.

He frowned and paused, before he asked, “Are you asking if I possessed her?”

I swallowed hard, but I needed to know. “Yes.”

“No!” He looked surprised. “I do not mean she lacksthatkind of judgement. I meant that she is nonjudgmental. Lenient, about certain things. She doesn’t make me feel like a pirate, the way everyone else does. It’s refreshing.”

I unclenched the tension that had a stranglehold on my body and took a full breath. “I see.”

“I’m less sure about Jac. I’ve always known he hated me,” Rex said thoughtfully. “But given Sarah’s talent for understanding and compassion, she might even understand why you murdered me.”

CHAPTER 22

Sarah

Iwas still cranky with Deacon when we boardedAllegiantlater that evening. As we settled into the café, the tension was thick. Drift and Lanai Dea were at their stations, seemingly happy to avoid the uncomfortable situation in the café. Rex’s men were the type I thought might have been born without smiling muscles, but even they gave half a smile of relief when he told them to wait in the cargo hold, instead of coming to the café.

No one wanted to be in tight quarters with a feuding union. Me, Deacon, and Jac spread apart, with Omen, Rex, and his conduit spy, Augur, between us. She and Omen were friendly, but Omen didn’t speak to her the way she spoke to me, so I was instantly on my guard around Augur.

Everyone was tense and quiet. My whole body was rigid. There were so many things unsaid between me and Deacon and Jac.

I needed to say them. Desperately.

I caught Deacon’s hazel eyes and jerked my chin toward the doorway, before I exited the café without a word. I walked straight to his quarters. He came in after me, and just before the door slid closed behind him, Jac’s big foot stuck through to block the door from locking.

He poked his head in and asked, “Is this a conversation just for two, or can anyone join?”

Deacon said, “Just me and her.”

“Come in, Jac,” I countered, not wanting him to feel left out. “This concerns you, too.”

He let the door shut behind him and leaned against the wall, with his thick, corded forearms folded across his meaty chest. “Thought I might need to referee for you two.”

“No need for that,” I said as I walked straight up to Deacon. He stared at me warily, as I came to him. “I don’t like being angry with you, companion.”

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