Page 25 of Saved By the Servali

Nessa hesitated. She wasn’t sure what she should say about the other women on board.

Was she supposed to report that to the police first? Would she compromise any investigations or tip off the traffickers if she revealed their plans were foiled? Would they catch two other girls and send them instead? “Well, when I got in the shuttle, it was dark, and I noticed there was some... shady stuff going on, and it definitely wasn’t going to make an intergalactic jump.”

Merton nodded. “And?”

“I went to confront the two men who owned the shuttle, and one of them attacked me! They both had hot-beam lasers. I pulled the shuttle door shut and ended up being sent into space. A hyperjump, Merton! I went through a hyperjump without a hypersleep chamber. Thank God I landed where there was trained medical staff, or I’d be space dust.”

“Where are you?”

“The Felix Orbus Galaxy.”

Merton’s dark skin paled. “My God. That’s a dangerous place. They... I heard they hunt humans.”

“That’s such nonsense. The people I’ve met are lovely and welcoming.”

“Who’s with you?”

“Oh, a few human women, some Felids from across their galaxy, and some Canids, too. I don’t think that really matters. What matters is that those two thugs attacked and set a chain of events in motion that could have killed me. I had no control over it. I didn’t leave my job, my job almostkilled me.”

I don’t think I like my job anymore.“And you’re pretty much my boss. So what the hell are you going to do about it?”

“DANE IS WAITING, ANDso are council members from the Intergalactic Criminal Investigations Office, two branches!” Talos hurried up to Layla’s office door and spoke to Kamau. “How long is she going to be?”

Kamau pushed a tin of floribunda biscuits into the Tigerite’s hand. “For your Queen. I don’t know how long Nessa will be. Excuse me, I have a course on human nutrition to finish.”

Kamau stalked away, breathing hard.

He shouldn’t have opened Layla’s office door. He shouldn’t have listened in—even for a few seconds.

I was so eager to see her again. Eager to give her floribunda cookies, to tell her they were nowhere near as sweet as the taste of her on my tongue.

I slept with you to have a good time.

Her words echoed in his head, booming in his ears.

To have a good time.

She’d had a good time with him last night.He’dhad a good time.

Tears stung his eyes, and he refused to let them go, head tipped back to gaze at the ceiling while he sniffed in hard and willed the wetness to sink back into his tear ducts.

Like that would work.

You were just a good time in a bad situation. She needed comfort, you gave it.

You should have resisted harder if you were going to be a cub about this, crying for her like she was...

My Queen.

I thought maybe someday I could win her.

Fool.

Idiot.

Dinner is going to be millet cakes and razortusk bacon. That’s all I’m up for cooking.

Chapter Nine

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