Page 19 of Escape Clause

“You were on the surface!”

Her chin bumped against his chest as she nodded. He was still holding her. She should pull away, but it felt surprisingly comforting and safe to be in his arms. “I ended up near an open-air market underneath a cloudtopper.”

“A cozi.” He nodded.

“Yeah! That’s what Larth called it. Why is it called a cozi?”

“It stands for Caradonia Opportunity Zone Incubator. It’s a business assistance start-up programto enable small commercial enterprises to grow and prosper. People can start a business with very little overhead. When the company takes hold and turns a decent sustainable profit, they can move out on their own. There are three cozis so far. I had plans for more when the pandemic hit, and the project got put on hold.”

“There was a huge flower stall in the front of the market. I assume that’s how I ended up there. I was thinking about the flowers in the lobby as I boarded the vaporator.”

“It sent you to the closest place with flowers.” He hugged her tighter and then said, “Come. Let’s sit down.” He drew her into the seating area and settled next to her on the sofa, retaining a hold on her hand.

Don Juan strolled out.

“Are you hungry? Would you care for a meal?” Krogan asked, rubbing her palm, causing it to tingle.

“Actually yes. I could eat a horse,” she said. Now that she was safe and sound, she discovered she was starving.

“We don’t havehorse,” he said.

She giggled. “It’s an archaic expression. It means I’m famished.”

“Dinner for two, Don One,” he said, and rattled off some incomprehensible words she presumed were foods.

The android returned to the kitchen.

“Continue. Tell me more,” he urged, stroking her fingers.

“Well, I wandered through the market for a while.” After the lack of concrete assistance from everyone else, she’d doubted anyone there would help her, but she looked around for a friendly face.

“Larth had a bakery stall. I stopped to ask him where he got his ingredients. He was so nice, I started telling him about my problem.” He closed up his booth and accompanied me to the vaporator. He took me first to the officiant’s—in case you were still waiting for me—then he vapped me back here. I knew as soon as I saw the flowers in the lobby I was in the right place, but he insisted on walking me to the door.”

“Thank goodness you encountered him.”

“Yeah.” She paused. “He and his wife started the bakery together. But she’s afflicted with the nano-virus. She’s in a stasis pod. Now he’s doing the baking and running the booth all on his own, hoping to build up the business so it will be bigger and better when she recovers.”

Larth had spoken of his wife’s recovery as awhenrather than anif. He had great faith in Krogan, that his medical scientists would find a cure and save his wife.

“I shall have to thank him for getting you home safe and sound.”

“He would appreciate that.” Larth would be thrilled. He’d raved about Krogan, like he was his hero. Once he learned her identity, her husband was all the baker had talked about. Probably that was part of the reason he’d so readily helped her.

“I judge a leader by his actions, not his words,” Larth had said. “Our previous rulers said what they thought we wanted to hear. They’d throw a few handouts our way to keep us quiet and dependent while they lined their pockets. Krogan is the first leader to genuinely care about us. The cozis don’t benefit him—they benefit us. He gave me and my wife an opportunity to better ourselves and our lives. Because of him, we have this booth. And someday, we’ll have a bakery at the pinnacle of a cloudtopper! We owe it all to Governor-General Krogan.”

She’d considered Krogan to be aloof and cold. Seeing him through Larth’s eyes had shown her a different side. But then she’d come home, and he’d yelled at her.

Because he’d been worried.He must have thought I’d jilted him when I didn’t show up for the wedding.

She studied their clasped hands. It felt natural and right to hold hands with him. The awkwardness that had infused their previous conversations and time together had vanished.

Maybe this will work out after all.For the first time, she didn’t regret coming to Caradonia.

Chapter Eleven

Krogan broke a promise.

Upon taking office, he’d vowed to never use the power of his position for personal gain.

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