Page 6 of Escape Clause

“I have to fire you.”

His words hit her harder than her stepmother’s slap, and she staggered a little. “I’m fired? Why? I’ve worked here for ten years. You don’t think I’m doing a good job?”I need this position! What will I do for money? How will I move out?

“You’re a great worker.”His throat moved as he swallowed.His gaze finally met hers. “If I don’t fire you, he’ll shut me down.”

“The mayor.”

Clifford nodded. “He called me.”

She didn’t doubt Gleezer would follow through on the threat. He wouldn’t hesitate to trample anyone who got in his way. Clifford had a wife and three kids to support. He couldn’t lose his business. This was Gleezer’s way of pressuring her to marry him. Would he come after Prudence’s family when he learned she would be staying with them?

He would. She felt sick. Gleezer was viler than she’d thought.

“I’ll try to slip you some extra money besides the wages you’re entitled to.”

“Thank you,” she said. The extra would cost him personally. Like most Bloomhaven businesses, the bakery operated on a slim profit margin. Clifford wasn’t rich; he barely got by. Exorbitant taxes left no capital for expansion, which could have generated a higher profit and resulted in better wages for everyone.

For Clifford’s sake, she should turn down the handout, but she couldn’t afford to. She had a hunch no one else in the village would dare to hire her. And if she slipped away to another hamlet, Gleezer would track her down. There was no telling how far his tendrils of power and influence extended.I’ll never be free. No matter where I go, Gleezer and his hounds will follow me.

“I am so sorry,” he said.

“It’s all right. I’ll manage.” She hugged him, trying to comfort him, although she felt like she’d been kicked in the chest. She untied her apron and hung it on the hook. Some of the happiest days of her life had been spent in the bakery kitchen with its big ovens and marble slab tables. She enjoyed baking and loved designing special-order cakes. Clifford had been a friend, not just a boss.

She exited the kitchen, and Prudence jumped up. “What happened? You look shell-shocked.”

“Let me see the Cosmic Mates application.”

Chapter Four

Krogan was leaving for the spaceport when the head bioengineer on the antiviral project asked to speak to him. The first iteration of the antiviral treatment had failed. In fact, the death rate in the placebo control group was slightly lower than among the group that had received the antiviral. They were back to square one.

And on the heels of that bad news, he had to meet Hope Bennett, the human woman selected for him.

It was a shitty day all around.

He jumped into avaporator, mentally transmitted his destination, and, in seconds, materialized in the spaceport. A year ago, the spaceship depot would have been teeming with male and female Caradonians, as well as aliens from across the galaxy. Today, the near-vacant spaceport was eerily reflective of the tragedy that had struck their planet. Travel had fallen by more than three-quarters. Among the passengers, males outnumbered females by ten toone. The few females present were children clinging to their fathers’ hands or grandmothers assisted by sons and grandsons. And there were almost no aliens.

Although the nano-virus affected only their species, many aliens weren’t willing to risk visiting Caradonia, and several planets had issued bans, forbidding travel to and from their planet. Others had implemented draconian quarantines discouraging travel. The pandemic that had decimated their female population was destroying their economy and their livelihoods, too.

Fortunately, humans from Terra Nova were willing to come to Caradonia.

Vorgol’s suggestion saved the Cosmic Mates program.

But not me.

He had been counting on the program being unable to find anyone willing to accept his terms. He’d learned only yesterday that Hope Bennett had agreed to be his provisional wife and would be arriving today. What would possess a woman to agree to such a drastic change, leave the familiar behind, and end up with nothing?

Unless she doesn’t know.Despite his orders, perhaps his terms hadn’t been communicated to her. He would ensure she understood when he met her.

Of course, the ship from Terra Nova had docked at the opposite end of the terminal. He hated being late. Besides being rude to the other party, it gave him no time to compose himself and left him feeling like he was playing catch-up. To make up for lost time, he grabbed an accelerator from the rack and zoomed through the spaceport.

At the passenger meet-up outside the landing dock, a woman sat on a bench, a half-empty cloth sack at her feet.That has to be her,he guessed.Thehologram he’d received had been poor quality—her facial features had been blurry. If not for the fact that she was the only human left, he might have passed by her without a second glance.

“Hope Bennett?” He stopped the airboard, and she raised her head.

He almost fell off the stationery accelerator.This is a bad idea.

She was beautiful. Breathtaking. A terrible, sinking feeling spread through his body. He didn’t know why her beauty caused such dread, except it did.How can I get out of this? I need to reread thatcontract. There has to be something that can get me out of this sooner than a year. She deserves someone better than me, someone who will love her.

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