Page 39 of Protected By the Convicts
Chapter Nine
HANNAH
Conway, Hannah’s boss, dismissed the other three workers in the control room and shut the door. Her hand went to her neck, feeling for the necklace. Gone! She’d left it on the bathroom counter when she’d showered.
“Can I help you, Manager Conway?” Hannah asked, alternating between eyeing the door and the man.
“What have you been doing at your station, Raines?”
“My usual duties, Manager. Calculating fuel needs and planning out pod configurations based on zurlite loads ready for export. Have I missed a meeting or forgotten some detail? I haven’t had complaints from any of the pilots regarding past shipments.”
“Tell me, how is it the logs show you’re running calculations when there is no ship in port?”
He’d examined the logs? Damn! She’s been careful to run her calculations when they had pods in the bay. “I-I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I’ve followed my training.”
Liar. Liar. Liar.
She’d always been a terrible liar. He’d see through her.
Conway’s foul breath assaulted her as he leaned in close. “I know what you’ve been doing, Raines. I know about the figures you’ve downloaded. The calculations you’ve run. Your inquiries into the number of paddadou shipments off-planet.”
Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god.
Conway swung her chair around so fast, she shrieked. Her heart raced as he leaned into her and ran a finger down her neck to between her breasts.
“Your inquiries will stop,” he said with an expression that nearly had her losing control of her bladder.
Shaking. Too much shaking. She couldn’t speak. It was like Max, all over again except worse. Conway knew. . . If he told Dresden, she’d be worse than dead.
“Do you understand me, Raines?”
She nodded, not sure why, except it seemed the only way to get him to leave. Except he didn’t.
“Why should I believe you? You’re a thief. You stole Company property in the past. That’s why you’re here.”
“I-I was just curious,” she said.
“Curious?” Conway arched a brow, and his face eased. “You’re in a unit, aren’t you, Raines?”
“Y-Yes.”
“How many men in your unit?”
“F-Four.”
“You sleep with a different one every night?”
Her eyes moved to the door. With iron hands, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “If you ever, and I mean ever pry in the system again, I’ll do worse than take you, Raines. I’ll transfer you to one of the back rooms for your shifts. That will be your new job.”
“Back rooms?”
“Where the pilots go. To rest and have a little fun.” Conway straightened to his full height. “Your fate is up to you, Raines.”
Conway gripped the door handle. “One more infraction and you’ll find yourself reassigned, serving way more than four men.”
* * *
SERSIE
