Page 36 of Tribute
“I’m not sure.” Kai’s green gaze was somber. “I think we’ve both done our stint, but if we both go, who’s going to run it now? Palk? No one wants him leading the trainers again. I’d like to end on a high note.”
“Bad luck about Solly.” Rehz hesitated. “Would you do me a favor? I don’t like leaving Lee on her own. Can you sit in and make sure Palk doesn’t get near her until I’m done?”
“Sure.”
“Maybe after we’re all finished, you’d like to come back to my place, and we can talk. It’ll be a lot more private.”
“That’s a great idea.” Kai gave him a casual salute. “I’ll go and see if I can find Lee.”
So everyone was being nice to her, but she was still scared shitless. The walls were white and not pink and the voices were definitely Mitan, but she still felt like a specimen and that reminded her all too forcibly of her week with theUngrich. She jumped when a door behind her banged, and jerked around.
“Hey, Lee.”
“Kai?”
He shut the door, nodded to the technician, and grinned at her. Like Akran, he was dressed in the familiar black Mitan uniform and was heavily armed. His white hair was cut super short and barely showed against his dark skin. “How are you doing? I saw Rehz in the hallway and he said you were here.” He studied her carefully. “You look good.”
“I look like someone who hasn’t been outside for months.”
He came a little closer but didn’t touch her, his expression serious. “That’s an easy fix. Can you swim, Lee? I have a boat on the shore of Lake Rataska. You’re welcome to come out with me any time.”
“I like to swim. As long as there aren’t any creatures with tentacles or. . .” She swallowed down the rest of the sentence and just sat there shivering, her hands clenched together in her lap.
Kai sat beside her. “If I can get in that water, you can. That’s one thing you can always rely on with a fellow survivor, Lee. You don’t have to explain anything. We all get it.” He punched her arm. “It does get easier.”
She darted a quick look at the technician who was setting up the next set of internal screenings, but he appeared preoccupied.
“Is it true that you and Akran went in twice?”
Kai raised an eyebrow. “He told you that?”
She nodded.
“That’s correct. It . . . wasn’t fun, but it was easier than the first time because we knew what to expect. They also remembered us.”
“I don’t think I could do that.”
“Go back in?” He shrugged, his shoulder brushing against hers. She remembered him fucking her, the scent of him up close and personal. It was weirdly kind of comforting because he knew her and everything she’d been through. “The alternative was outright war and extinction. It seemed a reasonable price to pay.”
“But why didn’t the government just grab a few more felons that year and send them in instead?”
“Good question.” His smile twisted. “Palk said theUngrichmade that decision, not him.”
The technician came toward her and nodded at Kai. “If you wouldn’t mind sitting over there, Commander, that would be most helpful.”
“Sure.” Kai winked at Anna. “I don’t want to screw up your results. How’s she doing?”
“From what I can see so far, she’s healing up nicely.”
“Good.” Kai took his seat, folded his arms, and stretched out his long legs. “Take as long as you need, Lee. I’m not going anywhere.”
Anna scrambled into her clothes and shut the locker door with a bang. She was exhausted and longing to get back to bed and fall asleep, preferably next to Akran so that when she had a nightmare, he’d be on hand to offer an alternative to sleeping.
But she didn’t have to go back with him, did she? She’d been cleared to find her own apartment and begin her new life as a valued Mitan citizen. Which was weird in itself. Up until a few months ago, she’d thought only of getting off the planet, but now there was Rehz to think about. Not that he wanted her to think about him, but she had no choice. Despite everything, there was a bond between them that she didn’t want to break.
When she went out into the admissions office, Akran and Kai were both there, talking to her doctor, who was smiling. Kai had originally left when Akran came back. She noticed Akran didn’t look particularly happy, but then he rarely did. Had she ever seen him smile without some hint of self-mockery or derision? How had he come to believe that hewashis job, that what he did meant that he had no right to be happy or have a real life?
And even more importantly, why did she care?
