Captive - Cheryl Brooks Page 0,115
His gaze drifted toward her temple. “Although with that orange streak in your hair, I don’t believe there could possibly be any doubt, even if you do have blue eyes.”
Temfilk joined them, chewing on some sort of flat, crispy disk—yet another food item Klara couldn’t identify—with Nexbit following close behind, carrying what she now recognized as a chicken leg in each hand. “Where are we going?”
His use of “we” caused Klara’s eyes to get a little misty. No, she wouldn’t be leaving any of her gang behind, no matter where they went.
She cleared her throat with an effort. “To meet my father.”
Chapter 30
Biting her lower lip, Klara seemed more doubtful than Moe had yet to see her. “Or maybe we should stick around and see how things turn out here on Haedus Nine. After all, there’s no real rush, is there?”
“I dunno,” Moe replied. “Part of me wants to put this world behind me forever, but I can understand why you might want to wait a while.”
He didn’t mention the most pertinent aspect of her question, which was meeting Trag for the first time. That had to be a tough one—and he didn’t have to have a similar experience to know that. A parent whom you’d never seen and who had no idea you even existed? According to Larry, Trag was a little…skeptical. Not that Moe blamed him. Still, considering the number of spaceport brothels he had reportedly patronized, the possibility existed that one or two of his kids might turn up eventually. Although, given the availability of contraception, sex workers rarely conceived.
Unfortunately, this was no one-in-a-billion chance. Delaroh had set out to deceive Trag and bear his children from the very beginning. Trag might resent Delaroh’s deception and in turn, resent Klara.
Moe tried to recall everything he’d ever heard about Trag, along with his own experiences with the man, and he still had no idea how he might react. Trag might be the hero of the Zetithian people for killing Rutger Grekkor, but he’d only done it after Grekkor had stabbed his mate, Micayla. That had been a spur-of-the-moment gut-level reaction. This was different.
On the other hand, Jack had been delighted to discover another Zetithian woman, whether she’d been the one doing the discovering or not. Trag might see it the same way.
Klara’s pensive expression had yet to fade, even during Moe’s ruminations. Some reassurance was clearly necessary.
He cleared his throat. “If you’re worried about what Trag will say, I’m guessing he’ll be pleased to meet you, even if he doesn’t believe you’re his daughter. With so few of us left, finding any surviving Zetithian is cause for rejoicing.” He studied her expression, which hadn’t changed one iota. “That’s not what’s bugging you, though, is it?”
She shook her head. “I believe he would’ve forgiven my mother for what she did. I’m worried about what he’ll think of me.”
“Seriously? You’ve survived against incredible odds and come out ahead. He’ll probably be very proud of you and see you for the heroine you are.”
“Maybe. But I’ve been an outlaw for most of my life. Will he be able to see past that to love me the way a daughter should be loved—or at least give me a chance?”
Moe thought for a moment. “I can’t answer that, although I’d be very surprised if he didn’t.” He smiled, caressing her cheek with a fingertip. “I’d be overjoyed to find that I had a daughter who was as brave and resourceful as you. Loving you would be easy.” Leaning closer, he kissed her forehead. “It was easy. Easier than anything I’ve ever done or will ever do.”
She responded with a derisive snort. “Yeah, right. I only had to stun you and lock you up to get you to see the light.”
He took a step back. “Get me to see the light? Come on, now. You weren’t exactly lover-like in the beginning, you know.”
“Yeah. I know. I’m just glad it all turned out the way it did. As I said before, it could so easily have ended very badly.”
“Yeah, right,” Temfilk said with a snicker. “You’ve seen how fast Moe can move. He wouldn’t have been killed in the arena, even without the ‘play dead’ rule.”
Moe was reasonably confident in his abilities. However, no one was infallible. “Maybe not, but accidents do happen.”
Nexbit waved a half-eaten chicken leg. “Let’s not dwell on that now. We’re supposed to be celebrating our victory over Pelarus. Remember?”
Temfilk wiped the crumbs of rice cake from his bulbous lips. “And