Companion 3000 - Evangeline Anderson Page 0,41

“Didn’t that hurt?”

“Shut up, Schneider,” she said, not taking her eyes from Pierce. “The point is, Pierce, I trusted you. I trusted you and you betrayed that trust. You betrayed me.”

“Leita, I swear, I was going to tell you first thing in the morning.” Pierce’s blue eyes were pleading. “Last night changed me—made me change my mind, I mean. Please, Leita, you have to believe me.”

“I don’t have to believe anything you say ever again.” Leita made her voice hard and cold even though she felt like she was dying inside. “There’s a drone ship waiting outside the airlock to take back the supposedly empty box you came in. You have five seconds to get on it.”

“Leita, I’m naked here. You can’t just—” Pierce stepped toward her.

“Oh, yes I can.” She pointed the tazer pen at him again. “Don’t come another step.”

“But I just…” Pierce took another step and she shot him.

“Ow!” He didn’t quite fall on the floor but he staggered and barely caught himself against the nearby wall. The living area filled with the odor of burning hair and a round, fist-sized bare spot appeared on his medium-hairy chest. Pierce looked down at himself in astonishment. “You shot me!”

“Damn straight and I’ll do it again if you don’t get out of here.” Leita motioned toward the airlock. “Go.” She watched with tears pooling in her eyes as Pierce turned toward the airlock door and the waiting drone ship outside the life pod.

He put his hand on the door and turned back just before he opened it. “I know you don’t believe this, Leita,” he said softly. “But this last month and a half has been the best time of my life. You made me feel things…understand things… Hell, I’m no good at this.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I just…just wanted to say—well, you’re important to me and I…”

Leita felt the tears overflow her eyes and run down her cheeks. “Go,” she managed to say, before the sobs overtook her. “No more lies, Pierce—just go.”

“Can’t you see you’ve caused enough harm here?” Schneider stood between her and Pierce protectively. “Go on, leave her in peace.”

“I’m sorry,” Pierce said. “More sorry than I can say.” His deep voice sounded sincere, but how could she tell anymore if he was being sincere or just acting?

She turned her head, unable to watch as Pierce opened the door and left, getting into the drone ship that would take him back to Osiris and out of her life forever.

She ran back to her bedroom and fell on the bed, hands pressed to her eyes. Betrayed again. She felt sick. How could she have been such a fool? Pierce was nothing but an opportunistic bastard, looking for a place to lay low for a while and enjoy plenty of kinky sex with a lonely, desperate woman who was so horny she’d even screw what she thought was a machine. He’d probably been laughing at her this entire time.

Leita pressed her face into a pillow, then realized it was his. His spicy, musky scent still lingered on the fabric, reminding her of the nights she’d spent with her head on his shoulder and his big, muscular arm thrown around her protectively. She cried harder and hugged the pillow to her chest.

Oh Goddess, and the worst thing of all wasn’t that he’d betrayed her like all the others. No, the worst thing was that she’d allowed herself to fall in love with him. What an idiot she’d been. What a gullible moron!

She was so immersed in her tears that she didn’t hear Schneider come in until he was actually tapping her on the shoulder.

“What?” Leita looked up from the pillow and rubbed at her eyes. “Can’t you see I’m busy dying on the inside here, Schneider?”

Schneider’s golden eyes widened in sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Leita. I was afraid he would hurt you somehow. I wish I had been wrong.”

“Me too.” She sat up and put down the pillow. Then she took a deep breath to clear her head. “Well, never again, Schneider. I’m never getting involved with a man again— not even a manufactured one.”

“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about—the, uh, manufactured man. Your new Companion 2000.” Schneider groomed his whiskers nervously. “What about him?” Leita asked dully. “Is he still vacuuming?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Schneider said. “Remember how he was rubbing against the vacuum unit while you and Pierce were…er, I mean, earlier?”

“Yes, so?” Leita frowned at