thirty years of age. "I can't believe you survived."
"Many of my friends did not," she admitted. "I wouldn't have either if it hadn't been for Duco Tumo."
"Duco Tumo didn't save you," Tay bit out angrily. "He nearly worked you to death."
"That's not true, Tay. He gave me a place to live and food."
"And in return, you worked sixteen hours a day for little or no credits, in that dirty bar of his, surrounded by the worst kind of scum."
Mae couldn't argue with that because there had been times she'd feared for her life, especially after Duco died. She and Tay had only met a few weeks prior when running 'errands' for Duco. She'd never known what was in those packages she delivered and didn't want to. One of those deliveries had been at a bar a few blocks over. Tay was the muscle at the door.
She'd immediately found him attractive and was not at all intimidated by his markings and piercings. Honestly, they turned her on because they revealed his massive strength and power even though he'd always been so kind and gentle with her.
When he'd heard Duco had died, he'd immediately come running and found her cornered by three of Duco's regulars. He'd beaten those three males nearly to death before she'd been able to stop him. After that, they'd taken everything of value they had, sold it, and gotten off Gala. That had been five years ago. Since then, they'd traveled from place to place, getting whatever kind of work they could. They'd never stayed in any one place long, at least not until they arrived on Star Base Twelve and gotten jobs at The Brink.
"Well, that won't happen to you here," Cali told her. "The Brink might not attract high-class clientele, but it's safe thanks to Tay and clean, and together we'll make it the place to be on Star Base Twelve."
Chapter Four
The next day, after moving her things into the more luxurious Owner's quarters, Cali went over the reports for the week she'd been gone. She showed Mae what information she looked for, where she put it, and what it meant. Then one number jumped out at her. Frowning, Cali clicked on the number, opening up its breakdown.
"How the ruk is that possible?" she muttered.
"What's wrong?" Mae asked.
"My worker chip was used while I was gone… a lot."
"Nox used it," Mae told her. "I questioned him about it, but he said you gave it to him to use, so I should shut up and do my job. Otherwise, he'd have me kicked off the Star Base."
"He threatened you?!!" Cali knew Nox was a loudmouth and liked to act like he was better than everyone else because he was a pilot, but she'd never seen him bully anyone. If she had, she never would have gotten involved with him.
Mae just shrugged. "He does it a lot, just not when you're around."
"You should have told me, Mae. You know I don't put up with that crap."
"You were involved with him, and…"
"Mae," Cali reached out and squeezed her hand. "You are my friend and have been for over two years. I'm always going to believe in and stand up for you, especially over somebody I'm only fucking because I'm bored."
Mae gave her a shaky smile, unbelievably touched at how caring Cali was. It was something that, besides Tay, she hadn't experienced since her parents’ life spans had ended.
"He came in every night while you were gone along with a large group of friends. He used your card to pay for everything delivered to his table, including the food."
"That rukking son of a bitch!" Cali swore. "I never gave him my chip. It either fell out of my pocket in his quarters, or he took it." She looked back at the details. "He didn't come in last night, did he?"
She'd only worked part of the dark shift because it had been so slow. The members of the Coalition received their credit allotment once every thirty days. The next disbursement wasn't for another two, and business always slowed down before it. Apparently, Nox's had run out long before that.
"No, I overheard someone say he was on patrol," Mae told her.
"Which means he should be back in his quarters by now." Cali surged to her feet. "I'll deal with this."
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Cali might be considered average in height by some, even short by the standards of others, but beings instinctually recognized her power and got out of her way as