if Striker moved so fast on the way back that he actually dodged the raindrops. She was still relatively dry when he set her down outside the door to the main hall.
“Thank you.” She thought about hugging him, but she didn’t want anyone to see them together until she was ready to explain things, so instead, she held out her hand to him.
He took it, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb for a brief moment.
When the door opened this time, she didn’t look away. Even so, she only caught a flicker of motion before Striker was gone and she was left holding her hand out to empty air.
“Maggie!” Skye grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her inside. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Or I will be once you release your death grip.”
“Oops. Sorry.” Skye let go and then moved past her to check outside.
“He’s gone,” she told the cyborg woman.
“He’d better be. If I see him, I’m going to want a word.”
Maggie tapped her temple. “Can’t you just talk to him on your snazzy internal channels?”
“Nope. He’s blocking me.” Skye closed the door with more force than it needed and then spun around to glower at her. “How long has this thing with Striker been going on?”
“There is no thing. That day you and I talked by the woods, I nearly got bitten by a big, nasty bug. Striker killed it and taught me how to spot them. That’s it.”
“You left out the bit about you bringing him cookies and that he took you to his place. Do you realize most of us don’t even know where it is? He doesn’t like visitors. Or most beings. Especially not human ones.”
“I think he likes me, or maybe he just likes cookies. Have you ever tried ja’kreesh? I like it. How come we don’t have any in our stores? Oh, he’s going to teach me to protect myself. So I guess he must like me enough to help me stay alive. I don’t think he’s so bad. A little grumpy. And what’s up with his throat? Why hasn’t anyone helped him get better?”
Skye blinked at her. “Holy fraxx. How much ja’kreesh did he give you?”
“Not much. And he did warn me to drink it slowly. I might not have listened.”
“You not listening does not surprise me. The fact he didn’t kill you does. He must like you.” Skye shook her head. “I will never understand males.”
“I think I’m insulted.”
“What? Oh, no. Not that he likes you. That he likes anyone. Striker is…”
Maggie lowered her voice. “He’s damaged? Carries a lot of resentment and anger about what was done to him. Blames himself for having to kill his own?”
“Oh wow. He told you about that? He doesn’t talk about Reamus. At all. Ever. Not even to those of us who were there with him.”
“He talks to me about it.”
Skye gave her an odd look. “This conversation is going to require alcohol.”
“It is?”
“Oh, yes. It is. Come with me.”
“But dinner?”
“Trust me, we’re going somewhere with much better food. Don’t tell anyone I said that, though.” Skye raised her voice. “I need to debrief Maggie about what happened. I’m taking her back to her habi-pod. We’ll manage dinner on our own.”
“You got it,” Shadow called back.
Several of the other human women looked at Maggie with curiosity. She raised her hands in a shrug. That was all she had time for. A second later Skye had her by the hand and was pulling her toward the door.
“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
“Do I get to know where we’re really going?” Maggie asked in a soft tone.
Skye didn’t answer until they were outside and jogging through the rain. “The Bar None.”
“But that’s on the other side of the river. I’m not supposed to go there, yet.”
“Technically it’s on the bridge in the middle of the river, and at this point, I’m not worried about you running into your mates. You’re ready.”
“I am?”
“Close enough. Besides, there’s someone I think you should meet.”
“Who? Where? Why? Do they have ja’kreesh? I could use a little more of that.”
“Her name is Anya. She runs the Bar None, and given your skill set, I thought you might want to check out her establishment and see if you’d want to work there. And while she does serve that Torski rocket fuel, you are not having anymore. Not if you want sleep sometime in the next few days.”
“Days?” no one had mentioned how long the effects lasted.
“Days. At least that’s