Staying Alive by Toby Neighbors

Author:Toby Neighbors [Neighbors, Toby]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781952260452
Publisher: Mythic Adventure Publishing
Published: 2022-10-19T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-SEVEN

The Saturday Night Fever wasn’t luxurious by Tequila’s standards. Her father had been a rich man on Darius Three and lavished his family with the finer things in life. But the ship wasn’t utilitarian either. Big Candy led Tequila and Haruka into the last of the six cabins on the ship.

“This is your room,” he said. “Complete with a private bathroom, which I can tell you, is a luxury in space.”

“Only when there’s enough water,” Tequila said.

Her remark stung. In some ways he had saved her life, but it was also his fault that she was in danger to begin with. And while the ship was well-appointed, they couldn’t ignore the fact that they had failed to top off her tanks.

“It’s a minor setback that will be corrected,” Big said, wondering if he should have listened to his brothers in the first place and simply won enough money to see to the ship’s needs. He had more than enough credits, and getting them converted into digital would have cost him a premium, but there was more than enough after his poker game with Tequila. The truth was, seeing her again stirred up old feelings. If he hadn’t insisted on staying, even for a date with her, they could have refueled the ship and been off Darius Three before anyone attacked them.

“If you say so,” Tequila said. “It’s manageable.”

“You don’t like it?”

“I don’t like being in space,” she suddenly turned on him. There was color in her face and fire in her eyes. “You know that. And yet you tricked me into coming here. How do I know you didn’t set this whole thing up?”

“Tequila, please,” Big said.

She grabbed the lapels of his jacket, her hands in tight fists. “Oh, I know I sound crazy, but I can’t help it. Why did you have to come back? Why?”

“You know I could never stay away,” Big said, his large hands delicately touching her shoulders. “I’m sorry, my love. It’s all my fault.”

She shook her head. “I don’t blame you…not really.”

“I’ll find a way to get you back,” he promised.

“There’s nothing to get back to,” Tequila said. “A few gowns, a handful of mementos. The house was empty. I couldn’t pay the staff and had to let them go. I sold everything of value. Haruka stayed out of loyalty, even when I couldn’t pay her any longer.”

Big turned, intending to thank the smaller woman, but she was no longer in the cabin. She had slipped away, as silent as a shadow.

“Even the car we were in was rented just for the night. I didn’t want you to see me that way.”

“I don’t care about the money,” Big said.

“It’s not about the money,” she said, her eyes imploring him to understand. “I failed. The business went under, and the sharks came after me, after everything I had.”

“You kept your father’s business going for a long time,” Big said. “Most people would have sold out, but you cared about the people that your father had hired.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.