Page 359 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Akri

It was starting to get dark when Jenny and I ducked into yet another alley to avoid the patrolling police force.

I had caught enough of the news blasted all over the city to know that I was wanted for the murder of a government official.

Jenny had explained that he was a low-ranking male who went around checking if establishments were up to code.

She had added that this particular one had readily taken bribes from bar owners, so he wasn’t even a very good employee.

She said that he was a federal employee, and they couldn’t let one come to harm without severe retaliation, or others might think they could get away with it. That made sense, but I had not killed this male whose image they were showing in memorial clips. I had seen him, but I had not shot him.

“We should split up,” Jenny announced from just ahead of me.

“They’re looking for us together. We’ll have a better chance of escaping if we’re not.

” My whole body rebelled at the suggestion.

No, Jenny couldn’t leave; she couldn’t… I tried to figure out why I didn’t want that, but it was hard to understand, these were feelings.

They were strong and urgent, but I couldn’t explain them.

Jenny was her own person, and her argument was sound.

“No,” I said firmly, and I feared that I was starting to lose control again, like I had during the fighting at that bar.

I had only meant to push that Sythral away, grab Jenny, and make a run for it.

Somehow, once I had my hands on the male, I had wanted to pound his face into the floor instead.

It was terrifying not to be able to control the violent, dangerous urges of this body.

I had to find answers, and Jenny would be much safer if she weren’t near me.

“No,” I said again. “We stick together. We just need to hide somewhere until the media attention fades.”

She frowned at me, her arms curled tightly around her body. “Why? We barely know each other. The odds are better.” I felt panic claw at me at the thought, briefly making it impossible to reason out why it would be better not to split up.

“You have no money,” I said, remembering the horror on her face when her credits had spilled all over the floor of that filthy establishment.

Then I remembered my own horror when the pain collar around her throat had been exposed.

She was a slave, like my friends had been before they freed themselves.

“And you are still wearing a collar.” I pointed a finger at the distasteful thing around her slender neck.

My left tentacle followed suit, reaching for her, and I hurriedly yanked it back.

A small smile curled around her pink lips, and I felt a bit of tension leave my body.

She was laughing over my misbehaving tentacle; as long as she did that, I couldn’t be too upset about it.

She nodded. “These are facts. But it’s not something you can fix, so there’s still no reason to stick around.

” She lifted her chin, and with a sinking feeling, I realized that she might be the type who didn’t want to accept help.

I never understood that inclination whenever I encountered it, and I was preparing myself for some fierce arguments. What would sway her?

“I can procure more credits for you. I can also take off the collar without triggering the anti-tampering features.” To make sure she knew I was serious, I shifted my bag on my hip and pulled out the little folded pouch with my tools.

Her eyes were growing wider as she watched, but she didn’t move away, peering curiously at the tools when I revealed them to her.

I could almost see the thoughts spinning in her head from the way her hazel eyes narrowed at what I was holding.

Did she trust me enough to let me tamper with that collar?

She had to know—just like anyone who’d worn such a tool—what it meant for her if I didn’t know what I was doing. I did, but did she believe that?

Eventually, it became obvious that the desire to have that collar off had won out.

She stepped closer to me, silently lifting her chin and offering me her neck.

It reminded me strongly of an entirely different human woman for whom I’d done this when I’d only just begun to manage controlling this body.

Meena hadn’t hesitated as long, but then I’d posed no threat.

I’d been entirely ineffective at moving my limbs around at the time.

I got to work as soon as she let me, as eager as she was to remove the device from her neck.

It took only a few seconds to remove the lid in the appropriate way; then it was just a matter of disabling the right circuit and cutting the power.

As soon as I did that, the collar loosened and slipped from her throat.

She didn’t try to catch it, just let it thud to the cobblestones at our feet.

“Thank you, Akri,” she said quietly. Her hand went to her throat, gently massaging the even paler strip of skin now revealed.

To my shock, my left tentacle was curled around her wrist, but it jumped ship the moment it got near her neck.

It slid along her throat to tell me that yes, it really was very soft, just like I’d imagined.

Her eyes went huge in her face, and I felt like mine did the same, heat scorching along my cheekbones.

“I’m so sorry! I don’t know what is happening; my tentacles keep malfunctioning,” I apologized.

I hurried to stick my tools back in my bag so I could grab hold of the thing with both hands, but I froze just before grabbing it.

Jenny had closed her eyes and leaned into the touch of my tentacle gently curling around her neck.

She looked pleased. I didn’t understand what was happening.

There was a little curl to her lip at the corner of her mouth, and it just looked. .. blissful.

“Okay,” she mumbled, eyes still shut. “Feels good, actually,” she added, and then her lids fluttered open to reveal a look I couldn’t decipher.

I tried hard to find comparable expressions in my database, but honestly, the only material that matched were expressions of the mates of my friends from when I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to watch them. Was she aroused?

She stepped back suddenly, turning away from me and my eagerly reaching tentacles.

“Fine, we’ll stick together if you think you can get me back my money.

Where should we go? We’ve left the trade workers’ district.

I don’t know my way out here.” The rapid topic shift derailed me, and this mind was not as quick at changing subjects as I had been when I was the Vagabond—especially when I very much wanted to know more about why she’d looked the way she had just now.

“I have a plan,” I said instead, drawing on the knowledge I had of the city maps and the work schedules.

I’d done extensive research before coming to this planet.

I knew what a risk I was taking just by being here, because it was so close to the planet Drameil preferred.

I was relieved when Jenny didn’t question me but simply fell into step at my side when I started walking.

*

Jenny

I was a little shaken up by what had just happened.

Only a few weeks ago, I’d silently commemorated my first whole year out in space, but it had also been a whole year of being a slave.

When Akri removed that collar, I felt so much that I couldn’t figure out what was up and what was down.

I’d wanted to touch that bare skin, but had almost been afraid to discover whether there was a permanent mark.

His tentacle sliding from my wrist to my throat so gently…

it had felt good, really good. It felt like the first real touch since I’d gotten here.

All the other times, his grip had been firm, tight enough to let me know he didn’t want to let go.

But this touch? It was so gentle, so careful.

It had felt tender, and it had struck me hard.

When was the last time I wasn’t alone? When I wasn’t the only one looking out for me?

With Akri, I could believe that he did care, that he had no agenda of his own.

Following him into the city might seem stupid, considering I still didn’t know much about him, but his actions so far had all proven to me that he was a good person—alien or not.

I also really needed funds if I wanted to survive out here.

I had to buy a disguise or steal one, and I had to purchase passage to a planet in this quadrant that had outlawed slavery so I could be safe.

Then I had to find a way to support myself.

I couldn’t do any of that without money.

Akri had flipped the hood up on his long coat, which hid what he was if you saw him from behind.

He could pass as a dockworker or tradesman.

I scoffed out loud. No, he looked a little too polished for that; the leather coat was clearly expensive.

Now that he wasn’t hunched over, he did look dangerous, and he looked confident as he walked. A mercenary or bounty hunter, maybe.

I stuck close to him, but I didn’t have a handy coat to hide with, and my dress was starting to get a little too cold for this weather.

Worse, the left strap was torn, and the neckline gaped a bit after that Sithral had grabbed me.

If we didn’t find a place to hide soon, I’d be a Jenny-shaped Popsicle.

When we passed a bank, I didn’t think anything of it.

It was closed, since it was well after working hours by now, the interior dark and the security force field turned on.

Akri cast a look around to assure himself that we were alone on the street, then jogged up the steps and went straight for the little panel next to the door.

I was pretty sure that was where you could disable the alarm and force field, but it wouldn’t be anything as simple as a four-digit code.