Page 4

Julia finished her shift at the fitness center.

She volunteered there because she’d personally experienced how much better she felt when she got regular movement, and it often helped with the sameness of everything sort of being the same, no matter what time of the day or night it was, in the middle of space.

Plus, it gave her even more chances to talk to people, which usually kept her in a better mood.

She’d just stepped out of the fitness center to see Andethor leaning against the wall of the corridor, arms crossed over his chest.

“ Um. Hi,” she said, wondering what the hell he was doing there. She hadn’t even realized he knew she worked here. But then again, what was it he’d said the night before about how he knew what food she’d like?

The man pays attention.

“ Hi. So. I have a favor to ask you. But it’s…

it’s fucking weird. I’ll say that in advance.

And if you say no, there won’t be any hard feelings because the last thing you should do on your vacation is be stuck dealing with me,” Andethor said, and she raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.

After a moment, he blew out a breath. ”Can we grab some food and go somewhere quiet?

It’s… it’s a lot,” he said with a shrug.

Julia watched him. This wasn’t the Andethor she was used to. He was tense. A little irritated, almost. She nodded. “Sure. I was about to grab takeout from that pasta place on level nine.”

“ That sounds good right now. I’m buying,” he said, waving her ahead of him.

They walked in silence together before getting on the crowded lift that would take them to level nine, which was where a lot of the restaurants and takeout places were located.

There was another area like it on level fifteen, but the offerings on level nine were the best.

They stepped off the lift and Andethor followed her to her favorite pasta takeout place. She already knew what she wanted: Fettuccine Alfredo. With grilled chicken and extra Parmesan cheese. She looked over at Andethor to see him studying the menu on his comm. “Is the ravioli good?” he asked.

“ It is. The cheese and the meat ones are both good.”

He nodded and pushed his comm back into his pocket, then turned to her and caught her looking at him. “What?” he asked quietly.

“ You’re acting weird.”

“ You haven’t seen anything yet, Julia.”

“ See, usually when you say that I assume you mean something fun or ridiculous,” she said as they stepped up to the counter to order. They both did, then stepped aside to wait.

“ Usually, I try to make sure it’s fun or ridiculous,” he agreed.

She studied him more, and he met her gaze. “I’ll try to make up for this bullshit later with more fun and ridiculous than you can possibly handle.”

“ You are not exactly inspiring confidence here, Andethor.”

He smirked, then shook his head. Ugh. How could any male possibly look this good all the time? Jerk. She had a feeling she’d say yes to whatever it was he was about to ask, if only because it threw her off seeing him tense and irritated like this.

The human woman behind the counter, Elise, handed their takeaway containers over with a smile. Andethor took both of them.

“ Do you want to eat in my quarters?” she asked.

“ I was thinking on my ship, if it’s okay. It’ll make some of this easier to explain,” he said with a grimace.

“ That’s fine. I’m assuming you’re not luring me away to kidnap me,” she teased, and he rolled his eyes.

“ Not today, Julia. If I ever abduct you, it’ll be to have actual fun.

See the waterfalls on Al’teth, or the pink sand beaches of Vesda,” he murmured, naming a few of the more beautiful planets in this sector.

They got on the lift again to take them to level one, which was where the docking bay entrance was.

She bumped her shoulder against his arm as they rode in silence, and he looked down at her.

“ Whatever it is you’re going to ask, I won’t get mad at you. Okay?” she said quietly.

“ You say that now. But I wouldn’t blame you if, when I asked, you punched me in the gut.”

“ I like that you assume I can punch.”

“ Julia, I have no doubt you have a mean left hook,” he said, and she could tell he actually meant it.

And, he wasn’t wrong.

They got off the lift and wound their ways through the corridors to the docking bay, finally stopping at a sleek black ship. No markings other than the required identification numbers on the side panel in simple white text.

“ Welcome to the Hendrix,” he said, digging his comm out of his pocket with his free hand and hitting something that opened the door, a short ramp leading up into the ship.

“ Of course. The Hendrix,” she said with a smile.

They’d had that talk, shortly after they’d met one night when she was working at the Lounge and Dreadnought was playing.

How, as an adolescent, he’d heard a recording of Jimi Hendrix and he’d become obsessed with the instrument he was playing. That had pretty much started it all.

Andethor smiled at her comment, nodding.

Julia made her way onto the ship and looked around. The interior was spotless, well-organized, well-lit. A table and seating area tucked into one side, a bed toward the rear of the ship. Storage cubbies and a workbench. At the front, two seats and the controls to fly the ship.

Andethor followed her onto the ship and closed the door behind them, then set the takeaway containers on the small table. He grabbed two cups and poured a fizzy, fruity, slightly spicy drink they both enjoyed, setting them down on the table with their food as he motioned for her to sit.

She did, and for a few minutes, they focused on opening their containers, drinking, and digging into the pasta they’d ordered.

Andethor nodded in approval when he tasted the ravioli he’d ordered.

She tilted her bowl toward him, offering some of the fettuccine, and he did the same, letting her spear one of his ravioli.

They made small talk about his band, and her jobs, and he made her laugh telling her about how badly Xarek handles spicy food. She was curious as hell about what was really going on, but it was clear he needed this, just something normal, and she was more than happy to give it to him.

When they were finished eating, Andethor leaned back in his seat, sipped his drink, and watched her. She was tempted to smooth that deep furrow from his brow, but that would be silly.

And there was no guarantee she wouldn’t end up on his lap. Though at the moment, feeling relaxed and with a full belly, she was having a hard time thinking of why that was such a bad thing.

“ All right. So.” Andethor said, making a face. “First off, I have never lied to you. I just didn’t tell the entire truth.”

She raised her eyebrows. “That is possibly one of the worst ways to set up an explanation, ever.”

“ I know. But.. it’ll make sense. I promise. Unfortunately.”

She watched him, staying silent. Part of her was delighted to see the normally smooth, cocky Bellarian so rattled. The other part was nervous about what could be such a big deal that he was this uncomfortable.

“ The band is a cover. Or. It’s sort of a cover. For my other job.”

She continued to stay silent, and he got up, leaned against the counter, and looked at her. “I’m counting on you to keep it to yourself. The only ones on Asterion who know are Xarek and my bandmates. And probably Maggie, since Xarek tells her everything.”

She nodded in agreement with that. It was something she admired about Xarek and Maggie’s relationship: the honesty. Sometimes painful honesty, but they were honest with each other and seemed to work through any awkwardness.

“ I am fairly good at keeping my mouth shut,” she said, tilting her head as she watched him.

“ Right. So. I’m actually a spy. For Bellaria, obviously.

Um. My last big mission was getting to know Xarek so I could learn what their plans were against the ENEMY.

Getting close to him, getting him to trust me and confide in me so we could help and maybe…

. Guide those efforts, a little. Though I didn’t do much of that. Most of that came after.”

Maggie listened, and he watched it happen: her expression shifted from open and curious to blank and distant. His heart sank.

“ So was any of it real?” she asked after what felt to him like an eternity of awkward silence.

“ What do you mean?”

“ Your friendship with Xarek. The get togethers and game nights at Xarek and Maggie’s place. The flirting and sending me food. Though now I understand why you’re so observant.”

Ouch. It was like a punch to the gut, even though he’d expected it.

“ I’m a good spy because I’m observant, not the other way around. Like I said, Xarek and Maggie are well aware of what I am. There wasn’t any need to keep hanging out with them in a social manner unless I wanted to.”

She stayed silent, and he continued.

“ And as far as you, and sending you food, and being a flirting, ridiculous asshole, that’s purely because I can’t seem to help myself when you’re around.

Every time you dance, or… when you sing back at me like you did the other night?

I feel like I’m doing something right and I want that feeling forever. ”

Way to spill your guts, he thought to himself, groaning inwardly for confessing that much. Spy extraordinaire, for sure.

She was still quiet, that blank look on her face as she sipped her drink.

“ So… you’ve been here collecting information on us?”

“ Not all of you. There are a few people I’m watching who come through here pretty regularly, so our appearances in the Mars Lounge generally match up with that so I have a good excuse to be on the station when they are.

Xarek was an assignment. Now we work together.

And we’re probably friends, though I don’t know if he sees it that way as much as he tolerates me hanging around.

” He studied her, waiting for her next question, knowing Julia well enough to know that she’d attack something from every angle.

“ Are your bandmates spies?”

He shook his head. “No. The band is real. I’ve been friends with those guys since we were teenagers and started playing together.

They know, mostly because they’re like family.

They’re great about adjusting the band’s schedule and travel based on where I need to be, and I don’t talk about my missions with them, and they don’t ask. ”

She nodded, and it seemed like maybe her shoulders relaxed a tiny bit. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part.

“ How long have you been a spy?”

“ Almost 20 years. Military when I finished school, then promoted and went through training when one of my commanding officers saw something in me that indicated I’d be a good candidate for this kind of work.

I was insulted at first, thinking they meant I seemed sneaky.

But it turns out that when I want to, I can blend in really easily and people barely notice I’m there.

I’m also good at playing a role, when I need to. ”

“ Like wild rock singer,” Julia said, and he shook his head.

“ Like I said, that’s real. The band, my friendships with those guys, my friendship with Xarek and Maggie and you…” and the way I want to kiss you breathless, he thought but left off. Not the right time. “All of that is real.”

“ Exactly what a spy would say,” Julia said with a shrug.

“ A spy who was trying to play people wouldn’t tell them all ‘hey by the way I’m a spy for the Bellarian government.’”

“ I mean. A really bad one might,” she said, and he definitely saw a slight smirk there.

“ A really bad one might. But I’ve never been bad at anything in my life.”

“ Except Scrabble.”

“ Maybe I’m just lulling you into a false sense of security,” he said, taking a gulp of his drink.

“ Maybe.”

The silence between them during the next little while felt like a chasm that he’d fall straight into if he dared trying to cross it.

He knew Julia. She needed time and space and that was why he’d brought her here to tell her this particular news.

It was less likely they’d be interrupted here, and she could ask him any question she wanted.

“ Is Andethor your real name?”

He nodded. “That part’s also real. I have aliases I go by, when I’m undercover.” One of which she’d learn, unfortunately, if she agreed to this ridiculous idea.

“ It must be a weird life. Being around people but not really able to just be,” she said after a while.

“ It is. That’s part of why I like being on Asterion Station.

Other than my family, my band, and my coworkers, this is the only place where anyone knows me and what I really am.

It’s the only place I travel to where I can just relax and not have to think through which layers of me are the right ones to share.

That’s probably why I spend so much time at Xarek’s place when I’m not hanging out with my band. ”

She nodded, and he continued.

“ I like my job. I like knowing I’m keeping my people safe. But it does make friendships and other relationships difficult. I can’t really confide in most people, because who knows who they’ll talk to, right?”

“ But you assume I won’t talk?”

“ I know you wouldn’t talk, Jules. You’re one of the most straightforward, loyal people I’ve ever met. We talked before about your time in the military, how you took pride in that because you were doing something meaningful. I think you understand what I do better than most.”

He watched as she looked around, clearly deep in thought.

She was either thinking he was being earnest or that he was really good at flattery, he suspected.

And he was good at flattery and bullshitting, as the humans liked to say.

And he’d spent so much time flirting with her, he wouldn’t blame her for thinking the same thing.

“ So you’re going to ask for my help with something spy-related?”

He gave a brief nod.

“ Can we hold that thought for a little bit?”

“ A very little bit. I have to leave tomorrow at seven. But you can take until then if you want to,” he added, already trying to figure out who the hell he’d ask. The only other sensible one here would be Maggie, and Xarek would kill him. So that was a definite no.

“ It won’t take that long. I’ll be back in a bit,” Julia said, rising from her seat. He nodded, watching as she hit the button for the door and walked out of his ship.