Page 79 of Pets in Space 10

“No, you aren’t.” His voice was a sibilant whisper.

“You walk away from this and you’ll be sorry.

I know people who can do unpleasant things to you and your family.

Yeah, see I got contacts, I know where to find your brothers and sisters on the two bit colony world they moved to.

You don’t co-operate and the kids’ll suffer.

I’ll make sure the holos get sent to you.

And you aren’t going to run to Remington either.

” He gave her a shake so hard her teeth rattled and then towed her back to the chair.

“I need this payoff to settle a few big debts of my own and I’ll do anything necessary. Don’t try me, girl.”

Mind in a whirl, Dahlia sat. Carter’s threats to her family scared her.

Could she play Lady Luck again for the entire tournament?

The whole idea was ridiculous but it seemed the hardened gamblers at the table were on board, as the manager opened the bidding and immediately outrageous sums were offered.

If someone paid so much for her time weren’t they going to expect more than her mere presence at the table?

And what if the gambler lost — she had no ability to influence the turn of a card or the fall of the dice and she knew it.

Mike, I’ll go to Mike, no matter what Carter says.

He can protect me — he has contacts. And he can help me protect my family.

The door slammed open and Mike strode in, followed by Jake Dilon and three security officers. “You’re fired,” he said to Carter.

As Jake and his officers surrounded the man, who was protesting and blathering, Mike checked with Dahlia. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, unable to speak.

Mike surveyed the table. “The CLC Line and my casino in no way sanction this activity you were participating in. Your invitations to the tournament are rescinded and Captain Fleming gave you an hour to leave the ship. He’s made the shuttle available. Be on it.”

Immediately there were loud protests, but Mike was done. He helped Dahlia out of her chair and held her tight. “I can’t apologize enough for what happened here.”

“He — he threatened my family,” she said, barely able to form words. “He said he knew people who could punish them if I didn’t co-operate. I was going to find you as soon as this was done and beg you for help.”

“He’s not Combine if that’s what you’re concerned about and I do know people who’ll make sure nothing happens to your folks. I’ll pull in a couple of markers and quash any attempt at payback on his part. I know certain parties who won’t look with favor on his trying to leverage them.”

“How did you know to come in here?” she asked.

“Maeve recognized there was an AI blocker. She’s ex-military so she knows how to disrupt devices of this type and as soon as she could observe what was going on in here, she called me and Jake.

” Mike was assessing her condition again as if he suspected she was hiding injuries.

His concern was like a protective cloak and she appreciated it.

“Come to my office and take all the time you need to recover from what I’m sure was a highly unpleasant event. ”

“I don’t think I like your casino world,” she said as he took her hand and put his other arm around her waist. Her legs were shaky and her head was swimming.

“I don’t like it much myself right now. I work hard to keep my operation running above board and clean and what Carter was attempting to do was completely out of bounds.”

Jake came up to them. “My officers are going to escort the guests off the ship. I’ll send a team with the shuttle as well. I’ll need a statement from you, Dahlia. Maeve only caught part of the meeting.”

“Not right now,” Mike said firmly. “It can wait until tomorrow can’t it? You saw enough, Maeve recorded enough to keep Carter in the brig overnight, right? I have more evidence of his other crimes, embezzling and running scams so his friends could win big. I’ll get you those right away.”

“No problem,” Jake said. “Are you okay, Dahlia? Do you need to go see the doc?”

“I’m fine, just a bit in disbelief anyone would actually try to auction me off to be a lucky charm.” Dahlia laughed shakily. “I’m astounded and repelled anyone would pay the kinds of credits those disgusting men were bidding to win my company.”

Mike’s grip tightened. “Serious gamblers like those five will do strange things to flip their luck shiny side up. There are rumors in the Sectors casino world of beings called luck pullers who can bring big payoffs and the right turn of the cards to a person. The stakes are so high in this damn tournament we’re hosting, any advantage, real or perceived, would be worth a fortune to the right person. ”

“There’s a lot of prestige and bragging rights involved as well,” Jake agreed. “Winning here or even placing high enough opens other doors for future opportunities.”

Head spinning, Dahlia held up a hand. “I’m not a luck puller. I’m an ordinary girl and I don’t want to know any more about the hard core gamblers. It’s a different world than the one I inhabit and from what I’ve seen today, it’s scary.”

“I won’t let any of it touch you again,” Mike said and she believed him.

They left Jake behind after Dahlia promised to be in his office promptly in the morning to swear out a complaint.

Mike escorted her to his office where she sank into one of the comfortable chairs and broke into tears.

He picked her up and sat her in his lap, where she leaned her head against his chest and wept.

Mike rubbed soothing circles on her back and whispered in her ear but made no complaint as she drenched his suit jacket and shirt.

A serving robo came in, deposited a tray on the desk and left.

“Maeve sent you a cup of your favorite tea,” Mike said. “And cookies to go along with it.”

Dahlia wiped her eyes. “Tea would help.”

He rose, setting her on the chair by herself and walked to the desk to get her the tea and other refreshments, as well as a tissue. “Feeling better?” he asked as he placed the items on a small table next to her.

“Yes.” She managed a small nod. “I don’t think the casino manager is supposed to fill in as a waiter.”

“Only for special guests,” was his cheerful answer. “You sip your tea and I’m going to change.”

“I’m sorry-”

“I’m not. I’m glad I could be here for you, but I’m livid my former employee caused you this distress today.” He went into the adjoining room and re-emerged a minute or two later.

Dahlia inhaled sharply, then flushed in embarrassment.

Mike’s fresh shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his six pack abdominal muscles and his pants were open at the waist, showing a hint of the vee and a trail of hair leading where her eyes very much wanted to travel.

Embarrassed by her reaction, she hastily averted her gaze, spilling a bit of tea on her uniform. She took too big a swallow and choked.

Mike seemed unaware of her reaction to his half-dressed state, buttoning up the shirt and tucking it in before refastening his pants and shrugging into the jacket.

He seated himself at the desk. “Take your time and when you’re ready I’ll walk you to your quarters.

We’ll give you full pay for today’s shift but no cut of the tips since you were technically never out on the floor. ”

“That’s fair,” she said. “You don’t have to escort me to my cabin. I’ll be fine.”

“I want to,” he said. “You’re important to me and this happened on my watch, in my casino. Besides, then I’ll know exactly where to come to pick you up for our date next week. We’re still on for the dinner and the show, right?”

“Of course.” She was surprised he felt he even had to ask, but then she had just told him she didn’t like his world. “What happened today had nothing to do with you except for the rescuing me part, which I’m grateful for. Let me go change and if you insist, you can walk me to my door.”

Dahlia slipped away to the dressing room where the night shift waitresses were busy getting dressed. Several of them greeted her and Mardri came over to say hello. “I heard something went down,” she said in a low voice. “You okay?”

Swallowing hard, Dahlia considered what she could and couldn’t say. She let the makeup robo remove her smeared cosmetics and then said, “I can’t talk about it but yeah, there was an unpleasant meeting and I was in it. I’m sure Mike — Mr. Remington will put out a note to the casino staff.”

“And that slimy bastard Carter got fired?” her friend asked.

“I heard the casino manager say he was.” Dahlia decided to stick to the bare minimum of truth.

“Good. The guy was always up to no good is what I heard. You’re not working tonight?” Mardri looked confused as Dahlia brushed her hair into its normal style and shed the flouncy dress.

“There was a misunderstanding about my schedule. Listen I’ve got to go, someone’s waiting for me.

I don’t know if I’ll ever work the casino again, but I appreciate all your help and friendship.

” Dahlia gave Mardri a hug, careful not to disturb the other woman’s makeup or hair, and then hastened to the door.

She retraced her steps to Mike’s office and knocked.

He emerged immediately as if he’d been waiting for her right on the other side of the portal.

Taking her hand, he escorted her to the employee entrance and they emerged into the bustling public corridor.

Dahlia was a little uncomfortable holding hands in public, but Mike wasn’t in uniform so she supposed it was all right.

Mike stayed close to her in the gravlift and made sure she exited smoothly on her level.

Dahlia was tempted to invite him into her cabin but she remembered she’d left it in a bit of a mess when she’d got the call to report to the casino and the more she thought about having him in her space, the more awkward she felt.

The residence corridor was deserted and Mike pulled her into his arms. “I wish I wasn’t on duty,” he said. “Will you be all right on your own?”

“I’m fine. The whole thing was unpleasant and shocking, but it’s over and I can move on. Besides I have Petal for company and I need to talk to Maeve about my dress for next week.”

He stared into her eyes with an intensity that had her inner core heating. “It’s too long until next week. I’m going to be hella busy with the early rounds of the tournament, but I’ll com you daily.”

“I’ll look forward to it. We’ll still be on the same ship,” she said in a consoling tone.

“My time isn’t my own until this tourney is over.

Even our date is related to it,” he groused.

“But once it’s over, I’m anticipating the chance to get to know you better, much better.

” Mike lowered his head and gave her a kiss which started out sweet and became involved the longer it went on.

His tongue licked the seam of her lips and she parted them to allow him entry.

He tasted like the finest coffee with hints of chocolate and maybe a bit of wine and the effect was instantly intoxicating.

Dahlia wasn’t ready for the kiss to end but eventually Mike broke it off and stepped back.

“Let me see you safely inside with the door locked,” he said.

Flustered, she complied, leaning against her door the minute she got inside, legs shaky after the intense kiss. Dahlia was tempted to fling open the door and call him back, messy cabin or not, but she remembered what he’d said about his job and stopped herself from being so impulsive.

Petal chirruped from the bedroom and Dahlia went to say hello to her pet and tell her all about the events of the day while she changed into a comfortable pair of sweatpants and an oversized tee shirt.

She wanted to crawl into her bed and curl up with a good book — a steamy romance would be ideal — and escape the world for right now.

The feeling of Mike’s lips against hers lingered and she smiled.

This date next week was going to be interesting to say the least.