Dawn Autumn (16 page)

Fred cast her a grin before a crowd of people swamped them. She blinked as he was momentarily hidden from view by several people all talking at once.

Suddenly a slight young being jumped up and perched on the back of Fred’s booth. His long toes clung to the seatback like a perch as he rested his two fingered hands on his knees. His tail switched as he peered at Rebel. “You have a pendragon.” His sharp canines gleamed white in his leonine face as he peered at them.

Rebel hissed at him, curling his tail protectively around her neck.

“Shh,” Jay crooned as she reached up and caressed him. “Easy, sweetheart. I’ve got you.” She was happy the nosey guy was wearing a one piece that covered him from shoulders to groin, because with him perched like a canary on the back of the booth, his crotch was uncomfortably in line of sight. She averted her eyes and looked for Fred.

Rebel snuggled closer and hissed again as attention turned to them. Fred waded through the crush and took her hand, drawing her from the booth. “This is my wife, Jay. She’s a musician from Earth.”

A big brown guy who looked like a walking rock furrowed his brow. “Earth? Anybody heard of that?” There was some murmuring and a few head shakes.

Tayl raised his hands and said loudly, “
Lately
of Earth. Tonight she’s one of us, ay? Let’s hear it for Jay Kutlazx Azair, newest member of the Azair family!”

“Toast! Toast!” The shout went up, and Fred quickly retrieved their drinks.

It got a little confusing after that. Jay promptly forgot half the names as she was introduced to a sea of people. There had to be at least thirty who wanted to meet her, but only six fit at the new table they were invited to join. She ended up seated between Tayl and Fred. Kok the Rock (as she privately dubbed the rock guy), sat on a stout stool across from her, the chair perching Nightbird to his left. A pretty redhead with sharp teeth, red nails and pointy ears claimed the last chair. Jay couldn’t remember her name, but everyone called her Red. She wore a lot of it, mixed with black and had a headband with beaded medallions at the side. The fringed ends brushed her cheekbones.

Jay fielded questions and nibbled on her food, happy to have something to occupy her hands. All the attention was a little intimidating. It was fun to watch Fred, though. She’d never seen him so happy. Relaxed and animated, he played catch up with his friends, traded insults and quips with Tayl like old buddies who’d never outgrown their teenage years. She felt a glow just looking at him.

“Hey, Fred. I’ve got to use the can,” Tayl said over Jay’s head. “Need a break?”

“Yeah.” Fred set down his empty drink and gave Jay a quick kiss. “Keep an eye on her for me, will you?” he told his friends.

Tayl waited until they were out of earshot before he clapped Fred on the back and murmured, “You are one lucky animal, you know that? Her eyes actually glow when she looks at you.”

Fred smiled to himself. Yeah, she did that to him, too. His friends probably thought he’d lost it.

“Lost in love, I see,” Tayl teased him. “She got a sister?”

“Nope.”

“Aunt? Cousin? Grandma?”

Fred laughed. “What’s wrong with Red? The only reason she hangs with our crowd is for you.”

“You got that one wrong. Sadly, the object of her hopes and dreams just got hitched.”

Fred shook his head. “We were never going to happen. I told her that years ago.”

“Women like to hope,” Tayl said as he swung open the men’s room door. “So tell me about this thing you got going with Tark.”

* * * *

Jay was sleepy. Fred’s friends still had a lot of energy, but she’d had a long day. Crashing at home sounded better all the time, but she wouldn’t tell Fred. She didn’t want to be the one to bust up the party.

“So how did you and Kutlazx meet?” Red demanded. She had a way of phrasing everything as a demand.

Jay opened her mouth to answer and got distracted by a disturbance neat the door. An angry buzz began as the curious crowded closer to see what was going on. Suddenly a man went flying. He was followed by a second, cursing loudly. She just caught a glimpse of Fred through the crowd before he disappeared behind a milling mass of bodies, all trying to escape the brown mass pushing into their core.

Insectoids! Jay froze in horror. These were the monsters who’d invaded her apartment and violated her pristine bathroom. She’d fled into Fred’s arms the last time, but he was across the room now, making violent gestures to her to run.

Run? Where? She looked around franticly but could see no exit.

“Come on!” Nightbird jumped on the table and hauled her to her feet with surprising strength. “You’re with us.” Not waiting for an answer, he tucked her under his arm and cleared the table in one bound, handing her off to Kok. Rebel squawked angrily around her head as Kok hustled her toward the now deserted stage, shoving things and people out of his way like a tank.

“But Fred!” Jay gasped, unable to prevent being herded through the melee.

“Fred says to run!” Nightbird said, bounding ahead.

Red slapped something against her ear and Jay grabbed it by reflex. It was a small cell phone-like box. “Jay?” Fred’s voice came over the box. There was a grunt and a loud crash. “Stick with Kok and do whatever he tells you until I get you. Got it?”

“Okay,” Jay said shakily. “I love—“

Red yanked away the phone as Kok boosted Jay up on the stage. “This is no time for a social call, Earthling.”

“Fred might need help,” she protested as he took her arm and towed her along. “Ow!”

The bruising grip loosened. “Sorry.”

“We’re going to need help if we don’t make ourselves scarce,” Red said, guarding the rear. “You ever see an insectoid tear somebody limb from limb?”

Jay suppressed a whimper at the thought of Fred trapped in there with those monsters. She couldn’t loose him now.

“Don’t worry about it,” Red said, as if sensing her thoughts. “He’s got Tayl at his back. No stinking insect is going to get past the two of them.”

Jay hoped they were right. They had a lot of living left to do, and it’d be awfully hard to do if Fred was dead.

Chapter Eleven

“When you said you wanted to get together tonight, I had no idea you’d be bringing entertainment.” Tayl kicked the clubs back door shut, crunching a pincher between it and the frame.

“Just like old times,” Fred said as he ran up the stairs. The banter was automatic, though. He’d never had Jay to worry about in the old days.

“Will you get your mind in the game?” Tayl said sharply. “Kok and the guys have her. She’s a lot better off than we are right now.” They reached the roof and looked around. “There!” Tayl headed for a hover cycle just rising over the top of the building. “Tell me again why you didn’t come with a remote?”

Fred ignored him and drew a cylinder from his belt. “Flash bomb,” he said in warning, dropping it down below. There was a bright light, then things got quiet for a moment as several bugs disintegrated.

“Hop on,” Tayl said, pulling up. “This roof will be swarming in minutes.” As he spoke, the roof access door blew off, spilling several bugs out. They zoomed off, just seconds from capture.

“That was close,” Tayl called over the rush of the wind.

“It was clumsy,” Fred shouted back. He hated being on the back of a cycle. Things that wouldn’t bother him if he was the driver drove him crazy as a passenger. He needed to be in control of these things. “If it was Tark’s son, he’s lazier than I thought.”

“What do you expect from a four-year old? I doubt he’d bother to leave his hive in his lifespan if his father weren’t at him with a prod.”

“We can’t go back to my place any time soon. You mind if we crash with you for a few days?”

“Bring it on. We’ve got plenty of room on the ship.”

“You’re still living in that thing?”

“Since when do you complain? You used to scoff at the idea of being land locked.”

“Jay ….”

“Ah. I get it now. You think she’d turn her nose up?”

Fred remembered her ratty apartment. She’d kept it clean and done the best she could, but he didn’t want her to have to live like that again. He’d planned to whisk her away, dazzle her with pleasure and comfort. He didn’t know how she would take being stuck on a dilapidated old starship for any length of time. He didn’t want to disappoint her.

He didn’t want her to leave him.

“If you think she’ll have a problem ...,” Tayl said slowly, as if testing the waters.

“We’ll be fine. Thanks, man.” Fred didn’t want to voice his fears and risk insulting his friend. Just because his ex-wife would never have put up with five minutes on a shabby ship without cursing at him to fix it didn’t mean Jay would, too. His ex had demanded the best and took it as a personal insult if anything or anyone didn’t measure up to her impossible standards. He’d fallen into the habit of trying to please her even as he’d privately cursed her. Nothing he’d ever done had pleased her.

The very reason he’d been attracted to Jay was because she was the exact opposite, expecting little from him. She was so undemanding that he’d enjoyed spoiling her. It did something for him, taking care of his woman.

Jay was going to be okay with this, he told himself. If not .... He blew out a hard breath. He’d just have to wait and hope.

* * * *

“Fred!” Jay shouted as they dismounted in the cargo bay. She ran to him and started checking for damage.

“Will you stop?” he laughed, pulling her into an embrace. “Nothing’s broken.”

She gave a shuddering sigh and buried herself in his arms. “Thank God. I was worried.”

Her concern warmed that barren place inside him, like balm over frostbite, but he answered lightly, “Take it easy, baby. I’m pretty much indestructible.”

“Yeah, right.” She looked skeptical, but at least her trembling slowed.

“Come on, you two. We need to hit orbit. I don’t like squatting here like a fruit can on a shooting range.” Tayl finished securing his cycle and strode out.

Jay hurried after him, nearly dragging Fred by the hand. “This is so cool! A real spaceship. If I wasn’t so tense, I’d be flipping out. Are we really going into space?”