“We haven’t had any serious injuries in the tunnels except for the occasional scrapes or bruises. I heard that two tribes down, though, a man came in injured. The tribe docs weren’t able to do much, so they sent for the Drastan healers who had been passing through here at the time.”
“How long ago was this?” Corey asked glancing over at Nix. She stayed where she was, not wanting to freak the woman out by suddenly appearing. She could see the poor woman shaking in fear.
“I think the injured guy arrived yesterday, but I can’t be sure, it’s rumors mostly that I’m going by.”
“Two tribes down, you say?”
“Yes.”
“When does the subcar leave again?”
“It will be eight hours before it’s back. Right now there’s only one subcar working in this area.”
Nix could see the frustration on Corey’s face and knew what he was thinking. Waiting eight hours before they could leave and then possibly a couple more hours to reach the right tribe was just too long. The injured male could leave before they reached him. No, they needed to find a way to leave immediately. She heard Corey open the door for the woman, showing her out.
“Thanks for coming here and giving us this information.”
The woman shrugged, “I know that many humans don’t trust the Drastans, but my daughter is alive because of the treatments she is receiving. I owe them this. Good luck with your mission.”
“Be safe and thanks again.” Corey closed the door after the woman left and turned to look at Nix. “Over eight hours…”
“I know, that’s too long to wait. I have an idea,” she said as she turned around and went back into the bedroom.
He followed after her. “What is it?”
“I need to go speak with Warrior Vendy,” she told him, sliding into her jeans.
“Not alone.” Corey reached for his shirt.
“Yes, alone. It won’t take long. I’m going to ask for a Drastan travel cart. They move much faster than a subcar and are quieter. We’ll be able to get in and out without causing too much interest.”
“I don’t like you going alone. How can we be sure that this Warrior Vendy is trustworthy?”
“Damn it, Corey, we don’t have time to argue about this. I know what I’m doing. The male we’re looking for could be gone in a matter of hours. I’m going to acquire the travel cart alone, and that’s an order.”
Corey glared angrily at her for using her rank against him. She’d know when she said it that it would cause strain between them. Their lovemaking had brought them closer, to an equal footing, but now she was throwing up a wall between them.
“Fine, I’ll give you twenty minutes to get this done.”
“I’ll be back in fifteen.” She finished putting on her boots and walked to the door. She paused to look back at him, he had turned to face her.
“Nix, about last night…” Corey began, but she interrupted him.
“We can talk about that later.”
“Right, later,” Corey didn’t sound like he believed her.
Nix knew that she and Corey would have to have that talk. Things needed to be cleared up about their past sexual encounter and then about their most recent. Now that she was sure Corey had not been purposely ignoring their previous encounter, she had to reconcile her feelings about it. It wasn’t right to hold that against him. Her hurt feelings had been largely appeased, but now they were being replaced with fear.
Spending time with Corey had opened her eyes to things about him that she liked. His protectiveness for his friends, his inner strength that had allowed him to survive the hardest of times, and his bravery and willingness to do anything to protect those he cared about. She was definitely falling for Corey, but she was so scared of having her heart broken. It had never really been a risk before. What if he didn’t feel the same way about her? What if this was the last time he wanted to be with her? The thought of never being with Corey again ripped her heart to shreds.
Nix wanted to say something to fix the tension between them, but there was no time. She had to leave now to get that travel cart. Hopefully once they were on their way, she would have a little time to talk to him. At least, that was the plan. Things didn’t always work out the way she wanted them to.
*****
Corey was both frustrated and angry that Nix would pull rank on him like that. What the hell! He’d thought that they were working as partners, and more than that, he had felt that they were becoming closer emotionally, especially now that they were both aware of their shared past. Obviously she didn’t feel the same as he did. Maybe she wanted to punish him for not remembering their first time? Okay, he could understand if she was still angry about that. He hated that he couldn’t remember all the details of that night. It haunted him. He wanted to make up for it, but now he wondered whether Nix would even give him a chance to. It felt like she was pushing him away, putting up an emotional wall between them, and he wanted to smash it down. Out of frustration, he kicked the wall with his boot.
Fourteen minutes later, Nix returned. Some of his tension left in the flood of relief at seeing she was safe. “Did everything go okay?”
