Jolar didn’t need any more encouragement than that to help hurry things along, though he did make me bend over to apply ointment on my ass. Which was sweet, but unnecessary. The soak had done an admirable job of soothing things down there.
“What would you like to eat?” Jolar asked as we walked into the shuttle bay.
“Anything as long as it’s food and I didn’t have to cook it. How about we look at what there is and decide then?”
The result of this was we found ourselves inside a little cantina style place eating some really delicious freshly made tamales and sipping a margarita each. We’d promised ourselves just the one, with chilled bottles of Mexican Coke for after.
“Mm, this is so good,” I said, shoveling another bite into my mouth.”
“We should bring Neal next time,” Jolar replied. “He loves tacos.”
“We should get a to go order of their homemade tortilla chips and queso to take home. We can all munch on it while we watch a movie before he goes to bed,” I suggested.
“Not Lilo and Stitch.”
I laughed. “Yeah, no. I was thinking of another old school one. Maybe The Shaggy DA, it kind of has a dog in it. Well, it does have a dog in it, but it’s not a real dog. You know what? You’ll get it when you watch it.”
He shrugged. “I’ll trust you to pick.”
“Why that’s very good of you, kind sir,” I said, raising my glass in a toast. He clinked his against mine, eyes dancing. I took a mental snapshot, wanting to hold this moment forever. It was everything I’d dreamed of when I thought about having a relationship, and now that I had it, I was going to treasure every single moment.
CHAPTER35
JOLAR
“Hey, look who’s back!”
I cocked my head quizzically at Klora. We’d encountered each other on the elevator this morning, where he knew I was getting my official sign off to return to work.
“You expected me to not show up until tomorrow?” I asked him.
He snorted. “Man, you are so literal! That’s a human expression, it means, like, hey, look at you! You’re back and we’re glad to see you!”
“Should simply say that then,” Sachuu informed him. “It would save confusion as we are not humans and I think you are not always using these expressions correctly.”
Klora’s jaw dropped, and he moved his mouth as if he was going to say something to refute the L.T.C. but snapped it shut instead.
“Yes, sir,” he mumbled instead, leaving me greatly relieved. He was becoming far too informal in his speech and manners. I hoped he really did commit himself to adhering to protocol more. When it was just the two of us and others of similar rank, informality was fine. Not so much when it’s one of our commanding officers or a high ranking official.
The L.T.C. turned his attention to me. “Did the doctor discover why you had a mating fever relapse for certain, then?”
“Mmhmm,” I affirmed. “My bloodwork showed high stress hormone levels, and he said it triggered my need to confirm our bond.”
“Stress?” he sighed. “This case we are working is only going to get more stressful, nor is it our only case on our list. Another warrior was found deceased, this time in the desert outside of Las Vegas’s city limits.”
“No way!” Klora exclaimed.
“Yes way,” Sachuu said wearily. “Like the first body found, he was bound and beaten.”
“Did he still have his head?” Klora asked, leaning forward.
“Yes, but his throat was cut. It is entirely possible that the first victim’s partial decapitation was accidental. Same angle of cut, appears to be the same weapon, but much less force. Also like the first victim, he was nowhere near where he was expected to be. He’s been identified as Plorit na Klomnel, an engineer working on Hasnir Station.”
Klora and I exchanged surprised looks. “He didn’t have any business with the Fleet, then?” I asked. “Hasnir Station is two full quadrants away.”
“None at all. There is also no record of him leaving the station, or arriving within this solar system, nor is there a record of any unauthorized vehicles coming in-system or going down to the planet from the Fleet.”
I swallowed. This did sound like a puzzling case, one that was going to take up a lot of hours and tax our abilities to the maximum.
