Yes!“I need five thousand in universal currency,” I said in a low voice.
She sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s…not easy.” The book lover’s gleam in her eyes turned into distress.
“I know. I’m sorry. I wouldgivethem to you if I could, but that’s my best price.”
She leaned toward me, her soft waist pressing into the counter, her even softer brown eyes pleading with me to drop my price. “Why? Why do you need that much?”
All the frustration and want and hope and sadness inside me punched out, seeming to blow holes right through the slots between my ribs. “So I can repair a door, fly off this rock, and liberate more things that need freeing.” I didn’t confine my mission to books. As much as I loved and appreciated them, other things ranked higher than novels on the list ofwhat to deliver from tyranny.
Susan closed her eyes and took a deep, long breath, her hair like a halo of fire around her head. When she opened her eyes again, I could have sworn they were wet. For some reason, that made a hint of tears burn behind my own eyes, when I hadn’t cried in years. This amazing place—and woman—were wreaking havoc on my heart.
She finally nodded, her look saying it all.How can I? But how can I not?Her skin seemed to scream it from every pore.
“Bring me the rest in two days,” she said, “and I’ll have what you need.”
Relief sang through me. That was perfect.
Her eyes suddenly darted to look at something beyond my shoulder, and she shoved the book under the counter, whispering an urgent “Get behind here.”
Years of living on the run honed certain instincts in anyone. That tone of voice—low and brittle, with rising panic just underneath—I knew it so well that I didn’t hesitate for one second. In two steps, I was around the counter and diving down faster than a comet about to inflict Armageddon on some poor, unsuspecting planet.
Chapter 10
The bell tinkled loudly justas I landed on all fours behind the counter. Susan stayed close to the register and used her foot to nudge me toward the stairs, sending me oozing down the steep, tight spiral. I held the bag of books against my middle, trying not to make a sound. I stepped quietly, hardly even breathing, and ended up in what must have been her living space, although it closely resembled the bookshop.
My heart racing, I eased backward until I was out of sight entirely but could still hear the conversation above. It sounded as though three, possibly even four people had come in. They were loud—of mouth and step. Military-issue boots always hit the floor with a distinctive thud.
I glanced around to make sure I was alone. I was—except for cats. Cats were everywhere.
I darted anxious looks from side to side and up and down. Cats occupied much of the available space, even sitting atop furniture and bookshelves.
Did they bite? How many colors did they come in? There were some bright-orange ones draped across the back of a tattered couch, parts of the animals almost pink, especially their noses. The rest of the felines mostly came in whites, grays, and blacks.
Susan’s odd question suddenly made more sense. Had she been talking about cats?
A striped one approached me and weaved between my ankles, rubbing against my legs. The sinewy motion reminded me of a snake. Not that I’d ever been around snakes, either. In fact, the only living thing I knew how to deal with besides people was bees. How weird was that?
I stood there, still and quiet, nervous about what was above and nervous about all these unfamiliar creatures below. I tried not to startle the felines or seem threatening in any way. If they ganged up on me, they would totally win.
The smallish cat continued using my leg as a head scratcher while I gazed up, listening for clues as to what was happening overhead. Customers wouldn’t have freaked the owner out. But the Dark Watch… And those boots…
My gut clenched. I’d had my back to the door and a bag of stolen, unstamped books in my hands.
Bad move, Tess.
Did Susan get visits like this often? A military patrol banging into her shop?
“When are you finally going to clean this place up, Susan?” a woman demanded. I heard a chair clatter and scrape across the floor, as if roughly kicked aside.
My hands fisted at my sides. I was going to have a fit if they touched those wooden tables.
“Oh… Um… Soon. I’ve been meaning to.” Susan went quiet for a moment. “I got distracted by a book and…forgot.”
Someone snorted loudly. A male. “And what book had you so interested that you couldn’t clean up this shithole like we told you to last week?”
Shithole!This was the most amazing place I’d ever seen besides the apiary on Starway 8.
I swallowed the rage and protest burning up my throat. Now wasn’t the time to shout them out.
