“Right.”
Raphael had hoped Indigo Smith might beat them back to Earth and be a nonissue once he and Francine returned. No such luck. It was frustrating to have to recapture the wily criminal. Would this be the last time? Or would Indigo Smith escape as he always did? He understood that no one fully understood the criminal’s shapeshifting capabilities.
Supposedly, the gulag he’d been assigned to had been warned of his unique skills. They should have taken better precautions to hold on to their prisoner, in Raphael’s humble opinion.
The shower started up in the next room and Raphael’s focus on wily, escaped criminals changed quickly to more carnal activities.
He was on vacation. He planned to enjoy it.
Raphael put his communication device on silent, forgot about everything else and headed to join his love, Francine.
Chapter Thirteen
Alpha Space Shuttle nearing Earth – three days later
Raphael and Francine held hands and reclined in their first-class seats. They were nearing the end of the trip. He was both happy and sad about that. He was happy to have had this time alone with Francine to forge a bond that would carry them into their bright future, sad it was coming to an end too quickly.
All of the passengers got on the flight at the Lava Rock World departure platform. It was a direct one-day flight from there to the Earth colony with no stops along the way, not even for refueling.
He’d eyed the others in the first-class lounge to discover if there would be any troublemakers like the large, tattered-looking woman on the flight from Ichor-Delta to Alpha-Prime. One man was as large as she’d been, but he was older, graying. Unlike the loud woman’s ragged appearance upon boarding, the man was well-dressed. Something about him seemed familiar. Raphael studied his face and couldn’t place him.
The man’s traveling companion was a tall woman who wore expensive clothing and even more expensive jewelry that did nothing to sweeten the frown on her face. She also struck a familiar chord with Raphael. Perhaps it was her foul attitude that twigged his memory. Some people refused to be content, preferring to seek out drama and irritation every single day of their lives.
Raphael did not like excessive drama.
No one seated in the premium section had made any scenes, although the couple he’d noticed seemed particularly unhappy. Since boarding, they hadn’t spoken a single word to each other. They didn’t look at each other. It was as if each pretended the other didn’t exist. Trouble in paradise? Unfortunate, and not his business.
Francine squeezed his fingers and he snapped out of his reverie. “Ready to get back home?”
“I’m sort of torn on that one. I’m anxious to see my kitten and sleep in my own bed, but it was a lovely trip and I appreciate you taking me. Lava Rock World was better than I thought it would be.”
“It was my pleasure. I left with a fake fiancée and I’m coming back with a real one. That makes me happy beyond words. And I also liked Lava Rock World more than I expected to.”
Francine turned in her seat and leaned close. It was intimate and he liked it.
“I also want to give you a special thank you for taking me to my sister’s wedding and quietly enduring all the drama surrounding that affair.”
Raphael moved closer to his love. In a low tone, he said, “Well, thank you for understanding my little brother’s feelings and sharing them so we could get past a difficulty I hadn’t even been aware of.”
He kissed her with gratitude, she kissed him back with desire, so he didn’t stop. They kissed until the speaker system announced that the flight would land in less than half an hour and to gather belongings near their seats.
Raphael glanced at the silent couple one row ahead of them on the opposite side of the aisle and was surprised to see the woman staring at him with a menacing expression. She saw him watching and turned away.What’s her problem? Maybe kissing in public is against her moral code. Too bad.
Once the transport landed, he and Francine walked behind the angry couple until they reached the base of the stairs and entered the Big Bang Truck Stop’s underground facilities.
It was night on this little slice of Earth, so he didn’t have to fish his sunglasses out of his bag. When the other couple got to the bottom of the staircase, they each headed in a different direction, marching with hard, fast steps like they couldn’t get away from each other fast enough.Good riddance.
Raphael had arranged for Francine’s bags to be delivered to her home, so she wouldn’t have to lug them around in the crowd.
Before he got two steps from the first-class stairway, Diesel appeared seemingly out of nowhere to block his path. “’Bout time you got back here.”
Raphael hid his surprise. “Why? Do you have news?”
“No, but now we can sit here together and worry about what’s coming.”
“Oh, joy. Just what I’ve longed for,” Raphael deadpanned.
