Page 30 of Veiled Vixen

CHAPTER FIVE - VALOR

“Baby,” I say, once I’m in the empty harem room again.

“Yes, Valor.” And I don’t know how, but the Baby sounds a lot less like Baby since I woke up and a lot more like Real ALCOR.

“Were you listening?”

“No. I left. But I already know. I was there when he… came back.”

“Did Corla send messages?”

“I do not know.”

“Are you on our side?”

“I do not know that either. I’m not sure who I am, Valor.”

“Yeah. That makes two of us.”

“No one trusts me.”

“Can you blame them?”

“I am different now. I was younger then.”

“It was six weeks ago, Baby.”

“I know. But a lot has happened in that six weeks. Was there something you needed?”

“Yeah. Where’s Veila?”

“She’s sitting in the airlock to her ship. Up on the executive level docking bay.”

“What is she doing in there?”

He pauses here. “I think she is… sad.”

“Sad?” I’m disgusted. “That bitch has no right to be sad. She’s the whole reason this is happening.”

“I could be interpreting her wrong,” Baby admits. “But she’s locked her cyborgs out of the airlock and she’s not entering her ship. She’s currently holding up several dozen borgs on shift change.”

“Well”—I sigh, tugging on my shirt a little to straighten it out—“I guess I’ll go see what that’s all about.”

“It won’t work,” he says, as I walk towards the upper level docking bay elevator.

“What won’t work?”

“Tricking her with the soulmate bond. She understands it better than you do.”

“I thought you said you weren’t listening?”

“I wasn’t. But I am not stupid, Valor. So be careful when you lie to her. You could just be lying to yourself.”

“Thanks for the tip,” I say, pressing the button to open the lift, then walking in when the doors open.

“I like you,” Baby says. “I like all of you, actually. And I’m sorry that Luck is so angry with me.”

“He’s angry with you?” I ask as the lift doors close. “Why do you think this is about you?”