Page 32

Chapter 7

Icy terror froze Dallinat the back of the shoe store he was in. His scanner had revealed nothing useful, and he’d been about to leave, when a group of twenty noisy Carolanes barged in, all talking so loudly the sound was getting through his ear defenders.

He pressed his hand against the side of his head, muffling the sound, which helped, but his eyes continued to water and his throat felt tight.

He couldn’t freak out in here, not with Sloane out of reach. He should never have agreed to split up from her.

Dallin inched his way around the edge of the store, being careful to avoid bumping into the racks of shoes all around him. The air felt too thin, and he was struggling to breathe over the stench of excited females, shoe polish, and leather.

One of the Carolanes nudged her friend and gestured at Dallin, a curious look on her face. They both giggled, before hurrying away.

He had to stop and take several deep breaths before he could move again. He’d lost track of time, and might have been standing at the back of the store for minutes or hours. His stupid brain had let him down again.

Dallin smacked the side of his head, which earned him more curious glances from the Carolanes and the store android who was approaching him.

He made it to the front of the store and threw himself through the door, slamming into a Draxian who was walking by.

“Watch it, jerk,” the Draxian growled.

Dallin reached for the glasses that had fallen from his face, but they were crushed under the foot of another alien before he could get to them.

He scowled at the alien’s back, then hurried to the store Sloane had gone in and looked inside. He couldn’t see her.

He removed an ear defender, plugged the communication button in his ear, and accessed their shared comm link. “Sloane, are you still in the store? I ran the scan next door, but came up with nothing.”

She didn’t respond.

Dallin waited a moment, expecting to see her any second, but she still didn’t appear.

“Sloane, we need to move. What’s keeping you so long?”

Still nothing. She wouldn’t have gone on ahead without telling him where she was going. She must still be here. Unless he’d had a serious malfunction, so she’d left him behind because he was no use to her.

He gritted his teeth and hurried over to the android behind the counter. “Have you seen a short, auburn-haired human leave this store?”

“Good morning, I’m Sybil. I’m happy to serve you today.”

“Great. The human? She came in here a few minutes ago. Or maybe longer. Within the last hour.” Damn his deep fried brain for making things so difficult.

“I know of this human. She made an excellent purchase.”

“She did what?”

“Might I recommend the matching camisole slip to go with the underwear she bought?”

“I don’t want any underwear. I want to know where she went. She hasn’t left the store?”

“The human is in the changing rooms.” The serving android shook her head. “But you can’t go back there, sir. That area is for females only.”

Dallin raced into the changing area. “Sloane! Where are you?” He ripped aside curtains, but there was no sign of her.

He was about to return to the store, when Dallin spotted a door. He charged through it and found himself in a storeroom.

A quick check showed there was no sign of Sloane, but a door set in one wall was open. She must have gone through there. He hurried through it.

Dallin’s heart tripped as he discovered her scanner discarded on the floor. He bent and picked it up. Where the hell was she?

“Sir, I must ask you to leave.” The serving android was in the doorway. “I have informed station security of this breach. This area is out of bounds to visitors.”