Total pages in book: 175
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 166095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 830(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
“Nope. Just a male far, far too in love with a human, like the great big fool he is.”
Zakoar’s assistant Tikosa gives me a grimace of pure displeasure. “He’s in the back, yes. And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to see you.”
“Pfft. You don’t know that. I have real business today, anyhow. And I even brought credits.” I shake my money pouch, letting the credits clink against one another. “Surely he’d want to see me for that.”
Tikosa continues to eye me as if I’m vermin. His gaze slides to Dora, who quivers under my arm, and then back to me. He thinks for a moment, and then with a long sigh, gets to his feet. “I’ll notify him, but only on one condition.”
Oho, a bargain. Now we’re getting somewhere. “What did you have in mind?”
“If you see Zebah, tell her I’ve got something for her.” And the poor male flushes, right up to the bases of his horns.
I just bet he does. Everyone on the station knows about Tikosa’s crush on the flirty bounty hunter, and how she keeps stringing him along. “You do know she’s been avoiding me lately right? Considering she stole my ship?”
“It wasn’t your ship in the first place, and I know. But you have a habit of showing up in everyone else’s business so I thought I’d pull you into mine.” He meets me with a steady gaze. “Tell her I’ll make it worth her while.”
Well now I almost want to run into her. Almost. “Sure.”
He grunts and goes to the wall panel, then knocks on it in a series of raps, then thumps his fist against it once. With a surly look back at me, he returns to his seat and picks up the pad, returning to his work once more. Dora gives me a nervous look, then eyes our surroundings, clearly afraid to touch anything. It’s not like she could break anything in here—everything’s already broken. Zakoar’s a male who makes a business out of taking broken things and making them better…and I hope he can do so for my fluffit.
I squeeze her shoulder as the door opens and Zakoar emerges from the warren of secret rooms he has behind his store front. At my side, Dora stiffens, which I expected. There’s a lot to look at with Zakoar of the Broken Back. I’m sure some of it is advertisement and the rest is probably pure stubbornness. He’s got the credits and the means to have fantastic cybernetics, and instead he chooses to look like a half-metal monstrosity. From his strange eyes to his metal jaw, to the lattice of metal bolts that go down his back, he’s terrifying to look at and I half-expect the fluffit to bolt in terror. She doesn’t, though. She only clings to me, as if I can somehow protect her from the universe.
“Not you again,” Zakoar growls in way of greeting. His metal joints creak as he moves forward, glaring at us.
“My, I sure do get that sort of thing a lot,” I say coyly as I step forward. “One would almost think you don’t want to see me.” I force a slight pout to my lips. “My feelings, they’re crushed. Crushed, I tell you.”
“What do you want, Bethiah?” He regards me with a cool gaze, ignoring my attempts at levity. I can’t help but notice that his pretty little human isn’t around. Maybe that’s why he’s cranky right now. It certainly can’t have anything to do with me. Whatever he might think, I pay my debts.
Well…mostly.
But I intend to pay this one.
I pull Dora in front of me and beam at the parts master. “This is Dora. She is a weak and defenseless human. I want to get her kitted out with a way to defend herself. I’m thinking implants, hidden weapons, the works. We need to make her an absolute terror so no one will ever kef with her just because she looks soft and sweet.”
He frowns at me, his eyes narrowing as he steps forward and eyes the now-frozen Dora. “She’s whole?”
“Seems to be.”
“And you want me to cut her up and give her parts?” He eyes me. “You want me to take a perfectly healthy human and remove her arms and fit them with metal ones.”
He makes it sound positively crazy. “Unless you have a better idea?”
Dora squeaks. “Do…do I get a say in this?”
Fourteen
DORA
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I thought Bethiah was my friend and that our flirtiness hinted that we might be more at some point. That she might care for me, just a little, in her weird sort of way. Instead, I’m finding out that she wants to take me apart and make me some sort of crazy cyborg. To have my limbs removed and replaced with metal ones so I can better defend myself.