A Dangerous Connection – Chapter 3

I awake with a start to the sound of loud crashes and shouting voices.

Where am I? I rub at my face and look around. I’m on Tiago’s couch and the little alien cat-bat is curled up next to me. Its respiration is rapid, and it’s shaking.

Laying my hand gently on its back, the warmth of my skin sinks into the creature and the trembling calms a little. I draw in a quick breath as fear washes over me. Intense, all-consuming terror. Blackness.

I jerk my hand away and the feeling subsides.

What the hell?

Tiago emerges from his bedroom, buttoning up a pair of pants and throwing on a shirt. The sky outside his windows is touched with pink on the horizon, early morning. Did I get any sleep? Maybe only an hour or two.

“What’s going on?” I ask, sitting up. More shouts echo up from below us.

Tiago pulls on a pair of shoes. “Stay here. I’ll check it out.”

He opens the apartment door, looks both ways, and leaves, closing the door behind him. I glance at the creature, curled up with its nose tucked under a paw. Poor thing must be exhausted. I lay my hand on it again, and this time, a dull pain seeps into the space under my shoulder, the same place where this one was injured.

Huh. My hand, the creature. What?

I shake my head to clear it. Whatever is happening here, this little thing is special and needs my help.

Tiago returns a moment later, face grim. “Athens Industries agents, I think. They’re searching the building.”

My skin crawls. “Searching for what?” I ask, though I already know the answer.

“For that one. Someone must have spotted us bringing it inside last night and reported it.”

I jump up from the couch and grab a clean towel from Tiago’s bathroom. Returning to the creature, I lift it and put it on the towel, wrapping it up. My hands come away bloody again.

“Shit.” I run back to the kitchen and wash off my hands. “It’s still bleeding.” I close my eyes for a second as I dry off my hands. “And I think it’s a she.” The echoes of those feelings rattle around my brain. Fear, pain… help.

I pick up the creature and cradle her to my chest.

Athens can’t take her. Not after we risked so much to rescue her.

What do they even want with her, anyway? One of the biggest corporations in the Duo Systems, and they’re after a tiny thing like this? I’ve always admired Athens, and the people who run it because they seem to understand the systems-wide need for their products. But they take part in shady business practices too. Their competitors disappear. Their detractors are silenced.

Will I be next?

Tiago is already shoving items into a bag. “We have to get out of here. Now.”

I nod, my body numb.

“Let’s put her in the bag,” Tiago says, opening his arms. For a moment, I don’t want to let her go. What if something happens to her in the bag? Tiago softens. “I’ll take good care of her. I promise.”

Shouts are getting louder as the agents move from floor to floor. There’s no time to lose.

I place her in the bag, and Tiago puts the strap over his head and the bag securely snug against his chest.

Out Tiago’s bedroom window, we clamber down the fire escape stairs as quietly as we can. My heart pounds in my ears, obscuring any of the chaos from inside the building.

“This way,” Tiago says, pointing to the right.

My stomach grumbles as Tiago leads us through a maze of narrow alleys. We put several blocks between us and the apartment before finally slowing.

Tiago glances over his shoulder. “I think we’re clear for now. But we can’t go back there.”

“They’ll figure out it was you, eventually. They’ll freeze your accounts.” I chew my lip and think. “Where will we go? I have nowhere to take her.” Nowhere safe from Athens, at least.

Tiago opens his bag, and the little thing locks her yellow eyes on mine, blinking up at me. From this angle, she looks just like a normal black cat. Tiago smiles at her.

“I…” He sighs. “I think she trusts us. We should try to make her comfortable and fix her injury, if we can.” Tiago’s hand touches mine. “We’ll figure it out together.”

Over the next few hours, we stay on the move, never spending more than an hour in one place. We push outwards, away from the Teresa district, in the hopes that we remain off of Athens’ radar. As the day falls to night, though, the creature seems to worsen, refusing food and crying when I hold her too close. My heart aches for her… and for Tiago. His face is drawn with fatigue, but he doesn’t complain.

We stop to eat a cheap meal from a convenience store in the park across from a large shopping district, and Tiago touches my shoulder.

“I think we need to stop, get a hotel and real medical supplies. She’s not getting better.”

He’s right. We can’t keep running like this. The critter needs rest, bandages, food, water, and antibiotics. At the very least, she needs to lie down out of my arms or Tiago’s bag.

“You can’t pay for it. I’m sure Athens realizes by now that you were the one person in the building they can’t account for.” Hmmm. We’re on the move, and we’ll leave this place soon, so my location won’t be pinpointed right away if I do what I’m about to do. “We need a spot to stay for the night.”

And since Tiago is suspect number one, this is on me.

Taking a deep breath, I transfer a chunk of credits, out of my personal account through two intermediaries, to my wristlet. It’s an enormous risk. Even obfuscating my transfer, this means I’ll be found within a day or two. Maybe less.

But I can’t let the poor thing suffer. Tiago watches me from the side as I make the transfer. I avoid his gaze, ashamed that I have money yet am living in squalor.

Sigh. It’s complicated.

“That should be enough for a hotel room and some medical supplies,” I say, distracting myself by checking on the creature in my arms. I think she’s asleep.

Tiago just nods. “I know a place.” He smirks, and I’m surprised how it changes his face. It makes him even sexier. “It may be a little scandalous, though.”

“Because ‘scandalous’ is exactly what we need right now.” He laughs, but I gesture onward. “Lead on.”

The hotel is modest but clean, even if it is a love hotel. It’s been a long time since I was in a place like this. The check-in is automated from beginning to end without a human in sight, and the room door opens to my wristlet. Once inside the room, I ease the creature onto the bed. Its wings droop at its sides, and my heart clenches.

While Tiago goes for medical supplies, I curl around the creature. “Just hang on,” I whisper. “You’re not alone anymore. We’re going to help you.”

Her eyes meet mine again. A vision fills my mind — strange bat-like creatures swooping through a massive cavern. The image fades, replaced by profound loneliness.

What was that? My throat tightens with emotion as I come to the only conclusion I can. These are her thoughts. She had a family she was separated from. But where are they? And how did she get so far from them? I wish I knew more about her and why Athens Industries wants her. Maybe they would take care of her? I don’t know. Tiago seemed to think we should run, and I trust his instincts, even though I met him just a day ago.

When Tiago returns, we clean and bandage the wound under her wing. She lets out a soft trill, nuzzling against my hand. Relief sweeps through me, and the emotion is so strong, I suck in a deep breath.

“You felt that too?” Tiago asks. He jerks his head at the balcony as the little one falls asleep.

We slip out the doors and shut them behind us. Rio’s rings glitter like stars across a velvety sky. Tiago slips an arm around my waist, and I lean into him, taking comfort in his nearness after the stress of the last day.

“Yeah, I felt that. I’ve been feeling… things all day. Like, heightened emotions and images in my head?” I shake my head to clear it. “It seems crazy to believe that she’s communicating with me. But that’s the only explanation. What should we do?”

He presses a kiss to my hair. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure something out.”

I tip my head back, meeting his eyes, and Tiago lowers his mouth to mine. His lips brush against mine, soft at first, but growing more demanding. His arm tightens around my waist, pulling me closer to his hard chest. Oh yeah, that’s… I missed that. My lower belly clenches and my body buzzes. I was ready to give up closeness and sex forever, but I don’t think I can. Not now. Not when I can have this. My heart races as his tongue slips along mine. I gasp when he nips at my lower lip, and I run my fingers through his hair.

He deepens the kiss, pressing me against the wall, and his other hand slides down my back, stopping at the swell of my ass. The moan that eases out of me sends him frantic, his hands moving along the last of my curves. This kiss is an out-of-control ship, crash-landing on a remote moon, dangerous and exciting. Tiago’s kisses trail down my jawline, to my neck, goosebumps to rising on my skin.

“Tiago,” I whisper, my voice hoarse. “I want you.”

He pulls back a bit, his eyes burning with passion. “God, me too.” His eyes search mine. “But…”

My ears ring as he leans in and kisses along my chin. My underwear, my only clean pair, is already wet, dammit. “But we can’t let our guards down, and that poor thing in there needs us,” I fill in, completing his sentence.

His kisses trail down my chest to the edge of my bra below the v-neck of my shirt. I would give anything to tear off my clothes right now and have him fuck me against the wall.

But after a moment, his lips leave my chest, and a faint smile touches his lips. “Okay. You drive a hard bargain. Come. We should rest while we can.”

In the bedroom, I strip off my skirt and wash my hands and face in the bathroom. We get into bed, each of us surrounding the poor creature. Tiago takes my hand in his and traces his thumb over my knuckles, his expression turning serious. “We should leave the city for a while, just to be safe.”

He’s right. Athens will be scouring the streets for us now.

Tiago seems to read my thoughts. He lifts my hand and brushes his lips over my fingers. “We’re in this together. I promise.”

I nod, not voicing my worries. He’ll find out I’m a lying liar, and once we’ve taken care of the alien creature, he’ll drop me like a bad habit. I close my eyes, rather than let him try to read me any further.

As I’m drifting off, Tiago whispers, “Sora?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Warmth spreads through my chest. I reach out and squeeze his hand. “Me too.”

My eyelids grow heavy as the tension eases from my body. Sleep, Sora. Sleep.