Chapter 2
ALLY
She slammed the door behind her, leaning against it as she felt the adrenaline coursing through her young body.
Evie looked up from the desk in front of the lone window where she was sketching. Her face was concerned. “What happened?”
Ally groaned. “He pretended not to have it.”
Evie frowned. “But we know he does.”
Nodding, Ally flung herself onto the pallet they shared. “It doesn’t matter what we know. He still denies it.”
Evie moved to the small counter and heated up water for tea. “I know how much that necklace means to you, but maybe we should let it go. The Raven and his men are dangerous. I’m sure they won’t appreciate you digging around in their business.”
“I don’t care what they appreciate,” Ally countered. “And the heirloom is important to both of us. It’s the last thing we have of Mom and Dad.”
Ally was surprised her sister would suggest giving up so easily.
Evie had clung to the necklace as if her life depended on it when they’d fled from the Rings.
She’d wept when she’d told Ally the story, how she’d gone to the little market across the street and been accosted by two men who’d frightened her, then ripped the necklace off her neck with a callused hand marked by a tattoo of a black bird.
That had been the last time Ally let her sister out of the house.
Evie knelt beside the pallet, her expression serious. “You said we were keeping a low profile until we got off this rock. Pointing fingers at the meanest gang in town doesn’t sound like lying low.”
“I’m more worried about you lying low than me.
” She sat up, tucking a lock of her sister’s hair behind her ear.
“I’ve told you about the rumors. You’re exactly the type slavers would love to nab.
Golden hair, eyes like the skies of Territh.
You’re young, you’re beautiful, and you’re worth a fortune. ”
Evie stared down at the floor, a nameless emotion filling her eyes. “You’re worth just as much.”
Ally shook her head, knowing her birthmarks would limit her appeal. “I’m not bad, but you’re the real jewel. Besides, I take precautions.” The baggy clothes helped people forget she was a female, as did keeping her hair pulled back and covered by a cap. And those weren’t the only precautions.
Ally had become pretty good with the laser tools she used down at the plant. Whenever possible, she snuck one out with her, always returning it on her next shift so she didn’t get caught in an inventory audit. If someone tried to fuck with her, she’d fuck them right back.
“I don’t like you going out, risking yourself every day, as it is.” Evie’s tone was pleading. “Please don’t take any unnecessary risks. That includes accusing a gangster of theft.”
“It’s a very necessary risk.” Ally’s face screwed up into a scowl. “They’ve taken everything else from us. I’m not letting them take this. Not without a fight.”
“What does the necklace matter as long as we get off Gamma-17?”
“I can’t believe I have to tell you how much it matters.” Ally closed her eyes, pushing back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. She knew her sister’s heart was in the right place, but she didn’t have the same understanding that Ally did. Sometimes, you had to take a stand.
Evie grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “I know this has been hard, but we can’t lose hope. We’re going to get off this horrid world soon and get back to the Rings. We’ll find a place for ourselves there and live the lives we are supposed to live.”
Ally forced a smile, squeezing Evie’s hand in return. “We will. You’re right.”
Evie brightened, and she started to pull out ingredients for a meal. “This is just a temporary bump in the road on our journey back,” she said, then began to hum as she prepared their dinner.
Ally stared at the stained ceiling and fought the anxiety that was eating up her insides. She’d been working hard to keep her sister sheltered from the reality of their situation, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep stringing Evie along.
Reality was much darker than she wanted her little sister to realize.
Making enough to get us off this damned asteroid is going to take most of my life at this rate.
Ally could barely make enough to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.
She had next to nothing saved for the fare off Gamma-17.
And even if she could somehow get them to the Rings, she had no idea how she could support them.
The cost of living there was one of the highest in the galaxy.
I have to tell her but not just yet. Let her hang onto her hope for a little while longer.
“You’re going to have to eat quickly if you want to make it in time for your shift at the plant,” Evie said, dishing up a bowl of stew and passing it to her sister with a spoon.
Ally started to eat, trying to convince herself that she hadn’t eaten the same thing every day for months now.
They kept the stew going, day after day, adding more water and whatever vegetables and starches she managed to bring home.
Meat was a rarity, mostly scraps she got from the butcher who was nicer than he should be.
Just enough to flavor the stew but not enough to really fill her belly.
Still, she was thankful for what they had. Scooping the last bit of potato into her mouth, she wiped her face clean before changing into the plant-approved coveralls. “Stay inside.”
Evie nodded. “I always do.”
Ally leaned in, kissing her little sister on the cheek. “Love you.”
“Love you too, sis.”
The walk to the plant was short and uneventful. Ally took her position on the line, grabbing the laser tool and hitting the button that started the conveyor belt. The first giant centipede carcass dropped onto the belt and headed for her.
As quickly and efficiently as possible, Ally made the required slices, separating the centipede into pieces as it rolled down to the next station. Three other employees would continue the separation process until there were enough tiny pieces to fit through the holes at the end of the belt.
As she worked, a part of her mind wandered. Although her heart had been banging against her ribcage when she’d entered the tavern earlier, she’d felt strangely calm when confronting the Raven.
Maybe it was his eyes. They were dark, so dark that she couldn’t tell the pupil from the iris. Twin pools of darkness a girl could get lost inside of. He was tall, strong, and “handsome” really didn’t begin to cover how arresting his looks were.
He’s a pirate, stupid. And a liar. Ally’s mouth flattened into a line. You know things are bad when a monster like that looks good.
She concentrated on the task at hand, and several hours later, she set aside her tool and stepped away from her spot on the line.
She got one break during her ten-hour shift.
Twenty minutes only. Ally always headed outside for air, hating the pent-up environment of the plant, not to mention the smell.
De-shelling giant centipedes was not only hard work. It stank. Literally.
She stood against the side of the building, the one facing the lot where the trucks brought in the centipedes from the off-world farms where they were bred.
Pulling out a hunk of bread from her pocket, Ally took a bite and chewed slowly, hoping it would be enough to make the dull ache in her stomach go away.
It never seemed to be enough though. Hunger had become a constant companion, one she resented more than a relative who’d overstayed their welcome.
She’d just put the last piece into her mouth when a familiar voice made her head spin in its direction.
I didn’t even hear his footsteps, she thought as the Raven walked out of the shadows.
“Purple is your color,” he said as he approached.
Ally looked down at the purple spattered all over her coveralls.
Her hands were stained the same color, and although she’d washed them for her break, she hadn’t spent the several minutes it took to get the stain off her hands, not wanting to waste so much of her break when she was just going to stain them again during the rest of her shift.
His comment irked her. No woman in her right mind would choose to cut up centipede carcasses for a living, staining themselves with their innards. “Thanks. And I guess you look best in red. As in red-handed.”
He chuckled, coming close enough for her to see the ghost of a scar on his chin. “You think you’ve caught me in something?”
Nodding, Ally leaned her head back to meet his gaze. Godsdamn, he’s tall. “You have my heirloom.”
“I’ve told you, I don’t. So you clearly haven’t caught me red-handed in anything, little girl.”
Chafing at the condescension rife in such a name, Ally huffed in exasperation. “I have it on good authority that someone in your gang took it.”
“What authority exactly? Who told you my gang has your precious heirloom?”
“That’s none of your business.”
The Raven’s face stiffened. “And I suppose you won’t tell me what the heirloom is, either. How am I supposed to help you when I don’t even know what it is I’m supposed to have?”
Ally shook her head. “You amaze me. I don’t know what it profits you to lie to me, but I don’t have time to play games. Give me back my heirloom, or leave me alone.”
The whistle blew, letting her know it was time to resume her shift. Ally turned and headed toward the door. Several other workers in matching coveralls all streamed toward the same spot.
“Wait,” his gravelly voice said.
Ally ignored the shiver it sent down her spine and kept walking. It really was useless to talk to him. She couldn’t understand why he’d even bothered to seek her out. What kind of a thief taunts his victims after the crime?
For the umpteenth time, Ally swore to herself that she’d find some way to get Evie off this rock and back to safety somehow. It was now more important than ever. The Raven tracking her down to the plant made her realize that she’d gotten the attention of someone powerful and dangerous.
Maybe Evie is right. Maybe I should just let it go.
But then assholes like the Raven win. He can take things from innocent girls with no repercussions.
No. It’s not right.
But Ally grasped that there was little she could do about it. If he denied having it, it wasn’t as if she could infiltrate his gang to get it back.
And if he was snooping around because he thought he could lure her into his bed, he was about to change that tune. He might be beyond handsome, but he was still a pirate. A thief. A bad guy.
She’d had enough of bad guys. The weeks after her parents died, as her world crumbled around her, she’d seen exactly what bad guys could do.
If it meant giving up the heirloom that had been in her family for as long as anyone could remember, then it would be a small price to pay to avoid the attentions of another group of bad guys.
And one in particular. The worst of them all, if the rumors about him were true.
As she felt a hand grip her arm and pull her to a stop, she realized she might have already missed her chance to avoid attention.
The look in the Raven’s eyes said he wasn’t ready to let her escape.