Kept by Luna Voss
Chapter Twenty-Five
Melyta
“I still don’t like this,” Barion grumbles as we lie in bed together that night.
“But you know it’s our best chance.”
He doesn’t look at me. “Yeah, I know.”
“And you know I can take care of myself, right? With my power.”
“Sometimes,” he grunts. “When it works.”
“I’ve been getting a lot better with it. You’ve seen that.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“So why are you being so grumpy?”
Barion sighs. “Melyta, I’m supposed to protect you. That’s what all of this is about. Everything with Sarizor. I’m trying to keep you safe. Do you know what kind of position it puts me in when the best way to do that also involves putting you in danger?”
“Is that really why you’re grumbling?”
“Yes!”
I kiss his cheek. “That’s sweet. But Barion, I’m choosing to do this. Just like I’m choosing to be with you. That’s not exactly the safe choice, is it? If the maximum priority was my safety, I would have gotten on that spaceship and left the planet the night Nullion attacked, instead of coming back for you.”
“My maximum priority is your safety,” he grumbles.
“So do you regret that I came back and saved you from Nullion? Or should I have just left the planet? Would you have preferred that?”
“No,” he admits. “I just… this is hard for me. I’d rather set up the meeting, and then have you stay in the hotel room. That would make me feel a lot better.”
“But if we did that, Sarizor might leave as soon as he realized I wasn’t there. We both know we can’t take that risk. This is our one shot.”
“I know that. But I don’t have to like it.”
“Is there anything I can do to help you feel better about it?”
“Probably not. Just— promise me that if I tell you to run and save yourself, you’ll do it. No matter what.”
I shake my head. “I’m not promising that. And you can’t spank me about it, either. I’m not going to abandon my Vostra.”
He opens his mouth, and then closes it. For a split second I half-expect him to growl at me, to order me to go stand in the corner.
And then he buries his face in my chest and squeezes me like he never has before, his powerful shoulders trembling. When he looks up at me, his eyes are shiny with tears.
“Thanks for being there,” he croaks, his voice very hoarse. “Thanks for… thanks for believing in me.”
“Of course,” I whisper, stroking his hair. I find myself filled with emotion to see him like this, to see him allowing himself to be so vulnerable. “I’ll always be there.”
The plan is for Korva to get in touch with Sarizor and tell him that he hired a bunch of bounty hunters, and one of those bounty hunters managed to capture me. Then we arrange a meeting between him and that “bounty hunter,” who is actually Barion in disguise.
The final step is my favorite: Barion and Korva pull out their guns and blow Sarizor and his bodyguards to smithereens while I use my power to provide cover.
After that, Barion uses his considerable influence within the Family to step up to Sarizor’s role. And hopefully after that, all of this mess is over with.
It almost seems too easy. But then, it seemed too easy before when the Dultaz Family blew up my entire life. If everything can break in an instant like that, maybe it can be repaired that easily, too.
“What happens to the Dultaz Family’s alliance with the Gallo Family after you take power?” I ask Barion the next day as we wait for Korva’s confirmation that the meeting is set.
“Probably, we continue the alliance. Or maybe we have to revisit it. Honestly, it’s the least of my concerns.”
“Even after they tried to kill us?”
He shrugs. “People try to kill each other in this line of work. You take it personal every time, you don’t last long.”
“And what then? What about after you take power?”
“Let’s just say I have some big plans. We’re going to start making real money, not just Tarsheb 8 money. Jenyta’s pilot training gave me the idea, actually.”
“What? What is it?”
He smiles for about the first time today. “One thing at a time, vulta. We’ve got a lot to deal with right now. When I’m boss, I’ll tell you all about it.”
I roll my eyes at him, but know better than to argue when he’s made up his mind. Even so, I get a little spank and a warning look for the eye roll.
“Sorry, Vostra,” I giggle, trying to laugh through my anxiety.
Barion glances at his communicator, then back at me, his face purposeful, determined.
“That was Korva,” he tells me. “It’s done.”
Immediately, the nervous butterflies in my stomach kick into a higher gear. “When? When is the meeting?”
My mate’s eyes flash. “Tonight.”
