Accidental Acquisition by Evangeline Anderson

42

“Well, they seemed to like the new menu,” Lydia said brightly, as they were closing down the kitchen for the night. She and her husband, Lor, had been back for some time now and were working as diligently as ever.

They were going to have to work a little harder until she could find a replacement for Kalis, Jillian thought dully. The big Kindred had finished with his station and then, when the last ticket was filled, he had excused himself quietly and left. She hadn’t been able to watch him go, knowing as she did, that she would never see him again. That had been almost an hour ago

“Chef? I said the customers seemed to like the new menu,” Lydia said again, pulling Jillian out of her morose thoughts.

“Oh, yes—it seems to be a big hit,” Jillian said dully. She tried to smile, but the expression felt more like a grimace.

“Say, are you all right?” Lydia looked at her with concern on her freckled face. “I don’t want to step over the line, but you haven’t seemed like yourself tonight at all. In fact—”

“Chef? Call for you.” Lor’s deep voice cut through his wife’s worried words.

Jillian looked up quickly, eager to get away from her line cook’s searching eyes.

“Yes? Who is it?” she asked.

Lor shrugged.

“Someone from Communications says they have a call from Earth for you. You want to take it?”

He was still holding the cordless communications device, which provided the line the restaurant used for outside calls and to take reservations. You couldn’t use a Think-me for things like that because mental communication was so intimate and usually reserved for people you already knew.

“Yes, I’d better take it.” Jillian took the com-u from him and nodded her thanks. Then she took it into the pantry for privacy and closed the door behind her.

“Hello?” she said, putting the small device to her ear.

“Ms. Jillian Marks?” a Kindred voice said.

“Yes—that’s me,” Jillian replied.

“We have a call for you from Earth. Will you accept it?” the Communications officer asked.

“Yes. Yes, of course.” Jillian nodded, though she knew the officer couldn’t see her.

Her heart was pounding as she wondered if maybe it was Kalis calling. Maybe he’d decided to make a trip to Earth for some reason and he was asking her to come down and spend some time with him so they could talk a little more. Maybe he was willing to compromise and leave his Ursus out of the equation after all…

But her hopes were shattered when an unfamiliar voice came on the line.

“Hello? Is this Jillian Marks on the Kindred Mother Ship?” a man asked.

“Yes, this is she.” Jillian sighed inwardly. “Who are you and what can I do for you?”

“I’m just calling to inform you that your husband, Brad, has been in an accident,” the man said.

Jillian frowned.

“I’m sorry, but Brad isn’t my husband anymore. We divorced over two years ago.”

“Well, you’re still listed as his next of kin and I’m afraid he’s in a pretty grave condition,” the man insisted. “We need you down here to make some life and death decisions for him. Will you come?”

Jillian bit her lip. She didn’t want to go—she didn’t owe Brad anything after the shitty way he’d treated her. But life and death decisions sounded pretty heavy. As much as she hated him, she didn’t wish him dead.

“Well…” she began.

“Come to Valley Hospital—you know where it is?” the man asked.

“Yes, I know,” Jillian said reluctantly.

“Come to the Emergency entrance,” the man instructed. “And please hurry—lives are on the line!”

Then he hung up before Jillian could ask any more questions.

Jillian looked at the com-u in her hand and sighed. Well, it seemed like her crappy night had just gotten a little bit crappier. The last person she wanted to see right now was her ex, but what else could she do? She was a decent person—she wasn’t going to refuse to go down and check on him if there was no one else.

She’d been slated to spend some time with Suzanne and her babies that evening—her friend didn’t want her to be alone on the night Kalis left. But to be honest, Jillian was a tiny bit glad she would now have to cancel.

Being around her best friend and her two husbands and three sons could be a bit much, especially when she knew she would never have a happy, fulfilling relationship like the one Suzanne was enjoying. All that domestic bliss could really get on a person’s nerves. She had agreed to go only because her friend had insisted and Jillian had to admit that hanging with Suzanne and her hubbies and kids was better than going back to her own suite and drinking too much wine.

Well, now I don’t get to drink wine or hang out with Suzanne and envy her perfect marriage, she told herself as she grabbed her stuff and got ready to go.

Not that spending the night in a hospital with her ex was an improvement, but it was at least a distraction. Sighing, she gave Lydia and Lor a run-down of what was happening and asked Lydia to call Suzanne and make excuses for her.

“I’d call her myself, but it sounds like an emergency down there and I have to get right to the Docking Bay,” she told her line cook, who was nodding rapidly, a look of concern on her freckled face.

“I’ll let her know, Chef—don’t worry,” she said earnestly. “Just be safe. I, er, hope your ex is okay,” she added, rather doubtfully. She and Lor didn’t know the story of how Brad had cheated on Jillian and ruined her life, but they did know enough to understand that she and Brad weren’t on good terms—or any terms at all, for that matter.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” Jillian said neutrally. “Thanks, Lydia.”

“We’ll finish up here,” Lor promised. “You can count on us, Chef.”

“I know. Thanks, guys.” Jillian gave both of them a tired smile. “See you later.”

Then she left, with no idea that she was walking into a trap.