Page 5 of A Merciless Bargain

I had to convince the alien holding me that I was innocent.

The Foulan must have sensed me watching him, because as he ended the communication, he turned and his black eyes met my blue ones.

“Dane, listen—” His eyes widened at the name, so it was probably his. “—may I call you Dane?” I asked, trying for polite while I prepared to use logic to convince him to let me go. Or beg for my life. Whatever worked.

The Foulan gave a sharp nod.

“Dane,” I began again. “Let me guess what the person on the other end of the communique told you.” I tried to fold my arms under my chest, and the arm restraint tightening reminded me of my restricted movements. As more pieces of this crazy-ass puzzle fell into place, I needed to be convincing. “The Syndicate believes I killed Bowyer Haled.”

Dane nodded.

“Bowyer died three solar rises ago, burned to death.” I swallowed hard when a vivid memory of acrid smoke, intense heat, and horrid screams rose unbidden in my mind.

“You burned your house down,” Dane stated.

“Is that what you were told?”

“Yes.”

“Bowyer burned to death,” I repeated, “when someone set our house on fire.” I glared at him. “Someone other than me.”

“If not you, then who?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, spreading my non-manacled arm wide.

“Why was the house set on fire?” he persisted.

“I don’t know,” I shouted before closing my eyes. Losing my cool wouldn’t help me.

“Do you know Bowyer Haled’s occupation?”

The apparent non sequitur gave me pause. “Something like import-exports, I think. We never talked about it,” I finished defensively.

“Why were you with him?” he asked.

“Why?” I repeated, perplexed. “Didn’t you get a file?”

“It was more incomplete than I would have liked.”

“Ah, you mean, like how it didn’t mention I was human.”

“Yes.” He stared impassively at me.

“And incorrectly accused me of arson and murder,” I pointed out.

“That remains to be seen.”

“I’m an Obedient,” I explained and watched the understanding dawn. “What did Bowyer do for Vadhea?” I asked, confused how any of this was happening to me. Clearly there had been a lot more to my purchaser than met the eye.

“He was involved in import-exports of a sort,” Dane began to explain. “But they were of the illicit kind.”

I closed my eyes for a moment as another piece of the puzzle fell into place. “Of course they were.”

Dane approached me and sat on the edge of the bed. “Why do you say that?”

“That’s the type of Foulan male he was—the kind who would want a human Obedient for the shock value.”

“Shock value?” he asked, not understanding the idiom.