Page 40 of Alien in the Depths
“No, you know what’s really horrible?” he asked with a grin. He tucked the blaster back into his pants as he puffed his chest out at her. “Being the one blamed for your best friend’s death. Slik is an artist like that.”
Sofia looked at Vexis’s cruel black eyes in horror as the truth started to dawn on her. Death would have been too kind an end, according to Slikrim. No, he had to make Zaraq suffer.
“He likes to teach lessons,” Vexis continued, finally stepping back a little. For the first time since her captor had entered the laundry room, Sofia felt like she had room to breathe.
“Killing Zaraq outright would have been effective, yes, but it was too quick, too easy,” Vexis went on, pacing a little in the small space. “Framing him, on the other hand… Well, that sends a real message. Doesn’t it? It says loud and clear that anyone who fucks with Slik will pay for it in the worst possible way.”
With this last thought, he grinned again, but just as quickly as he’d given her space, he closed it. Sofia, standing with her back practically against the wall, felt her whole body tense as he leaned down and whispered in her ear.
“And anyone who fucks with me is liable to do the same unless they cooperate.”
As Vexis pulled away, Sofia shuddered at the thought of what he might do to her. But everything he’d confessed over the last few minutes only served to strengthen her resolve. He was a killer—not only was he cold-blooded about it, but he actually seemed to enjoy it. She knew he needed to be brought to justice, no matter the cost. Even if it was her life.
“I’m cooperating. Aren’t I?” she asked defiantly as she came face-to-face with him again.
Vexis only smirked. “You’re not the one I’m worried about.”
With a parting glance, the Rikuan turned and strode out the door. As he closed it behind him, Sofia heard the telltale click of the lock sliding into place. Ordinarily, this would have frustrated her, but at that moment it was almost a comfort.
Exhausted by the interaction, she slid to the floor, feeling the soft pile of laundry cushion her body. Her heart was still racing as she forced herself to steady her breathing until she finally felt her heart slow. She was shaken, but she was still alive, and as long as she was alive, she could keep fighting this.
“Zaraq,” she whispered to herself, her heart suddenly aching at the thought of what might happen to him if he showed up there.
Sofia sat still for a second, straining her ears in the silence of the room. Outside she heard faint voices, but they sounded far away.
When she was sure no one was lingering at the door or trying to barge back in, Sofia rummaged through the pile for the wrist comm again. She dug through swathes of black shirts, gray pants, and more pairs of Vexis’s underwear than she cared to see. Finally, though, the shiny silver casing of the device appeared between the folds of a jacket.
The battery was concerningly low, but it had just enough juice to send Zaraq another message. She pressed the record button, hoping the tiny beep it emitted wasn’t audible through the laundry door.
“Zaraq,” she whispered urgently, a fresh wave of defiance coursing through her. “You have to clear your name. You have the proof to show you didn’t kill Ryka. Please, please just take that and get out of Rikuus. We worked too hard for Vexis to take it back.”
She sent the message but there was something else… those three words she wished she’d told him back in the hotel room before all this happened.
In her hand, she gripped the comm, debating whether to say it.
“I love you,” she whispered, but only to herself. The words, though she meant them, felt tacky in the context of a voice message.
She longed to tell Zaraq face-to-face. Leaning against the laundry wall, the pile of clothes beneath her, Sofia closed her eyes and remembered. She remembered her first glimpse of Zaraq before she fell for him. It wasn’t that long ago, yet it felt like a lifetime had passed since then.
The handsome alien that had surprised her in the catacombs had become so much a part of her life that she could hardly imagine it without him now.
The cold hard surface of the wall behind her dissolved, replaced by memories of her bed in the annex back on Thryal. The plush sheets that caressed her skin on that first night together, the warmth of Zaraq’s skin on hers, the way he touched her, the way he made love to her.
The memory of Zaraq’s kiss felt almost real, and when she opened her eyes, she realized she’d lifted her hand to her mouth. Her fingers absentmindedly traced the curve of her lips, as if she might grasp what was left of his kiss.
Sofia dropped her hand and let out a deep sigh. She glanced again at the comm still clutched in her other hand. It was obvious she needed to tell him how she felt, but after all they’d been through together, a comm message just wasn’t going to cut it.
I’m gonna get out of here, she decided, pulling herself to her feet.I’m gonna get out of here. I’m gonna help Zaraq. And then, I’m gonna tell him I love him.
Chapter 16
Zaraq
Zaraq approached the tall obsidian doors that stood like a pair of ominous guards outside Vexis’s house. For a brief second, it occurred to him that the dining room’s glass door was still shattered and open to the garden. If he wanted to, he might be able to sneak around the side and take Vexis by surprise. He had Arccoo’s blaster after all.
The weight of it in his back waistband was comforting, and for a second, he played through the idea. He imagined his feet deftly avoiding the shards of broken glass, entering the house undetected. Once he was inside the dining room, he’d climb silently over the toppled furniture and then into the living room where Vexis was probably holding Sofia.
With perfect aim, he’d take out Vexis and whoever else was in the room so fast they wouldn’t have time to react. He imagined the look of gratitude and relief on Sofia’s face as she turned to see him emerge from the shadows.