Mother

by Kat Heckenbach -

Piper found nothing wrong with being called a servant, because she found nothing wrong with being a servant. And she could deal with the older woman’s attitude. She’d surely dealt with far worse.

But tears stung her eyes because those hateful words had come from Nik’s mother.

His mother.

How had a woman like that raised a guy like Nik?

He stood beside Piper, arm tight around her waist. His eyes were narrow slits.

“She is not a servant, Mother,” he said in a hard whisper. “She’s only here covering for one of the waitresses who called in sick. She’s a chef!”

His volume increased and his nostrils flared. “And not just a chef. Your favorite. That ‘culinary masterpiece’ you were raving about the other night—she created that recipe!”

Heat rose to Piper’s cheeks at the pride in Nik’s voice. Pride in her. She chewed the corner of her lip, leaning into him.

The woman’s eyes widened as she sat at the table, hands wringing the cloth napkin. Her jaw moved as if she were about to open her mouth, but her lips stayed together. Her gaze flitted back and forth between Nik and Piper. And then she placed the napkin in her lap and looked down as she smoothed it with fingers ringed in sparkling gems.

“Well, a chef is a different story indeed.” She cleared her throat, and lifted her head to look at Piper as if nothing had happened.

Piper felt Nik stiffen.

“You have completely missed the point, Mother.”

Nik slid his arm from Piper’s waist and reached down to grab her hand, then tugged her away from the table.

Piper stumbled behind him until they’d passed the next table, then ground to a stop. “Nik, no.”

He turned to look at her, anger flaring in his eyes. “I will not spend another moment around that woman.”

“She’s your mother.”

He huffed and stared past Piper’s shoulder. “She’s so judgmental. Even if you were a waitress, she had no right saying that. I’m sick of it. She may have married for money, but I intend to marry for love.”

The floor seemed to sink out from under Piper’s feet, and she gripped Nik’s hand tighter to steady herself. Okay, he said marry, and he said love, but he’s just speaking in general terms…it doesn’t mean me…Piper pushed the bubbles of thought to the back of her mind. There was time to think about that later. She closed her eyes.

“I haven’t seen my mother since I was six. I barely remember her.” She opened her eyes. Nik’s face had softened. She gently brushed his dark bangs aside, and held her fingers against his jaw. “You only get one mother.”

He gave a half-smile and nodded, then pulled her into his arms. “Okay, I’ll go apologize.” Then softer, “But if she keeps it up, you have my permission to poison her food.”

“Stop it!” She pushed him away and smacked his arm. Then she turned back to the table.

Nik’s mother glared at them over a pinched nose and twisted lip as if she smelled something offensive.

Piper inhaled and squeezed Nik’s hand. She tilted her head toward his and whispered, “I may take you up on that.”

The Waitress

by Kat Heckenbach -

Xavia tapped one manicured fingernail on the cloth-covered tabletop. Conversation buzzed around her, mixed with the clinking of glasses and the tink-tink-scrape of utensils. Everyone else seemed to be happily enjoying their meals while Xavia’s food had not arrived yet. She breathed deeply through her nose.

Unacceptable. There’s no excuse for a restaurant on this level to—

“Here you go, ma’am.”

Xavia lifted her head and gazed at the waitress—the one who had finally returned. The girl brushed back her purple-streaked blond hair, revealing a piercing in her eyebrow. She smiled as if everything was just perfect.

You have got to be kidding me.

The girl placed the plate on the table, bumping Xavia’s wine glass with a tattooed forearm. The glass tumbled to the floor and shattered. Xavia’s jaw clenched. Had the glass not been empty she’d have made sure the cost of the wine came out of the little grunt’s paycheck.

“I’m so sorry,” the girl said as she knelt down to pick up the glass.

Xavia huffed. “Leave that to a sweeper bot, you fool, and get me another glass of wine.”

“Oh, yes, the bot.” The girl stood and faced Xavia, chewing her bottom lip. She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m just not used to this. I’ll be right back.”

Xavia watched the girl walk off. The back of her hair had red streaks instead of purple. Her uniform hung awkwardly, as if made for someone larger. Of course, the girl was far too skinny. And that tattoo… it looked like something a grit-breather would have.

All I can say is she’d better have not touched my food.

The girl returned with Xavia’s wine and set the glass on the table. She opened her mouth as if to speak, and then clamped it shut, eyes wide. Xavia turned around to see what had the girl so transfixed that she felt it necessary to ignore her customer.

Nik was walking toward them, weaving between tables. He smiled brightly, but his eyes were on the waitress, not Xavia.

“Hey, Mom,” he said as he stepped past Xavia and hooked his arm around the waitress’s waist. “I see you’ve met Piper.” He pulled the grinning waitress closer.

What?

Her eyes moved back and forth, but her brain whirred as it tried to process her son’s words. Piper. He’d mentioned a girl he liked, a girl named Piper…but he’d never…

Xavia’s hand slammed the tabletop. “You’re dating a servant?”

Finding Freedom

by Kat Heckenbach -


“Piper, wait up!”

The voice echoed off the metal walls of the corridor behind her, distorted by the faint mechanical hum that filled this level. Piper stopped walking and turned around. Nik was jogging toward her, face solemn.

Piper spun on her heel and continued walking away from him. Why had she bothered stopping? Jerk.

“Piper, please! I’m sorry!”

Yeah, right. Her eyes burned suddenly, and she strained, willing tears not to form.

In moments she felt the heat of his presence behind her, matching her pace. His words came nearly breathless. “Please stop. I didn’t mean it.”

Piper inhaled, clenching her fists at her side. “Too little, too late, Nik.”

“I was just teasing. I didn’t know it meant so much to you. It’s just a rodent.”

Piper slammed to a stop and rounded to face Nik. “Not ‘it’ you heartless slug! He! And he is my best friend!” Her heart pounded, sending her pulse thrumming in her ear. Tears pushed past her lids against her will, but she ignored them.

Nik’s brows knitted together and he lifted his arms as if wanting to reach out to her. But he pulled them back and crossed them in front of his chest. “I’m sorry. Really, I am. I came to help you find him.”

Piper searched his eyes and found genuine concern. She closed her eyes and nodded. Then warmth infused her as she felt his arms wrap around her shoulders. She sank into him, resting her head against his chest. “Thank you.”

He rubbed her back and she pulled away from him. He smiled down at her, his hair slipping out from behind his ear and hanging in front of one eye like a black curtain.

Piper took Nik’s hand and led him down the corridor. Tara had said she’d seen something small and brown skitter across the floor in an area just around the corner only twenty minutes ago. They reached the juncture and Piper let go of Nik’s hand. She dropped to her hands and knees. A shuffling thunk told her Nik had joined her.

They crawled around, peeking into any gaps in the metal walls, snaking around support beams.

“Here, Piper…” Nik’s whispered voice was filled with excitement.

Piper snapped her head to the side and saw Nik kneeling in front of a gap between wall panels, arms stretched out to his sides. She scooted over to him and peeked over his shoulder.

“Freedom! There you are!” She pushed past Nik and scooped the brown, furry bundle into her palms. No more than six inches from nose to the base of his tail, Freedom perched on his back legs, whiskers twitching. His long, slender tail wrapped around her fingers.

Piper touched her nose to the tiny pink one.

Nik chuckled. “You know, he’s actually kinda cute.”

Piper turned to him and smiled. “He’s the best.”

Nik bit his lip as his eyes shadowed. “He’s from the planet, isn’t he?”

Piper swallowed and looked away. Was she ready to tell him everything? Indecision roiled inside her as Nik moved closer.

“We’ve been together for seven months, Piper. I’ve never asked you about your past.”

She forced out, “I know.”

He waited in silence. She felt his gaze, imagined him staring at her profile. She closed her eyes.

“He’s from the planet, yes. So am I. My mom died when I was young. My dad was a bug hunter. He was killed. I was alone…starving. Pretty soon the traffickers had their eye on me. I couldn’t bear the thought of ending up someone’s…” Her voice cracked, but she steeled herself and continued. “I stowed away on a cargo shuttle from the planet to Avenir.”

Nik’s hand touched her shoulder…the gentlest touch she’d ever felt besides Freedom’s nuzzling. She realized tears were streaming down her cheeks. They dripped off her chin and landed on her open hands, on Freedom.

“Was he your pet while you lived down there?”

She shook her head. “I found him at the loading dock. I was sneaking around, trying to figure out how to get into the shuttle. I’d set my pack down—my last piece of lavabread was in the pocket. Freedom snatched it and ran off with it. I chased him.” Piper smiled at the memory and stroked Freedom’s fur. She raised her eyes to meet Nik’s gaze. “He led me to the rear hatch, and then straight to the perfect hiding place.”

Nik stared, amazement shimmering in his blue eyes. “So that’s why his name’s Freedom? Because—” He stopped, as if the next word had caught in his throat, and then looked down at the brown rodent in Piper’s hands and smiled.