7
Astrid
—
Astrid knew she had a penchant for being nosey. There was no such thing as ‘enough information’ in Astrid’s world. Where one question was answered, she had ten more waiting to be asked.
But she as much as she burned to know more, she decided she’d give it a rest questioning Liam about his erstwhile career as a DCIA agent.
The path they were on disappeared around a deep curve. Astrid fruitlessly fanned her skin with her hand as they followed the path, glaring up at the white ball of fire prominent in the cloudless blue sky. On the one hand, she appreciated the view of undisrupted nature. The sprawling verdant green, the patches of grey-brown dirt, the random spots of colour from yellow wild flowers.
Gamazan City was nothing but chrome and glass with artificial and unnaturally neat spots of greenery. Sometimes a bit claustrophobic with the towering buildings everywhere. But at least those buildings provided some shade from the sun. Out here, there wasn’t even a shade tree in sight. Or even a stream to soothe her hot skin.
If those bad guys didn’t kill them first, then the heat probably would.
It amazed her she wasn’t freaking out over that thought. The possibility of being killed by these men who wanted the black box Liam possessed was pretty high. And yet… she wasn’t worried. Not as much as she should be.
Because of Liam.
From since this whole ordeal began, he’d been nothing but calm and effortlessly capable. She trusted him more than she was willing to admit out loud. So far, he’d protected her. She’d felt so safe earlier when they were hidden between the two rocks, and she was pressed right up against his broad, hard chest, and his big, strong arms were wrapped around her.
When he’d rubbed his hand down her back, she’d wanted to climb him and—
“What about you?” Liam asked, cutting into her thoughts. “What do you do besides fall out of people’s ceilings?”
Astrid licked her lips, grateful he wasn’t a mind reader.
“I’m a game developer.”
“Made any games I would know?”
“My most popular one is a First Person Shooter called Kitten Killer.”
“Do you kill kittens or are you a kitten who kills?”
“You can be both. Either you’re a human destroying the legion of gun-wielding kittens who want to enslave humanity, or you’re a kitten overlord with a bazooka determined to rid humans of the belief you’re just a cute, harmless little furball.”
“Only a disturbed mind would come up with a game like that, and an equally questionable character to enjoy playing it.” Liam chuckled. “I want to play your game. I also think you’re pretty fucking cool for making it.”
Astrid smiled, her ears warming at his compliment.
“My ex-boyfriend thought I was disturbed, too, but he didn’t think I was cool,” she said, then immediately regretted it. Everybody knew talking about an ex to a potential date was a major no-no.
Wait a minute. Potential date? Wasn’t she getting ahead of herself there? She might have been the one to tell Celestial Mates she wanted to see Liam again, but that didn’t mean he’d be interested in her after their mission to deliver his package was over.
“One of those ‘unsupportive of your career’ types, I guess?” he said. “Nagged at you to do something else, made you feel guilty for doing what you loved, used the word ‘selfish’ a lot?”
Stunned by his accuracy, Astrid laughed. “Were you a fly on the wall?”
He shrugged. “I can relate. My ex liked the idea of being with a DCIA agent, but she grew tired of the reality pretty quick.”
Is that why you left the DCIA? Astrid wanted to ask, but she was distracted when the curve in the path ended, revealing a building in the distance. The developed structure looked out of place in the middle of the nothing but land. Astrid guessed it was a house judging from the arched roof.
The flat land at the front of the house was evenly tilled. A little to the left was another smaller building too. Dots of white populated the grassy incline behind the house. When she shielded her eyes from the sun and squinted, Astrid identified the dots as sheep.
They were practically non-existent in Gamazan City, but Astrid knew a farm when she saw one.
“There’s a grounder parked to the side,” Liam murmured. True enough, a rusty, dirty truck with wheels—something Astrid had only ever seen in super old movies—sat beside the house. “Let’s take it.”
“But that’s stealing.” She didn’t know why she was almost whispering. They were too far away for anyone to hear them even if she spoke at a normal volume.
“Says the woman who poached the soup tubes I had already placed in my cart.”
“I saw them first!” Astrid said, indignant. “I was only taking back what belonged to me.”
“If that’s what you need to tell yourself to sleep at night.” Liam smirked. Then he held up a finger as she opened her mouth. “Hear me out. Don’t see it as stealing, Astrid. See it as… unlicensed borrowing. I’ll bring the grounder back. But if we ask them to lend us the grounder or give us a drive, they might deny us. Then we’re back to square one. Do you want to risk that?”
Astrid pursed her lips. “Yes. Asking first is the right thing to do.”
“All right, we’ll do it your way,” he said with a sigh. “The longer way.”
“The right way,” she said.
“Whatever you say, soup stealer.”
Resisting the urge to strangle Liam, Astrid followed him to the farm. They’d barely entered the property before a burly man stormed out of the house, his jowls shivering with each angry stomp, an unfriendly look on his face.
“State your purpose or get off my property before I make ya.”
“How far is it to Mazar City from here?” Liam asked.
The farmer’s hostility didn’t relent. “Three hours on foot.”
“Any chance you’d let us borrow your grounder to cut that time short?”
The farmer darted a gaze at his grounder, his scowl deepened.
“No.”
“How about giving us a—”
“No.”
Astrid pretended not to notice Liam’s, ‘I told you so’ look.
“Please, sir, we really need to get back to Gamazan City,” Astrid said in a sweet, pleading voice. “We promise we’ll bring it back.”
“A promise is worth as much as dogshit, honey,” said the farmer bluntly, folding his arms across his beefy chest. His gaze turned calculating. “If you want it that bad, I’ll let you buy my grounder for ten thousand credits.”
Astrid’s sweetness evaporated into a sneer. “Ten thousand credits? You must joking if you think that piece of—”
“What my friend means to say is we don’t have that many credits,” Liam interjected before Astrid could finish her swear-filled tirade.
“Fine,” said the farmer with a grunt. “Got no use for credits out here, anyway. But I need goats. Thieves stole the ones I had.” He pointed at a nearby hill. “There’s a wild herd not too far away. If you get me two of the beasts, I’ll drive you to Mazar City.”
Liam agreed to the farmer’s deal while Astrid wallowed in regret. She privately conceded Liam’s plan would have been easier. They’d have been on their way by now. Instead, she had to go catch a goat. A city girl since she was born, she barely knew a thing about animals except how they tasted. How the hell was she going to secure one?
The farmer left and returned with harnesses and two pouches filled with greenish brown pellets.
“Either of you know how to catch a wild goat?” he asked. He didn’t wait for them to respond. “You gotta run ‘em down ‘til it’s tired or corner it. The bigger they are, the faster they get tired. Don’t go after the smaller ones. They’ll outrun you long before you can catch a breath.” He pointed at the pellet pouches. “When you get one, feed it so it stays put. Then wrap the harnesses ‘round its face and neck.” He gave them an evil grin. “Good luck.”
With the farmer’s instructions in mind, Liam and Astrid set off for the herd of wild goats.
“If he wants a damn goat, why doesn’t he get one himself?” Astrid muttered.
“Hey,” Liam said. He settled a hand on her shoulder so she could stop walking. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. It’s probably better you don’t. I wouldn’t like it if you got hurt.”
His gaze was so direct and earnest, his concern for her warming Astrid from her face to the tips of her toes. Why was he so confusing? One moment he infuriated her enough that she wanted to shake him by the neck, and the next, he’d say stuff like this that made her want to jump him with a kiss.
“It’s fine. I’ll go,” she said, smiling.
“Astrid, it might be tough.”
“I want to do it,” she insisted. “It’s my fault we’re doing this, anyway. Besides, I’m chalking today up as a day filled with new and crazy challenges. It’s like we’re in a video game, and the moment I told Celestial Mates I wanted to see you again was as if I’d hit press start to play on a gaming centre.”
“Hm. Then after we deliver this box, there’s a boss level we’re going to have to defeat.”
“There is?” Astrid raised her eyebrows with interest. “What’s it going to be?”
He smiled. “I’ll tell you later. For now, let’s catch some goats.”