“Please, Tor,” Lissi begged. “I will be safe. I promise.”

Her brother folded his brawny arms over an equally broad chest. To some the pose would have intimidated as he wore the black uniform customary to Jutak warriors. To Lissi it made him look cuddly since she’d snuggled against that chest all her life but she didn’t think he wanted to hear that. As a member of the elite teams for the Enotian military, Torkel took his role as Unit Leader and protective brother seriously.

“I’m not comfortable with you going to Rieker’s. It is known as a location for parties.”

Thankfully their parents weren’t home with them or Lissi wouldn’t have been able to have this conversation with him. She blew out a breath and shoved a hand through her trailing blonde hair. “That’s the point of going there for a party. People have fun.”

He only shook his dark head. “No. It is also building a reputation for illegals. Maman and Papan would not be pleased.”

Her brother was the real deal. A good guy who followed the straight and narrow. Usually Lissi didn’t have a problem with his calm and patient demeanor, though she occasionally pulled pranks on him to catch one of his reluctant smiles but today she wanted something different.

“Haven’t you ever felt the need to be free? To do something wild and crazy?”

When his brown eyes darkened, Lissi immediately regretted the question. She grabbed his forearm and squeezed. “Sorry, Tor.”

His arms dropped to his side and he wrapped her in a hug. Lissi leaned into the familiar embrace, her head to his chest as she remembered all the times he’d hugged her as a little girl. Her protector, her brother and her friend.

“It would not do for me to act in a reckless manner, Lissi.” Torkel kissed the top of her hair and after a firm squeeze released her.

Neither of them spoke of the reason her brother maintained an impeccable reputation. Her maman and papan adopted him when he was a baby and raised him as a true Enotian. On a planet of blond haired, blue eyed people, Torkel’s dark looks would have stood out regardless but his origins as a Marenian by birth cast an added light on his every action. Marenians were known slavers. Sometimes Lissi thought people wanted him to fail if only to prove their wild speculations about him correct.

Lissi clasped her hands together beneath her chin and fluttered her lashes in a trick she’d learned as a toddler. “Please, Tor-Tor.”

“Argh,” he groaned and raked a hand through the dark brown waves about his shoulders. “Do not call me that around others.” He pointed a blunt finger at her. “That face only worked when you were the same height as my boots. No longer.”

She couldn’t help but snicker and fell backwards onto the sofa in her maman’s living room. “You are no fun, brother mine. Also, I was never the height of your boots. Don’t forget only one of us had a delayed growth spurt.”

He braced his hands on his hips. “And you are a menace, sister mine.”

“Fine. Fine. Go about your soldier business and leave us poor, lonely individuals with nothing to do.” Lissi leaned her head back on the sofa, eyes closed. “I hope I don’t perish from boredom.”

His grunt signaled his disbelief at the notion and Lissi worked hard to hold back her grin. It wouldn’t do for her brother to figure out the root of her melodrama.

“I will stop by later to check on you.”

Lissi stiffened. That wouldn’t do for her plan at all. Remaining still on the sofa, she asked, “When?”

Her brother sighed and Lissi’s eyes popped open to stare.

“Two days from now. I’m taking Team One on a training exercise. Team Two is settling a riot off world and Team Three is out on a mission. Try not to get into any trouble.”

Torkel led three Jutak teams under his Unit. Men who were the best of the best in the military. Lissi sat up and propped her elbow on the arm of the sofa to place her chin on her fist. “You know me.”

Torkel’s chin dropped to his chest. “That’s what worries me.”

Lissi leaped to her feet with a bright smile. “I will be good, Tor. You’ll see.”

Torkel didn’t bother to answer. He turned on his booted heel and headed for the front door. Lissi skipped to keep up with his longer strides. At the door, he faced her, brows lowered. “When you do sneak out after I’m gone, make sure to take your portable comm and call if you need me.”

Lissi’s mouth dropped open. Her brother tapped her nose and smiled, revealing a lone dimple in his cheek. “I might not be able to get to you but I promise I’ll send someone.”

With those final words, he closed the door behind him, leaving Lissi to her plans. She leaned her back against the frame, impressed as always with her brother’s ability to unravel her plots. Then again, he’d had years of growing up with Lissi and her mischievous antics.

She straightened and used her parents’ desk comm to contact her graduate level school peers. In ten minutes, plans were set and a small group was put together. Lissi raced around her bedroom changing out her pants for an ankle-length sheer skirt in turquoise with fringe and beading on the hem. It was a favorite because the beads clacked together with each move she made.

Lissi discarded her shirt on a growing pile on her bed and switched it to a white top that reached her mid-driff. She stood in front of the mirror, turning from side to side. In the right light, she appeared nude beneath her clothing due to the thin material but the club would be dark and she really looked good. With a shrug, Lissi brushed out her blonde waves until they lay about her shoulders and enhanced her lips in bright scarlet red for notice. She hurried down the stairs and out the door as a hover-car pulled up front.

Madlyn waved madly. Lissi didn’t have a lot of friends due to her papan’s career with the Enotian government but there were a few people who didn’t mind going out with her. Being at Career Academy was different from attending the local school where everyone recognized each other. When Lissi went away for her upper level schooling, she was lost in the maze of eighteen year olds who seemed more mature and savvy.

Shy by nature, Lissi never knew who to trust and as a result became standoffish at CA. Those in her class assumed her to be arrogant or snooty. By the time she completed her certs five years later and realized her mistake, no one of interest wanted to be her friend except a small few and even those only in hopes of her paying for outings. Like tonight.

Heinlirk, one of Madlyn’s friends, slid over the seat and landed in the back with two other males. At least her heart no longer stuttered from his handsome features. Madlyn grinned from behind the wheel. “Come on, Lissi.”

Lissi ran the last steps and jumped in. The hover-car took off with a lurch as soon as her butt hit the seat. Rowdy laughter exploded from the males in the back.

“What did your brother say about you going out?” Heinlirk leaned over the seat, blond head bopping to music only he heard.

With a slight hint of citrus, his scent aggravated her nostrils but Lissi smiled through it. She never shared details about her brother with anyone. “Everything is good with Tor.”

“Tor.” Madlyn snorted and the hover-car increased speed. “Your brother is seriously scary and you call him Tor.”

Sometimes she called him Tor-Tor but Lissi knew her brother would bury her in the back of their parent’s farm if she let that slip. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders and rested her arm on the window as the wind whipped her hair about her face. Excitement beat at her chest. The evening was young and made for fun and good times.

***

“I can not believe the music here!” Madlyn screamed to make herself heard over the wild pulsing beat. She tipped her blue glass to her lips and finished off the fizzy drink. “I feel really good.”

After guzzling two of the same drinks as Madlyn, Lissi’s insides danced and her vision developed a wavy texture. Drugs and other illegal dealings flowed freely but Lissi stayed far away from those corners. Reiker’s catered to all types. The club’s location was off the grid, making it attractive to those who understood the need for secrecy.

The only reason Lissi came was to fit in and she realized belatedly that wasn’t a good enough reason. Not to place herself in a potentially volatile situation. As the night carried on, the place grew packed and the crowd shifted. Lively past and current Career Academy students celebrating the school break gave way to older disorderly criminal types.

Bodies lined the wall as people talked animatedly. The center of the dance floor overflowed with gyrating males and females and already two fights had broken out. Security didn’t really exist here.

“We should go soon,” Lissi managed to yell in Madlyn’s ear.

Madlyn giggled and stumbled into Lissi, strands of blonde hair stuck to her sweaty cheeks. “Nooo! We just got here.”

A table crashed onto the floor behind them and people nearby roared with laughter as shattered glass and liquid spilled everywhere.

“Madlyn, it’s been a few hours. I really think we should leave.” Lissi’s common sense poked at her. A sense of foreboding sent a shiver down her spine.

Blue eyes shining, and a broad grin stretched across his handsome face, Heinlirk joined them. He wrapped an arm around Madlyn’s shoulders and she leaned into his weight. “Hello, females.”

Lissi studied his inebriated face. Long ago she’d once thought him attractive and revealed her interest to Madlyn about asking him out. Almost overnight the two then seemed to connect. She shrugged and passed it off as something else she didn’t miss as she glanced around. Heinlirk’s friends swayed and bounced to the music in the midst of the madness.

“Have you shared the news with Lissi?” Heinlirk asked, nuzzling the top of Madlyn’s golden blonde curls.

Madlyn’s blue eyes glowed with an inner light and this time it had nothing to do with alcohol. “Heinlirk and I are going to do the next presentation. We want to be Chosens.”

Lissi’s heart lurched. Her gaze traveled back and forth between them. She licked her lips and swallowed twice before she could speak. “I think that is wonderful news.”

Everyone was growing up and moving on to their adult lives. Except her. At twenty three, she had no job, no prospects and an unfulfilled desire for someone who didn’t notice her.

“Now back to the party!” Heinlirk cheered as he turned away with Madlyn and returned to the dancing mob.

“Wait!” Lissi called but neither heard. Or chose not to hear. She sighed and slumped against the wall behind her.

“Lissi Alonson?”

Lissi lifted her head. The redhead standing in front of her broke into a beaming smile and recognition flared. “Ellie?”

The woman squealed and hugged Lissi. Ellie pulled back, hands still on Lissi’s shoulders. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Ellie Cage’s father had worked with Lissi’s papan at one time. She and Ellie had formed a solid friendship despite the brevity of time together but this was the first time their paths crossed in months due to the Cage’s heavy travel.

“You look good, Ellie.”

Ellie wore her beautiful red hair on top of her head in a pony tail with curls spiraling down. Familiar blue eyes warmed. “Thank you, Lissi. You look good, too.”

“Are you on Enotia for long?”

Ellie’s mouth dipped. “No, my mother thought a visit here would help with my disappointment about moving again before we settle down on Rasta.

Lissi gripped her hands and squeezed. She knew all about having an important figure for a papan. At least her life wasn’t uprooted constantly as her friend’s was. “I’m sorry to hear that. I wish you had told me you were here. We could have spent time together. My family loved whenever you came to visit.”

Ellie shook off whatever dark thoughts bothered her. “You’ve always been nice and proven a good friend, Lissi. Anyway, I’m leaving. It’s getting a little too crazy in here for my taste.”

Lissi surveyed the club with its drunken partyers and winced. “I agree but my friends aren’t ready to leave yet.”

“I wish I could stay and spend time together. My mother will have a fit if I arrive on a later shuttle.”

“I understand.” Lissi hugged her friend again for good measure. “It’s nice to see you, Ellie. If you ever need me, I’m here.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

They parted ways, Ellie sliding through the masses until Lissi could no longer see her distinctive red hair. Left alone, her mood dropped further and the last effects of the alcohol wore off. Lissi approached Madlyn and Heinlirk on the dance floor to see if they’d reconsider leaving.

“That’s why we shouldn’t have brought her,” Heinlirk murmured to Madlyn, unaware Lissi could hear them as she neared. “She’s no fun and always whining about what we should or shouldn’t do.”

“I know. At least she paid for the drinks and our entrance fees.” Madlyn leaned into Heinlirk, swaying to the music. Neither noticed Lissi standing beside them. “Maybe she’ll go away if we ignore her.”

Lissi cleared her throat, shame coating her in its stickiness. Nothing Madlyn said surprised her. In fact, she would have been more surprised if any of them actually wanted to be her real friend.

When she tapped her friend’s shoulder, they jerked around. Madlyn blushed but Heinlirk only glared.

“I’m going to leave now,” Lissi said, mustering all the Alonson dignity she could grasp. She was better off without people like them in her life. “I think it best we not repeat this experience and I will pretend not to know any of you when our paths cross now that we no longer attend the Career Academy.”

Not allowing them the opportunity to respond, Lissi turned away and gracefully made her exit.

“Good luck getting home!” Madlyn yelled in a vindictive parting shot.

Outside, the full reality of her actions hit Lissi. She glanced around the darkened street, shivers running up her bare arms. What a mess. She’d essentially made a statement and left herself stranded with no ride.