Chapter 2
Dani closed her eyes before she leaned back in her chair. Her back hurt from sitting in the chair for so long. To aid her effort to make more money, she was putting in sixteen hour days. Lista was paying her by the job which helped her get more than an hourly wage would because she was that good. The agreement they had worked well for all of them. Even if it was tiring.
She missed him. Cash filled her mind so much she could even smell him. Her mind called up memories better left forgotten. Her body reacted like a traitor, wanting and needing him desperately. Dani refused to give in, he had made his choice so she had made hers. Now she would finish this. Once she reached the amount of money she needed to break free of this world, she would be gone.
Pulling herself back to the here and now, she began to type, the clatter of keys ringing through the room as she worked hard to complete this important task. Her work would help free the young being raised in the labs and in families they had been placed with. They were used as slaves rather than being raised as children.
This couldn’t be allowed to continue. These poor kids needed to be freed. Dani knew Cash and his people would be freeing the kids put into homes as slaves while the Phoenix went into the facilities and brought hell down on those evil people there. Finishing the task, she sent the list of children placed with outside families so they could be rescued. If she didn’t have to escape this place, she would do the work for free.
Her head pounded as she realized her day was at an end. Going to her kitchen, she fixed a cheap and easy meal. She’d lost weight and looked gaunt. Her bloodshot eyes looked back at her from her reflection in the mirror some idiot had put in the kitchen. The stupid place had a mirror on every room.
Once she’d eaten, she took a shower. Now she could watch the screen if she had a movie or go straight to bed. Bed won out, so she settled in but stared at the ceiling thinking of nothing, but Cash.
Why did the world in general hate her? As much as she cared for him she really wanted memories of him to stop haunting her every waking and sleeping moments.
Dani sat up, her heart pounded as her breath came so fast. Her skin was covered with sweat from some nightmare she couldn’t remember at all. Breathing deeply, she tried to slow her heart rate and her breathing. Why did this happen every damn morning? Was she lucky she couldn’t remember?
Like every other morning since she’d come here, she got up, took a shower, grabbed a bite to eat, got coffee, and sat down at her computer. Turning it on, she sipped at her coffee while her brain played catch up. The screen came up and she clicked the sites she needed. They came up quickly, so she started on her email which had her jobs for the day.
She clicked on one email she didn’t recognize. It turned out to be from Cash.
I’ve discovered you work for Lista finding the information she needs. I have a job for you that I will pay double what you usually make. The information you need is below, but basically I want you to find my former personal assistant, Dani. I need some information from her, but I can’t find her.
At first, it had scared her. She’d thought he’d found her.
Right now I am snowed under finding victims for Lista. If I find time, I’ll let you know.
She pressed send. It was irony at its best. No matter how hard she tried to escape him, he kept showing up in some form or another. Now she got to work, there was another lab that had been discovered that also sent kids to families to work for their keep. What was wrong with these people? She hacked into the place and found a list, then another, and another.
Kids from five to eighteen farmed out around the galaxy. Cash and Razar would find them, she was sure of it. Her next job was less important and tedious. Research and create a list of crops for Oison to grow. She would need to provide data on the cost, demand and selling price for each crop.
It took twenty minutes before she was able to send it on. Lista was doing a lot of work on building the economy of Oison. She made good decisions, but she didn’t like doing the research. Dani was the research queen, or maybe that was researcher for the future queen. Someday Lista’s mate Razar would rule the planet with her at his side.
It was a shame Oison was so close to Cash’s headquarters. It was a beautiful planet that Dani like and wouldn’t mind living on. With Cash so close, she was already taking a terrible risk. As soon as possibly she needed to get gone. Dani shivered as she thought about what could happen if he found her. He’d already torn her heart in half, now he wanted to shred it to pieces.
He missed his personal assistant, not the woman he’d bedded. The woman meant nothing to him, but she loved him. Cash didn’t even know he was so oblivious. The man was a detective and he could be so blind. She laughed harshly to herself. Dani couldn’t go back, not now, not ever. She looked at her clock seeing it was time for lunch. A food bar would keep her going. Her body was to the point that if she didn’t feed it a little throughout the day, it might shut down.
Checking her emails again, there was one from Lista.
Cash is going crazy without you. Are you sure there’s no bond between you?
She sent a quick message back.
If only….
It was almost enough to make her dream about how things might have been, but no. Dani couldn’t allow herself to fall into that trap. She was building a life for herself. An alarm went off to remind her of something. What was she forgetting? Ah, yes. She was taking self-defense classes that Justice and Envy taught. She changed into sweats and jumped in her hover car. It was a loaner from Lista. The female was too kind.
The gym Justice had built wasn’t far so she made it in time. It was new and cutting edge. The class had grown and now the gym had just enough room for the students. “Looks like you have plenty of paying customers now.” Dani said.
“Isn’t it great? We’re splitting the class and having two now.” Envy shared.
“Girls and boys?”
“No, some of the girls only come to see the boys. We’ll have an advanced class for those who have learned quickly. The rest will stay in this class.”
“Where do I go?”
“You’re moving up to the advanced class.”
“Are you sure?”
“The only thing you lack is confidence.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am, now fall into line.”
“Bossy!” She whispered, but Envy heard.
“You betcha.”
They began with exercises and some of the males began to strip off as they got sweaty. It reminded her about what Envy had said about females coming to the lessons to see the males. All of them were well muscled and sexy. If her heart wasn’t taken, she would be interested. She still looked, they were easy on the eyes, but the appeal wasn’t all it could have been.
One of the guys gave her the eye, but she shook her head. Too bad to, the guy was a hottie. He shrugged and turned his attention elsewhere. If only she could do that as easily. Her feelings were too deep and the night she’d spent with Cash had bonded her to him. Cash was the lucky one because he was free of the connection.
The class wore on until she felt dog tired and achy all over. She’d taken a few hard falls that had hurt even though they’d been on a padded mat. When the class was done, so was she. Slipping out fast before anyone asked anything of her, she hopped in the hover car and headed home.
After she arrived, she took a warm shower to help her achy muscles relax and almost fell asleep. She got out, dried off and dressed. It was time to try to get a couple more jobs done. There was a message from Cash again.
I’m not sure that you understand how important this is. I need to talk to her even if I don’t know exactly where she is. Just a brief conversation, that’s all I need. Please.
Dani decided she would give it some thought before she answered. Was there some important information she hadn’t given him before she left? She didn’t think so, but she would give it some thought. Meanwhile, she had a list of jobs she needed to get done for Lista and others. Squaring her shoulders, she got to work. It wouldn’t be more than a few weeks before she could get out of here for good.