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.She d never seen one of those outside a restaurant, and she ran her fingersover it lovingly.She s always wanted one.But even when she d owned her bar, she couldn t afford it.His smugglingbusiness must do very well, indeed.She rummaged through the cold storage, surprised to find a wide selection offoods.Within a few moments she had a nice plate of food ready, complete with whatlooked like fresh bread and fruits.She took the plate with her into the mainroom, and then sat down the couch and flicked on the vid screen. Jenna, please show our course and current destination, she asked. I m sorry, but that information is not available to you at this time, thecomputer replied in smooth, modulated tones.Great. Where is Jerred? she asked. The Captain is in the cockpit, the computer replied. Would you like me tocall him for you? No, she muttered, focusing on her food.She d go and talk to him herselfwhen she was done eating.She wanted to know where they were going and whenthey d get47Joanna Wylde there.Time to start researching her new home, and figuring outwhether or not she needed to find another ship to a better destination.She dsigned on to crews more than once to get transportation, and for the most partit wasn t a bad way to travel.Lots of work and crappy food, but she dsurvive.She finished up her breakfast and dropped the plate into the galley s cleaner.Page 35ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThen she marched purposefully toward the cockpit.The door was open, and shestepped in without asking permission.He sat in the pilot s chair, apparentlywaiting for her to arrive.Just looking at him was a shock every time she sawhim, his face surprised her.It was as if her mind s eye never remembered his scar, the way it slashedacross his face and twisted his expression into a perpetual snarl.Why didn t he get it fixed?She almost asked the question, but managed to catch herself in time.Justbecause he was an ass didn t mean she needed to act like one, too. Where are we headed? she asked, settling herself down in the co-pilot schair as is if it were the most natural thing in the world.He turned away from her, studying his instruments for a moment, then he spoke. It s probably better if you don t know, he said finally. I m meeting withsomeone, and it really isn t relevant to your situation. Well, I think it s rather important, she replied. I need to do someresearch, find out if it s a good place for me to settle for a while. It isn t, he replied coolly. You ll need to stay with me a bit longer thanjust this first stop, I think. You may think that, but I d really like to judge for myself, she repliedfirmly. Iagreed to give you sex in exchange for a ride.I didn t agree to become yourindentured servant. I m well aware of that, he said slowly. But in this case, you won t be ableto get off quite yet.We re meeting in open space it s been planned formonths.There s nowhere for you to go.The way he said it was so smug, so annoying, that it made her teeth clench.Smug bastard. Maybe I d rather go with whoever you re meeting, she said pertly.Instead ofgetting angry, though, he just burst out laughing. I sincerely doubt that, he said finally. This guy makes me look pretty damngood.I think you d be better off if you just stay out of sight while he shere. Afraid I ll like him better than you? she asked. No, he said slowly,  I m more afraid that he ll kill one or both of us toprotect his identity.He only expects me to attend the meeting, and he s not atrusting kind of man.She shivered, and fell back in the seat, u n s u r e o f w h a t t o s a y.J e n n a c h i m e d a warning, and he turned to her.48Jerred s Price We ll be jumping to hyperspace before too long.If you re going to stay uphere, you need to strap yourself in.She nodded, and reached around to grab the straps.This was always her least-favorite part of space flight.People who traveled a lot seemed to think itwas no big deal, but the jump always made her feel queasy.He seemed to go through the preparation checklist far too quickly for hercomfort, as if he were barely noticing each of the details and checking thesettings.He didn t even do the math himself, trusting Jenna to feed him thenumbers.She added sloppy piloting to his list of faults, in addition to beinga jerk.Hopefully he wouldn t get them killed.That morose thought was the last she had before they twisted out of normalspace with a gut-wrenching shudder.She reached to unhook her belt, wanting togo back to her cabin and lie down for a while, but he held out a hand to stopher. Go ahead and stay strapped in, he said [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]