“Rita,” she intoned with a warm smile.
They all straightened when they saw Izzo walking over to them.
“We’re ready to head out now.” He addressed the group, but his eyes kept flashing toward Daisy.
“Where are we going?” Vanessa asked, stepping in front of Daisy, who was clearly uncomfortable with his lingering gaze.
Izzo frowned. “Gishen, Sal, and Helas will be taken to prison, and you’ll be escorted to The Pearl Temple.”
“What about Luka?” Alice asked a little too urgently.
Vanessa smirked at her then turned back to Izzo, waiting for an answer.
He looked confused by her question but said, “He’ll ride with us, and then I’ll bring him back home. We need to get the drug out of his system and figure out what happened.” He pointed to the second floating vehicle. “We’ll take that cruiser with him, but don’t worry, he won’t wake up.”
“But—” she started, intending to explain that she wasn’t afraid of Luka, but Izzo was already heading away.
The women in the group didn’t move but instead looked to her. She flushed.
Are they waiting to see what I do?
Alice had never been a leader before, but it seemed as though her show of bravery earlier had earned her the respect of these women.
Chin lifted, she walked over to the floating machine and found Izzo already seated inside, Luka slumped in a corner to his left. Alice frowned as she sat across from Luka rather than next to him.
Daisy sat next to her, keeping her head down and her gaze averted from Izzo, who continued to stare at her. The man was so enthralled with the quiet girl that he hadn’t even seemed to notice Luka’s mating marks. Or maybe he had noticed and didn’t care. It was possible Helas had lied about how rare they were.
When all of the women were loaded into the vehicle, the door slid closed. Everyone except Izzo tensed.
He glanced around with a nervous smile. Attempting to lighten the mood, he held out his hand to Alice, palm up. “I was told this is a polite greeting for Earthlings.”
Alice glanced at his upturned palm and tried to figure out what he meant. With a chuckle, she realized what the human woman he’d mentioned before must’ve told him. Tentatively, she took his large palm and turned it to the side, then grasped it with her own and shook his hand.
Izzo’s cheeks reddened. “Oops.”
Both Vanessa and Rita shook his outstretched hand when he offered it. When he held it out to Daisy, Alice could see him hold his breath.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Izzo murmured.
Daisy’s eyes were still trained in her lap, and when she made no move to shake his hand, he looked to Alice in confusion.
When did I become the human-alien mediator?
“Her hearing’s been damaged. I’m not sure how,” Alice explained while softly nudging Daisy. “She can’t hear you.”
Daisy looked up to her then toward Izzo’s outstretched hand.
Alice reached over and squeezed her arm with an encouraging nod. She couldn’t imagine how much more difficult and terrifying this whole situation would be if she couldn’t hear. At least she’d been able to speak to Helas and understand that she was on an alien planet. How much did Daisy understand about what had happened to her?
The fear shone on her face, but Daisy lifted her hand to Izzo’s anyway. Their eyes locked as he clasped her hand in his much-larger one and shook slowly.
Everyone’s eyes widened as a low purr sounded from Izzo.
Vanessa and Rita began to giggle. Daisy glanced at the laughing women and then quickly snatched her hand back, blushing profusely.
“You can freakin’ purr?” Vanessa blurted between restrained laughter.
Izzo let his hand fall to his side but looked unashamed while he dreamily muttered, “Sorry.”
Listening to Rita and Vanessa laugh made warmth spread through her and her eyes glaze with tears. The cab of the cruiser was filled with a lightness she never thought she’d experience again. Vanessa let out a small snort, which only made her and Rita laugh harder. Even Daisy was now looking around the cab with a smile, though she continued to avoid Izzo’s avid stare.
During the rest of the ride, Izzo spoke endlessly of their city and the place they were going to now, called The Pearl Temple, but she’d only been half listening. Her eyes and thoughts kept straying to Luka, still unconscious in the corner. Would he be as chatty as his brother was when the drugs finally wore off?
Her gaze traveled down to the bloody, burned skin around his wrists, and her fingers twitched. Having been able to touch and console him at her leisure for the past few weeks, she wasn’t surprised to feel the ache to hold his hand and whisper comforting words in his ear.
Was it wrong for her not to want to bring up his marks to Izzo yet? If she brought them up, she’d have to describe the events leading to his marks appearing, and she wanted to hang on to the happiness she felt just a little while longer before reliving that nightmare. Keeping it to herself also made her feel more connected to Luka. As if they shared something special and private.
She felt subtle anxiety start to creep around the periphery of her thoughts. Although she’d done her best not to become too attached to Luka, she knew she was. Even now, the idea of being separated from him made her skin tingle with panic.
A knot tightened in her stomach, then another, and another as thought after thought ran through her mind.
What if
