GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) (15 page)

Her cheek was hot where he had struck it and she was seething with fury. Until she looked directly at him. He had turned his back on their audience so that they couldn't see the regretful look in his eye or the way his mouth silently formed the word,
Please.

She glared at him for another second, sending back her own silent message. If they ever got out of here, she was going to make him pay through the nose. "I forgot. I'm sorry," she mumbled through clenched teeth.

A grumble rippled through the room and Gallant jerked the chain up. "I didn't hear you, woman. Louder."

Cherry inhaled sharply but another nasty grumble stopped her from voicing her real thoughts. "I'm sorry," she said aloud, then added, "master," for added effect.

"Then you may rise," Gallant said nobly and turned back to the small crowd that had gathered behind him.

The reptilian glided forward. "You're no fun at all, Voyager. A few seconds more and I would have had her."

"To be precise, you would have stolen my property and I would have had to kill you. She's mine, Sinbar, and in spite of her lack of manners, I intend to keep her... for a while."

Sinbar seemed unaffected by the threat to his life but it instantly froze everyone else in the tavern. "I'll buy her. Name your price." The last word ended in a prolonged hiss.

"Now why would you possibly want her?" Gallant asked suspiciously.

Sinbar shrugged his narrow shoulders. "She seems... amusing."

"How odd. I thought the only thing that amused you was increasing your wealth. What value could a Terran female have to you?"

The snake eyes narrowed to yellow slits. "Do you wish to name a price or not?"

Cherry kept her eyes averted as she followed the haggling back and forth. Several deductions gradually made themselves clear. Sinbar must have heard the rumor Gallant had started about her and figured he could make a profit by buying Cherry and reselling her to Frezlo. Therefore, he probably knew how to contact Frezlo.

Also, based on the reptilian's comments, Cherry was certain she hadn't merely imagined that she couldn't pull her gaze from his. It must have been some sort of hypnosis and Gallant's slap efficiently broke the connection moments before Sinbar "had her." But it was hard to feel grateful to Gallant while her cheek still burned.

After several offers were made and rejected, Sinbar made a series of hissing sounds and slithered out of the tavern. Although the rest of the clientele soon found other means of entertaining themselves, the Finites continued to ogle Cherry until Gallant led her to a table in the opposite corner from them.

She was ready to give him a piece of her mind as soon as they had a measure of privacy but the moment they sat down, a pleasant-looking man with dark red hair approached them and clapped Gallant on the back.

"Ho, Gallant! I was over at Camp Three when I heard someone mention your name over the transmitter. Had to come see for myself. How the drek
are you?"

Rather than return the friendly greeting, Gallant's voice was razor-edged. "Alive and well, Dutch. I see some things never change. News travels as fast as ever around here."

"It's still a small sector." He looked around for another chair but none was available. "Stand up, sweetheart," he said to Cherry with a friendly laugh. "You and I can share that seat and get better acquainted at the same time."

Gallant clearly lacked an appreciation for Dutch's good humor. Sternly, he ordered Cherry, "Come over here."

She rose and moved to his side but when he tried to guide her onto his lap, she balked.

"Do you need another lesson in proper slave behavior?" he asked in a threatening tone.

Sending him another visual promise of retribution, she sat down stiffly across his hard thighs, shifted more to the front then rearranged her legs in between his so that she was perched on only one of his thighs. When she started to move again he wrapped his arm around her waist and braced her tightly against him.

"Enough!" he growled dangerously.

Even through the cumbersome sackcloth, she could feel the reason he wanted her to stop squirming. It was a shame their safety depended on him having his wits in order or she could have exacted a fair amount of retribution right then and there. Just to let him know she was thinking about it though, she wiggled her bottom one more time before settling into the possessive hold he had on her.

Chuckling, Dutch sat down in the vacated chair and called out an order to Kip. All the while, he had been openly regarding Cherry, particularly noting the slave collar and leash. "I heard it but I didn't believe it. Not only does Gallant Voyager have a female slave but a human one at that. If I'm not mistaken, there's a pretty woman under that get-up. What's your name, sweetheart?"

Because of his friendly tone, Cherry's gaze automatically raised to his. She was about to answer when there was an imperceptible tug on her chain. She didn't know if it was because Dutch presented a danger she didn't see or if Gallant just wanted to keep her from making a friend. For the time being, she deferred to Gallant's implied order by shyly lowering her eyes and letting him answer for her.

"Slaves don't have names, Dutch." With sarcasm dripping from his words, he added, "Remember, you're the one who taught me that."

Cherry was curious to hear more but Dutch only shrugged and switched subjects.

"So, what brings you here, Gallant?"

"Apparently a few things
have
changed since I was here last. Used to be a man's business was his own."

Dutch held up a hand. "Ho, no offense meant. Just making conversation."

But conversation came to an abrupt end throughout the tavern seconds later. Glancing furtively around, Cherry noticed that all eyes had turned to see the imposing figure that had just entered the building.

Frezlo!

Over seven feet of hairy, pig-faced beast surveyed the room before turning his beady eyes on her. With a loud grunt, he lumbered toward their table.

Cherry saw Dutch settle back in his chair with an expectant sparkle in his light blue eyes. Instantly she was certain that he had been aware that Frezlo was on his way and had come to the tavern for the sole reason of observing the fireworks. Some friend he was! In spite of the way Gallant had been treating him like an enemy, she had been starting to consider Dutch as a possible backup ticket home. Apparently, he was even less trustworthy than Gallant.

From the way everyone else was watching them, she also knew Dutch wasn't the only one anticipating a good show.

As soon as Frezlo reached their table, he pointed his metal finger at Cherry and grunted again. Remembering what that finger had done to the Weebort had her burrowing further into Gallant's protective embrace.

Giving her a reassuring squeeze, he said to the beast, "Our translators don't interpret grunt, Frezlo. You know that. Speak words or go visit someone else."

The nostrils of his snout flared with annoyance but he complied. "Frezlo... want... her."

"Really?" Gallant managed to sound surprised. "First the Finites then Sinbar and now you. The value of Terran females must have gone up quite a bit since I won this one." He leaned back and scrutinized Cherry's features as if he may have missed something that everyone else saw.

"You... won... her? How?"

"Hmmm?" Gallant returned his attention to Frezlo. "Oh, yes. It was a friendly game of cubit. I didn't realize I had made out so well."

"Frezlo... play... Voyager... now." He grunted at Dutch, who gladly relinquished his chair and joined the eager bystanders hovering nearby.

Cherry could feel the tension building in Gallant's body, though none of it was outwardly evident. Taking her cue from his attitude, she forced herself to change her posture from cowering to lounging comfortably against him.

The instant she relaxed, he pretended to be kissing her ear as he whispered, "Good girl. Now play along with me." He lightly ran his fingers up and down her arm and she didn't need to fake the giggle that escaped her throat.

Frezlo pounded a fist on the table.
"Play!"

Gallant slid his hand down to Cherry's hip and kneaded it as he spoke. "I don't know, Frezlo. All this sudden interest in my new slave had me thinking about returning to the privacy of my ship."

Cherry put her arms around his neck and whispered against his ear, "I'm probably going to have to kill you when this is all over."

His laughter implied that she had told him something extremely naughty. "All right, Frezlo. It seems the woman enjoys watching the game. And for what she just promised, it will be worth entertaining her a little." Gallant named a reasonable monetary stake to start and Frezlo grunted his agreement.

"Kip!" Gallant called and the bystanders automatically opened a path between him and the bar. "Three refreshers and the house cubes, please."

Gallant continued to stroke and caress Cherry throughout the first match. Molded into his lap as she was, she alone knew that he wasn't anywhere near as distracted by her as he was pretending to be. If he wasn't driving her so crazy with his seductive touches, she might have congratulated him on his control as well as his superb acting ability.

Somehow, in spite of his limited attention, Gallant won three games in a row for a quick match. In the second match, Frezlo narrowly took one game before Gallant beat him again. When Frezlo stupidly lost the third match also, Cherry decided he was either the worst player in the galaxy or he was throwing the game on purpose. The latter possibility became stronger when he demanded they increase the stakes to make the game more interesting.

"Frezlo... want... her. What... Voyager... want?"

Forcing himself to ignore Cherry's wide-eyed panic, Gallant rubbed his chin and glanced around at the interested faces in the room to give himself time to prepare. He knew Frezlo was more cunning than he appeared. The minute Gallant named the forfeit he wanted, Frezlo could figure out that a trap had been set for him. Gallant also knew, however, that Frezlo was a true gambler, and if he did agree to pay a particular forfeit, he would never renege on it any more than Gallant would. The only thing to do was lay the wager on the table and see if it was accepted.

"Seeing as how I've won all three matches so far, I don't suppose there's much chance of my losing tonight." He waved for Dutch to come closer then asked Frezlo, "Do you accept Dutch as the official witness?" Frezlo grunted. "Fine. One five-game match. If you win, the woman is yours." He had to tighten his grip on Cherry to prevent her from bolting. There was no way to let her know she had nothing to fear. "If I win"—he paused again to make sure he had both Frezlo's and Dutch's full attention—"if I win, you tell me who hired you to eliminate the Weebort trader in Innerworld."

"Client... information... secret."

Gallant shrugged. "No one will hear your answer but me."

Frezlo snorted. "Why... want?"

"Personal reasons. He did me a favor once. Is it a bet or not?"

"Bet," Frezlo declared with a nod and tossed the cubes to begin the first game.

Each quad rolled brought a fresh round of murmurs as side bets were made and renegotiated.

Gallant had hoped to win honestly since a cheat on Zoenid was swiftly rewarded with a special place in the sun, but by the end of the fourth game, he and Frezlo had each won two. He told himself he couldn't afford to lose the opportunity to get information from Frezlo but in a corner of his mind he admitted that it was Cherry's safety for which he was going to risk cheating.

"Stand up, woman. My leg's gone to sleep." Ever since he agreed to make her a forfeit, she had barely moved a muscle. Like an automaton, she let him guide her to stand behind his right shoulder so that he could keep her in his peripheral vision. As an extra precaution, he placed her hands on that shoulder. Instantly she gripped him so hard, he winced.

"Play!"
Frezlo repeated when Gallant took another second to move Cherry's robotic hand back to her side.

Gallant picked up the cubes and threw his initial try of the tiebreaker game with every confidence that he would be relieving Cherry's fears in a matter of minutes. It would have been convenient if he had managed to get a quad but when his third toss resulted in nothing more than two pairs, he knew what he had to do.

As Frezlo took his turn, Gallant casually ran his hands down the front of his vest. Then, even more slowly, he curled his fingers inside the edges and slid them back up again.

Nothing!
There were no hard little bulges in the lining, no special set of cubes to exchange for the honest ones. He felt Cherry's fingers digging into his shoulder but the shock of the missing cubes kept him from immediately responding to her signal. When he did, the look on her face said it all. Numb fear had been replaced by panic... and
guilt.

A memory of her in the facility chamber, looking like she was up to mischief, flashed in his mind and he instantly knew what had happened to his cubes. His return look of total exasperation was equally readable. Now he had no choice but to play an honest game and hope his luck held.

He knew he had been hustled as soon as Frezlo's run of foolish mistakes and bad choices came to an abrupt end. Now the beast played a careful game, as though he had miraculously begun to comprehend the odds. With each quad Frezlo accumulated, Cherry's fingernails dug a little further into Gallant's flesh, but he was so tense, he hardly felt it.