Riding on Whispers (the Wolfegang series Book 3) (3 page)

Ricky spoke, “She’s outside the door.”

Damn alien. How was I supposed to eavesdrop when he gave me away?

The door slid open with Wolfe waiting on the other side. “Come in, Kat.”

I cautiously stepped into his office. Ricky and Celeste didn’t look like they were going anywhere. This conversation about my plan wasn’t going to be a private one.

Okay then.

“Captain, you wanted to discuss my plan of action?”

Wolfe stepped aside and I took a seat on his couch, as far from Celeste as I could get. Ricky sat in one of the chairs at Wolfe’s desk, he was typing something into his tablet, his fingers flying over the display in shorthand. The captain walked around his desk and sat in his chair. I glanced around the room quickly. Somehow being in the same room with everyone seemed almost normal despite Celeste’s violet stare, and Ricky’s pointy teeth. Wolfe looked calm, but he seemed on edge with his impatient gestures. “Yes, I do,” he said. “Please inform me.”

I cleared my throat, suddenly nervous at the audience. I hadn’t spoken to Wolfe with anyone else in the room since we’d discussed my contract. “It’s not a solid plan, but I do have one. I’m going to find where the Family hangs out, its businesses, and ask for Imre. Then I will speak with him about the message he has for me. Alone.”

The silence after I spoke was thick, and I felt like I might choke on it. Wolfe didn’t look pleased.

“I was afraid that’s what you were going to say,” was all he said.

I didn’t understand. “You’re not going to tell me not to go through with it?”

Wolfe shrugged. “No. I don’t know of any other way to go about your business. I don’t personally know anyone in the Family to help you. You will use a false name?”

It was my turn to shrug. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it. “I won’t use your name or mine, but if Imre knows who I am, it won’t be a problem.”

Looking at Wolfe while he thought, it made my palms sweat. I looked away, my gaze falling on his collection of books. The first time I’d seen them, I didn’t know the importance of something as simple as books. Paper was outlawed when Earth’s natural resources dwindled nearly to extinction. The supply now was limited, and actual books were expensive and hard to come by. It was just another thing about Wolfe that intrigued me. There was something beyond the hard exterior he always presented, something deeper than the soldier and the no-nonsense captain. He was still a man who didn’t look much older than me.

Wolfe powered up his tablet. “I want you to check in every hour with your comms, and I’ll be monitoring your location. While we wait for you to return, the shield will be up around the ship. You’ll have to contact me to have it lowered so that you can board.” He paused to really look at me. “Whether you find anything or not, we’re leaving after twenty-four hours. No arguments.”

I nodded. “Understood, Captain.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. “If I have your permission, I want to leave as soon as possible.”

Without taking his eyes off the tablet, he nodded. “On the hour, Kat,” he reminded me.

I stood and left quickly before he could change his mind. No one said anything as I departed.

Once the door to Wolfe’s office closed, I took a deep breath. He was not happy about the situation, but he wasn’t going to stop me. As Ricky said, Wolfe wasn’t a fan of losing control.

I straightened, and brushed the hair out of my face. I would change clothes, just in case someone recognized my leathers, and grab a bigger jacket with a bigger hood. The metal floor rang with my steps as I made my way to my own quarters.

I quickly showered, put up my hair, and slipped on dark grey pants. My boots went over that, and I grabbed one of my over-sized, black t-shirts. The V-neck allowed my skin to breathe. I tucked a knife into a boot, buckled my pistol back on my hips, and then threw on a sailor’s coat. I took a quick look in the mirror and put the hood up. It cast a dark shadow over my face.

Quietly, I left the
Wolfegang
and commed Wolfe as soon as I was past the cargo bay doors. “I’ll check in one hour from now.” The shield went up with a crackle behind me.

There were still a few hours of sunlight left; I glanced at the sky to be sure. The smog made it difficult to tell. No one looked my way as I headed down the street. I would go to the market district first and see what I could find there. My best bet would be to look for the biggest guy I could find and ask him where I might find the Family. Giants seemed pretty regular for them.

The streets thickened with people running errands and doing business as I made my way further into the market. I almost couldn’t believe what I was doing. Was I insane? No one in their right mind would go looking for these guys. Desperate times called for desperate measures, I supposed.

My line of sight fell on a sign in Japanese for a mechanic’s garage. The advertisement claimed they could bring destroyed cars back to life. I peeked in as I passed, but stopped dead when I saw the man working on one of the cars.

He wasn’t necessarily giant-sized, but he was larger than any normal man had a right to be. I stepped over the threshold. The shadows from the building curled around me and hid my face even further.

I pitched my voice lower than normal and asked, “Do you know a man named Imre?”

A grease-streaked face looked up in surprise from the engine. “And what would a little thing like you want with him?”

Annoyed, I decided to ignore the comment. I was by no means little, but compared to certain people, one might make that assessment. “He’s a friend.”

The mechanic put down his tool and wiped the dirt and grime from his hands. He approached slowly as he got a good look at me. “You sure about that?” he asked.

I shifted uncomfortably under his stare. The hood felt pretentious now, so I lifted it back just enough that the light hit my eyes. “He said he had a message for me,” I explained.

His face clouded, but I couldn’t tell why. Was it my face, or my words? “He’s at Papa’s. It’s down the alley behind my shop.”

I gave the man a quick smile in relief and started to leave.

“Oh, and girl?”

I looked back over my shoulder. The mechanic was back at the engine.

“Be careful.”

I wished people would stop telling me that. I left the garage and stepped back into the sunlight. It struggled to reach me through all the smog, painting the streets in a bruised purple. My hood went back up to cover my face.

I moved carefully around jagged shards of metal and trash as I turned down the alley. There was hardly any room between the two walls of the buildings, but I made it through.

The alley opened up into another street, and I took a quick look around before I stepped into the wide street. I saw the sign directly across from me. Before I crossed, I looked in all visible directions; no one seemed to be looking for me, or recognize me. Invisible, just as I’d hoped.

The sign for Papa’s was neon blue, flickering every once in a while. I couldn’t tell from the outside what the place was supposed to be. The windows were dark, and the door looked like it was barely holding on.

My hand brushed the doorknob. The metal was sticky with something, and nasty. I quickly turned the knob before I could think too much about it. The inside was just as dark as the windows. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. Instead of lights, there were candles. The warm, yellow light felt weird to me. After weeks in space, I was used to the bright, white LED lights.

Softly, I closed the door. I noticed a panther etched into the door, right next to the knob. I traced it gently; not understanding what something like that would be doing in a place like Papa’s.

There was movement, I whirled around, and my eyes zeroed in on the man behind the bar. My nerves must have been getting to me more than I knew. The bartender said nothing. He kept cleaning his glass with a dirty rag. His face was expressionless.

With my back to the door, I looked around. It appeared to be a restaurant. Candles littered every surface, their soft glow getting brighter as my eyes fully adjusted to the dim interior.

The tables were empty, their checkered tablecloths clean and neat. Why was no one there to eat? Slowly, I stepped forward. The bartender’s gaze followed me as I moved.

Then I saw him.

Imre was sitting in the back of the restaurant eating what looked like spaghetti. It was a scene straight out of every single mafia movie I’d ever seen, especially with the red-and-white checkered tablecloth. Imre and his mafia persona couldn’t be more cliché if he tried. I kept myself from grinning. He couldn’t be the only Family member in the restaurant. The bartender was sure to have a pulse rifle under the bar.

Imre’s blue eyes found me. “Hello gorgeous!”

The sound of his deep, gritty voice was still as unsettling as it was the first time I’d heard it. My footsteps didn’t make a sound as I crossed the room and sat down across from him. A waiter in a tuxedo came to my side. “Would you like anything to eat?” the waiter asked.

I waved him away. “No thank you,” I replied automatically. I instantly changed my mind when I smelled something blissful. “Actually, some water and bread would be amazing.” Bread wasn’t kept onboard the
Wolfegang
. It easily got moldy and stale. Fresh bread was such a rare treat.

The table was tiny for two people. Our faces were less than a foot apart from each other. Imre’s body mass extended out from both sides of the table substantially. He took a bite of his pasta and watched me. I waited. He was the one who wanted to talk to me. The man in the tuxedo came back with my water and bread. He even brought butter. It looked real, not like the flavorless stuff we kept on the ship. I took a thick slice of the bread, and slathered it with butter before taking a bite.

My eye caught the flickering lights behind Imre’s shoulder. There was a holovid up in the corner of the room, quietly broadcasting a news channel. The images meant nothing to me. I put the bread down and focused on Imre.

The entire time I’d been waiting for him to say something he’d been watching me and every movement I made. I took a sip of water and met his gaze over the glass.

Imre smiled; it was big and reassuring. It lit up his eyes, and he looked like the happiest person in the world. “I’m so glad you found me,” he said. “I heard your ship was preparing to leave the planet.”

I couldn’t help but smile back at him. “I convinced the captain to wait a day. I felt it was important.”

Imre held his hands open, like I was old family he was waiting to hug. “It is, love. I would like to officially introduce myself.” He got out of his chair with a grace that shocked me and bowed over my hand, not quite touching his lips to my skin. “Imre, at your service.”

My face broke into another grin that mirrored his. “My pleasure, I’m sure.” His good mood was so infectious. It was weird. “Would you like to tell me about the private message you have for me?” I asked it nonchalantly, like I didn’t really care if he answered me or not.

I took up the piece of bread again, luxuriating in the warmth of it. It smelled like it had come right out of the oven. I watched him carefully, looking for a reaction. His smile didn’t waver.

“You really must try some of the wine. We have it imported specially. It’s as close to a Sicilian as you can find.” Imre motioned for the waiter.

I patiently waited as the waiter brought out a glass and poured the wine. Imre spoke with the waiter in a language that I would bet my life on was some form of Italian. I had time. In fact, I happened to be ahead of schedule. Finding Imre only took me a little under an hour.

The waiter handed me my glass, and I took it without saying a word. I crossed my legs and stared into the wine, the red liquid swirling and swirling. It was mesmerizing.

“Look Imre, I’m only here to find out what you wanted to tell me. If it has nothing to do with why I asked my captain to give me one more day on this planet, then I have to leave and continue searching.”

For the first time since he spotted me, his face became pensive, almost serious. “You are here because of someone you lost.”

Instantly, my hand stilled, and my gaze turned from the dark red depths of my glass to his blue eyes. He could be talking about anything. “Explain.” There was no room for games when someone was lost.

“He told me to look for a beauty like you.” Imre’s voice was quiet, but I could practically feel every word. When he spoke, the deep bass of his voice shook my bones. My hands started sweating again as my blood pressure spiked with adrenaline. “He told me, ‘She will be beautiful and odd all at once.’ And when I asked him what he meant by odd, he showed me.”

I didn’t dare move. There was only one person I knew who could possibly have someone looking out for me on this particular planet. I had to hear him say it, to say the words that would tell me where to find Kris.

“He said to look for the fastest dame, with eyes like his. I haven’t seen that charcoal grey of his until I came across you.”

The hand that held my glass was shaking, and the wine sloshed against the sides. I could barely breathe. I was so incredibly nervous, anxious, and… hopeful. Maybe I was close to finding him. Maybe I would see Kris soon, and everything would be okay. I took a sip of the wine to try and steady my nerves. Then I set the glass on the table, away from my shaking fingers.