Free Bianca D'Arc by King of Clubs Page A

that. I’m not trying to pressure you into anything
sexual, but I cannot, in good conscience, let you go out there on
your own.”
    He’d said his piece. He sat back and waited
to see how she would respond to it. Chip ignored the fact that he
seemed to be holding his breath.
    “All right.” He started breathing again at
her words. “I’ll bunk in with you for the time being. I like the
idea of keeping them guessing, but I also see the point in giving
them a reason for the sudden change in my living space. How about
if we play it somewhere in the middle. Don’t come right out and say
I’m living with you, but act a little more, um… friendly behind the
bar. They can infer what they want from our increased intimacy and
it would probably look less suspicious.”
    “I like the way your mind works, Lila.” He
grinned at her as some of the tension left his body. She’d agreed
to stay with him and some inner part of him was cheering like a
madman. The more rational part of his brain thought about the
situation and how he could best keep her safe while doing his job.
Somehow, he’d work it out. He had to. There was no other acceptable
alternative.
    They finished their meal and then went out to
open the bar. Alex’s quarters were some of the most secure
compartments on the station. Once the hatch was sealed, nothing and
no one was getting in or out.
    About mid-morning, Chip asked his pilot
friend, Julian, to take charge of the bar for an hour while he and
Lila went to retrieve her belongings. The scratches around the
locking mechanism to her quarters were their first clue that
something had happened here last night.
    “The hall camera is out. Covered with paint,”
Chip observed quietly as they both went on alert. “Probably shot
from some distance to hide whoever attempted to jimmy the
lock.”
    “This lock is made of sterner stuff than
that,” Lila replied, supplying the correct codes to open the hatch
after the tampering had shut the system down completely. “My family
doesn’t take chances with personal security. Nobody got in here,
though they sure did give it a try. Do you think it was Beezus?”
She looked up at him as the final code made the lock click
open.
    “Probably. I bet he was pissed when you
didn’t show up on that pod, served up like desert.”
    She shivered. “Narrow escape. Thank the
goddess.” Chip would have questioned her words but she pushed the
door open and poked her head in cautiously. “Feels okay. Nobody
made it past Della’s security.”
    “I could hack station security feeds, but
they’d be useless considering the goop on that lens.” Chip had
already tried, using his implant, and knew for a fact the camera
feed was a no go.
    “It’s okay. Della installed some things that
will help us discover who was at my hatch last night. Follow me.”
She led the way into the narrow entry, but once inside with the
hatch closed securely behind them, Chip switched places with
her.
    “Let me do a walk through to be certain.”
    Lila shrugged and smiled up at him, extending
one arm indicating he was welcome to do as he liked. Chip didn’t
comment, moving silently through the small group of rooms. He kept
one eye on Lila as best he could while he checked the rest of the
small area. Living space on the station was always at a premium.
Even in this better part of the ring structure, few people could
afford much more than a main room with small cubbies attached for
sleeping, bodily functions storage and food prep. It didn’t take
long to search all the obvious areas.
    “It’s clear,” Chip said, returning to her
side. She nodded and he liked her serious demeanor. She didn’t make
light of his need to be certain that they were alone in the
rooms.
    “Follow me.” She walked into a small storage
area near the front door that was used to house coats, shoes and
the small amount of outerwear one might use on the climate
controlled station. Chip was surprised when she touched a hidden
panel and