Free Desperate Measures by Rebecca Airies Page A

good looks.

    “What are you going to do on Forunes?” Connal‟s voice cut through her musings.

    She closed her eyes and shook her head as she hurriedly gathered her thoughts. “My
    friend is going to get us a posting on the trade ship she works on. I know you don‟t have memory
    problems. Why do you keep asking those kinds of questions?”

    That was something she wasn‟t going to miss. It would be a relief not to have to always
    be on guard.

Chapter Six

    Raine breathed a sigh of relief as she exited the shuttle. She made sure she kept it silent
    though. They weren‟t alone just yet so they had to keep the façade in place. She was ready to get
    down to the real business of finding Krissa and getting her off this planet.

    Walking across the black-topped landing area to the sliding silver entry doors of the port
    buildings, she focused on getting into the dark gray building. The path was clearly marked for
    passengers departing from a trade shuttle and she didn‟t deviate. That could be dangerous with
    the carts pulling the loads of goods whizzing past.

    This wasn‟t the gleaming, pretty port that the tourists saw, but a working area that
    allowed access to those doing business here. The doors opened with a near silent whoosh and she
    walked into the white and gray entry room. She saw a scanner for both bags and people near the
    exit to the long rectangular room. Very serious, uniformed guards stood on either side of those
    machines as enforcement, but she wasn‟t interested in them. She saw the way to get some
    distance between them and the crew of the Raitan . She smiled slightly and slipped a glance
    toward Gianna and Nara.

    They all wore comfortable clothes, but they were the brightest and most unrestricting
    articles of what they‟d brought with them. This had to seem casual, as if they were going to meet
    a friend. Nara wore a flowing white and yellow shirt and a long skirt, while Gianna had chosen a
    sleeveless bright blue-green top held up by two thin strips and tight black pants. When she‟d
    seen what they were wearing, Raine had wondered if her short-sleeved, button-down red top with
    black slashes across the chest and back was a little too normal, but it wasn‟t like she had that
    many outfits to wear. She‟d packed for comfort and to fit in with the crew, but she hadn‟t
    expected to be under so much scrutiny.

    She knew her friends were as relieved as she was to be walking away from the crew. It
    felt like a weight lifting from them just to get off the Raitan without anyone discovering anything damning. She had to force herself to take one thing at a time. She wanted to rush past the
    checkpoints and get right to finding the signs that Krissa would have left for them, but knew that
    she had to keep it slow and not do anything stupid that would draw attention from the authorities
    here or give Connal any clue that they were in a hurry.

    She allowed her bag to be checked by the entry guards and then waited for Gianna and
    Nara. The air smelled stale inside the building, but she didn‟t mind it at all. She felt free and
    deliriously happy now that she was here. Not very surprising since the ride down had seemed
    like being crammed into a very small can. The shuttle had been packed. Even though she knew
    she shouldn‟t, she turned and waved to the people from the Raitan before she headed down the
    white tiled concourse with Gianna and Nara.

    “Taunting them isn‟t what we want to do, is it?” Nara asked with a laugh. “Don‟t we
    have enough trouble without making them focus on us any more than they will eventually?”

    “Well, we can‟t seem like we‟re running away from them and the journey wasn‟t that
    bad. Seeming to flee from them would attract more attention than a simple wave.” Raine kept her
    voice low, but loud enough for her friends to hear. She knew that the wave was strictly
    unnecessary, but it had been irresistible. “Besides you know I‟m always so open and