Free Broken by Erin M. Leaf Page A

settlement. “Why hasn’t anyone cleaned this place up? The cloak has
been working for years now, and it still looks like shit. I know there’s money
rolling through this place. It’s a major trade spot for smugglers. You’d think
Foxworthy would spruce things up a bit.”
    John
snorted. “Yeah, right. He hoards all the gems for
himself and his cronies. You know that.”
    “It’s
bad for business.”
    He
rubbed his face. “It’s not bad for him. He charges people for the location, you
know. Blindfolds them and everything.”
    Sky
sighed. “Of course he does. I should’ve known that.”
    “Don’t
beat yourself up too much. It’s been a long time since you’ve come to visit,
Sky,” John said, smiling as he wrote her name down on his log.
    She
shrugged. “I come when I need to buy something. Otherwise, why bother?”
    He
shook his head. “You are such a loner, Sky. What about human companionship?” He
shook the dust off the ledger and snapped the elastic back over it, holding it
shut.
    She
watched him tuck the book onto the old wooden shelf. It looked bizarre next to
the gleaming Xyran tech that ran the cloak, but that
was the story of humanity: survival, but not much more. Anything more than
“just enough” took up too much energy.
    “I
enjoy my own company,” she replied absently, still staring at the cloak’s
control panel. She could bring it down right now, if she wanted. She’d learned
how to run and maintain it when she’d been with Graeme. She’d learned a lot of
tricks when she’d been with him.
    “Looks
like you’ve had more company than just your own,” John said slyly, nodding
toward her neck.
    Shit! She’d forgotten about the bite marks. Ah well,
nothing to do but brazen it out. “Yeah, well, a girl’s gotta have some fun.” She smiled pleasantly at him, old habits coming back with ease.
She’d needed to smile and act harmless for years. Survival
of the fittest.
    “You
might want to rethink the whole loner bit, Sky,” John said, his voice going
low.
    She
frowned, looking at his face. He seemed very uneasy, suddenly. “What are you
talking about?”
    “ A lotta human women are going
missing these days,” he murmured, fidgeting with his sidearm.
    “Human
women have been going missing for years,” she replied, not impressed.
    “No,
you don’t understand. I mean, in the last year or so. There’s talk that some
people made a deal with the Xyrans .”
    Sky’s
breath hitched. “Organized?”
    John
nodded. “So, you be careful out there in the wilds.” He gestured to the scrub
and mountains beyond the cloak.
    She
shook her head. “I’m always careful.”
    “Be
even more careful,” he said, heading for the door.
    More careful? Like not picking up stray Xyrans as if they were injured pets? “Where’s Mack?” she asked John as they walked out of the shack. She peered into
the settlement. Tents, a few dented trailers, and a couple of old cabins made
up the entire gathering. Most of the people here stayed for a few months, then moved on, while others moved in. The
only rule? Keep your mouth shut.
    “Now
why would you want to go playing around with a jackass like that? You know
better, Sky.” John wiped his forehead with a dirty rag. It didn’t do much, just
smeared the dust around his weathered face.
    She
patted his arm. “I need a power cell. Nothing more.”
    He
frowned. “That’s expensive.”
    Sky
shrugged. “I’m good for it.”
    “I’ll
let Foxworthy know you’re here,” John said grimly.
    “You
do that,” she said, watching him walk away. Foxworthy was the settlement’s
leader. He and Mack were best friends and the biggest reason she had to get
away. After Graeme died, well… She snorted. Graeme had been a nice man, a good
man, and he’d taken care of her for a long time. Time enough for me to grow
up. All she’d had to do was cuddle with him at night, and he’d been
content. When he’d died, his son Mack had taken from her by force what