Free Infiltration (Katieran Prime Series Book 11) by KD Jones Page A

membership.”
    “What’s Roadside Assistance? What were you learning to drive?”
    She sat on a nearby boulder. “On Earth we get around using cars. It’s like a bigger version of your carts. We have to have a license to drive them and you don’t get a license until you turn sixteen. If a tire goes flat or you run out of gas, you can call Roadside Assistance and someone will come to help you.”
    “It sounds like your father wanted to make sure you were safe.” He stretched out on the ground and looked up under one of the big cylinder thrusters.
    “He was the best. Not a day goes by I don’t miss him.”
    “What was his name?”
    “Ben Abrams.”
    “Abrams? Why is it not Song? Did you have a union to change your name?”
    She shook her head. “My real name is Melody Ann Abrams. Song is my stage name.”
    “That makes no sense to me.”
    “That sums up Earth people for you. We don’t make sense sometimes.”
    “What about your mother? Did she pass to the afterlife?”
    “No, she’s still living on Earth.”
    “Why would she let you come here to a different planet alone?”
    “I’m a grown woman and make my own decisions.”
    “Could she not come with you?”
    “My mom, Meredith, fell apart when my Dad passed away. She turned to drinking alcohol to try to escape the pain she felt for losing him. My mother was killing herself with drinking. I tried to get her help but she refused all my efforts. Then she wrecked her car in a ditch and woke up in the hospital. She checked herself into rehab after the accident. It took a long time for her to get back on her feet and she wasn’t ready to leave her home.”
    “What about you? Did she not worry about who would take care of you?”
    “I was kind of on my own and turned to music. Music saved me from following in my mother’s footsteps. She was relieved when I told her I planned to travel to Katiera. She worried for a long time that I would not live my life to the fullest, which she wanted more than anything. My leaving made her feel better about the fact that I was taking control of my life.”
    “You didn’t have a male in your life that protested you leaving?”
    She glared at his boots because that was all she could really see from her position. “I wouldn’t have come if I was in a serious relationship. Why are you asking me questions about me and my life? How would you like it if I started bombarding you with questions?”
    “Go ahead. I have nothing to hide.”
    She bit her lip, trying to think of what to ask him. She meant to ask where he was from but the first thing out of her mouth was, “Do you have someone?”
    “Have someone? Like what do you mean?”
    “Do you have a mate? Someone waiting for you to return?”
    She watched him move his body enough so that he could look at her. “No, I have no female, no mate.”
    She felt heat rise to her cheeks. She quickly tried to move past that awkward question. “Where are you from?”
    “My parents were killed in a Morin attack when I was a child. I was raised on Kiljor by my grandparents.”
    “How old were you when your parents died?”
    “Seven.”
    “That’s so young. At least you had your grandparents. Are they still living?”
    “Yes, and they are constantly demanding I take a mate.”
    She smiled at his frustration. “They just want to see you settled and happy.”
    “Who says I’m not happy with my life the way it is?”
    “You don’t want to have a wife— mate —and young to come home to?”
    “I live a dangerous life and am called to interrogate our enemies. My family would spend a lot of time alone without me in their lives. Who would want that?”
    “Maybe if you found a female who would be understanding about what your job entails…”
    “I’m focused on my position as interrogator.”
    “I can understand that. I’ve dedicated so much of my time to my career that I haven’t had much time for a social life.”
    “Is that what happened with you and the Colonial