5. Lisa

Itry to hold out, I really do. But a protein bar for my only source of food sounds less and less appealing by the minute. Especially when I smell something much better coming from the galley.

Begrudgingly, I make my way towards the delicious smell and see my new travel buddy dishing out food. He smirks at me as I walk in.

“Decided to join me after all?”

I look to see he already has two plates out. Bastard. He knew I’d cave. For a moment, I contemplate just walking right back out to not give him the satisfaction. But the food does look better than anything I have. Even if it is probably just freeze-dried travel meals.

Without a word, I take a seat at the little round table and Ozadus brings over the food. He sets my plate down in front of me with a flourish. “My lady.”

I consider glowering at him. He’s the reason I’m stuck here after all. Even if it appears he didn’t do it intentionally. But pissing off my captor also probably isn’t a good idea.

Plus, I have to admit, being called ‘My lady’ does things to me. It’s like a scene ripped straight out of Fantastic Love Adventures I-III. The dashing rogue falls for the lady and turns on the charms to win her over.

I’m pretty sure this isn’t like that, though. He’s probably just taunting me.

“Thank you,” I say with a sharp nod.

His grin widens, and he takes a seat across from me. We begin to eat, and I try not to show how hungry I am. I hadn’t eaten lunch, which was fine because I was planning on going out and splurging on a big dinner. Something to celebrate all the money I’d just earned. Or was going to earn.

Ozadus’ offer to give me a cut of the profits floats into my mind. I push it away just as quickly. The last thing I need is to be connected to a thief.

Instead, I study Ozadus as he eats. For a no-good criminal, he certainly composes himself well. Better than anyone I hang out with, anyway. His table manners don’t seem like an act. These are the measured gestures of someone who has business dinners regularly.

It occurs to me that the type of crime Ozadus engages in might be of the organized variety. A silent thrill shoots through me, from my chest down to my groin.

“So, big plans when you get home?” Ozadus asks all of a sudden.

I raise an eyebrow. He wants to make conversation? Or is he making fun of me? Probably the latter.

“Oh, yeah, big plans,” I say, putting an extra helping of sarcasm in my voice. “I actually had a whole line of parties planned out. You know, on account of my incredible wealth and free time. That”s why I’m working as a mechanic.”

Instead of being annoyed at my sarcasm, it only seems to bolster Ozadus. “And here I thought you were just moonlighting as a mechanic to blend in with the common folk. Truly, if I’d known I was interrupting your busy social calendar, I would have turned around right away.”

I scoff. “Thank you for your consideration. I’ll be sure to tell the gals at the hoity-toity social club that excuse so they don’t berate me for my absence.”

He laughs, a light and joyous sound that fills the small dining area like music. Then he averts his gaze. “And is there some guy I should be apologizing to for stealing you away from him to go on this little adventure?” he asks casually. A little too casually.

Odd.

I shrug. “Oh, please. When would I have time for something like that?”

“So no one’s interested in you?” he prods. Ozadus leans closer, his eyes seeming to search my face for clues.

I huff. “I wouldn’t say no one is interested. I still get plenty of free drinks when I walk into a bar.”

“And yet you don’t want any of them? Surely at least one of them must have caught your eyes.”

I give him a withering look. “Sure, some of them do. Usually, I just go for something casual here or there, but not anything serious. Serious just gets… complicated.”

Not that I had many serious relationships to go off of, but the few that I did were enough. I learned early on that everything was easier if you just left your heart out of the game. No matter how good it felt in the moment.

“Serious usually just means it’s going to sting like a bitch when it’s over,” I continue, more to myself than to him. “People always disappoint you.”

He raises a brow. “Sounds like you’ve had some experience with that.”

I glower at him. Then a thought occurs to me, and my face smooths out into something playful as I lean back in my chair. “And what about you? Is there some girl I should be worried about beating me up wherever we’re going when she finds out I’m here?”

Ozadus laughs, but it doesn’t quite match his eyes. “No worries there. We’re much the same, you and I. Keeping it casual and keeping it light.”

He smirks. “Though there was this crazy girl I dated once who was paranoid that I was cheating on her. She tried to trick me into swallowing a tracker once so she could follow me.”

I burst out in shocked laughter. “Well then, I shall pray that I don’t run into your crazy ex!”

He lifts his drink in salute. “Hopefully I never do either.”

An image pops into my head of a lady chasing this tough Kaleidian man around, and him running scared for his life. Though a very handsome Kaleidian man, I have to admit. Rugged with an air of danger to him.

I quickly push that thought away and scoop some food into my mouth. I need to remember where I am and why I’m here. No amount of attractiveness is going to change that. And now that I’ve noticed it, I can admit that he is really attractive.

He seems to get hotter with every passing moment. Each word that utters from his mouth pokes and prods at me in some way. Challenging, thoughtful, charming. He’s the whole package.

And oh, what a package.

But I have to wonder if he can really take it the way he serves it out.

I decide to goad him a little more. “Come on. A handsome guy like you only attracts the crazies? I don’t believe it.”

That look enters his eyes again. His smile is still on his face, but his mind is clearly still elsewhere.

“Once,” he says with that too-casual tone. “She ran around in the same circle as me. You could say we bonded over our love of thievery and mayhem.”

The last part is said jokingly, but he still has that faraway look in his eyes. Clearly, despite the circumstances of which they met, Ozadus had feelings for this girl.

“What happened?” I ask cautiously.

He shrugs. “She betrayed the syndicate after a certain point to go work her own jobs. Didn’t even get so much as a goodbye from her. Guess I was more attached to her than she was to me.”

I wince in sympathy. That sounds all too much like some of my relationships.

“The moral of the story being, never mix business with pleasure. Top that,” he says with a wink. Like it’s a funny story rather than something that hurt him. But I can tell it did. It’s obvious with the way he sits just a touch too rigidly and the way the smile doesn’t meet his eyes.

It almost makes him seem ordinary for a moment. Not some terrifying thief with no soul or purpose other than to harm. Just another person who experiences heartbreak and loss just like anyone else.

I know, though, if I reach out with sympathy, he’s only going to go back into himself. Become that tough, brooding thief once more.

So instead of answering with empathy or sarcasm or even teasing, I match his playful tone. “I don’t know, there was this bartender one time who might be able to compete with your double-crosser.”

He raises a brow. “Do tell.”

“I met him one night while I was out with my girlfriends, and we hit it off right away. We started seeing each other and things were going pretty good. Until I started realizing that the things he told me didn’t always match up.”

And even though it’s been three years since then, a small pit of anguish still forms in my stomach thinking about it. “Like how he told me his mom was sick or how he had a sister who was an explorer and would take us on a cruise someday. Or how he was just a few interviews away from landing this big job and he could support us for the rest of our lives.”

I let out a humorless laugh. “His mom wasn’t sick, he just wanted to make me feel bad for him. He had no sister, he just wanted me excited for a promise of something. And the only ‘big’ position he was up for was being the lead bartender.”

With an effort, I push away the dark clouds gathering in my mind and mimic his earlier smile. “So moral of that story being, never date a bartender.”

Instead of coming back with some quip or making a snide remark about how stupid I’d been for believing in that guy, Ozadus just nods. A look of understanding passes in his gaze. And in that moment, I feel a connection between us. A sense of solidarity in the heartbreak we both know all too well.

Ozadus raises his glass, that irritatingly rugged smirk back on his face. “To the abysmal filth we let into our lives who unceremoniously left. May they rot in hell.”

That startles a laugh out of me. I raise my glass and clink it with his. “Here, here.”

I feel a sudden surge of gratitude toward my new shipmate. People often offered me words of comfort and pity after I broke things off with that bartender. All I wanted, though, was to forget about him and everything he’d put me through.

But with Ozadus, there is no pity. Just understanding. He’s not just some simple-minded thug, he’s perceptive and even a little attentive.

I suppress a groan. Now is absolutely not the time to catch feelings for someone. Especially ones who, even if it was an accident, kidnapped you.

It’s difficult to deny the appeal, though. I know I have a thing for bad boys. I know how problematic that can be. It’s a good reason for why I usually keep things casual. A fling, so I never have to worry about getting in too deep.

But Ozadus seems different from the meat-headed tough guys I’ve taken to bed. He’s thoughtful in his own way and even a bit charming. And definitely more handsome than anyone else I’ve met.

I squish those thoughts. Charming or not, handsome or not, I cannot afford to be lured in by my own stupid emotions right now. And definitely not by him.