No Rules Read Free Page B

from the main tourist area into the military compound on the other side of the bridge. She wondered if he was taking her to some sort of barracks, if he intended to pass her around like a party favor. Military rarely showed up at The Nebula, unless there was some kind of disturbance. Hearing that Fenton was a soldier of some sort had been just one more shock to her already overloaded mind.
    If she stopped to think about everything, she was sure she’d go insane. Better to just keep moving.
    Fenton bypassed the main area of the compound and the barracks, instead aiming toward a small house. Actually it was more of a metal hut, still a palatial space compared to where she’d been sleeping and probably a grand concession for a military man. Pressing his palm flat against the door, Fenton waited a beat before reaching for the doorknob. He pulled her in behind him, then shut and secured the door before doffing his black utility vest and disappearing into the other room.
    Obviously, he wasn’t one for small talk. Alison took in the small space, which was comprised of two rooms: the kitchen/ dining room, where she stood, and what she guessed was the bedroom. She couldn’t sit comfortably without her metallic skirt panels cutting into her legs so she stood still and waited.
    Fenton returned quickly, carrying a small case. “We need to see to that wound.”
    As he spread the contents of his case out on the sturdy metal table, Alison saw that it was a first-aid kit. “Just give me some gauze and I’ll wrap it.”
    â€œIt could get infected.” Leveling his frosty gaze on her, he practically dared her to argue with him.
    She rose to his challenge. “Not with this.” Pressing on the small node beneath the crook of her elbow, she activated her health guard. The snap and sizzle told her the shield was busy gobbling up any DNA not her own.
    Fenton’s lips parted and he reached forward, taking her hand. “I forgot your species was equipped with those.”
    His words nearly stopped her heart. “You know what I am? Where I’m from?” No one this far out had ever heard of humans or Earth any more than people back home knew of Pental.
    But Fenton did, she saw the knowledge there in his eyes even as he sought to reassure her. “I told you, I mean you no harm. I don’t know what you’re running from, but it’s none of my concern.”
    Alison didn’t trust him that far; she couldn’t afford to. “Then why did you save me?”
    Reaching for her still-shielded arm, he took a small gel pack and placed it over the wound. She braced herself for the sting of antiseptic, but instead shivered as the cool plasma-like substance adhered to her skin. “Because you remind me of someone I loved. She didn’t have any real choice either, was forced to pick between one pile of shit and another. I’ve seen how you have to make the best with nothing but nerve and determination and the hope that someday it will get better. There, that should help you heal faster.”
    Alison swallowed when he released her. “Thank you.”
    He nodded and repacked the kit. “You can stay the night. I’m leaving before dawn and you’ll need to be out by then.”
    She needed to step up her game, stop allowing him to throw her so far off balance. Take the bull by his protruding body part. But first things first. “You mind if I get cleaned up?”
    He didn’t respond, just turned back toward the bedroom. She eyed the sink and sighed. He had real running water, but she decided to follow him. Maybe he had an actual bathtub, a rarity on Pental, where every luxury had to be imported. And if he wanted to just toss her down on the mattress and fuck her blind, then who was she to say no?
    Instead of the small bedroom she’d expected, she found a spiral staircase leading downward, opening into a spacious, below-level apartment. The walls were pure