Yolanda Sfetsos - Alex Wales - Promise

Those who dared venture in here were usually looking for cheap thrills: easy ways of earning a living, some poor sucker to hook up with, or were simply trying to drown out whatever problems hounded them. This shithole was frequented by the desperate and the degenerate.

Just because it was located inside the same space station Ulric owned, didn’t make it more respectable. This level was a long way from his private, lavish hideaway. There were more than enough pristine and fashionable establishments in the higher levels for the majority of the population.

The lower regions of the Anteris Space Station, just above the garbage dump, were home to those without an ounce of class. The refined population hardly cared about these regions, unless they wanted to slum it for the buzz or were curious about how the other half lived. She’d served as a tour guide for such a group once, as a favor to Ulric.

When he first spotted her on one of her many stops here, he offered her a large amount of credits to escort a group of rich folk to this very bar. At the time, she hadn’t realized Ulric had other intentions for her, but Alex hadn’t shied away from a paying job. The perks of eventually becoming his lover had extended to a free stay in his private quarters starting the day she accepted his persistent advances, but he never hired her, again.

Still, the few hours she’d spent chaperoning a group of wide-eyed, wealthy people-as they experienced an atmosphere very different from their own-had probably been the easiest job she’d ever taken. Of course, it had come with a few problems. Like the stupid man who’d brought his impressionable teenage daughter with him. She’d behaved during the tour, but Alex hadn’t missed the way Michaela’s eyes lit up when some of the sleazy patrons checked her out.

The girl had been lost to this seedy underbelly shortly thereafter. The teenager’s father hired Alex to search for her during her last stay, when Michaela had been missing for over a year.

She managed to locate the girl, but Michaela had refused to return home. Her pimp shot at Alex, and she’d decided it just wasn’t worth the risk. She’d told the father she couldn’t find his daughter. Lying had secured her payment, but she’d handed the credits to a small family starving in this squalor. She couldn’t bring herself to accept payment for a lie.

“We’re not old friends,” she finally said to Sackor, who she found staring at her with an amused look on his crusty face.

Alex looked away again, and spotted Michaela across the room. The young girl was so high, she probably didn’t even notice the guy pimping her out to whoever was willing to pay for her, was planning to sell her to the brute busily squeezing her breasts as if he were checking for ripe fruit.

Damn that stupid little girl. Now, I’m going to have to do something about it before I get out of here.

In spite of feeling more at home in the slums of the desperate and criminally inclined, she still despised wrongdoings to the innocent or stupid.

All kinds of alien and humanoid races frequented this joint. It was the best way to score work. Most of the time, the pay wasn’t great, but it was enough to accrue the credits she needed to survive on her ship. One of these days, Alex needed to take some time off to visit one of those tropical planets advertised in almost every space station across the galaxy.

Stopping by Anteris for a little loving wasn’t as relaxing as it used to be. Especially when her lover had suddenly developed expectations.

A vacation would have to wait. Promise was in good shape for an old ship, but time could be very cruel to spaceships. The older they got, the harder and more costly maintenance became.

Her father owned it for 20 years before she inherited it from him, and he kept it in great shape. She was determined to do the same.

“Alex Wales, I hope you’re daydreaming about me,” Sackor said, interrupting her reverie.

She had no choice but to turn away from the stupid teenage girl and focus on her latest customer. As far as her clientele went, this guy was one of the scummiest breeds. On the other hand, he always managed to come through with both cargo and credits. She suspected Sackor had some sort of sick fascination with her, but she did her best to ignore his advances.

Sackor was also a piece of crap and would screw anyone over to get a better deal.

Alex met his glossy eyes. Creepy.

His four long, spiky fingers were lined with cheap, silver jewelry. On top of his head sat a fake crown, with two thin antennas sticking up from the inside. He even wore a red cape to fuel his delusion of having royalty in his blood. The only thing in his blood was filth. Everyone knew that only humanoid races had any sort of established monarchy.

Given the chance, she would love to squash this giant insect, but not while he still provided a steady stream of cargo. She didn’t know what he moved from this space station to nearby planets, but it had to be some sort of liquid, because it was always inside barrels.

She must have already moved more than a hundred for him.

Besides, it wasn’t her business to ask questions. Just deliver the cargo, receive her credits, and move onto the next job. Or back here for a little physical action.

Ah, Ulric. Stop thinking about him! The bizarre offer still bugged her more than she wanted to admit. They’d been playing this game of pleasurable sex for several years, and he’d never shown any desire to have it turn into more. Most of the time, when she returned, Alex had to pry some other hussy’s hands off him so she could have her turn at some fun. Ulric had even suggested having company in their bed several times, but Alex didn’t swing that way.

She was only into men, humanoid men.

So, what had changed, or was Ulric trying to manipulate her into something she wasn’t aware of yet?

“How about that drink, huh?” Sackor asked. His thin lips spread into a grin, making him look downright scary.

Alex plastered a tight smile on her face. “I don’t think so. I really have to get going. There’s someone else waiting for me after I get your cargo across.” Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try and play the charm game with insect-man every now and then. Her female charm got her pretty far in this business. A low-cut top and tight pants mixed with a seductive smile had scored her more than one repeat customer. This guy, ugh . Just being this close to him made her skin crawl, even with a small table between them.

“Oh, come on. I’m a king, you know?”

“So you’ve mentioned a thousand times before.”

“That doesn’t impress you?” Those big, black eyes looked like oversized goggles on his dark and shiny face.

She shrugged. “Not into royalty.”

“No, you’re into scum like Ulric Cale.”

She lifted an eyebrow. Now, this was interesting-a lowlife like Sackor was calling Ulric scum? “What makes you call him that?”

A raspy sound, vaguely resembling a sigh filled the air between them. She caught a sniff of his rancid breath. It smelled like a corpse permanently resided inside his stomach. Maybe one did.

Alex shook her head and exhaled to clear his stench.

“Everyone knows the guy’s into some very bad things . It’s why he can afford to sit on his ass all day and still be one of the richest pricks in the galaxy!” Sackor said every word with obvious dislike. Hell, it sounded more like hate.

“He inherited this space station and everything else-”

“Spoken like someone who’s fucking him.”

“How dare you!”

“What? You don’t think your affair’s a secret, do you?” Sackor laughed, making her skin crawl, again. His tiny teeth were all spikes inside that big, rigid mouth of his.