Beneath the Fallen City - A Dystopian Fantasy Romance

Chapter 7

Kayla woke up disoriented and confused. Rubbing her eyes, she wondered if the scotch had something to do with it. She was still dressed in Jinx's clothes, and she recognized Carl's private quarters. With horror, she recalled what she'd told Carl. Shame and embarrassment flooded through her as she dropped her head in her hands.

Not only did she practically throw herself at him, she'd turned into a blubbering idiot and poured her heart out. Feeling raw and wanting to escape, she stood up and crossed the darkened room toward Carl's office. His light was on, and she could hear two low voices talking. She paused outside the door, not willing to face anyone until she got her emotions under control.

"That's some nasty business if Ramiro tried to force himself on Kayla and killed that poor kid."

Kayla started, recognizing Cruncher's voice. Shame quickly turned to anger at the realization they were discussing her. This was exactly why she didn't talk about her personal life. She should have known better than to trust a trader with her secrets.

"It fits," Carl was saying. "It explains why Pretz was in a cleared sector that day. It also explains why Ramiro's determined to get rid of Kayla and Veridian. When OmniLab finds out what he did and how he killed one of his employees, they'll strip his status and freeze his assets."

Kayla didn't want to hear anymore. Backing away, she stumbled to the other door leading out to the hallway. She grabbed her UV gear out of the sanitation machine and pulled it on.

Veridian was just coming out of the crew's quarters when he spotted her.

"Kayla? You okay?"

She put one hand against the wall to steady herself and managed to nod. "Yeah. I... I can't talk about it right now, V."

Concern etched on his face, he bent down to look at her closely. "You're acting strange. What's wrong?"

Kayla shook her head, trying to blink back the tears that threatened. Even though she knew Veridian would understand, she couldn't revisit her emotional torment twice in once night. She never should have told Carl what happened with Pretz.

"I talked when I shouldn't have," she said angrily as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I hate crying. I need to go clear my head." Pushing away from the wall, she took off down the hallway, intent on escaping.

* * *

"What did you do to her?" Veridian stormed into Carl's office, looking furious. "I just saw Kayla, and she was crying. Kayla doesn't cry! She gets pissed off, yells, hits, and throws things. But she doesn't cry."

Carl stared at him for a moment in confusion. As his words registered, Carl darted to his private quarters and swore at the sight of the empty bed. "Damn, she woke up. I thought she would have slept longer."

Cruncher frowned, eyeing the bottle and empty glasses on the desk. "How much did you give her to drink?"

Carl rubbed his forehead. "More than I should have. She's such a little thing. She seemed pretty smashed and probably still is. I should go talk to her."

Veridian looked back and forth between them. "What are you talking about?"

"She was drinking scotch," Cruncher explained. "That stuff has a pretty high alcohol content, lowers your inhibitions, and gives you a hell of a buzz."

Veridian's expression let Carl know exactly how stupid he thought that idea was. "Why would you give that to her, of all people? Why not just let Ramiro have his way with her? Lowering Kayla's inhibitions is like throwing her off a cliff. She's reckless enough as it is."