"but xiri."

"xiri will be fine-his assistant is helping him," teeg hissed. "come on, sweetheart. let's go." teeg wasn't waiting around for me to look for anything i might have left behind. he was hauling me out of there as fast as he could. i was shoved into a hover-taxi waiting outside arvil's walls and teeg ordered the driver to leave as quickly as he could.

"reah, i'm sorry, but that was arvil's lover, and he doesn't take that from his lovers. i don't want him looking in your direction next." we were already at teeg's apartment complex and he was tapping on the window that separated us from the driver. the driver scanned teeg's wrist for credit after we climbed out of the vehicle, loaded down with my few possessions. the cab driver left us standing there.

"come on, reah. you can't let arvil do this to you. you have to act normally the next time you see him."

i think my teeth were chattering-shock was setting in. i hadn't hired neele and i knew he had a wandering eye, but i never expected him to act that stupidly. now he'd paid for that, as had arvil's housekeeper. i realized i hadn't even known her name.

"drink this." teeg had dumped my clothing onto the floor the moment he got us inside his apartment and kicked the door shut. he'd poured out a very generous portion of bourbon in a glass and handed it to me. "drink it all," he directed. teeg watched as i swallowed the bourbon in only a few gulps. "here, have more." he poured out half as much again. i drank that, too. he tilted up the bottle and drank what was left.

"come on, love, we're going out in public." teeg hauled me off the barstool; we left my clothing lying in the foyer and walked out the door.

teeg lived on the ground floor of a three-story apartment building and we walked down cushioned walkways until we came to streets filled with shops of all kinds. tourists were everywhere-arvil owned most of the shops open for business, in addition to a majority of the casinos. teeg told me that as we walked along.

"see, there are shops that cater to small women," teeg pulled me inside a shop.

"trust me, your chip will hold up," teeg declared as the pile of clothing grew. i'd picked out mostly slacks or pants, with shirts and blouses to go with them. teeg asked for skirts and dresses. he insisted on staying just outside the dressing rooms as i was fitted for underwear.

"see, this makes what you have much more appealing," the clerk informed me as i stared at the lacy underthing that now covered my breasts. several of those went into the pile, as did panties that showed much more than they concealed. my face was burning when i got away from the salesclerk.

my credit chip did cover what i bought, and it was substantial. teeg paid extra to have it packed up and delivered to his address later. then we went shopping for shoes. teeg was very fussy over dress shoes. "just the right amount of heel," he said. "no sense in killing yourself or damaging your toes." i paid for twelve pairs-teeg paid for another six. those were the ones he liked and i didn't have any use for. those would be delivered, too.

"now, let's get the best food on campiaa that doesn't come from reah's kitchen," teeg hugged me against him as we walked down more cushioned sidewalks.

the best food turned out to be a tiny restaurant that took your order at the counter and then shouted out your name when it was ready. self-service, for the most part. i understood the logic-there wasn't any room to put tables and no room to place wait staff-the outer area was filled with tourists waiting for their food or waiting to order.

"this is good," i lifted my sandwich, wrapped in one of the best flatbreads i'd ever tasted. the sandwich was filled with beef, onions, sour cream and a sauce i liked very much.

"see?" teeg grinned at me as we sat at a tiny table in a nearby courtyard to eat. i'd gotten fruit juice to go with my sandwich; teeg had ordered a mixed drink.

"thank you," i said. teeg ducked his head and lifted a crisp he'd gotten with his sandwich. he knew what i meant-he'd worked hard to get the morning's horror out of my mind. we went back to teeg's apartment when we finished eating.

the delivery van arrived almost when we did, and boxes and bags were hauled inside teeg's spacious apartment. i got what we'd left on the floor out of the way and everything was placed on teeg's kitchen island. he didn't have a table-the island served double duty.

"this is your bedroom," teeg showed it to me after the deliveryman left. the suite was very nice-the bed was big enough for two or three people, the closet held everything with plenty of space left over and i had my own bath.

"the apartments are all built that way-in case tourists want to rent them instead of staying at one of the casinos," teeg explained as we tucked the last of the shoeboxes inside my closet. "i stocked you with towels and sheets," teeg smiled. "let's get in the spa."

"you have a spa?"

"out on the patio. all the upgraded apartments have one."

"i didn't know you had a patio."

"i do. put that swimsuit on, reah, so i can see how knobby your knees are." he was laughing at me. i swatted at him but he moved away easily.

the swimsuit had been teeg's idea and he'd managed to get it into the pile of clothing even after i'd put it back. twice. we carried a bottle of wine to the spa on teeg's patio. a high fence surrounded the small patio and a few tropical plants placed in the corners kept it from appearing so empty and stark. teeg looked more than fine in the small suit he wore. i had to keep myself from staring.

"here," he poured a glass of wine for me after i slipped into the bubbling water. "now, tell me where this came from." he touched the spot on my shoulder where nods had shot me. the swimsuit he'd picked out was strapless-he could see my shoulders just fine.

"got shot a little while back." i sipped my wine.

"ah. did it hurt?"

"more than you know." i wasn't about to tell him what happened after i got shot. that was between tory and me.

i was wrapped in a towel later as i put something together for our dinner. teeg had stocked a few things. i was going to the market as soon as i could to get everything else we needed.

"see, good things can come from nannas that are almost overripe," i said, slicing off a piece of the sweet bread i'd made. teeg took my hand holding the piece of nannabread and ate it from my fingers. i think he sucked on the fingers, too, before he was finished. i stared at him.

"it is good," he agreed. he kissed my hand and gave it back to me with a smile.

i was ready to tell him it would be even better with a vanilla sauce i made and a particular type of wine, but that thought flew right out of my head, followed quickly by the breath from my body.

"i don't want to move too fast," teeg murmured. "if you want more, let me know." i stared after him as he walked down the hall toward his bedroom. i heard his door close a few ticks later. i got my breath back and swallowed with difficulty.

first day, worst day went through my mind as i walked through the gate in the wall. one of the guards nodded to me-i'd worn new clothes today-a pair of slacks and a pretty blouse i'd gotten with teeg's help the day before. new, comfortable shoes were on my feet, too. it never made sense to wear anything else while cooking. teeg had given me a quick peck on the cheek before i'd gone out the door.

"reah, i'd like something good for breakfast," arvil plopped down on one of the barstools on the far side of the island. who knew that killing people would work up an appetite? i made something good for arvil's breakfast and set it in front of him. delvin came in with milus and they got the same thing.

"why don't you check those fields on twylec," arvil told milus as he sighed happily and pushed his plate toward me. arvil was lying again. did he think he was going to catch me that way? did he test all his employees like that? i just placed his dishes in the dishwasher as if i hadn't heard anything.

"is that carpenter doing you all right?" delvin sounded snippy.

"the contractor is fine, thank you," i snapped right back.

"just make sure he keeps on being fine." delvin stalked out of the kitchen.

"don't pay any mind to him," milus said. "he doesn't know what he wants. spends his nights with those twins, if they're here," he added. "food was good, reah." milus handed his plate over and left.

"reah, are you all right?" xiri walked in and tied an apron around his waist.

"yeah. i was going to ask you the same thing," i said, giving him a quick hug. i'd had to hug his middle-he was too tall for anything else.

"dinner wasn't that good last night," xiri muttered.

"well, it never is if somebody dies in your kitchen."

"two somebodies," xiri nodded.

two things happened that afternoon-haral came back from his errand and arvil received guests.

"i don't know what they are, but they're not all humanoid," xiri hissed as we put dinner together for an extra eight guests. the housekeeping staff added leaves to the dining table, making it considerably longer. xiri had seen at least two of the guests when he'd gone to relieve himself. he didn't describe them to me-jazal had come into the kitchen demanding that a snack be brought to him, anith and the twins out by the pool. must be nice to wave imperiously and get whatever you wanted.

tiny sandwiches, fresh fruit and drinks were placed on trays and xiri's two assistants and i hauled it out to the pool. i'd never seen arvil's pool before-it was huge, with a wide flagstone patio around it, a waterfall at one end and a spa on the opposite side.

jazal had stripped down to a tiny suit, which he shouldn't have purchased. if you had that kind of paunch, then you were better off buying something a bit larger and more concealing. anith looked quite good in the sea-green suit she wore-it went well with her blonde hair and eyes. kita and lita went for basic black and dark glasses.