Mission: Planet Biter (Veslor Mates #4)(30)

“Go for it.” Vera motioned for him to take it.

“Thank you.” He leaned over and grabbed the beer, taking a sip.

Even if the bar billed her for it, Vera didn’t care. New Worlds would be paying.

The server didn’t come back right away with her food so she could tell them of the mistake. She sighed, returning to reading what the representative had to say.

New Worlds had sent a shuttle to connect with Defcon Red, to retrieve her. A few company representatives visiting a nearby space station would be her ride back to Earth. They would arrive within a few days.

“Great,” she muttered. “I get to fly with corporate interrogators looking to pin the blame on anyone but themselves.”

She finished reading the rest of the communication and then began to scan her other messages. Another caught her eye.

“God. What now?” She hesitated before tapping on the message.

It turned out to be a vid. Her flesh-and-blood biological father, not the hallucination, glared at her.

“You need to contact your building security. They’ve refused me entry into your apartment. I know you’re gone, and you’re not using it. I need a place to stay. I only have enough money to sleep in a hotel for a few more days.” He leaned in closer, until his face took up the screen. “Don’t fuck with me, kid. It’s not like I’m asking to live with you. I’ll be gone before you get back. You don’t want me standing in front of your building telling everyone that you left your dear old daddy homeless. I’ll fucking do it. They’ll all think you’re a horrible person. I’ll even―”

Vera ended the vid, since there were a few more minutes left. He’d just make more threats.

She opened a new document and tapped out a message to the management of her apartment building, asking them to have him arrested if he came back. He did not have her permission to be there.

She hit send and slammed the pad down. It looked like the last thing she needed was about to happen anyway. She’d have to move again.

Where was her food and wine? She really needed a drink.

Vera slid to the end of the booth to wave her server down but before she could, the man at the nearby table suddenly slumped sideways in his seat. Then he hit the floor and flailed, grabbing at his upper chest.

She was stunned, but she recovered quickly, jumping out of her seat. “Help! I think he’s having a heart attack!”

The man in the next booth shoved off his bench, bumping into her, and she watched as he crouched next to the fallen customer. More fleet people rushed over. One of them dragged the table and chairs away to make more room. She sat down again in her booth, hoping they would be able to help the poor man.

“Coming through,” a woman yelled. “Clear a path.”

Vera recognized the dark blue uniform and patches the woman wore, identifying her as someone who must work in the Med Bay. She had a kit with her.

The poor man on the floor began to convulse, still clutching his chest, and she got a glimpse of his face…his sickly pallor. His eyes were bulging wide and his mouth hung open.

She scooted deeper into the booth as more medical people arrived, shoving patrons back. Three people worked on the man on the floor. She felt guilty for watching, but one glance proved there was no way to get out of the restaurant, since security had arrived, blocking the exit.

“I’m reading Claraseen,” a woman in the pile on the floor called out. “Give him―”

Vera didn’t hear more, since there was a lot of shouting as additional medical and security people rushed to the scene. Some of them moved to block her booth completely. She was kind of glad to not see that scene anymore.

Minutes passed before they were rushing the poor man away on one of those mobile hover gurneys, and people cleared the area around her booth. She decided she just wanted to go back to the guest cabin she’d been assigned. Her appetite was gone, especially since she didn’t know if she’d just witnessed another person die.

She grabbed the borrowed data device and slid out of the booth.

Four security guards stood by the exit door. She gave them a nod and tried to step around them. The one closest to her moved and blocked the exit. “Everyone is sequestered. Please return to the exact seat you were at.”

She frowned. “Why?”

He was in his forties, bald, and his dark brown gaze narrowed. “A fleet member was poisoned.”

Her mouth fell open.

“Return to your seat. Investigators are on their way.”

She turned and walked slowly back to the booth, retaking her seat. Other people in booths and sitting at tables within her view appeared as shellshocked as she felt. She’d always heard fleet ships were safe. A poisoning was something she expected to witness on a space station. Those bars were rumored to be deadly.

Her wine and food never got served. The patrons in the bar began to grow restless. Vera turned on her borrowed device and decided to keep reading her messages to pass the time. It would probably take a few hours before they released everyone.

None of her friends had heard about the tragic incident with her team yet. Her representative had asked her to keep quiet until the investigation ended. That was fine. She wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened.

Her mind wandered to Roth, as it often had since she’d last seen him. A fresh flood of embarrassment hit. He’d been her lifeline during the worst experience of her existence, and she’d repaid him by molesting his body. There was no way she could ever apologize enough, let alone face him. Not that she figured they’d ever see each other again. He’d be avoiding her at all costs while she remained a guest on his ship.