A Jewel Among Thieves

Chapter 13: Distance

Rezo glanced down then away from her, a touch of colour hitting his cheeks. Safia couldn't help her chuckle. He cleared his throat. "It's been a while since I last ate. I'll head upstairs and grab something for both of us. Don't go anywhere."

She rolled her eyes at his grin, doing her best not to stare at his naked back as he headed upstairs. It was hard not to when his muscles shifted as he moved and her gaze followed the line of his spine down to where it disappeared into his pants. Realizing what she was doing, she looked away, staring hard at the window and calling herself several kinds of stupid. She needed to learn. Especially with the way things were going.

Before she allowed that thought to come to the fore, Safia decided to consider all of her options. The night wasn't getting any younger and she was still locked up. She glanced around but knew that the cell hadn't changed, that it was still impossible to get out of without anything to help her. She glanced down at Rezo's shirt and pursed her lips. No, she didn't think even tying it around the bars and pulling would bend them.

That left her with only one option. Rezo. She needed to get the keys, a weapon, something off him to help her escape. If she couldn't convince him to let her out, and that didn't look good so far. Even if he was being nice to her.

So far he hadn't gotten close enough even when she kept the conversation light. He was pretty much as far away from her as he had been at the beginning, which didn't bode well for her. Safia grimaced. She only had one remaining piece to play in their little game, and she really didn't want to do it again. She was going to have to go back to the seduction act.

Safia rubbed her arms, wishing she had something else she could use but knew she didn't. The only good part of this plan was that she knew it was effective. If she hadn't lost her head, she could have easily taken his keys before. And that meant she was going to have to concentrate and keep her wits about her. No letting strong arms and soft lips carry her away, even if Rezo was pretty funny as well-

She shook her head. No. Rezo was the enemy. He was private security, hired to take care of people like her. His job was to stop her, to send her to the guards, to ensure she lost her freedom. He'd made his choice just as she's made hers. Maybe if they'd met before now...

Closing her eyes, Safia cut off those wistful thoughts. The reality was unmistakable. She refused to go to gaol, to die the same way her father had, broken and trapped. She'd promised herself that when her mother and her had stood over her father's body before he'd been sent to the pauper's grave. She couldn't even mourn properly there, since they were mass graves. They had barely had money for food, and definitely none to pay for a proper plot. Her father would have understood.

To keep herself safe and free, Safia didn't have any other options. She needed to ensnare Rezo. She ignored the little purr in the back of her mind, the same place that seemed directly connected to her notch. She wouldn't admit that she wanted to touch him again. Wouldn't even think about it. She needed to seduce him, not the other way around. She'd still have to be careful. If he caught on to what her plan was, she'd be truly stuck. She doubted he'd forgive that and she'd never get close to him after that.

Safia sighed, regretting her acceptance of his shirt. It made it much harder to use her body as a weapon. Though being partially hidden might make any little glimpse all the more tantalizing. A faint smile crossed her lips and she shifted, turning this way and that. The shirt just barely covered her backside, so quick movements made it shift up. Stretching her arms over her head revealed a great deal more. She kept that one in mind as a finishing move of sorts.

It was a pity the shirt was so high-necked. No chance of allowing an 'accidental' show of cleavage or the like. If it had been a bit looser, she could have let it fall off one shoulder as well. She could probably managed it now, but it would be very forced. Sadly, there was no changing the shirt. Even if she could, it would raise far too many questions and Rezo would almost certainly catch onto her game that way. He was entirely too smart for her comfort.

She could at least still cross her arms under her breasts. A sudden idea had her moving forward so she could lean against the bars. If she could get chilled enough, she could get her nipples to harden enough to be visible through the shirt. Then all she'd need to do was draw his gaze there. It was a pity she couldn't sneeze on command. That always made her nipples turn to pebbles.

Safia stared at the direction Rezo had disappeared in. She wondered what his whole take on their situation was. She wondered if he was conflicted as well. She thought he might be, but it was hard to tell sometimes. He did at least respect her skill, which was nice. Not all men, even those in business related to hers, were so accepting. Of course, that was true of some women as well. One had told her she was nothing more than a whore. Said she was selling her body just the same, but without even the honesty of a real prostitute.

She sometimes wondered what would have happened if she'd taken that path. Safia liked to think she'd have been smart about it, worked at making herself a high-class kind of prostitute, the kind who worked with the classier gentleman. She'd probably have tried to set herself up as someone's mistress, collecting as much money and valuable things as she could for when she was inevitably too old to continue in that trade. And she'd have taken care to stay away from the alcohol and drugs that had been the ruin of many people in every profession.

Leaning her head back against one of the bars and staring at the boring stone ceiling, Safia wondered if Rezo wasn't right. Maybe she should find a different career. One that was a little less dangerous. She doubted she could do anything that was completely legal, but there were things that the guards were more inclined to ignore. Like smuggling. Maybe she should talk to Drysi, see if she needed help. She'd just have to make it very clear that she had absolutely no intention of competing with her. Drysi was territorial and her reputation told everyone just what happened to those who crossed her. It didn't help that everyone knew that she kept the best of her smuggled weapons for herself, so going directly against her was stupidity.

Safia made a face. That was a thought for later. Right now, she had to get out of her cell. Until then, thoughts for the future were pointless.