Whispers in the Dawn by Aurora Rose Lynn Page A

help. Like your woman.”
    “How do you know I am searching for her?”
    “I speak of the woman whose eyes, as blue as a jewel of great value, you would willingly trade for something. Her hair is cut unfashionably short but is golden yellow. Without a doubt, she is the one you search for.”
    He dipped his head in the affirmative. He clearly saw Odessa’s heart-shaped, coral lips and her spirited stance as she confronted him. Why had Abby’s features been replaced by Odessa’s, those of a woman he hardly knew?
    “She is momentarily safe in the Ashtari’s quarters. Momentarily.” Violette moved her hands up his chest and angled her head back, as if to see his face better. “If no one else on this forsaken station does, she needs your assistance.”
    “Why?”
    “You can find her a way home. If you have it in your heart to do so. If the Murrach finds her first, he will break not only her body but also her spirit. She is innocent. She needs your help.” Abruptly, the woman turned her back on him and, without casting a glance over her shoulder, slipped away into the crowd.
    Harley hastily concealed his frown and schooled his face to show no expression. There were spies everywhere who might have seen this encounter and questioned his actions and motives to the Murrach.
    Odessa Grante had managed to accomplish what no one else had in a long while—to capture part of the heart that had lain frozen since his wife’s death. He had known Odessa less than twenty-four hours.
    On the other hand, Violette could just as easily be involved in whatever machinations Roland Baylon had left behind. No one did anything on Romaydia without material profit on the horizon or in hand. Harley could see no other alternative. Odessa and Violette were in collusion. How else could he explain Violette’s actions? He refused to think Odessa was as innocent as the woman claimed, even if she had openly admitted Odessa had a spirit that refused to be conquered.
     
    Violette watched Pardua’s lieutenant. She could have found comfort in the man’s strength. He was unlike the Murrach’s other men in that he had a self-confidence about him that wasn’t arrogance.
    Tears welled up in her eyes. Years ago, she had fallen in love with a law enforcement man. He’d promised her the moon on a silver platter and because she was young, she’d succumbed to his heady charm. Darryl had wined and dined her for several days before she’d ended up in his bed, a willing slave to his whim. Only later had she discovered he was a cheating liar, dealing with criminals in exchange for drugs. When she’d found out, it was already too late. Like Odessa, she’d been stranded on Romaydia with no money to return home.
    After going hungry for many days and getting weaker and weaker, Violette had decided she could do nothing else but what the other women in her position were doing—selling their services to willing travellers. The first time had been the hardest. After that, the servicing became easier, but at a price. She rarely thought of herself as a deserving human being, as someone who was as valuable as any of the travellers arriving at the station. She lived with her guilt every day until she determined that if she could do nothing for herself, she could do something for the women who were inevitably dumped at the station. Now, in a strange way, she wielded power on Romaydia among the denizens of its underbelly. When the kids the women bore on their own—without medical help or any means to save their children from their own fate—misbehaved, Violette took on the role of disciplining them.
    At first the children hadn’t cared for her interference, and had tried every means within their limited power to dissuade her from teaching them about kindness and earning a living. They had stuck bubblegum in her long hair, spilled oil into her worn shoes and even burned her out of her cramped quarters. None of their tricks had worked. The children had come to accept