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Bound by Her Promise

Page 51

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She writhed, fought to stand up and he shook his head at her disobedience. He kept up a ferocious pace, spanking her bottom until it turned red. However, her protestations did not end, and she cursed him, accusing him of reneging on his deal to let her study and better herself. When the angry tears streamed down her face, he stopped. He examined her slit. She was dry, untainted by any kind of arousal. He scratched his head and snorted.

“You really do believe this data, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she sniffed, then gave him her most defiant expression. “I’m not going to cook your damn food until you look at it. You can spank me all bloody night, I don’t care.”

He lay the paddle down and picked up the tablet. “Stay there. If this turns out to be you making things up, there will be more paddling.” He warned.

“I’m not making things up, why would I?” She wiped away her tears, waiting for him to check the figures.

Blake sat. He was good with his hands and equipment, big machines and control panels, but not equations and complicated diagrams. “I don’t know, Lysa.”

“Please let me explain.”

“Okay. Sit on a chair and show me.”

He listened attentively as she broke down the data, pointing out the contradictions and her hypothesis that the sensors were faulty. “Something has to explain this,” she concluded.

Blake could see things didn’t add up and though the reservoir should be half-empty, Lysa’s figures showed it to be full. The vents switched on when the reservoir reached three quarters capacity. The pressure inside must be building and would begin to back up.

“What should we do with this?” He pondered the possibilities. If she turned out to be wrong, he’d be humiliated and worse, he’d have to explain why she had access to Corporation systems. If she was right, they might end up dead. Everyone. Just like her parents. Mistakes happened, and he didn’t doubt they were possible.

She stood up. “Go to Ridley, now.”

Blake eyed the paddle. He might come to regret using it if she turned out to be right.

She patted his hand. “Forget about the spanking. If I’m right, you can make it up to me in other ways. If I’m wrong, you can punish me.” She snorted. “Though the more likely outcome is I’ll end up in a cell waiting for a massive thrashing from the constable.”

“You’ll risk ending up with him?” Blake realised the enormity of the situation. If Lysa believed she was right, it meant she was willing to risk everything. Her courage in coming out could cost her everything. It might even mean the end of their marriage if she was sent back to Earth in disgrace, facing charges of deception and bribery.

“Yes,” she said. “Please, Blake, prove to me you’re a loving husband and stand by me.”

He looked into her eyes and it was enough. He couldn’t ignore her, not when she was showing such courage.

Blake’s reputation as a hard worker got him in to see Ridley without an appointment. He debated whether to take Lysa, but as she pointed out, how would he explain the numbers? Ridley was a qualified engineer and he would see through Blake’s blustering explanation.

“What do we say to him?” she asked as they waited outside his office.

“The truth, everything, except don’t mention bribing the execs with sex. You wanted to study and marry a miner. Don’t talk of your upbringing or parents. He might think you’ve got an axe to grind.” He paced up and down, the tension growing with each minute.

Ridley sat behind his desk and pursed his lips when Lysa stood alongside Blake. The middle-aged man appeared tired and burdened with responsibilities. Blake was about to add to them. He straightened up and took a deep breath. “My wife, Lysa, is studying to be a mining engineer. She has been accessing the system and has found a potential fatal fault in the safety systems. Basically, the venting system has failed.”

He waited, holding his breath, while next to him Lysa remained stiff and pale. Ridley tapped a finger on his desk, glancing back and forth between Blake and his wife.

“I’m not going to ask how she comes to be studying engineering or how she has access to a closed system. I’m going to accept you’re here because what you’ve found out is serious and I take the safety of this facility seriously. Lysa, tell me what you know, then I’ll decide how to proceed.”

Blake let out a long exhale of relief and Lysa came alive, as if Ripley had given permission for her to be the person she always wanted to be—a respected engineer. She sat in a chair, pointed out the schematics displayed on Ripley’s console and explained the issue concisely. Blake listened in, unable to contribute anything as the two engineers discussed her findings. Unlike Blake, who’d questioned her figures, Ripley understood the implication of what she was saying immediately.

He called up the comms and barked out a string of orders to various people. “Damn that venting system,” he muttered. “I told them back on Earth the testing had been inadequate.” He turned to Lysa, who waited anxiously to find out her fate, wringing her hands in her lap. Blake wanted to reach out and hold her hand, tell her how proud he was of her and humbled by her intelligence.

Ripley rose and contemplated her. “Right, you two are coming with me.”

“Where?” she asked.

“Underground, into the mine. If they’re faulty sensors, the only way to tell is to remove them and put in new ones. We’ve no time to waste.”

“I’m going down there,” she stuttered, her eyes widening.

“I think you deserve it,” he replied smiling. “To be honest, if you are right and this place is on the brink of an explosion, it doesn’t make any difference where you are.”



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