Falling for a Fraud

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1
Kat’s stomach twisted in on itself as she tucked a lock of hair back into her braid. Not that it was going to stay put. She nudged her toes over the edge of the six-hundred-meter cliff. The team AeVe, Aero-vehicle, transport was barely a speck below Devil’s Bluff. Closing her eyes, she bent her knees, spread her arms, and shot into the air.

The wind whirred in her ears so loudly that Kat couldn’t even hear her inner voice telling her how foolish she was to jump without any safety protocols. She rolled onto her back and blew a kiss heavenward. “For you, Granddah.” The sun smiled back at her through the polarized lenses of her goggles. She wished she could float up here, like this, forever.

As she turned back to face the ground, Kat focused on the transport where Hopsing waited for her. Soon, she’d be able to see her friend’s bright pink hair, the signal to pull the rip cord. Before she spotted Hopsing, the pressure in her ears told her to release her chute. Kat ignored it, looking for land signals instead. Where did she go? If Kat had time, and her wrist digital, or WD, she’d have sent a communication to her.

The transport loomed larger, and still no Hopsing. Not only should Kat have seen her best friend’s bright pink hair, but her holo shirt with its geodesic design should be standing out bright against the landing pad, like a splash of lime on a blank canvas.

Narrowing her eyes, Kat searched the ground. She didn’t have the luxury of waiting to spot her friend. She yanked the cord; the parasail snapped like her angry grandmother’s apron and jerked Kat upward.

Floating to the ground on a soft cushion of air, Kat finally located Hopsing as she exited the transport—holding the altimeter and her WD.

“What were you thinking?” Hopsing squinted her brown eyes to slits as she held the device out to Kat. “You’re going to get yourself hurt, or even killed. And if the enforcers had caught a glimpse of that stunt, that would have been your last jump.”

“Yeah, I know.” Kat’s heart still beat with the thrill of free falling. Nobody understood the excitement of diving without protocols like she did, except Granddah. That’s why she’d had to come clear out here, away from prying eyes.

She took the WD from Hopsing and attached it to her wrist. “Where were you, anyway? I was relying on seeing the top of your head so I’d know when to deploy.” She dragged her parachute toward her, daisy chaining the cables to keep them from tangling.

Hopsing cringed. “You got a communication from Ai’bram on your WD that you left behind. That’s when I found your altimeter. If I’d known you were going to pull such a stunt, I wouldn’t have agreed to come with you.”

Kat ignored the last remark. “You didn’t tell Ai’bram where I was, did you?”

“No, of course not.”

“What did he want?” Kat turned loose of the cables. A different kind of churning settled in her stomach as she hoped their captain hadn’t gotten wind of what she had just done.

“What do you think?” Hopsing rolled her eyes. “It’s always about money with him.”

“I told him I’d take care of it.” If it hadn’t been for Tryst’s carelessness in their last exhibition, he wouldn’t have gotten kicked off the team, and they wouldn’t have lost their backers. As manager, it was up to Kat to find someone willing to risk their sinas on the team; an investor who wouldn’t find out about Kat’s solo jumping.

Hopsing shook the altimeter. “Keep doing stupid stuff like this and you’ll get the whole team disqualified before regionals even start, with or without the funds.” She hesitated, fear written across her face. She gave a nod toward the meadow. “I hope he’s not an enforcer.”

A man on a trail-runner floated toward them, kicking up fluffs of the baked dry grass behind him.

Kat hoisted the parachute toward the cables trying to hide the team’s logo. No sense in getting everyone in trouble. “Guh! I thought you’d made sure no one else would be here today.”

The man’s blond hair didn’t move against the wind, and he had a relaxed hold on the handle of his trail-runner. His smile showed brilliant white teeth as if he had them polished every day. As he came closer, his deep blue eyes picked up the color of the cloudless sky. He hopped off his trail-runner. “That was impressive.”

Hopsing shot Kat a look, the color draining from her face.

“How so?” Kat blinked once at Hopsing, hoping she’d be able to play it cool, like jumping from Devil’s Bluff was an everyday occurrence.

“Well, now, let’s see; you jump from a cliff, not a Glouman, you have no hover-catch, no altimeter. Not many people display such a death-wish by jumping like that.” His eyes never left her face.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” Kat continued to bunch up the parachute.

His smile left his face. “I’m not an enforcer, if that’s what you were thinking.” He held out his hand in introduction. “My friends call me Zo.”

Kat didn’t take his hand. Instead she made short work of unfastening her pack. “Your friends couldn’t think of anything else? Zo, what shall we call you?”

Zo chuckled. “Zo, how was your day? Zo, what’s the plan? Zo like you to do that.” He arched his eyebrows. “I’ve heard them all. And well, yours was quite funny.”

“I’ll wait in the tranny while you sort this out.” Hopsing slid into the back of the vehicle and ordered the window panels to darken.

Zo took his eyes off Kat. “Is she okay?”

“No, she’s not.” Kat smirked. “Even though she can jump from six kilometers in the air, Hopsing can’t handle confrontational stalkers who appear out of nowhere.”

“Confrontational?” Zo lifted his eyebrows.

“And a stalker.” Kat dragged the chute to the storage compartment at the rear of the transport, careful so Zo couldn’t see the team logo.

“I’m not stalking her.” Zo smirked.

Kat’s stomach sunk. “Oh, I see. Zo, you’re stalking me.”

“Well, not in the traditional sense.”

She hit the fold button on the pack and the memory cables along with the chute retracted into the carry all.

Smiling, Zo arched one perfect, blond eyebrow and pointed at the chute. “It seems we have a lot in common.”

“Apparently; you know a lot about jumping, the equipment, and protocols.” Kat threw the pack into the storage compartment. “Are you a jumper?”

Zo leaned against the back of the transport. “Oh, no. I’ll jump when pigs use hover-catches.”

“So, what brings you out here…far away from civilization?”

“Can’t a man enjoy a hike in the woods?” Zo squinted his blue eyes. Kat couldn’t decide if that was from suspicion or the sun hitting him in the face.

“But you just said you were stalking.” Kat pinched her lips. “I imagine you have a permit?”

Zo held out his WD with its holographic display. “Right here.” He dropped his hand before Kat had a chance to examine the document. His gaze ran up her length and settled on her face. “Just as you have a jump permit?”

Kat closed the storage compartment. “Of course.” However, she wasn’t about to show him. If he wasn’t an enforcer, and Ai’bram hadn’t sent him, it was none of his business.

“And I suppose the Amahrians don’t know you’re jumping without following protocols?” His eyes sparkled with mischief. “No hover-catch.” He pointed to her feet. The saucers which should have been attached to her ankles were absent. “And you’re not wearing your altimeter. I believe your friend was holding it when you landed.”

“Why are you spying on me?” Kat narrowed her eyes and stepped toward him. She was not going to be intimidated by this handsome man.

“Not spying, stalking.” He held up a finger as if to correct her. “I was spying earlier.”

“Zo, why are you stalking me?” She didn’t care that he loomed over her, or that he smelled lightly of that heavenly fragrance, Pasha Vanille. She would ignore the fact that his good looks probably made other women’s hearts melt. Granddah had warned her about men with pretty faces and hearts as shallow as diamond dust on Kalpathia.

Zo laughed. “I’ve heard so much about you, Katrina Cook, that I just had to meet you.”