They both had jobs to do. Emotion and sentiment were now liabilities.
“And find this Seether character.” She could be as professional about this as he was. And if there was a pang in her heart, well, she’d ignore it and get over it. “Wish we had a description of the guy.”
“We’ll find him,” he assured her.
What mattered now was staying alive and getting the job done.
The station was teeming with other vessels. Not unusual, but it did make her wonder how many of them contained competitors, others who might be searching for the same thing they were.
She released her safety harness and stood before he’d made the final connection to the platform. “I’ll get my gear.” Walking away gave her the space she needed to get her head into the mission. “Don’t screw up,” she muttered as she entered Spear’s cabin.
She came to an abrupt halt just inside the door. In such a short time, it had become familiar, a haven against the world. The blankets were still rumpled from where they’d had sex again before rolling out of bed. Beyond was the door to the bathing chamber where they’d engaged in another round before getting clean.
“It’s a fantasy.” Giving herself a shake, she pulled on a leather jacket and tucked away all her weapons—including blasters and the knife with the hologram. She might prefer to use knives, slipping in and out unseen by her targets, but she’d do whatever it took to get the job done.
She wasn’t leaving anything important behind on his ship. If they got separated or if she ended up having to fight her way out, she wanted everything of value with her.
While she wanted to trust Spear, she wasn’t that naïve. They’d only known each other for a short time. While Gravasian honor was unquestionable, wasn’t he already breaking it by allowing her to live?
Sass dragged her fingers through her hair and rubbed her hands over her face. All this thinking was giving her a headache.
“That bad?” His big hands landed on her shoulders, his fingers massaging the tight muscles there.
“That feels good.” A groan escaped when his thumbs dug into a particularly big knot at the base of her neck.
“You’re tense.”
“There’s a lot on the line.” Stepping away, she double-checked her weapons, even though they were all in place. Anything to keep busy so she didn’t have to look at him.
“Sass.”
“No.” Nothing could be allowed to breach the emotional walls she’d erected. She couldn’t afford to have her concentration split. “Don’t make promises you can’t or won’t keep.”
He stepped in front of her, an immovable force. Just as obstinate, she refused to meet his gaze. She moved to the side to go around him. He moved with her.
“We don’t have time for this,” she protested. “Let me pass.”
“No.”
A vein pulsed in her temple, and her fingers caressed the handle of one of her blades. “Get out of my way.”
“Make me.”
Tamping down the fury rather than allow it to goad her into doing something stupid, she finally raised her head. “What are you trying to prove?”
“You’re wound tighter than a cable spring. You’re going to snap if you don’t release some of the pressure.”
That he was right only frustrated her even more. “The clock is ticking. Lives are on the line. And not just ours.”
His jaw flexed the tiniest bit. He wasn’t as relaxed as he pretended. Strangely enough, that eased some of her tension.
“Don’t forget, we’re in this together.” His eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed. “Don’t betray me.”
A cold shiver snaked down her spine and settled in the pit of her stomach. “I’m dead if I betray you.” She might be dead anyway, but she was alive now and planned to stay that way.
He kept her gaze for several long seconds before walking over to a locked cabinet. He pressed his hand against the security plate and a thin red beam ran over it before the light turned green. He punched in a code and the panel slid open.
“Wow.” Her mouth was hanging open, but she really didn’t care. “Is that a blaster?” As though being pulled by an invisible cable, she was reeled toward the cabinet. “Look at those blades.” They were dozens of finely honed knives, some for throwing, and others larger and sharp enough to gut a man with little effort. They were gorgeous instruments of death.
She locked her hands behind her back to keep from reaching for them. What she wouldn’t give to try out some of these babies.
Spear was dressed in black cargo pants and a tight black shirt. Beneath it was the familiar battlesuit. The only time he didn’t have it on was when they were having sex. He wore it like a second skin.
He pulled on several harnesses and began to load up with blades and two of the blasters. “That’s a prototype mini blaster. Compact and easily concealed but very effective.” He pulled on a hooded leather coat and continued to add weapons.
Her lips twitched in spite of the seriousness of the situation. “Think you have enough?”
“You leaving any weapons behind?”
“You got me there.” Although hers wasn’t so much overkill as it was being prepared to run for her life, if necessary.
He tugged the hood up so it concealed his face. Tall and dressed all in black from head to toe, he was the personification of Death.
“Let’s go.” She needed to get away from him before she did something stupid like kiss him.
“Wait.” He pulled a shorter jacket out of the cabinet. “Put this on.”
She shook her head. “Too big. It will impede my movements. Mine is fine.”
“This one is lined with the same material used in the battlesuit.”
It was also Gravasian technology. She backed away. “Thanks, but I’m not being responsible for that. If anything happens to you and I’m caught with it, I’m dead. And if I survive, I have to go back to Artemis. I won’t let your tech fall into her hands.” If such a thing happened, the Gravasians might destroy everyone associated with her, and that would put Delphi and Zaxe at risk.
His lips tightened, but he gave a sharp nod and tucked the coat away before closing and locking the cabinet.
“Computer, if I don’t return or check in at proper intervals, contact Gravasian command and relay location and prerecorded message.”
“Affirmative,” the computer replied.
“You stay in contact a lot with your people.” She’d noticed that during their time together. He didn’t actually speak to anyone but sent a quick communication with a string of letters and numbers she assumed meant something to whoever was receiving it.
“If I’m killed, they’ll send someone for the body and equipment.”
Cold but efficient. She followed him down the hallway to the cargo hatch. With the inner door secured, he pressed his hand against the outer hatch opening.
“What about you?” he asked. “Who comes for you if you die?”
Tilting her chin up, she strode toward the open door. “No one. They’ll collect the ship if they can. I’m expendable.” She stepped out onto the teeming docking platform on Oasis.
****
Still irritated that she wouldn’t accept his coat, even though he understood her reasons, he stepped out behind her. His jaw was clenched so hard it hurt. She was not expendable. Not to him. This Artemis was now at the top of his list of people who needed to die.
Rather than looking after herself, she was trying to protect her family and him, even though she expected him to betray her.
It was reflected in her eyes, in the way she’d distanced herself from him, the subtle way she placed herself in a position to fight. He wasn’t even sure it was on purpose or if it was wholly instinct.
This entire situation was fucked up. The gods or fates must be laughing at him. He was known for being unemotional and totally focused. Several women he’d been briefly involved with had accused him of not having any emotions at all.
Then he’d met Sass.
He’d wanted to kiss her, just in case something happened to one of them. But he didn’t want to mess with her composure or his own. These next few hours would determine their destiny.
She was already striding down the platform—a tall, commanding presence—all woman, but undoubtedly deadly. Several men and even a couple of other women watched her. She didn’t notice them at all.
He had no doubt she could describe them all in detail, if asked. But they were no threat, so she dismissed them, not seeing the lust in their eyes.
Spear activated the ship’s security system and walked behind her, looming over her and guarding her back.
They’d both been to the Rotten Rooster on previous occasions, so they moved through the passageways easily. It was fairly busy, as port towns were no matter the time of day or night. But people instinctively moved out of their way, either to keep from being mowed over by Sass or because they were frightened of him.
People were predictable, and Spear used his size to intimidate them. Covering his head with a deep hood only added to their fear. It was an effective tool that also helped protect his identity.
This time, he wasn’t hiding his face. It seemed wrong with Sass totally exposed to the world. But old habits die hard, so he compromised with the hood.
Letting her lead served two purposes—it gave her confidence and allowed him to study those around them. That he trusted her enough to do so was shocking.
When they arrived at the bar, he reached around her and pulled open the door, smiling when she shot him a glare over her shoulder. Lucky for him, his hood hid his expression.
The interior hadn’t changed since his last visit. It was dark around the edges and strategically lit. A man could hide in the shadows or be seen, whatever the preference. Loud music filled the space, competing with raucous laughter and conversation. It smelled of cheap, overcooked food, yeasty ale, and sweat.
It was just this side of respectable, a place where dockworkers and traders rubbed shoulders with mercenaries and those who dealt in the less legal side of life. That was who they were looking for.
Sass made a beeline for the bar. Leaving her to question the bartender, he looked for more suitable prey. Fading into the shadows, he waited until a waitress passed him. “Hey, love, I’m looking for information.” He disguised his voice to make it sound more like a dockworker or tradesman.
She stopped and squinted at him. With his hood up, his features were hidden from view. “Maybe I can help. Maybe I can’t.”
He took a twenty-credit piece out of his pocket and held it up. “Looking for a man, I am.”
She grabbed the credit and slipped it between the ample breasts in her low-cut top. “I know a lot of men.”
Knowing how the game was played, he held up another credit. “This one goes by the name of Seether.”
She gave a small shiver. “You should stay away from that one. Bad news, he is.”
Surprised that she’d given him a warning, he shrugged. “Maybe he is, but I still need to talk to him.”
Giving a sigh, she pointed to the darkest corner. “He’s been holding court there all afternoon. I haven’t seen him leave.”
He held out the credit. It disappeared in the blink of an eye to join the other.
“Mabel, where’s me ale?” a man yelled from a nearby table.
Eyes rolling, she yelled, “I’m coming.”
“Not yet you’re not,” the man yelled back. “Maybe after I’ve had me ale.”
“In your dreams,” she fired back, but she hurried off, tray held high, her curvy body moving easily among the tables and men who touched her as she passed.
“That was … interesting.” Sass was standing alongside him, her gaze on the departing waitress.
“Bartenders never know as much as those that work the floor. They see everything and everyone. Our contact is in the corner,” he told her.
“I know.” Her smile was smug. “The bartender is getting paid to send people to Seether. Only cost me twenty credits.”
Spear clamped his lips together to keep from laughing. He did stroke his hand over her ass as she passed him. She didn’t jump, instead tossing a haughty glare at him.
The lighthearted moment passed, and he scanned the room. His vision was superior to most, his intuition honed to a fine edge. He picked out two people watching them, while trying to look as though they weren’t.
Could be potential trouble. Could be security for Seether. Or could simply be two curious men.
He always erred on the side of caution. Better to assume they were trouble.
Seether had chosen well, angling his chair so his back was wedged directly in a corner. A single candle flickered on the table with a glass of ale alongside it. Sass had taken the chair across from him. There was no other seat, so he squeezed to her right side and put his back to the wall to keep one eye on their contact and the other on the rest of the patrons.
Not wasting time, she got straight to the point. “Granter gave us your name. Told us you’d give us information about an auction.”
The man was big with a bushy beard and long hair. A scar ran down the right side of his face, and he rubbed his thumb over it, almost caressing the mark. “Late in the game. The auction’s in less than an hour.”
Tension crept into his muscles, but he forced them to relax. “Where and when?” he asked.
Seether glanced up at him. “You a buyer or a bodyguard?”
“Both.”
Sass straightened in her chair and rapped her fist on the table. “You’re talking to me, not him. Where’s the auction? I want to see the items before I bid to see if they’re genuine.”
“Oh, they’re genuine enough.” He rubbed his hand over his beard. “I could get you in, but as I said, it’s last-minute.”
It would take no effort to lift the man out of his seat and strangle the answer out of him. Most people preferred to keep breathing.
Sass reached back with her right hand and clamped down on his thigh.
She knows what I’m thinking.
Not by a muscle twitch had he given any indication of his irritation. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a one-hundred credit piece. “Will this help us gain entry?”
“Double it and it will.” Confident now, Seether took a swig of ale and smiled.
Spear was going to question and kill him before they were done here. Before he could produce more money, Sass had a credit in hand, holding it out to him.
“Where?” she asked.
Seether took the money and tucked it in his pocket. “Next door. Empty building. Go around the back and knock twice.”
“If you’re not telling the truth, I’ll be back.” Sass slowly stood, placed her hands on the table, and leaned forward in a threatening manner. “And trust me, that is the last thing you want.”
Seether scowled and his fist landed on the table hard enough to make some of the ale slosh over the rim of his glass. “It’s good. You’re lucky I told you about it, seeing as you’re so late. Door shuts soon. Better hurry.”
She gave him one final glare before slipping through the shadows toward the door. Spear was right behind her. As soon as they were outside, she hurried around the side of the building, down the alley to the back.
This was it. He was closer to finding out what had happened to Ivar than he’d been since his brother went missing. His heart sped up, and he had to force himself to calm down. Anxious men made mistakes.
There was no light coming from their destination, but it was likely they had blinds or shutters to cover it.
Sass raised her hand to knock.
He pulled her around and slammed his mouth down on hers. She made a small sound of surprise but then kissed him back. It was short and intense, their tongues tangling with a passion that bordered on desperation.
When they parted, they were both breathing heavily.
There was no time to talk, no more time to waste.
Reaching around her, he pounded twice on the do
or.
Chapter Nine
She was going to kill him.
How dare he kiss her like that? Mess up her focus and calm just when she needed it most?
Her lips were still tingling, her nerves stretched to the breaking point. This was not her usual job. She was silent and unseen, slipping in and out and killing her intended victim. This auction was new territory.
I’m a sacrificial lamb being led to the slaughter.
Artemis had forfeit Sass’s life the minute she’d sent her after Gravasian technology. It was all about getting what she wanted, not caring who died to achieve her aims. How Artemis expected to protect herself against the Gravasians was unknown. Maybe she assumed being in her floating world, surrounded by assassins and guards, moving from place to place would save her.
Her boss was wrong, dead wrong.
If she couldn’t pull this off, if Spear didn’t keep his word, everyone she cared about would die. They wouldn’t send a single assassin after the perpetrators but their entire military might.
A bolt made a metallic screeching sound as it was pulled back. An eight-foot male of indeterminate origins blocked the entrance. “What?”
She stepped in front of Spear. “We’re here for the auction.”
The guard ran his gaze over her and Spear, grunted, and opened the door. “You’re late.”
“So we keep hearing,” she muttered.
The interior was dim with a spotlight at the front of the room. There was a table set up off to one side with several computer operators. That would be for the remote bids. She counted another six guards, along with about a dozen more people, all looking for the same thing they were—to win.
A slender older male stood at a podium at the front. His short white hair shining in the spotlight. He wore a black suit and a white shirt and smiled as they approached. “Ah, more potential customers. Come in and look at the merchandise. We’re about to get started, but there’s still a minute or two.” He was jovial, not an ounce of tension in his voice.
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