by Kali Argent
Lifting her hand over her head, she called his name as she jogged over to meet him. “Nothing?”
“Nothing,” he confirmed. “The auction is definitely on Earth, but that’s about as much as anyone knows.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this. No one I talked to wants any part of it.”
“Yeah, same here.” She gave him a brief rundown of what Rune had told her. “So, we know it’s in New Orleans, which isn’t much more than we already knew.”
Sighing, Cypher motioned her ahead of him. “I’m already starting to regret this.”
“Oh, cheer up. It could always be worse.”
A long piece of wood hung over the entrance of Anomaly, the pub’s name scratched into the board haphazardly. Plumes of smoke wafted from the open door, along with raucous cheers and vulgar exclamations. As they approached, Aeryn had to jump to the side to avoid being barreled over by a couple of brawling Jurdanians.
Never a dull moment.
She’d taken one step toward the entrance when her commlink began to beep, signaling an incoming call. Touching the small button on the side of the earpiece, she cupped her hand around the side of her head, attempting to drown out the noise of the pub.
“Aeryn? What the hell is that noise?”
“It’s a bar, Xavian. What did you expect? Tea and crumpets?”
“It sounds like someone’s dying.”
Well, he wasn’t wrong. “It’s fine. We’re headed into Anomaly now.”
He grunted at the name of the bar, clearly aware of its infamous reputation, but he didn’t comment. “Have you found anything?”
“Not yet. I know the auction is going to be in New Orleans during the Celebration of the Accords, but I haven’t narrowed it down to a day and time. That’s all I know right now. I’ll call back if I get more.”
“Don’t.” A long pause followed his demand, and slow, even breaths floated into her ear. “Leave the commlink on. Please.”
It was a small request, and he might even hear something she missed. “Okay, Xee. You got it, but don’t distract me.”
“Thank you, nikka.”
Pulling her shoulders back, Aeryn held her head high and took her first step into the dimly lit bar. She scanned the bar, squinting into the darkest corners as she searched for familiar faces. A group of males gathered around a billiards table under a dingy light with a stained glass shade that hung on thin chains from the ceiling. Classic arcade games lined the back walls, alongside a pinball machine and a giant glowing box that dispensed soft drinks, while memorabilia from twentieth and twenty-first century Earth littered the stained walls.
Aeryn didn’t understand the appeal.
“You’ve used that word a few times,” she said, referring to the endearment Xavian had called her. “I’m not getting a translation for nikka. What does it mean exactly?”
“It’s a Nekros word,” Xavian answered, his tone slow, hesitant. “It means sunshine, but…more. It’s like warmth and joy. A warm light from within.” A quiet sigh came over the line. “I’m not explaining it very well.”
“You’re doing just fine.” It touched her to know he thought of her in such a way. “Is that how you see me?”
“That’s how you make me feel.”
Her pulse jumped at the admission, and a shiver rippled up her spine. Damn, the male just said all the right things. Every cell in her body wanted to abandon the mission and rush back to the Nightshade, back to Xavian, but she took another deep breath, cringing at the acrid stench of smoke and the musk of sweat.
“Okay, quiet now,” she said, when she felt more in control. “Let me know if you hear anything interesting.”
“You got it. Be careful.”
Standing in the center of the bar, Aeryn and Cypher looked at each other, nodded once, and parted to cover more of the bar. The less time they had to be in Anomaly, the better she’d feel. Everyone had to make a living, even those who chose to do it with less than legal ventures, but it was more than that. The type of people who frequented the cagey pub didn’t operate with the same moral compass as the rest of the universe. There wasn’t much they wouldn’t do to make a quick unit, and mostly, they didn’t care who got hurt in the process.
“Bingo,” she muttered, spotting a familiar male at the end of the scarred, wooden bar. “Easton Savage,” she added for Xavian’s benefit. “He’s been dealing exclusively in dark market goods for the past twenty years, and he’s got his grubby fingers in just about every pie out there.”
“I’ve heard of him.” Xavian’s tone darkened, expressing without words his opinion of the human male. “Go, nikka, but watch your back.”
Pasting on a bright smile, Aeryn sashayed toward the bar, her eyes locked on Easton. His dark hair swayed against the tops of his ears when he turned toward her, the locks shaggy, uneven, and peppered with streaks of pale gray, but his face remained unlined, unmarred by time. If he wasn’t such a prick, he might even be considered handsome with his manicured beard, chiseled jaw, and deep blue eyes.
“Aeryn.” His gaze raked over her from throat to hips, his grin appreciative as he brought his beer to his lips and took a long swallow. “What can I do for you, love?”
Xavian growled into the earpiece, but Aeryn steadfastly ignored him.
“I’m looking for some information about an auction. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“I might.”
She could practically see the gears turning while Easton worked out how much he could get from her for the information. “What’s it going to cost me?”
“Depends.” Setting his drink down on the scarred oak, he crossed his arms over his chest, stretching his gray T-shirt to its limits. “What do you want to know?”
“Whatever you can tell me.” He was prodding, trying to find out how much she knew, but she’d played this game before. She knew when show her hand and when to dangle the bait. “So, what’s your price?”
Easton studied her for several uncomfortable heartbeats before his face split into a predatory grin. “Dinner.”
“What?”
“Have dinner with me.”
“Absolutely not!” Xavian roared.
Aeryn jerked back, stumbling to the side as his voice exploded in her ear. Knowing she’d pay for it later, but needing an explanation for her odd behavior, she switched the commlink off, removed it, and tucked it away in her pocket.
“Damn things been malfunctioning all day,” she said, inwardly relieved when Easton seemed satisfied with her lie. “So…dinner?”
“Dinner,” he repeated.
Stars above, Xavian was going to lose his goddamn mind, but she knew Easton Savage. Once he set his mind to something, nothing in the cosmos could dissuade him.
“In the interest of transparency, I should let you know I’m mated.”
“I don’t see any markings.”
“Yes, well, it’s pretty recent.”
Easton flicked his wrist dismissively. “It’s dinner, Chase. Not a proposal. Nothing kinky.”
“If you’re jerking me around, I’ll feed you your fucking balls, Savage.”
“My business practices may be questionable, but I never lie.” Rising from his barstool, he lifted his head and looked out over the crowd, his gaze landing unerringly on Cypher. “Two hours. Brodan’s. Come alone, and don’t be late.”
Then he sauntered away, leaving Aeryn to fall into his vacated seat with a heavy huff. Before they’d entered the pub, she’d told Cypher things could always be worse. At the time, she’d been trying to lighten the mood and ease some of the tension. She hadn’t intended for them to be some sort of foreshadowing, but there she sat, hands clasped around her head, locked into a dinner with a male who wasn’t her mate.
Xavian was going to kill her.
Or Easton.
Maybe both.
“We need to go,” Cypher announced, leaning in next to her so he could whisper in her ear. “Now.”
Aeryn nodded, her stomach twisting into vicious knots. “I have to be at Brodan’s in a couple of hours.”
“I heard, which is why we need to go.”
“Xavian doesn’t know.”
Cypher’s expression turned grim. “Because you disconnected your commlink. How do you think he took that?”
Eyes wide, heart pounding, she grabbed the male by the wrist and practically dragged him out of the pub. She’d been trying to salvage the situation with Easton, but she hadn’t considered the consequences of effectively cutting Xavian out of the conversation.
“Oh, fuck,” she breathed, stumbling to a halt in the middle of the atrium, watching as the crowd parted to make way for a severely pissed off Nekros male. “Oh, fuck.”
“That’s an understatement.” Pulling his arm from her grasp, Cypher began backing away, putting distance between them.
“Where the hell are you going?”
Cypher just shook his head. “You’re on your own, Chase.”
Honestly, she couldn’t blame him, so when he turned and disappeared into the throng of visitors, she didn’t try to stop him. Paralyzed with anxiety, she waited for Xavian to reach her, desperately trying to figure out a way to diffuse the situation before it could erupt.
“I can explain,” she blurted when Xavian was just a few feet away.
Without a word, he wound one arm around her waist, lifting her off the floor and crushing her against his solid chest. Holding her firmly, his fisted his other hand in her hair, tilting her head back to claim her lips with a hard, demanding kiss that curled her toes. He delved deep, caressing every inch of her mouth with his questing tongue.
A moment later, he jerked back, gasping for breath, his gaze wild and feral as he searched her face. With a deep, rumbling growl, he claimed her mouth again, his kiss possessive and branding.
Aeryn’s head swam, her stomach fluttered, and her core clenched with desire. He kissed her with his entire body, curling around her, clutching her closely, desperately. He kissed her without inhibition, uncaring who watched or what they thought of the public display. His dominance thrilled her, and his need fanned her own, driving the thought of every other male from her mind—which a small voice in the back of her mind whispered had been exactly his intentions.
“Are you done here?” he asked a moment later as he lowered her to the floor. His eyes were still glazed, his lips swollen and pink, but he spoke steadily.
“Xavian, I am sorry, but I might have something.”
Touching the middle of her back, he gave her a little push to get her walking. “I’m feeling extremely territorial right now, but I’m not angry with you, nikka.”
Oh, he would be. He hadn’t even heard the best part yet. “I have to meet Easton Savage at Brodan’s in a couple of hours. I think he has the information we need.”
“Like a date?” The words were distorted through another growl, and the vein in his forehead pulsed with his heartbeat.
“I prefer to see it more as a business meeting.”
“I don’t trust him.”
“You’d be a fool if you did, but that’s not the point.”
Surprisingly, he agreed with her. “No, it’s not. We actually have bigger problems than Easton Savage right now.”
“Why?” She hurried her steps, practically jogging to keep up with Xavian’s long strides. “What happened?”
“Vane called. There’s reports across the galaxy of Crimnian males going missing, just vanishing. Twenty-eight in total so far, and guess what they all have in common?”
“Other than being Crimnian?”
“Black and silver eyes.”
Aeryn nearly tripped, and she only managed to stay upright by grabbing onto Xavian’s elbow to steady herself. “Like Deucalion.”
Xavian slowed as they approached the sliding doors to the docking bay, and his expression softened. “Exactly like Deucalion. Vane has guards on him, so he’s safe for now, but if someone really wanted to take him…”
It didn’t make any sense, and she couldn’t understand how it related to the auction, the Seal, or Asa Brax. “Why would someone want to take him? What the hell is going on, Xee?”
“I don’t know, nikka, but we need to find out, and fast.”
Aeryn would never again claim that things could always be worse. Apparently, the universe took it as a challenge.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dressed in dark, flowing slacks and a lavender blouse, Aeryn radiated beauty and poise. She’d pulled her golden hair into a simple knot at her nape, and traded out her standard boots for a pair of strappy sandals. She didn’t wear make-up—not that she needed it—nor had she donned any jewelry.
Xavian sat at the foot of the bed in Aeryn’s confined quarters, his hands clasped together between his knees. For the past hour, he’d been struggling with what he knew to be right, and what his instincts demanded of him. His mate had proven herself more than capable of taking on the task of gathering information, yet he hated the thought of her being alone without any backup.
“You look beautiful, nikka.” He hadn’t even realized he’d been called her by the endearment until she’d pointed it out to him, but now, he did so deliberately. It suited her, and it just felt…right. “I still wish you’d reconsider.”
“I wish I could,” she answered, toying with one of the buttons on her blouse. “I don’t know what this has to do with Deuc, or any of the other Crimnians that have gone missing, but it’s more important than ever that we find out what Easton knows.”
Unfortunately, he had to agree. “I just wish I could be there with you.”
Aeryn smiled, and offered him a sympathetic nod. “Now’s not the time for jealousy.”
“I’m not jealous. I just don’t like you going in there alone.”
Possessive maybe, and in his mind, that was a big difference. Jealousy dabbled in matters of trust and insecurity. Possessiveness simply meant he viewed Aeryn as his. His to protect, to cherish, to comfort, to please. He didn’t own her, but she still belonged to him—just as he belonged to her—and he always defended what was his.
“Everything is going to be fine, and if something does happen, well…” Pinching her right pant leg at the hip, she lifted the hem, revealing a micro coil gun tucked into an ankle holster.”
“That’s my girl.” Pushing up from the bed, he closed the distance and gripped the back of her neck in a light hold, pulling her close so he could brush their lips together.
Aeryn hummed, rising up on her toes to take the kiss deeper. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” She eased away, but her gaze strayed to his mouth again. “You’ll be watching, right?”
“Of course. Katana has already patched into the surveillance cameras at the restaurant.”
They didn’t have an audio feed, though, and Aeryn couldn’t wear a commlink without raising suspicion. Luckily, Cypher had come up with a fairly ingenious alternative. Opening a small, square compartment over the bed, he retrieved a tiny, crystal flower, then turned back to his mate.
“It’s a transmitter,” he explained, holding the pin up so that the overhead light sparkled off the clear petals. “We’ll be able to hear everything, so if you get into trouble, just give the word, and I’ll be there.” Carefully, he attached the flower to the collar of her blouse, then adjusted it to lay flat against her delicate collarbones. “Good luck, nikka, and be careful.”
They didn’t speak again as he walked to the ship’s exit, but he couldn’t resist one more kiss before letting her leave. She’d be fine. Her and Easton would be in a public place with lots of witnesses. No one had any reason to want to hurt her. No one had any reason to take her.
These were the things he continued to tell himself as he watched her descend the ramp and disappear around the curve in the tunnel. Despite the constant litany of reassurances, his chest constricted the moment he couldn’t see her, and he had the nearly uncontrollable urge to call her back.
Somehow, he resisted
, and without really knowing how he’d gotten there, he found himself standing in the arched doorway of the cockpit, staring at three different video screens. Of course, Aeryn hadn’t arrived at Brodan’s yet, nor did he see Easton anywhere in the restaurant, and he briefly wondered if the male would even show.
Briefly, because no sooner had the thought flitted through his mind than Easton Savage strutted into view, grinning charmingly at the Stravoris behind the hostess podium. He’d slicked his hair back and changed into a button-down shirt for the occasion, but he still wore tight-fitting denim and thick-soled boots. On his hip, just below the hem of his ash-gray shirt, Xavian noticed the distinctive bulge of a weapon.
“I’m going with her.”
“No.” Grabbing his shoulder, Katana led him to the captain’s chair and shoved him roughly into the seat. “Don’t move.”
“He has a weapon!”
“So do eighty percent of the people on this station,” Cypher argued.
“So does Aeryn.” Leaning her hip against the command console, Katana watched the screen with eerie intensity. “There she is.”
Xavian grabbed both armrests in a white-knuckled grip as he leaned forward, his muscles coiled tightly as if he could leap through the screen to protect his mate if anything went wrong. Aeryn moved with confidence, her shoulders back, her gait steady. A beautiful smile graced her lips as she accepted Easton’s offered hand in a quick, fleeting shake.
“You clean up nice, Chase.” Easton’s voice crackled through the speakers in the cockpit.
On the screen, Easton leaned into Aeryn, his lips just a breath away from her neck. Xavian came up out of his seat, his chest heaving as a volley of curses erupted from his snarling lips. He was going to rip Easton Savage’s head off and mount it on a fucking pole.
“Sit. Down.” Again, Katana shoved at him until he fell into his chair.
“I just want you to know,” Cypher said casually as if nothing had happened, “I will tranq you if it comes to it.”
Xavian would like to see the male try.
“I know you’re listening,” Easton said, his volume much quieter, his tone serious. “I know Deucalion Ivo is on Nekron, and I know a lot of people are looking for him. You want the Seal of Solomon? Get Deucalion first.”
