“More women.” I shrug. “More everything, really. It’s a win for you two that I brought in Garcia Sagen. You two can be the new kingpins, the new head honchos. I bet with your two heads, you can do even better than he ever dreamed of.”
Heavy grins. “You bet we could.”
“Right? I can see it now. You two as the new mobsters. But…” I tap a finger to my cheek as I stand.
Broken Nose scowls. He still has his gun very close to me. “No sudden movements,” he snaps.
“Alejandro, get your gun out of her face.”
“Don’t call me by my real name!”
“Sorry, Clown.”
Broken Nose gives Heavy the finger. “Can it, Marshall.”
“It’s Bull!”
I clap my hands. “Clown? No, no, that won’t do. I do like Bull, though.”
Heavy grins at me.
I eye Broken Nose. “How about Hook?”
“Hook?” Alejandro asks dubiously.
“It fits your nose,” I say sweetly. “Hook and Bull. Yes. I just hope…”
“Hope what?” Bull asks.
Hook narrows his eyes at me. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what you hope.”
I shrug. “Fine. Blow me away, but that’s a whole lot of thanks for being the one to push you two to become mobsters.”
“Put your gun away,” Bull snaps. Although Alejandro ignores him, Bull turns to me. “What do you hope?”
“I just don’t want you two to become rivals down the road. You need to work together. You make a good team, and I—”
“You don’t know dick about us,” Hook snaps, “and I see right through you. You’re trying to get us to turn on each other now, to shoot each other, so you can collect the bounties on us.”
I burst out laughing. “Oh, boys. Please. You’re not high up on anyone’s lists right now. There aren’t any bounties on either of you. Honestly, right now, no one considers you a threat. I hate to break it to you. You need to do more than just talk a good game, you know what I mean? But if you work together, you might be able to take over—”
“You can’t tell us what we can and can’t do,” Hook snaps.
I shrug. “I’m not,” I say honestly. “I’m just trying to give you some good advice, but if you don’t want to hear it…” I shrug again. “That’s on you. Free advice, though—”
“It’s worth what you pay for, just like everything else,” Hook grumbles. “It’s not worth a damn thing.”
I blink a few times. “Sure thing, Hook.”
“Don’t call me that!”
He’s angry, furious even. A fucking loose cannon. He can’t be reasoned with, but I’m betting Bull can be. It might be too late for that, though, because Hook looks like he’s seeing red. Maybe he should’ve been the one to have Bull as his nickname.
“I’m gonna off you and then—”
“And then what?” I ask. “Think a bit, Hook. You can turn this into an advantage.”
He scowls. “You talk too much. Anyone ever tell you that?”
“Your mom ever teach you manners?” Bull cuts in. “You’re so damn rude.”
“Fuck you. You want to be a mobster? You don’t have no fucking manners as a mobster!”
“No?” I ask sweetly. “I don’t know. I always thought the whole vinegar/honey thing was a good idea. Always worked for me.”
“What the fuck she talking about?” Hook asks Bull.
“Oh, it’s the whole saying that you catch—”
“You’re going to catch a fucking bullet if you don’t shut your damn mouth,” Hook says. He’s back to jabbing the gun against my temple.
I nod slowly and bite my lower lip. I've been able to talk my way out of situations before, but Hook is fucking unreasonable. Bull I can get to, maybe, if I had enough time, but I doubt I'll be given that long, so I keep my trap shut, but my mind continues to race.
“We can make this work for us, though,” Hook murmurs.
“How so?” Bull keeps his gaze on me and on the gun. I don’t think he likes that Hook wants to kill me, but Bull had been hunting me down too.
“All we have to do is think,” Hook says firmly. “Who else wants her dead? Maybe we can try to collect a bounty on her!”
Fuck. I was afraid he would think along those lines. Honestly, if I were in his position, I would consider it, but then I wouldn’t go through with it. I’m too dangerous to be left alive. I would just go ahead and blow me away.
They’re going to regret not doing that.
“Bull, what are you doing?” I shout.
They stare at me, but my mouth is wide.
“You’re better than that! Lower your gun!”
Hook starts to turn to Bull.
I shift away. “Don’t you dare cross Hook!”
Hook shoots Bull.
Bull gapes at me as he falls to the ground and starts to bleed out.
I grab Bull’s gun from his hand and shoot Hook straight through the forehead. He’s dead before he hits the dirt.
Straightening, I glance down at Bull. He’s gasping for breath.
A pang of remorse hits me. He won't survive this, but it's a dog-eat-dog world, and I have a lot of enemies. Even if Bull seemed like a decent guy, he still worked for a mobster. There's no telling what he might have been capable of.
“Pl…” he mumbles.
I nod and shoot him to end his suffering. My stomach twists. There are days like this, days where it’s more dark than light, and I hate that, but I won’t let anything take me out of this world. Not yet. I have too much living to do first.
3
Tox
For three weeks now, I’ve been on earth, and each day is a new adventure. It didn’t take me long to find the underbelly, to find those who need a mercenary, and I live day-to-day this way, accepting whatever job is asked of me. I already have a nice little pile of dough. Cash, I mean. Novans don’t have currency like the Earthlings do. I almost have enough to be able to buy myself a house, but I wonder if I should get myself a centuricmobile or a centuricar first. Walking around everywhere is getting a bit tiresome. Of course, I would have to have a refresher course on how to drive one of the vehicles. I never truly mastered it before I left Kuria. I knew being a driver wasn’t for me. Now that I can drive myself wherever I want to go with my own set of wheels, that’s a whole ‘other story. But to shuttle people around from here to there? No ovian way.
In town, I head toward a restaurant. I’ve been going to a different one each day, trying out something different at each. I love the variety here. This planet really does have more to offer than Kuria does, but then again, the Earthlings didn’t have to rebuild everything from the ground up, like the Novans did on Kuria. They had nothing at all to start with. I think I heard that the planet once had people living on it originally, but the Grots got to them too. Everything was gone, though—the people, their buildings, everything. It’s as if the Grots wiped the entire planet completely clean. In a way, that’s a blessing because it meant we didn’t have to clean up the destroyed buildings, but what exactly happened there? What had the Grots done? Considering there weren’t any survivors, no one will ever know.
More than a few women glance at me as I near the restaurant I have in mind. I nod to them, but honestly, I don’t talk to them much. Men are the ones who hire me. They’ll have me do house projects in their homes. They’ll have me pay a “friend” a visit and give a threat. They’ll even ask me to do things that are even more underhanded than that. As a true mercenary, I take on assignments of questionable morality, but there have been a few that I’ve declined.
One man wanted a business partner killed in what would look like an accident.
The only woman to approach me asked me to see if her husband was cheating on her. I considered it until I spied the gun hidden in her purse. I’ve no doubts that she’ll kill the bastard if he is cheating. Fuck, she might kill him just because she suspects him, but I don’t want to get involved with that.
&nbs
p; Not all of them are so… colorful. Like I said, I’ve done some house projects. I have to learn on the fly how to do them, but so far, no one has complained about my work.
When I reach the door, I go to grab the handle. At the same time, a woman does.
She stares up at me. Her eyes are heavily made up with thick eyeliner, and she has incredibly full lips. Her hair is as black as her eye makeup, and her skin is perfect.
“If you move, I’ll open the door for us since you don’t seem like you’re going to,” she says dryly.
I laugh. “I might not have been raised on Earth, but I do have an Earthling for a mother, and she taught me manners even if I sometimes forget them.”
“You’re distracted?”
“Not quite.” I rake my eyes up and down her sultry frame. She’s wearing tight pants that hug every curve, and her shirt is tight too. Perfectly beautiful.
Perfectly fuckable.
I’ve seen other women who are just as beautiful around, but they all seem to be a bit… much. They throw themselves at me, and I’ve considered taking one or two for a tumble, but the lack of a place has held me back. I’ve been crashing at client’s houses or staying out in a nearby park, sleeping on a bench. Unideal, yes, and not suitable for bringing a woman to, but I’ll have either a vehicle or a house soon enough. Just a few more jobs. Or maybe just one job that’s perfect.
As perfect as she is.
I hold the door open for her and wait a moment so I can watch her ass. Her hips sway as she approaches the hostess’ table.
The hostess eyes us. “Two?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I cut in before the woman can say different.
She eyes me, only half of her lips curling into a smile. It’s a look that drives me wild. She knows I’m playing a game, and she’s playing it right back.
There's no reason why I have to come to Earth only for business, right? All of my friends who came over here before I did have managed to find themselves a woman. I'm not even looking for something permanent right now. Just a bit of fun.
The hostess beams, grabs two menus, and ushers us to a room that has hardly anyone in it. We’re guided to a table in the corner, and I hold out the woman’s chair for her.
She sits, and I let my fingers brush her shoulders before I slip into my chair.
“Who are you?” she asks.
“A Kurian named Tox.”
“The blue skin gave you away as a Kurian,” she says dryly.
“Novans are blue too.”
“Yes, but a darker blue, right? And older as well.”
“Have you met any Novans?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Does that matter?”
“I’m just making conversation.”
“Or are you trying to see if I prefer something?”
"Like what?" I can't help watching her mouth. She sometimes flicks out her tongue to lick her lips, and I want that. I want to lick her lips, to bite her bottom one. To draw blood, maybe.
The woman just lifts her eyebrows and gives me a pert little grin that has my cock twitching.
Fuck.
“Who are you?” I counter, turning this back around.
“Sophia.”
“Got a last name, Sophia?”
“Yes. Do you?”
“No.”
“I heard that Novans don’t have last names, but you Kurians don’t take on your mom’s surnames?”
I shake my head. “No. I would still like to know yours.”
“Would you?” She grins. “Fine. Sophia Clyde.”
I hold out my hand, and we shake. Her skin is smooth, so very smooth, and I rub my thumb along the back of her hand, holding it much longer than is necessary.
A waitress approaches, and we order drinks. I’ve been a lot less adventurous with the drinks, getting water more times than not mostly because I don’t want to drink another taste when I want to enjoy every flavor of the strange dishes I’m indulging.
So I order water, but Sophia orders Scotch on the rocks.
“Make it a double,” she calls to the waitress who is starting to walk away already.
“A double?” I ask.
“Double the amount of liquid.”
“A shot.”
“Yes.” She smirks. “Water, huh? Can’t handle alcohol?”
“I thought Scotch might be alcoholic. No, I can handle it. Handle it too well.”
“It doesn’t affect you?”
“Not like it affects you.” I eye her. “Or like I affect you.”
She bursts out laughing, tilting her head back, exposing her long, creamy neck. I want to kiss and bite her, to mark her, to claim her.
What the hell? I don’t even know her, but I have a feeling she won’t want me to be possessive of her.
But I do feel that way. My cock wants to be buried deep inside her.
I cough slightly.
She stops laughing and eyes me as she shakes her head. “You’re a bit too much, you know that, don’t you?”
“I’m not so sure about that, but if it’s not a bad thing…”
“That remains to be determined.”
The waitress returns, and Sophie takes a big gulp of her amber liquid.
I watch and shake my head.
“What?” she asks, her tone a little sharper.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Fuck that. You’re judging me.”
“I did think that Scotch was meant to be, ah, savored.”
“Sipped but chugged?” She lifts her cup toward me and then drains the rest of her Scotch before placing the glass back on the table.
“Any reason for that display, or did you just want to be hot as fuck?”
Sophia laughs. I already love the sound. It’s so light and airy, but there’s a hardness in her eyes that I hadn’t seen before.
“Maybe there’s a reason, but maybe you don’t need to know it.”
“Fine by me. Drink away.”
“You want me drunk?”
“I want you to be whatever the fuck you want.”
The waitress returns, and we order. I just point to something at random, whereas Sophia gets a buffalo chicken wrap.
Once the waitress has walked away, Sophia eyes me. “That was a good choice.”
“I don’t even know what it is,” I confess.
“Not your food. Your answer.”
“That I want you to be whatever the fuck you want?”
She nods.
“Why? Who wouldn’t want that for you?”
“Oh, plenty. Parents, fathers especially, tend to be overly protective of their daughters. Men tend to want their way—Yeah. Thought so.”
She’s smirking, and my own smirk, the reason for her remark, grows.
“Men want their way. I agree. That such a bad thing?”
“It is when it means that they think they can take what’s not theirs.”
I tilt my head to the side. “But if they can convince you to want to give, then it’s freely given, yes?”
“Not if it’s manipulated.”
“Manipulation is bull shit.”
“I agree.”
Our food is brought out, and the waitress asks if Sophia would like another round.
“I’ll try some,” I interject.
“Give him a double and me a regular,” Sophia instructs.
The waitress nods, rushes away, and returns shortly with the drinks.
It’s smooth going down, the whiskey. Burns a little bit and pools in my stomach, but then I feel fine. Perfectly fine.
Sophia grimaces at me, and I realize she was holding up her glass.
“Do the moms not bother to have any alcohol on Kuria?” she asks, slowly lowering her glass to the table.
I grab mine and hold it up as she had. "Not in front of me, at least. Why?"
“Typically, we…” She gently knocks her glass into mine. There’s a faint clinking sound. “Cheers.”
Sophia nods to me, expecting something.
“Cheers?”
She laughs and finally sips hers, so I do the same.
“You have a lot to learn, Tox,” she murmurs.
“Not as much as you think,” I boast.
“Hmm. Maybe. Maybe not.”
“At least I’m a quick learner.”
“Is that so?” She eyes me. “Maybe there is a reason for my drinking, but it’s nothing. It’s not something you need to worry about or know. I will say that I’ve enjoyed this meal.”
“So have I. The company is wonderful.”
“You’re charming. I’ll give you that, but if you think one meal means—”
“We’re here to eat. We just opted to not eat alone. That’s all.” I sip my Scotch.
Her smile is slow, but it seems more genuine than some of her previous ones. “Yes, that’s all,” she echoes.
Our food is delicious, and we pay for our meals separately, and then we go off, splitting. Yes, I would have liked it very much if she would have asked me to accompany her somewhere, but maybe this is for the best. There's something about Sophia that makes me want… I don't know what I want. Maybe I nailed it on the head when I say we just opted to not eat alone, and that's all. She's right about how enjoyable the meal was. I thoroughly enjoyed my interactions with her.
But I'm going to have to find a spot away from prying eyes because another part of me enjoyed the banter with Sophia, and my cock got a bit too excited. I need to go rub one out, and you better believe that Sophia will be on my mind when I do.
4
Sophia
My phone ringing wakes me early the next morning. I don’t have a hangover, thank goodness. After leaving Tox, I returned to my place and had a little bit more to drink.
I’m not sure what to think about the alien, but for right now, I need to stop that ringing. It’s going to give me a headache.
“Hello?”
“Yes, is this Sophia Clyde?”
“Speaking.” I think furiously, trying to place the stern female voice, but I’m coming up blank.
“This is General Janius Jackson. I was hoping we might be able to talk.”
“We are right now.”
“In person,” the general clarifies. She gives me a location. “Can you be there in thirty?”
Mesmerized by the Alien Mercenary Page 2
