Jaaka’s gaze flashes to mine. I nod.
“On the house,” he says to her.
I’d give her everything if I could. But if I’m not careful, I might end up taking it all away. I know she’s up to something strange based on the erratic shipping patterns that don’t match the munitions needs of her clients. Carryingdry goodsis simply a code for shipping missile husks and other internal components, minus the explosives.
But why use a ship with so many extra cargo bays? Why race through deep Sol space? What are you hiding, Zariah?
A strand of hair slips from her ponytail to frame her face. She swipes it away and looks up, almost at me. My core pulses faster.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her. She has consumed every spare moment since the day she broke into a hangar so I could hide on a departing ship.
Heat rushes into my groin. I want her to see me but on her terms. I can’t bring myself to take anything from her when I know how much she’s already been through.
Maybe she doesn’t remember me.
It has been a couple of years. She’s good at concealing her ship’s location, a trick I’m sure she learned from her father. It makes it difficult to keep tabs on her.
Her dark eyes look down at her drink and then over her shoulder while she keeps her head down.
She doesn’t want people to recognize her, and she doesn’t trust those in here not to attack her.But I’m watching them too, including the two federal agents by the windows.
I know who her father was. I encountered him a few times before a poisoned trap around a healing crystal finally took him out and the rest of his regular crew. Somehow, his son survived. It makes me wonder why.
It’s the reason I had to find her. I know everyone’s gunning for his credits. It’s always easiest to take down an empire when the leader is dead, and a new leader is still establishing their place in the hierarchy.
“Hello, handsome,” a female with green skin like mine leans in against the bar counter. Her voice is a loud drone when I’m in hyperfocus mode. I ease back and give her a glance.
“Not many of our kind left,” she adds.
Iamsurprised to meet someone from our solar system. There are only a handful of us Lazarsin left, which means this can’t be a coincidence.
She’s not Lazariot like me, or she’d be taller and have gold eyes. Larisiens have all perished, which makes her Lathlion. Her deep green eyes confirm it.
Should have a tail.
She tilts her head and plays with her ebony hair like it’s going to get my attention. But I’m not interested in her.
I glance at Zariah. She’s finally eating and now listens to a message from her mother.
Gently, I take the wrist of the Lathlion beside me, knowing she’s been sent to me by someone. I can’t get distracted because there’s a threat somewhere else they’re trying to hide.
“You were told to keep me busy, yes?” I whisper.
Her jade lips curl inward, and she sways a little like she might be drugged. But she nods subtly, once. I check her wrist for a marking while I keep my hearing tuned to Zariah. My homeworld kin has been tagged by an alien trafficker.
“Be quiet,” I tell her. The playfulness in the Lathlion’s eyes fades and is replaced by fear.
I draw a blade from my chest harness and cut the tracker out from beneath her tattoo. Her jaw clenches. She lets out a soft growl.
One squeeze pushes it out from beneath her skin. I crush it between my fingers and toss the pieces under the bar counter. “What’s your name?”
Air rushes through her teeth. “Jiuli. You?”
“My name doesn’t matter.” I cover her wound with a rapid healing patch from a pouch in my armored vest and then draw her in for what I hope looks and feels like a hug.
Inside the cover of our bodies, I slip her a chip card with funds, not much but enough to get her out of here. I lower my voice so only she can hear. “For the record, youarebeautiful but far more precious. All I want is for our kind to be free.
“There’s a transport leaving dock Five Bravo in ten minutes. It’s headed to Pieris Spaceport. From there, catch a shuttle to Eniph. Ask for Catarina when you arrive. They will help you get your freedom back.”
