Chapter 2

Rurick

My suit jacket hid the telltale bulge of the laser pistol at the small of my back, while also allowing me to blend right in. The expensive—but totally worth it—camera scrambler was pinned to the collar of my shirt, allowing me to walk through this office building without my picture showing clearly on any camera feed.

It was late, darkness had already settled over the city, and the building was nearly empty. My target was there though, he always worked late, so I wasn't worried. This was the perfect moment to strike, and it hadn't taken me more than a day to locate this one. Easy pay. Just the way I liked it.

On the elevator, I allowed my thoughts to drift. What was I going to do with that money? Maybe fly to that resort planet on Selvan, get cozy with a pretty lady for a while. Maybe, I'd finally take Mads up on his offer and buy a share of his bar, settle down. Then I chuckled, nah! Who was I kidding? I loved my job, I loved the action and the adventure, I wasn't retiring for anything.

The doors swished open and a delicious scent hit my nostrils. I stopped in my tracks and just inhaled, letting that scent settle deep in my lungs. Okay, so maybe that could make me retire. I knew it in an instant, the scent of my mate. I'd know it anywhere now, I'd be able to track her to the end of the Quadrant and back if she decided to run from me, but why would she run? I grinned at the camera above my head which could not record my face.

I stepped out into the carpeted hallway, my senses alert. My mate was on the same floor as my target, it appeared she was even in the same room as the male. That was not good, I had a job to do, and usually people didn't like to see the nitty-gritty part of things. Except for the mobster that had hired me of course, he wanted proof of death.

Then the sound of a struggle reached my ears and the tips twitched, my body surging with adrenaline. If my target was laying a hand on my mate, I would kill him free of charge. The bastard was a dead man, and he didn't even know it.

I ducked through a doorway on my left and instantly spotted the struggling pair. My target, who I recognized from his picture, and a small woman pinned beneath him on a desk. Rage took over, wild and hot, when I normally felt nothing but cold detachment for doing this part of the job. I was across the room in a flash, the muzzle of my laser pistol pressed against the back of the male's skull.

A squeeze of my finger and two shots went off in rapid succession, the male slumping forward onto the small female, dead in a second. He hadn't seen or felt it coming, which was a pity, he'd deserved far worse.

The female trapped beneath his dead body was slight but ever so pretty. Even with her tear-stained face and tangled brown hair, she looked luminous to me, radiant. Her eyes were a soft gray unique to her species, human. Her skin was as pale as snow or like cream that I wanted to lap up.

"You okay there, pretty face?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. I was terrible at small talk, and even worse at reassuring people. What was I supposed to do in this situation? Hug her, pat her on the shoulder?I settled for "How about I help you lose some dead weight?"and much to my surprise she giggled.

I pushed the male, dropping him carelessly to the floor next to the desk. Then I stepped over his sprawled legs and helped pull my mate upright. Turns out I had instincts about this kind of thing when it came to her.That giggle was turning slightly hysterical and it felt natural to just step against the side of the desk and pull her into my arms. "Sssh, hush. You are safe now. He can't hurt you, darling."

Her sweet scent was especially strong at the crown of her head, something flowery and feminine wafting up from the silky strands. I wanted to sigh and just stand there forever, with her pressed against my chest, but sadly, I had more work to do.

Gently, I nudged her back and cupped her chin to raise her eyes to my face. "Let me clean this up and then I'll see you safely home, yeah?" Because there was no fucking way I'd let her out of my sight until she was home. I'd drop her off, then I'd collect my payment and return to her side. She'd have to come with me but I was sure she'd settle in alright on my ship. Not like she'd be eager to return to her job here anyway, and I had plenty of money, she didn't need a job.

Pleased with my plan, I started to pull away so I could get started. The longer we sat here with this dead fucker, the more risk we took. If a night guard did his rounds we'd be busted and I hated having to deal with collateral damage. "Wait," my mate said, her fingers digging into the lapels of my suit jacket to pull me closer. "Who are you? Why did you save me?" She glanced at the dead dude, her lips curling up in distaste at the sight.

Oh, right. Most people didn't regularly deal with things like this. She might be horrified that I'd shot the bastard even if he was hurting her. Rage simmered to life again in my veins just thinking about it. As soon as I had her safely on my ship I was going to check every inch of her pale skin for marks or bruises. Then I'd kiss ‘em because that's what mates did.

"I'm Rurick, what's your name, sweetheart?" I said, stepping away and nudging the target over with the toe of my boot. Flicking my com device to camera mode, I leaned in close to get a shot of the bastard's face and the nasty head wound. Proof of death for the mobster who hired me. I preferred my customized laser pistol for kills like these, cauterized the wound, less clean up.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw her shapely legs, encased in a pair of black killer heels. Her narrow skirt had torn and bunched up around her waist, giving me a glimpse of a pair of pink silky panties before she hurriedly pulled the fabric back in place. Fuck, she was so sexy. And she'd been through shit, she didn't need me perving on her right now.

With my picture proof finished up, I pulled out the next tool from the briefcase I'd carried them in. A tarp I rolled the body onto, and then my trusty chemical spray that would reduce the body to nothing but dust in a matter of minutes. On Earth, there was the saying ‘No body, no crime.' In my experience, the crime didn't go unnoticed, but it sure became much harder to solve.

"I'm Lexi," she said softly, and I heard the sound of her rummaging around by her desk. I paid attention when she slipped paper files into a large pink leather purse, those were important, what was in there? My curiosity was fully engaged now but I would wait to question her until I'd finished my cleanup in here.

"Lexi," I said, tasting her name on my lips and liking it. She was so pretty, each time I glanced at her, my heart did this little stutter thing in my chest. I tapped my fist to my sternum, willing my body to behave. By my calculations, the guard should be doing his rounds in about three minutes, enough time to finish up in here.

"You weren't some random stranger passing by, were you? You came here to kill Mr. Alberade." I raised my eyes to her face, expecting to see condemnation, fear, or maybe even disgust. But her expression was oddly serene and she'd used a compact mirror from her purse, polishing away any hint of her earlier tears. I shrugged and nodded, curious to see how she'd take that.