Chapter 5

Rurick

My pants smelled like my mate's come, a scent I relished but one that was highly distracting considering what I was about to walk into. I'd exchanged my suit for leathers and uploaded my proof of death to the untraceable com device the Earth mobster had provided. Not long after, I'd received coordinates for a meeting place.

A meeting meant more business, otherwise, it would have been a payment drop-off. I didn't like it, what else could that bastard Agosta want from me? I parked my hover-cycle some distance away after I'd circled the derelict building twice and counted the guards. Six armed men outside alone, that meant at least twice as many inside. I didn't like this one bit, that many guards? I was about to meet this Agosta himself.

I considered just leaving without the payment, after what I'd caught my target doing, it wasn't like I would have let him live anyway. But unease made me want to find out what was going on, I was a valuable tool, I had skills and a personal shield. I didn't expect that Agasto was about to kill me, rather, he wanted me to do more work, work I didn't have time for now that I had Lexi.

Biting the proverbial bullet, I made my presence known to the guards by casually whistling as I walked up. Daring the Dragnell male near the metal, reinforced door to try and stop me by grinning widely at him. He shuffled aside, a large laser cannon cradled in his arms, and a snarl distorting his snout. "The boss is waiting for you, assassin!"

I rolled my eyes. Always so original, these goons, not a single interesting thought in their head. I stepped past him, shouldering my way through the portal and into the opulent interior beyond. Figured that the shabby outside was just a front for the decadence all mobsters the galaxy over seemed to love.

Another guard, this one human, led me through a receiving room with scantily clad girls and eager johns to a room at the back of the brothel. An office with a heavy wooden desk, probably expensive, and behind it a Talac male with gray-blue skin. His bald head shimmered in the yellow light from old-timey lamps, and jewels hung from his muscled neck, cascading down his bare chest.

Agosta was not your average human mobster, he was an exotic who'd made his home in the crime bowels of Earth. A dangerous proposition, considering the zero-tolerance instant execution type of law system this planet had. Agosta didn't look like he was worried about getting busted any time soon. His brothel was pumping with music, moaning, and guests from the richer walks of life. A place, I realized, that Lexi's boss might have frequented.

I smirked at the male, dropping casually down in the chair in front of his desk and throwing my arm over the backrest. The picture of relaxation as I waved two fingers in greeting, "A personal meeting, must be my lucky day. I sent you your proof of death, where's my money?" I met the gray eyes of the Talac male and waited, trying to figure out what the crime boss was thinking behind that cool facade.

The Talac liked it cold, they lived on an ice planet after all, but it was uncomfortably hot inside this office. Sweat trickled down my spine beneath my leather jacket and the bands of the weapon harness I wore. They hadn't patted me down, so this boss was supremely confident I wouldn't try anything.

"You'll get it," the male said, and he leaned back further in his leather office seat, propping a gray pair of bare feet onto the table, tipped with black claws. "I just need you to do another job for me. I wanted to look you straight in the eye when I offered it." He lifted one brow in a sardonic manner and I instantly understood. I was under suspicion, he wanted to see my response when he offered the job because he thought I might be the very culprit he was after. Well, I wasn't born yesterday, and I had a good game face.

"What is this job? And how much is it paying me?" I said, not lifting from my pose of casual relaxation. I was acutely aware of the laser pistol holstered beneath my armpit, and the knives I'd strapped to the small of my back. I could only think of one reason as to why Agosta wanted to question me. Lexi. She'd worked with the male he had wanted me to kill, was this about her? Had someone seen me escort her home?

I couldn't see how my adorable mate with the absurdly pink purse could have anything to do with a mobster like Agosta. Her sleazy boss? Yes, I'd probably delivered payback after he'd abused the rules Agosta had laid out, or maybe he'd insulted the mobster. Lexi was innocent though, other than kissing me.

The Talac steepled his fingers across his flat stomach. "I need you to finish up some loose ends. Some files were accessed from a terminal other than Alberade's, I need you to kill whoever has those files and destroy the data." It was clear in an instant that he suspected I'd taken this data, I had not but I knew who had it. Now I knew what that whole scene I'd walked in on with Lexi had been about. Her boss had discovered the theft and was punishing her, probably with the intention to kill her afterward. The question was, what was in those files?

I shrugged, "Sure. I can do that. Shouldn't be hard to track down. What's the pay?" I grinned again. "Because I am not doing charity." My mind was whirling behind the irreverent, cheerful facade. This was a hit on Lexi, even if the Talac didn't know her name yet. I couldn't let anything happen to her, to do that, I'd have to convince this guy I'd take the job, just to stall for time.

This wasn't just a hit on Lexi he wanted me to take, all eyes were going to be on me because I was his main suspect. If I wanted to retrieve Lexi from her apartment and bring her safely to my ship, the Striker. It was going to be tough but if anyone could shake a tail, it was me, and everyone knew a Terafin would do anything for his mate. I might be an assassin with a slightly loose concept of morality, but on that, I was as unbending as the rest of my race.

Lexi was mine, and nobody got to hurt her and live to tell the tale.