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  “Depends.” Dressed all in black leather from head to toe, she looked tough. Her hair was black as night and cut short, framing a thin face with high cheekbones and a slightly pointed chin. Her eyes were as blue as sapphires. She was long and lean, sleekly muscled. And he’d counted at least six hidden blades and a garrote that doubled as a bracelet. There was likely more.

  Lust exploded inside him with the force of a laser cannon. His cock hardened and his blood heated.

  He wanted her.

  Women were either scared to death of him or welcomed him because of his royal birth. None of them ever met his gaze as squarely or treated him like an equal.

  Sass was indeed a rarity.

  “On what?” he asked.

  “If you can get me to Oasis in time for the auction.”

  Chapter Three

  Maybe she was out of her mind. No, scrap that, she’d totally lost it. There was no way she could trust him. Not only because of what happened back on Oasis, but because they also had their own agenda. But the facts couldn’t be changed. Her ship was one of the best available, but she’d be pushing it to get back to Oasis in time for the auction.

  Spear was moving like a man still on a mission, which meant he might be able to get her there. And unlike many in their line of work, he seemed to have integrity. He could have easily killed her but hadn’t. As long as she didn’t get in his way, she had a sense he’d leave her be.

  Or maybe that was simply a star-struck dream, but she had to take the chance. Delphi’s and Zaxe’s lives hung in the balance.

  Spear. His name suited him. He was at least six and a half feet tall and as deadly as his name implied. Whoever he worked for had aimed and fired him. And like the ancient weapon he was named after, he’d fly straight and true until he hit his target.

  And thanks to him, she had two hundred and fifty thousand credits she could transfer to her hidden account. It was one the three of them shared and added to whenever possible. It was their escape fund, a way to give them a chance if they could ever escape Artemis.

  Maybe another star-struck dream, but it was better than giving in to despair.

  “Why would I take you?” The coldness in his voice made her shiver.

  “You owe me,” she reminded him.

  “I paid.” He turned on his heel and walked away.

  She hurried to keep up. “I didn’t ask for your money. This is what I want in payment.”

  Her back was against the wall of a building with his hand wrapped around her throat before she could blink. “I could kill you now. Then I wouldn’t owe you anything.” His voice was as bland and unemotional as if he were ordering food from an automated vendor.

  She swallowed and tried to remain calm, even though she was sweating and her heart was racing. “You could. But you could already have done that.”

  “Maybe I should have,” he muttered.

  Not encouraging. “Fine. We’ll go our separate ways.” If she pushed her engines to the max, she might make it in time. The ship might also explode. Either way, she or one or both of her friends would be dead if she failed.

  “Why does it matter so much? Give your patron the information and walk away.”

  Rather than go for her weapons, which would most likely get her killed, she placed her hands on his shoulders. They were like solid steel beneath her hands. The man was built like a mountain. For all that, he moved with the silence and fluidly of a great beast of prey.

  “If I could, I would.” She closed her eyes and sent a brief prayer to whatever deity might be listening.

  “Truth.” He leaned so close she thought he might kiss her. Her entire body clenched in anticipation. This was no time for attraction to rear its head, but her body refused to listen to her brain. She was attracted to Spear, his strength, his sense of right and wrong.

  His breath was warm on her face. His pupils were slightly enlarged, his nostrils flared.

  “Please.” She hadn’t begged or asked anyone for anything since she was a small child, not wanting to give anyone that kind of power over her. Delphi and Zaxe gave without her having to ask, long ago learning she never would.

  But to save them, she would do anything, even something she would never do to save herself.

  “Why?”

  Mind working, she sorted through possibilities, discarding them just as fast. He’d sense a lie. Somehow or another, he could tell the difference. She had no idea what species he belonged to, but he was extremely dangerous. He’d make for a deadly and relentless enemy but a formidable ally.

  “If I fail, the two people I call family will be killed. Or at least one of them will.”

  He stared at her so long she began to worry. Around them, the night was fairly quiet, broken only by the occasional drunken yell. The smart ones were all inside. Wandering the passageways of Zardas 4 was dangerous even during the day. At night, it was downright deadly. Roving packs preyed on the unwary.

  They didn’t bother her, as the deadliest predator on the planet currently had his hand around her neck. “Either choke me or let me go.”

  “I could do the same thing I did back in Oasis.”

  If he left her unconscious, there’d be no way for her to make it to the auction in time. Her mission was to get the items for sale at any cost. Money or lives lost were of no consequence for Artemis.

  Regretfully, she twisted her arm slightly, releasing a mechanism that shot a knife to her waiting hand. She curled her fingers around the handle.

  “Are you going to use it?” he asked.

  “Use what?” There was no way he could know she had a knife. None. It was perfectly soundless and she’d only given her arm the tiniest twist.

  “The weapon you palmed.”

  Who was Spear? She’d crossed paths with some of the deadliest people in the known galaxies. Done her best to stay out of their way. But Spear was in a class all his own.

  “I don’t want to have to.” When he simply stared at her with those golden-brown eyes, she sighed. “I don’t want to hurt you. And, yeah, if I don’t kill you, you’ll kill me. I’d like to avoid that.”

  His breath came out in a huff. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against hers. It was shockingly intimate. “I’d like to avoid that as well. I’m going to regret this,” he muttered.

  Was he going to give in? “You won’t even know I’m onboard your ship.”

  “I doubt that.” He released her and took a step back.

  She shivered, suddenly cold without the bulk of his big body protecting her. No, he’d been threatening her, not protecting. She needed to remember that.

  “Come on.” He grabbed her by the wrist and started walking. It was either follow or be dragged. She thought about stabbing his hand, but that wouldn’t be a good way to start their trip together. He might even decide she was too much trouble and change his mind.

  Sass tucked her knife back in the custom sheath on her arm.

  “Wise decision,” he told her.

  She wasn’t so sure, but it was her only option.

  The docking station was all but deserted. Most workers were locked inside what passed for housing here or eating and drinking in one of the bars. There were a few milling around, but they minded their own business.

  “Which one is yours?”

  Shoulders tensing, she pointed it out. Was he going to dump her now?

  He released her and studied it. “Boost capability?”

  “Yes.” She had to be at the auction. Sass was beginning to hate the mask he wore. She’d yet to see his true face. “Which one is yours?”

  He tilted his head toward the one in the berth two down and across. The vessel was small but sleek in design. It was black in color and could be easily overlooked in space on a visual scan. She approved.

  “What are we waiting for?” Acting more in charge than she truly felt, she strode toward the vessel, eager to get going.

  “Common sense to kick in,” he muttered. “You need anything from your ship before we g
o?”

  She shook her head. “No offense, but I’m not taking a chance on getting left behind.”

  His frown would have made most intelligent men quake in their boots. Good thing she was a woman and a kickass assassin. Ignoring the nerves dancing in her stomach, she kept going until he grabbed her arm.

  “I told you I’d take you.”

  The level tone of his voice stopped her. Call her crazy, but she detected the slightest hurt in his voice, as though she’d insulted him.

  The urge to soothe him was almost overwhelming. She swallowed back an apology. “If you come with me, I have a go-bag.” It wasn’t much—some clothes and extra weapons, as well as the one tiny hologram she had of her family. They weren’t allowed to take personal items on missions in case of capture or death. She always risked the small hologram and smuggled it out in a secret compartment in one of her weapon sheaths. She always left it hidden in the ship for safekeeping.

  “Make it fast.”

  ****

  He was breaking every code a Gravasian assassin lived by in agreeing to take her on his ship. She would see his tech firsthand. A definite breach of the rules.

  And for what?

  He only had her word her family was in danger. And that wasn’t his problem. His brother’s life was in the balance, assuming he was still alive.

  It was all so wrong. Ivar’s job was risky but not as dangerous as being an assassin. And everyone liked Ivar. His brother had a way of getting people to talk, to share secrets without even trying. It was what made him so good at his job. Yet, he was the one missing.

  “I’ll find you,” he promised.

  “What was that?” Sass was watching him warily.

  “Hurry.” The back of his neck was tingling. “We have company.”

  “On it.” He walked alongside her to her vessel, waiting by the hatch as she disengaged the security and hurried inside.

  A group of four men strolled toward them, all different species, but all with a familiar gleam in their eyes—greed. Random, or had Granter sent them after him because he’d been shortchanged in their bargain?

  Sass was back with a small duffle over one shoulder. “Crap.” Accurately assessing the situation, she secured the hatch and engaged her ship’s security. “Run or fight?”

  As much as busting a few heads would take the edge off his anger, they couldn’t afford to waste time. “Run.”

  They took off for his ship. Feet pounded behind them. They’d make it easily. Or would have if four more men hadn’t stepped out from a ramp on the far side of his vessel. “Fuck.”

  “You can say that again,” Sass said under her breath. “You take the ones in front of us. I’ve got the ones behind.”

  Trusting someone to watch his back went against all his training. Had she set this up? He didn’t see how she’d had time, but underestimating her would be a mistake. Time to test her honesty and her skills. His Gravasian battlesuit would protect him from a knife in the back.

  He tossed his cloak aside. It would only hamper his movements. The men coming toward him were all armed with blades, not a blaster in sight. Interesting.

  “What are you waiting for?” His tone was bored, designed to incite them. The largest one, a good foot over his own height, gave a roar that shook the floor of the docking station.

  Spear smiled, his blood pumping through his veins. A warrior at heart, there was nothing he loved more than a good battle. Too bad there wasn’t time to indulge.

  Faster than they could track, he yanked his blaster from the holster tucked under his shoulder and fired in fast succession. All four men dropped. They weren’t dead but they’d be out for some time.

  Satisfied they were out of the fight, he turned to watch Sass. His breath caught in his throat. The woman was poetry in motion.

  Blades clasped in both hands, she weaved and dodged between her much larger opponents. A knife edge would drag over some part of their body before she’d dance away. The woman had serious skills.

  Nor had she hired the band of thugs to jump him. Otherwise, they’d be all over him.

  The men were all bleeding in several places. Nothing fatal, but they were steadily losing blood. All her strikes were strategic. They’d eventually need to stop and seek medical assistance or they’d pass out. A very smart way to debilitate an opponent without actually killing them.

  The Alliance security force would have no choice but to investigate the murder of eight men. But a brawl on a distant docking station? That, they’d ignore. As would what passed for authority here on Zardas 4.

  The goal of any assassin was to avoid detection. They’d already broken that rule by getting drawn into the fight.

  When she noticed him watching, she flashed a grin. She was enjoying herself. Her adrenaline was pumping, all the muscles of her body working together like a well-oiled machine.

  Fighting was a great way to work off stress.

  So is sex.

  His cock stretched and thickened inside his battlesuit. Watching her toy with the men was like foreplay. He wanted to strip her naked and fuck her right here and now. The primal sensation rocked through him. He shuddered and pulled himself back under control. Sass was dangerous to him in more ways than one.

  “Stop playing with them and finish this. We don’t have time to waste.” Nothing was more important than his mission. Done waiting, he strode to his ship, grabbing his cloak as he went. As soon as the security code registered and the hatch door slid open, he stepped inside.

  His finger hesitated above the locking mechanism. Damn it, he’d given his word. “Come on if you’re coming.”

  “Sorry, boys, gotta run.” Ducking under one meaty fist coming hard at her head, she sprinted. The two men still on their feet chased after her, but they couldn’t catch her. As soon as her feet hit the deck of his ship, he slammed the hatch door shut. Two loud thuds followed.

  Spear hurried to the control room and slid into his command seat. “Computer, prepare for immediate departure.”

  “All systems ready,” the computer answered back.

  “Strap in,” he told Sass. There was no time to see if she complied. He took manual control, dropped the vessel out of the docking berth, and blasted from the station, heading straight toward the exit.

  “Ah, the door is still shut.” There was a click as Sass strapped in.

  “I can see that.” He worked the controls manually, overriding the security system. The heavy doors began to part.

  “Shit, we’re not going to make it.”

  “This is why I work alone. Have a little faith.”

  “I’d have more if I was piloting,” she muttered.

  Spear grinned and tilted the ship on its side. “Gonna be a tight squeeze.”

  Sass was mumbling now, a combination of swearing and praying.

  “You were the one who wanted to come with me,” he reminded her.

  “I was obviously out of my mind. Must have been some brain damage when you choked me out back on Oasis.”

  He laughed as they made it through the door with inches to spare on either side. When had he last laughed? He honestly couldn’t remember.

  With Zardas 4 getting smaller behind them, he set course to Oasis. “Computer, monitor course and advise when we are one boost away from destination.” No need to burn all his fuel if it wasn’t necessary.

  “Monitoring,” the computer replied.

  He swung his seat around and studied his passenger. She released the lock on her strap, leaned back in her chair, and stuck her long legs out, crossing them at the ankles. Her skin was slightly dewy with sweat from the fight, her hair mussed. Other than that, you’d never know she’d just fought four men. Her duffle sat at her feet. On her race to his ship, she’d managed to snag it.

  That didn’t surprise him.

  “Will your ship be safe?” It couldn’t have been easy for her to abandon it.

  She shrugged, but he noted the darkening of her eyes and the slight tension in her facial muscles.
“It should be. I’ll go back for it when the mission is over.”

  If she survived. If not, then it really didn’t matter.

  He eyed the duffle again. “Why did you risk grabbing it? You should have left it.”

  She shook her head. “Couldn’t. I have weapons in the bag.”

  He rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and steepled his fingers together. It was more than that. She’d have most of her weapons strapped to her body. Losing a few would be an annoyance, but not worth risking her ride to Oasis.

  Running through all the information he had about her, he came to the logical conclusion. “You have something personal in the bag. Not smart.”

  Her hands clenched just a fraction before she tossed her head and gave a light laugh. It sounded contrived. He didn’t like that.

  “Don’t be silly.”

  Not something anyone had ever accused him of. He raised one eyebrow. “If I search your bag, I won’t find anything?”

  She tucked her bag behind her feet. “I don’t want you pawing through my underwear, you perv.”

  Letting it go for now, he put his mind to another question bothering him. “Why did they jump us? Was it random or were we targets?”

  Sass shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter now, does it?”

  “It matters very much. If one or both of us are targets, it may present a problem when we arrive on Oasis.”

  “You’re right.” She dragged her fingers through her short hair and blew out a breath. “I’d say random. They were too stupid and not armed well enough to take us if we were targets.”

  Spear was fascinated by the different sides of the woman. She seemed to have no trouble being a lethal assassin one minute and a relaxed woman the next. Or was that an act? Simply another disguise she donned to disarm the people around her.

  That was more likely and disappointing, which made no sense. He didn’t know her at all.

  But he wanted her.

  They were both assassins. They, better than anyone, understood the fragility of life. Once they were on Oasis, they’d be on opposite sides again. She needed to win that auction. Her distress had been real.