He gave her a chilling stare. “You go into the Ring and trust me, the Andarions have nothing on what goes down in a League Ring.”
She winced at his mention of the bloodiest sport on any world. Andarions took their Ring fighting exceptionally seriously.
And it often was fatal.
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged with a nonchalance she was pretty sure he didn’t really feel.
Her stomach tight, she dropped her gaze to his tracker. “So, how do you do your job if they bother you like that, all the time?” It had to interfere with their “stealth” operations. Hard to sneak up on someone when your tracker kept buzzing and giving away your position.
Swallowing the last of the food, he wiped his lips with a napkin. “They’re not usually so obnoxious when they know where we are and what we’re doing. But there’s no eyes here and I should have been back to my barracks last night. If we give an estimate and we miss it, they start panicking like hyper-controlling parents over a virgin daughter.” He gestured at his device. “Had I not called in, their next move would have been to send someone after me.”
“To kill you?”
“If I wasn’t doing what I’m supposed to be doing, yes.”
That actually made her sick to her stomach. “So just by being here you could die?”
Clicking his tongue, he saluted her.
“Should I have called The League when I found you last night?”
He choked on his juice. “God, no!” Clearing his throat, he shook his head. “Had you done that, we’d both be dead.”
“Why?”
“I’m an assassin, Eve. We are never supposed to be seen weak. If anyone witnesses us getting our ass kicked, they’re not supposed to live to tell it.”
“Seriously?”
“That’s the Code.”
She shook her head. “Your Code sucks.”
“More than you know.”
Eve took a moment to digest the nightmare that made up his life. She couldn’t imagine living like he did. “So what happened last night? Was he your target or were you his?”
“That’s the loaded question . . .”
“Meaning?”
Instead of answering, he spun around faster than she could blink and leveled his blaster at a shadow.
Eve gasped as she realized there was another person in her flat.
One who caught his arm before he fired his weapon. “Easy, big boy. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Damn it, Bête. You trying to get killed?”
She returned the blaster to him. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay. You look like shit.”
“Thanks.”
Scowling, she looked past him to Eve. “She the one Sav mentioned?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you going to kill her?”
“No and neither are you.”
“Jinx–”
“I mean it, Bête. Any harm befalls her and I will take it personally.”
Bête held her hand up. “Fine.” She tapped her ear. “Captain Bête Noir reporting in. I have eyes on Shadowborne.” She paused for a second to listen. “No, ma’am. He appears to be surveilling. Nothing unusual that I see. Do you want me to terminate?”
Eve barely caught her gasp before it escaped.
“Understood. Bête Noir out.” She tapped her ear and sighed. “You’re good.”
“I was right.”
Dressed in a burgundy uniform that hugged every inch of her well-toned body, Bête jerked her chin toward Eve. “How much does she know?”
“She’s fine.”
Bête arched a brow at that.
Jinx gave her a pointed stare. “I trust her more than I trust you.”
“Ouch!”
“But true.”
Bête snorted. “Didn’t say it wasn’t, or that it wasn’t deserved, but it’s still hurtful.”
“Sorry.”
Bête sighed wearily as Eve studied her. Tall and lithe, she had dark hair that had vibrant red stripes in it. Like Jinx’s from the night before, she wore it braided down her back– League assassin style. Though her complexion was darker than his, it was still lighter than Eve’s. “Well, Sav and I cleaned up your mess. You’re welcome, by the way. How’d Sniper get the drop on you?”
“Trained assassin. Came at me when I left.”
Folding her arms over her chest, Bête tsked. “No offense, I don’t know how you survived.”
“I’m a feral bastard.”
“Noted.” She glanced to Eve. “Damn shame you can’t count the kill and take the rank advancement.”
“I know. Did Venny find the orders?”
“Yeah. Straight from the PM.”
“Reason?”
“None listed.”
Jinx ran his hand through his hair. “I swear . . . ever since that attack last year, Quiakides just gets crazier and crazier.”
“I know. He’s convinced it was one of us who tried to kill him.”
“We should have knifed his son when Nykyrian took the blast for him. Little bastard.”
She scoffed. “Little? He’s the same hulking height you are.”
“I know. Still . . . Can’t believe we didn’t take the chance to eliminate them both.”
“Hindsight, my brother. All we can do is try to survive.”
“No. We need to find out who the idiot is setting us up, and hand them over.”
She nodded. “Failing that, we pick someone we hate most and frame them.”
Were they serious?
Jinx didn’t even hesitate. “That’s a frightfully long list. You want it chronologically or alphabetically?”
“Personally, I vote for my ATA.”
Shaking his head, Jinx sucked his breath in. “Yeah . . . no. Kyr’s never going to happen. We frame a Phrixian prince and that’s going to cause all kinds of other problems we don’t need.”
“Well, I have to get back. You heal up. We can buy you another day here, but you’d better return to barracks by tomorrow or all hell will rain down.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ve already worn out my welcome here. If the zarana will be kind enough to loan me her shower, I’ll be out of here and in my ship if y’all need me.”
“Sounds good.” She clapped him hard on his arm and then headed for the window.
“I have a door.” But it was too late.
Bête was already gone.
Jinx gestured at the door with his glass. “Hallway comes with a lot of witnesses. We don’t like those.”
“Noted.” Eve folded her arms over her chest. “What does zarana mean? You keep using that for me.”
“Lady.”
“Ah . . . what language?”
“Euforian.”
“Well that explains your accent. I’ve never met anyone from Eufora before.” She picked up his empty plate. “Should I expect any more of your friends to pop in?”
“It’s not my friends you need to be afraid of. It’s my enemies.”
“Duly noted. With one of them being the Prime Commander of The League.”