at my side when I ask, and keep quiet about me when you’re not.”
“And you don’t want no sex?”
“No sex. If I rethink, we’ll discuss. For now, as far as anyone here knows, I’m a loner, a criminal who’s decided to relocate.”
She studied him carefully. She then eased her chair back from the table, should he take exception to her next words. “Ain’t that pretty much the truth?”
Instead of answering her, he stared into his own coffee cup, then drained it and set it down amongst the remains of their breakfast.
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” he asked.
But his tone said that this time he didn’t want and wouldn’t welcome an answer from her.
She shrugged. This was her life, at the beck and call of men who decided what they wanted from her and took it.
Lode was a stone cold killer, but he didn’t seem to want to harm her. So for now, this was at least a respite from whoring. He seemed to truly mean the no-sex part, because his gaze held distance, not lust. And he didn’t need her to bring in credit, because he had his own.
She’d take the gig and get what she could out of it.
* * *
New Seattle, The LodeStar Scraper
Kiri stood propped against the frame of the floor to ceiling windows in Logan’s scraper-top penthouse, staring sightlessly at the dark, heavy clouds outside, all that was visible of the cityscape. Raindrops pelted the window, leaving dirty streaks of smog particulate and acidic rain on the reinforced glass.
A cruiser screamed past, lights flashing as it leapt up through the clouds. From her vantage point, it seemed to just miss a lumbering transport. A police craft shot after the cruiser, blue lights lasering through the mist. New Seattle air traffic as usual.
And far below, she knew, teemed the mass of humanity and humanoids that crowded the streets and buildings. After the clean, dry spaciousness of Frontiera, she hated this wet, dirty, noisy city. She’d been forced to leave here after never knowing anything else, but now she’d be happiest returning to Frontiera and never coming back to Earth II again.
However, Joran, Creed and Bronc were all convinced Logan had returned here. Now they all prayed they would find him, well and whole. If Tal Darkrunner or one of the other millions of criminals in this hellhole didn’t get to him first.
Kiri lifted her mug of coffee and took another drink, hoping it would jolt her from the heavy weight of exhaustion pulling at her.
She’d napped for much of the voyage, with the help of mild organic gesics that Lady Ellianne had shared, but somehow she was still as tired as if she’d spent the entire journey clutching the arms of her seat in terror, instead of lying back under a cashmere throw, cradled in comfort.
Behind her, Bronc Berenson, Joran and Ellianne, who preferred to be called Zaë, sat on Logan’s leather divans along with Creed and Taara, Rak and Opal. Some sipped water, others the fresh coffee Natan, Stark’s houseman and chef, had just brought them. Kai leaned against the wall near the window, arms crossed, gaze watchful.
They’d gathered here for one of the chef’s gourmet breakfasts, while they discussed schemes to find Logan.
“At least Darkrunner has apparently taken our bait,” Bronc said. “He took off this morning. So that’s one risk to Logan out of the way. And thanks to Kiri’s idea, we’ll have a spy on board soon.”
Joran rose to pace to the windows near Kiri. He addressed her as well as the others, compassion in his gaze.
“Glad he’s out of the way, but much as I hate to say it, I think Darkrunner may be the lesser of evils here. I’ve looked into a few of his rivals. Compared to them, he’s an angel—if a dark one. There’s talk of a new gang moving into the city.”
“Yeah, but Darkrunner’s the one who has reason to dislike Logan,” Bronc said.
Kiri had been able to eat only a few bites of breakfast. Now she was glad, as mingled shame and anger burned in her middle. It
“And you don’t want no sex?”
“No sex. If I rethink, we’ll discuss. For now, as far as anyone here knows, I’m a loner, a criminal who’s decided to relocate.”
She studied him carefully. She then eased her chair back from the table, should he take exception to her next words. “Ain’t that pretty much the truth?”
Instead of answering her, he stared into his own coffee cup, then drained it and set it down amongst the remains of their breakfast.
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” he asked.
But his tone said that this time he didn’t want and wouldn’t welcome an answer from her.
She shrugged. This was her life, at the beck and call of men who decided what they wanted from her and took it.
Lode was a stone cold killer, but he didn’t seem to want to harm her. So for now, this was at least a respite from whoring. He seemed to truly mean the no-sex part, because his gaze held distance, not lust. And he didn’t need her to bring in credit, because he had his own.
She’d take the gig and get what she could out of it.
* * *
New Seattle, The LodeStar Scraper
Kiri stood propped against the frame of the floor to ceiling windows in Logan’s scraper-top penthouse, staring sightlessly at the dark, heavy clouds outside, all that was visible of the cityscape. Raindrops pelted the window, leaving dirty streaks of smog particulate and acidic rain on the reinforced glass.
A cruiser screamed past, lights flashing as it leapt up through the clouds. From her vantage point, it seemed to just miss a lumbering transport. A police craft shot after the cruiser, blue lights lasering through the mist. New Seattle air traffic as usual.
And far below, she knew, teemed the mass of humanity and humanoids that crowded the streets and buildings. After the clean, dry spaciousness of Frontiera, she hated this wet, dirty, noisy city. She’d been forced to leave here after never knowing anything else, but now she’d be happiest returning to Frontiera and never coming back to Earth II again.
However, Joran, Creed and Bronc were all convinced Logan had returned here. Now they all prayed they would find him, well and whole. If Tal Darkrunner or one of the other millions of criminals in this hellhole didn’t get to him first.
Kiri lifted her mug of coffee and took another drink, hoping it would jolt her from the heavy weight of exhaustion pulling at her.
She’d napped for much of the voyage, with the help of mild organic gesics that Lady Ellianne had shared, but somehow she was still as tired as if she’d spent the entire journey clutching the arms of her seat in terror, instead of lying back under a cashmere throw, cradled in comfort.
Behind her, Bronc Berenson, Joran and Ellianne, who preferred to be called Zaë, sat on Logan’s leather divans along with Creed and Taara, Rak and Opal. Some sipped water, others the fresh coffee Natan, Stark’s houseman and chef, had just brought them. Kai leaned against the wall near the window, arms crossed, gaze watchful.
They’d gathered here for one of the chef’s gourmet breakfasts, while they discussed schemes to find Logan.
“At least Darkrunner has apparently taken our bait,” Bronc said. “He took off this morning. So that’s one risk to Logan out of the way. And thanks to Kiri’s idea, we’ll have a spy on board soon.”
Joran rose to pace to the windows near Kiri. He addressed her as well as the others, compassion in his gaze.
“Glad he’s out of the way, but much as I hate to say it, I think Darkrunner may be the lesser of evils here. I’ve looked into a few of his rivals. Compared to them, he’s an angel—if a dark one. There’s talk of a new gang moving into the city.”
“Yeah, but Darkrunner’s the one who has reason to dislike Logan,” Bronc said.
Kiri had been able to eat only a few bites of breakfast. Now she was glad, as mingled shame and anger burned in her middle. It
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