Her stomach knotted even more as she thought about the dead soldiers. She had killed them. Had it not been for her, they would still be alive.
The Probekeins wanted her dead and anyone near her could be the next victim. "Aren't you afraid to be with me?" she asked quietly.
"Afraid?" he asked in a shocked whisper.
"The next assassin could kill you by accident."
Nykyrian shook his head. "Allow me to assure you, if anyone kills me, it won't be by accident. The contract on your life is paltry when compared to mine."
Kiara nodded, unable to speak around the clump of tears in her throat. Here she sat, next to a true mercenary, a brutal killer if the truth were spoken. Why was he helping her?
"Are you going to kill me?" Her voice shook from the strain and fear of her words.
He sighed. "If I had that intention, I would never have returned you to your father."
"But why are you protecting me? I thought mercenary assassins were only motivated by money."
Nykyrian rubbed his right hand over his left biceps. "You haven't met enough of us to make that assumption."
Kiara conceded he was right. "You avoided my question. Why are you helping me?"
His hand stopped. He looked away from her. "Maybe I'm a fan."
"Are you?"
"Yes."
Kiara stared at him too shocked and confused to feel anything. Nykyrian sat so still next to her, he seemed ethereal. His blond hair was loose, spilling over his shoulders. As before, the dark glasses obscured his face, giving her no real idea what he looked like.
"Who are you?" she asked, needing to know.
Nykyrian shrugged. "Never figured it out, It takes too much time to think about myself, and time is one luxury I don't own."
Kiara fell silent, thinking, remembering. "I killed those guards you know."
Her words seemed to soften some of his rigidness. "The Probekeins killed them."
Kiara shook her head, her tears spilling down her cheeks. "No, they were protecting me."
Nykyrian sighed again and looked in her direction. "They were soldiers. Death is nothing more than the hazards of the business. They knew the risks."
His words cut through her. "How can you be so cold?" she said with a sob. "They were people with families."
Nykyrian stared at her. Even in the flickering, faint light, he saw her tears sparkling against her cheeks. He knew her pain, her guilt.
Again, a need to comfort her consumed him. Pushing his desire away, he looked back out the window. "I'm a soldier. Emotions are bred out of us during training."
Kiara scoffed. "You are a mercenary. There is a difference."
"True. Mercenaries are better paid."
Frustration welled up inside Kiara. How could she ever have thought Nykyrian to be different. He was of the same caliber as Pitala. Would he hold a blaster to her head if given the right amount of money?
The thought chilled her.
Her dreams were a warning to her that she couldn't trust him. Trust belonged to the past.
She had trusted the dance company's security to protect her in the hotel and she'd been abducted. She had trusted her father's soldiers and she'd alm ost been killed. Never again would she be so foolish.
Nykyrian would have to be watched.
The transport stopped outside her building. Nykyrian exited first and scanned the street.
After a minute, he helped her from the car. He shielded her with his body as they crossed the sidewalk and she inserted her key card into the door's lock. When the door opened, he grabbed her arm to keep her from entering the building before he scanned the hallway, then the street.
"You're making me nervous!" she snapped.
"You should be nervous."
Kiara gnashed her teeth in frustration, stepped into the corridor and headed for the lift.
"My flat is on the top floor."
"I know."
He infuriated her. If he knew so much, why didn't he lead the way? Oh what she wouldn't give to knock some of his cockiness out of him. "It must thrill you to always be right," she said testily, pushing the number for her floor.
As the doors closed, he faced her. "You can attack me all you wish. I don't give a minsid damn whether or not you like me. But you will respect me, listen to me, and obey me!"
Anger stung her cheeks at his rapid dictation for her behavior. "I'm not yours, you have no ownership papers! My God, I haven't even hired you."
"You haven't, your father has."
Kiara stiffened in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean? I was there when Rachol turned my father's proposal down."
"We reconsidered."
The knot in her stomach loosened. "Why?"
He stepped back from her. "Pitala and Aksel Bredeh."
Kiara frowned. Pitala she knew only too well. "What is Aksel Bredeh?"
"He's another rancid mercenary assassin, mu Tara. "
She clenched her teeth. "Why do you keep calling me Tara? Is it an insult?"
Nykyrian tensed for a moment. "It's Andarion for lady," he said softly and turned away from her.
"Oh," she whispered, curious as to why he chose to call her that after his rough treatment of her.