Born of Fire

Syn gave her a dry stare. “Quit being such a baby. I thought you’d been to the ‘worst parts of the galaxy in search of your targets’?” That last bit was said in a tone that mocked hers and it really pissed her off and made her want to throw something at him.

Reigning the impulse in, Shahara eyed him coolly. “I have, and I’m not being a baby. Only a complete waco goes to Rook.” Waco was an assassin’s term that meant walking corpse—something they used in reference to their targets which was exactly what she and Syn would be the moment they placed one foot on Rookish soil.

The people who called Rook home were the worst of the worst. There was no security, no enforcers, nothing but blood on the streets. Literally. Life on that planet had no value whatsoever—not that it had all that much in the rest of the universe, but . . . She’d heard of people there being butchered for their shoelaces.

And Syn looked completely unconcerned about it all.

Then again, he was related to the worst scum imaginable. To him the rest were just posers.

He swiped at the cut on his forehead, and grimaced at the blood on his fingertips before he wiped it on his pants leg. “Yeah, well, this corpse needs a resting place. So Rook it is. Maybe we should call head ahead and have them get our tombs ready. What do you think?”

Shahara grimaced at him. He was categorically insane—that was probably what the C.I. stood for. It had to be. “You have some severe mental problem I need to be aware of, don’t you?”

He flashed a half-dimpled smile that sent shivers the length of her body. When he continued, it was in a strange accent that sounded more than just a little too creepy. “Just because I eat babies for breakfast and pick my teeth with their bones doesn’t mean I’m nuts.”

She rolled her eyes. Given who his father had been, he probably shouldn’t be making jokes like that. No doubt that had been his father’s favorite delicacy. “Any other weird habits I should be aware of?”

“Just my need to dance naked in the streets under the light of a full moon.”

“I’ll make sure we wrap this up before the next full moon, then.” In spite of her words, a wonderful image of his naked body flashed in front of her open eyes. No matter how much it pained her to admit it, the man was gorgeous, and even beaten within an inch of his life, his body was hot. “Naked in the street, huh? Now there’s a sight I’d love to see.”

A wicked grin curved his lips. “Well I’m certainly up for a private viewing any time you want.”

“I wouldn’t be so cocky,” she said with a wicked grin of her own. “If my memory serves, the part of you that might be up to it will probably be the first part of you the inhabitants of Rook cut off.”

Shaking his head, he turned back around in his seat. “Hit the approval sequence.”

“All right, it’s your funeral.” But all kidding aside, there was a lump the size of a large asteroid that burned a hole in her stomach. She didn’t like the idea of stepping foot on a planet ruled by convicts, pimps and slavers. It was just too dangerous. Even for a seax.

She wasn’t afraid, merely cautious. And the one thing she’d learned early in her career. Arrogance kills. Never assume there wasn’t better out there and that it wasn’t coming for you.

Because the moment you were convinced of either one, it was over. End game.

Syn watched her from the corner of his eye. By the look on her face, he could almost hear her thoughts. Not that he blamed her. He hated the idea of crawling back to Rook, himself. It’d been decades since he’d escaped the dismal alleys and street gangs so violent his father would be proud of them. The hell that had once been his life. Years since he’d given much thought about his father’s old running buddies and the neighborhood that had birthed them both. He’d sworn long ago to put it all behind him.

Now he was crawling back like a wounded pup. And he hated that most of all. Nothing sucked more than having to face the worst part of his past.

Too bad he couldn’t go to Nykyrian. He knew his friend wouldn’t hesitate to help, but Nykyrian had problems of his own and the last thing Syn wanted was to bring another one to his door. Yeah, it was a great time to be wanted since most of his friends were in hiding themselves. As for Caillen. . . .

Yeah. . . .

No. He could handle this himself. As he’d always handled things.

Only this time he wasn’t on the run alone. He had to watch out for Shahara as well. Her presence should have annoyed him, yet for some reason it didn’t. Instead, it was almost comforting to know that if he didn’t make it, she’d be there to help.

Or would she?