Sunlight rained down from the skylight of Tsanza’s domicile. Laila curled up into the fetal position as she slept like the dead in his bed. The covers had fallen away, revealing the deep indigo of her naked, scarified back. She shifted in her sleep. The tiny jewels embedded below her right eye glittered in the light that flooded the bed. The thin bracelet that she wore on one hand began to vibrate. She groaned. Still bogged down by sleepiness, she tap-tapped on the bracelet and rolled over.
Not alone.
That singular fact suddenly registered.
Her heart stuttered. Her eyes went wide. She shot up into a sitting position, fully awake in an instant. Tsanza’s room had been invaded by four black-uniformed goons. They stood, backs to the doorway, with weapons aimed at Laila. A strange woman led this pack. She’d come to roost on the chair at the foot of Tsanza’s bed. She was sitting there watching Laila with bright, curious eyes.
"No,” the woman said. She stood, “don’t get up on my account.”
She was dark, like the earthy kind of spice that bites. She wore boots that went all the way up to her thighs, a short gray skirt, and a diagonally slanted top. Her outfit was complete with a cowled leathery cloak. A dirty crimson shade of red.
She was human. Middle aged. The wolven insignia on her chest was identical to the one on the goon squad's lapels. Recognition came belatedly. It was the insignia of Metropol Arat’s military police. This woman was an officer of rank.
"Pretty sure I haven’t broken any laws." Laila cautiously drawled, dragging the covers up around her torso.
The woman leaned forward. "Shall I explain to you how little guilt or innocence matters to us?"
Laila sucked in a deep breath, heart still hammering out a disconcerted beat. Nearly a month on Tilaat Amat, and she’d gone to great lengths to keep a low profile. Ever since she left Hegira, she’d been careful not to make too many waves anywhere she went. Her mission depended on it. Her very life depended on it. She hadn’t been careless. There was no fathomable reason for the capital’s authorities to seek her out, much less come barging in like this.
Her eyes darted to the empty chair directly across from the bed. Her guns were still in their holster, slung over the back of the chair. How fast, she wondered, could she get to them? Could she make it across the room before these weapon-toting jokers drilled her full of holes? She bit down on her lower lip, considering.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the boss of the goon squad said quietly. “You’d be dead in three seconds. Starchaser or not.”
"You seem to have me at a disadvantage." Laila managed after a moment of unnerved silence.
"I do, don't I?" The officer smiled. Her eyes were black ice. Her predatory gaze sent a shiver down Laila's spine.
Shit. This was no good. Why in the blasted stars did this cocky stranger know what she was?
"My name is Daz Nestor," the interloper tilted her head slightly downward as if to get a better look at Laila. "I'm an acquaintance of your brother's."
Laila's gut lurched. Even here, she realized. He could reach her, even here.
Lucian was head of the Merchant Guild, a faction vying for control of Hegira. He was controlling, a tyrant and obsessed with Laila’s potential as a candidate to replace Hegira’s current pilot, Sesili. Like a dark star, he’d always been there to eclipse every ounce of Laila's being. Worlds apart, he'd managed to track her down. It dawned on her that the real reason for Daz Nestor’s visit was to remind her that he could always reach her anywhere, anytime. A sickening feeling welled up into the young starchaser’s gut.
"He asked me to look out for you. Make sure you stay on task.” Daz Nestor bared her pearly whites again. “I’m sure you know what that means.”
Laila scowled. “I haven’t done anything to warrant any concern.”
“And we intend to keep things that way.”
“Why now?" Laila challenged, even though she already knew the answer. "I’ve been on Tilaat Amat for weeks.”
“You’re right,” answered Daz Nestor. “We could have picked you up at any time.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Why rush?” Daz Nestor asked. She didn't say it but the implication was clear. They’d been watching Laila. To see what she would do. Laila was sure she’d been careful but as she sat there, she tried to think back on whether any of her actions over the past few weeks could have betrayed her.
“Hegira has breached the heliopause.” Daz Nestor informed her. “It won’t be long now.”
Laila eyed her captor sagely. “What kind of deal do you have with Lucian? What’s in this for you?”
“Oh, you know.” Daz Nestor murmured. “This and that.”
“Well,” Laila said. “I already sent him a message letting him know I completed my mission on Bentokal. I’m just waiting for Hegira arrive in this system.”
“And your little gunsmith friend?”
“What about him?” Laila's eyes shifted to the empty space on the bed beside her. That side of the bed had long grown cold. Tsanza was either being held at gunpoint down below or he’d left early to go to his workshop. Laila hoped for the latter.
“No lingering attachments that might cause you to change your mind?” Daz Nestor asked. “We wouldn’t want that would we?”
“I assure you, there are none.” Even Laila herself didn’t buy those words.
How much did this woman really know about her relationship with Tsanza? He was just supposed to be her contact in Metropol Arat. The whole thing had been arranged ahead of time by Sesili and Dornvold.
She and Tsanza met. Sparks flew. For Laila, that’s all there was to it.
Right now, though. Right now, she wanted to throttle Daz Nestor for even bringing up his name.
“So, you wouldn’t mind if I ordered my men to dispose of him?”
Laila’s gaze hardened.
Daz Nestor laughed, the brittle sound grated against Laila’s eardrums.
“That was a joke, of course. Even I don’t have license to execute citizens without reason. Believe me though, if I need to, I can find one.”
“Are we done here?” Laila asked. “You’ve made your point and now you know where I stand. Was there anything else?”
“No.” Daz Nestor stood. “Nothing else. For now. I just wanted to meet you in person. Your brother has such high hopes for you, after all."
The damnable woman’s dazzling smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.