It would give him time to find a better job, too, at a company he actually wanted to work at. There was no shortage in the need for mechanics like him, ones who were trained in both land and air vehicles. Nate could fix a hovercar as easily as he could find the problem with a malfunctioning hovership. Quartet Air only worked on personal vehicles, nothing public, which was why his skills had been going to waste. At the time, he’d been fresh out of school and in desperate need of a job, so he’d taken the first offer made to him. Afterward, he was too worried about being unable to find another to leave.
Kazimir had done him a favor, hadn’t he?
Damn.
Nate so didn’t want to be indebted to that guy for real, and scowled as he entered the attached bathroom in Neve’s room and made a quick check that there were clean toothbrushes and toothpaste in the overhead cabinet.
Why hadn’t the guy given up already? Did he seriously intend to drive Nate insane before—
A loud crash from the front of the house startled him, and he dropped the bottle of shampoo he’d been checking. It hit the floor of the bathtub and burst open, sending the scent of strawberries into the air.
“Port?” Nate called and rushed out to check on him. It’d sounded a lot like the back door. Sure enough, by the time he’d made it to the kitchen, the door was wide open, letting in strong gusts of icy wind. “Port?!”
He grabbed onto the handle and popped his head out into the dark night, staring across his empty backyard. It was too dark to make much out, and he certainly didn’t see any signs of his friend. “Port?!”
“Stop screaming and turn around,” a deep voice said, cutting through Nate’s panic.
With no other option but to comply, his hand slipped off the door and he shifted, eyes widening when they landed on a strange man three times his size. “Who are you?”
Whoever he was, he currently had a blaster aimed directly at Nate’s chest. The gun was scary enough on its own without needing to be held by someone so massive. Even if Nate had any sort of combat training, which he did not, he wouldn’t stand a chance against an opponent like this. Vaguely, he wondered if the crash he’d heard had actually been this guy breaking in and not the back door being tossed open like he’d assumed.
“I ask the questions here, kid.” The large man glanced over his shoulder toward the backyard. “The Jump, where is he?”
Nate didn’t know how to respond since he had no clue what he was talking about.
“Port,” the man snapped, impatient. “Where the fuck did he go?”
He was after Port? What for? Port had always been the quiet type that stuck to himself. What could he have possibly done to piss off someone like this?
“Start talking right now or else I’ll—” the man stopped abruptly, and for a moment, Nate couldn’t figure out what. Then suddenly, his body toppled forward, slamming to the ground with enough force to rattle the dining room table and the rest of the furniture.
Kazimir stood at the man’s feet, that crystal blade of his smeared in blood that rolled down the handle and coated his fingers. He spat down on the body and then lifted his dark gaze, eyes locking onto Nate with enough intensity that it actually caused him to shiver.
“Kaz,” Nate whispered, unsure where he was going with that. Fortunately for him, the hotshot wasn’t in the mood to let him figure it out.
“Listen carefully, Narek. In less than a minute, the others are going to show up. You do as I say, understood? Play along. None of that bullshit resisting you’re so fond of.”
“I don’t—”
“You don’t need to understand,” he growled. “Just tell me you’ll do as I say.”
Nate licked his lips. There was a dead man bleeding all over his floors and a pissed-off Brumal member still holding a dangerous weapon glaring him down. He needed a minute to think.
“You don’t have that much time,” Kaz snarled.
Nate hadn’t even realized he’d spoken out loud. Before he could say anything else, his front door clattered open, and one of the Retinue, Pavel, entered with Flix hot on his heels.
“Where is the target?” Pavel asked, absently taking in the body like it was no big deal.
“Not here,” Kazimir said.
“Is that so? Then,” he tipped his head and directed his next question at Nate, “Where is he?”
“He doesn’t know.” Kaz wiped the bloodied blade off on his thigh and exhaled, filling the sound with frustration. “Wherever this asshole got his intel,” he kicked at the dead man’s foot, “he should ask for his money back.”
Flix was staring at Nate with an unreadable expression.
“That’s a lie,” Pavel stated cooly. “You’re the one who directed us here, Kazimir. You knew this was where he was coming.”
