“Let me take a look.” Jenna set her wine down and picked up her bag, digging around until she found her device. She placed the pad of her thumb on the underside of the PCSD. An instant later, the balance flashed up on the top. “Eleven thousand, four hundred hard credits,” she announced.
Her bodyguard gave a low whistle. “You travel light, My Lady.”
Jenna stiffened. “You never know when you’ll need hard credits,” she informed him, her tone cooling. “And it’s just as well … since my husband will be tracking my bank accounts … to see where I surface.”
“If he hasn’t blocked them already,” Malik pointed out.
Jenna’s mouth thinned. The possibility had also occurred to her. Putting the PCSD back in her bag, she met her bodyguard’s eye once more. “So, will it be enough?”
“Eleven thousand credits won’t buy you a crew of mercs,” he replied finally, “but it might buy us a couple.” He paused then before draining the dregs of wine in his glass. “Can I speak frankly, My Lady?”
Jenna resisted the urge to pull a face. “Go ahead … you’ve never asked my permission before.”
Malik’s gaze narrowed. “I’m against the idea of you going back to Mir-Brennan Tower … you’re too valuable to risk. Best you send me and the mercs to Idral instead.”
Jenna’s spine stiffened. Her instinct had been right. Her bodyguard sought to undermine her. Like most men, he wanted to take control of the situation, but she wouldn’t let him.
“Not a chance,” she replied. “This ismymission, Captain. I’m allowing you to come along, not the other way around.”
Malik’s face hardened at her tone. Nonetheless, Jenna held his eye.
She appreciated this man’s capability, his protection, but she had to remind him who was in charge here.
He didn’t have to like her—he just had to do her bidding.
12. BLACKMAIL
“KEEP SEARCHING FOR her.” Tian Mir-Ferrin glared at the man’s face hovering above him. “Turn over every inch of Aura Terminal if you have to.”
The Master Assassin scowled back. “We spent the lastfour daysscouring the station,” he replied, his low voice holding an edge of irritation. “The Aura Garrison is hunting those responsible for the attack. We know how to blend in … but they’re tightening the noose. I’m not going to compromise my team.”
Tian clenched his hands at his sides. For the love of the Gods, the bitch couldn’t have gone up in smoke. On her own, Jenna wouldn’t have gotten far. The woman was sharp-witted, but she was a soft diplomat and wouldn’t be able to defend herself physically.
However, Captain Malik Mir-Draven was with her.
Tian hadn’t welcomed the news that the head of the Lord’s Watch had led the ambassador’s security team to Aura Terminal. The man would be hard to kill—and the fact he’d managed to escape that ambush and get Jenna to safety proved it.
“Are you sure she hasn’t managed to get off the station?” Tian asked after a brittle pause. It was hard to keep the frustration out of his voice. He’d hired the Widow Makers to kill the Mir-Brennan delegation before they reached their destination. Their price had been extortionate too—and they’d demanded payment in full before accepting the job.
Tian had been so desperate to see his wife dead, he’d accepted.
The Master Assassin was a sharp-featured man in his mid-thirties with white-blond hair cropped close to his scalp. His silvery gaze remained fastened on Tian.
“We’ve been patrolling all the gates at the landing bays,” the Master replied. “No one fitting their description has passed by.” The assassin halted there, his gaze narrowing. “One of your wife’s bodyguards was carrying a pyro-grenade,” he said, his tone chilling. “He tossed it into the midst of my crew and killed five of them outright … two others were so badly maimed I had to end their lives before the Aura Garrison arrived.”
Tian fought a lip curl. He wasn’t interested in these details. “And how is that my problem?”
“One hundred thousand credits aren’t enough.”
Tian went still, his heart suddenly hammering in his ears. He’d paid a small fortune to the Widow Makers. “Excuse me?”
“You didn’t warn us they were carrying a pyro-grenade, Mir-Ferrin. You should have.”
Tian started to sweat. “I didn’t know.”
It was the truth. For obvious reasons, he hadn’t gone down to the landing bay to see his soon-to-be-ex-wife off. He hadn’t realized Cathal had sent Captain Malik with Jenna. Pyro-grenades were expensive, hard to make, and even harder to procure. However, the man leading the Lord’s Watch would have them.
“I asked you to provide accurate details about all members of that delegation,” the Master went on, his gaze never wavering. “You didn’t keep up your end of our … arrangement.”
