He spun and thrust a fist into the wall. Skin tore and blood bloomed. It didn’t ease the pain tearing through his insides.
He wasn’t sure if anything would.
Ria enteredthe comm booth on the busy Rendarian street. As the doors slid closed behind her, it cut out the noise of the busy city outside.
Rendar was a high-tech planet covered completely in megacity. Huge skyscrapers speared high into the hazy sky and neon lights blinked in all colors from every surface. She couldn’t even see the tops of the tallest buildings as they werelost amongst the clouds of pollution and the streams of air transports.
She turned to the control panel and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirrored surface above the panel.
She’d taken a page out of Lala’s book when she’d crafted her disguise. Her hair was a bright, eye-searing pink and cut in a blunt bob that swung around her chin, and she’d changed her eye color to a muted silver. She wore black leggings with a pink and black skirt that hit her mid-thigh. A simple black tank on top showed off the temporary tattoos she’d applied to her arms. They circled her arms—a sprinkle of stars, comets, and pink-hued nebulae.
Zayn probably wouldn’t even recognize her. She rubbed at her ridges, covered by derma patches to hide them. The disguise wouldn’t fool the Assassin’s Guild for long, and she knew she needed to change her looks every few days to stay ahead of them.
She tapped the control panel and crafted a short, simple message to Zayn.
Shuttle on Rendar. Hangar #4509, Gormand Spaceport.
Her fingers hovered over the screen, and a lump the size of a starship lodged in her throat. God, she missed him. There were so many other things she wanted to say.
Instead, she just sent the message.
By the time he got here, she’d be long gone. She was booked on a transport shuttle leaving for the galaxy’s edge in an hour. Maybe from there she’d hook up with a deep-space convoy headed outside the galaxy into uncharted space or find some seedy edge bar to get drunk in.
She turned, ready to leave, when her senses flared to life.
Someone was watching her.
Ria stared at the steady stream of people on the sidewalk outside. Nothing jumped out. She grabbed her makeupapplicator from the tiny backpack on her back. She dialed in for a pink lipstick and applied it, but her focus was on the street.
There. The assassin lurked in the shadows across the busy street. Still, but poised for action.
Ria shoved the applicator back in her bag, then pushed through the doors. She moved quickly, trying to put as many people as she could between herself and her hunter. At the next corner, she glanced over her shoulder.
The assassin was in a full sprint, heading straight at her.
Ria ran.
She slammed through the crowd and raced out onto the street. Transports screeched but she dodged and made it safely across. She turned a corner and kept running.
Another glance back. She’d put some distance between them, but he was still coming.
Ria dodged into a busy bar. It was packed with people drinking.
“Hey Pinkie, let me buy you a drink.”
She ducked under the arm of the inebriated man in the elegant suit and pushed through the revelers. A crash of glass had her spinning. The assassin was headed toward her, shouldering people out of his way. Several people had lost their delicate fluted glasses filled with brightly colored drinks, and splinters of glass scattered across the floor.
“Hey! Stop.” Three dark-suited security guards were shouting and heading in their direction.
Dammit. Ria kept moving. She spied an elevator at the back of the room. Quickly, she slipped inside and jabbed the button for the top floor.
When she lifted her head, she saw the assassin running toward her at full speed.
“Come on, come on.” She jabbed the button again.
The doors started closing. The assassin reached out.
And the doors hissed shut before he got there.
