Born of Night (The League #1)(45)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Kiara hesitated as she looked up at Nykyrian. “I would love to go with you, but . . .”

“We’ll keep our eyes on you. Don’t worry. If anything happens to you, I’ll kill Hauk for it.” Nykyrian took her hand in his gloved one.

Hauk arched a brow, but wisely said nothing as he followed them out to the landing bay and they boarded their ships.

Time passed quickly for Kiara as they made their way to the large planet of Tondara and the thriving port city called Touras.

They landed and docked outside the grimiest bay Kiara had ever seen. When they’d told her the club was filled with riff-raff, she’d assumed they would at least attend to basic hygiene, but apparently she was wrong.

As the hatch raised, she choked on the pungent odor of rotting garbage and body odor—now she understood where Chenz had learned his cleanliness from. Maybe she should have listened to Hauk and stayed home after all. This place was disgusting.

She pressed her hand to her nose to help block the odors.

Nykyrian unstrapped her. “You’ll have to jump down unassisted. Act like you know what you’re doing and if anyone looks at you, snarl at them like you’re going to kill them where they stand.”

“Are you serious?”

“Very.”

She definitely wanted to go home. But it was too late. She’d argued with all of them to come, so the least she could do was be a woman about. Trying to look tough, she got out and did just as he told her. When her feet hit the pavement, pain jarred through her knees.

“Ow,” she breathed. But at least the fierce grimace on her face was real.

And she did great maintaining her kick-ass facade until several unidentifiable vermin squeaked past her feet, rushing under a nearby garbage heap. Unable to stand it, she made a most undignified shriek and ran to Hauk for protection.

Several beings turned to stare at her with interest.

Hauk let out a disgusted sigh as he pried her hands loose from his arm and scowled at the people who were now eyeing them.

Nykyrian jumped down beside her.

Like Hauk, he gave the onlookers a fierce scowl that threatened total dismemberment. This time, they paid attention and quickly averted their gazes.

Nykyrian placed his arm around her shoulders in an act of overt possession.

Darling joined them. He glared at Nykyrian. “My knees hate the shit out of you, boss.”

Nykyrian shrugged. “Mine don’t think much of me, either.”

Hauk narrowed his eyes as he glanced around the area. “Looks crowded tonight. I think we should turn back before we get pulverized.”

Nykyrian pushed Hauk toward the entrance.

Kiara tilted her head down and used her peripheral vision to pinpoint the lethal predators around them who watched them intently. It was obvious their group was being sized up and judged by them.

Luckily, she was with the deadliest of the bunch.

Nykyrian leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Don’t meet anyone’s gaze.”

Kiara nodded even though a lump of dread settled in her stomach. When the doors to the club opened, she flinched. Loud music blared at a level that pulsed in her body like a second heartbeat.

Her curiosity faded in the wake of true panic. This is a major mistake . . . After being with Nykyrian and his group, she’d mistakenly thought most outlaws were similar to them, but she was wrong. The men, women and aliens moving inside the dark club were the roughest, most intimidating individuals she’d ever seen and she had no doubt any of them would kill someone for nothing more than looking at them askance.

Dim lights blinked wildly overhead and flashed off elaborate outfits and weaponry. The stench of cheap alcohol and expensive perfume and aftershave lodged in her throat. Creatures tumbled over one another, shoving, snarling, picking fights.

Or, more to the point, picking pockets.

Nykyrian paid their fee before he led her in. “You won’t be hurt so long as you stay with us.” He pulled a pair of filters from his pocket and held them out to her.

Grateful for them, she put them in her ears so they would muffle the throbbing sound. No wonder Nykyrian wasn’t flinching from his sensitive hearing.

She let out a relieved breath as the music and voices dropped to a tolerable level. Thank you! she mouthed at him.

He inclined his head to her.

Hauk put his hand on her shoulder, letting her know he was behind her. Literally.

Darling indicated a table with a jerk of his chin. “There’s an open table.” He cut through the crowd ahead of them to get to it before someone else claimed it.

Once she was seated between Darling and Nykyrian, Kiara breathed a sigh of relief that no one had bothered them.

Yet.

Hopefully it would stay that way. And at least the table section didn’t appear nearly as crowded. She cringed as she realized why.

There were illegal transactions taking place all around her. Drugs, prostitution and weapons.

What have I gotten myself into?

But more than that was how at ease Nykyrian, Darling and Hauk were here. This was the world they lived in. No wonder they were so jaded. She’d known these kinds of places existed, but it was entirely different to experience it. It opened her eyes up to them and it made her appreciate why Nykyrian was so withdrawn. Why he had a hard time opening himself up to her.

And why Syn was so angry with her now. This was the world he’d grown up in. On the streets. Completely alone.

She watched as a young man around the age of twenty sold an illegally marked blaster in the corner. Gah, her father would have a stroke if he knew she was here.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over her. Kiara looked up, slightly startled to find a waiter from an unknown species who’d brought the men drinks.

“She’s new,” the waiter lisped between bubbled lips. “What does she favor?”

Nykyrian indicated Kiara with a tilt of his head. “Grenna.”

The server appeared to smile, but Kiara couldn’t quite tell with the strangely shaped lips. “It’s good to see you again. I’d begun to worry that someone had gotten in a lucky shot with you boys.”

Nykyrian smirked. “You know better than that, Vrasna. I go down for no one.” He glanced over at Kiara and amended his comment. “At least not when I’m fighting.”

Her face flushed at his words, but she knew he wouldn’t embarrass her without reason.

Vrasna gave Kiara a once-over that made her want to sink under the table. “Is she yours?”

Nykyrian nodded.

Vrasna adjusted the tray. “I’ll make sure to pass that around. No need for unnecessary bloodshed. We just got the window fixed from the last bloody brawl.”

Kiara watched the creature leave on four tentacled legs. “What species is our waiter?”

One corner of Nykyrian’s mouth lifted. “You can’t pronounce it because of the way our palates are formed, but she’s female and very nice unless you step on her limbs or call her a male. That’ll get you choked out.” Nykyrian handed her his drink.

Kiara took a small sip, then gasped as the tart, thick liquid almost burned a hole in her tongue and through her lips. Tears stung her eyes.

“Damn, Nykyrian, you should have warned her.” Darling switched his drink with hers.

“What is that?” she gasped when her voice was finally able to work again.

Nykyrian answered. “Tondarian Fire.”

She sucked air in to cool her mouth while it continued to burn. “How does Syn drink that crap?”

Darling shrugged. “Hell if I know. I’m told you can use it to strip rust from lead, though. Personally, I believe it.”

So did she.

Darling urged her to take his drink.

Skeptical this time, she eyed it warily.

“Relax. It’s colored juice so that no one knows I can’t stand the shit they serve here.”

“Thank you.” She took a deep drink to put out the fire on her tastebuds.

Nykyrian ran a gentle hand through her hair. “I’m sorry. I should have warned you.”

“It’s all right. Just remember in the future that I have the tastebuds of a girl.”

Instead of being amused as she’d intended, he tensed before moving away from her and made a hand gesture at Hauk that said to guard her closely.

Hauk nodded, then Nykyrian took off through the crowd.

Worried and upset about his quick departure, Kiara watched as the crowd shrank from his path as if they knew just by looking at him what he was capable of. She didn’t know who he was after or why, but she prayed he wasn’t running into danger.

Of course that thought ended a few moments later when he cut across the room and met up with an extremely attractive blonde woman. Kiara’s gaze narrowed as an unfamiliar wave of jealousy tore through her so fiercely, she was tempted to push her way through the crowd and snatch the woman’s hair out by the roots. Then, when Nykyrian led the cheap-looking ho off to the back, she burned even more.

Hauk’s rumbling laugh filled her ears as he caught the expression on her face. “Relax. Nykyrian needs information, nothing more.”

That’d better be all he’s after or he’s going to be hurting later tonight. Unlike the people in this club, she didn’t live in fear of his moods.

But if he had any sense at all, he’d better live in fear of hers . . .

After a few minutes, Hauk excused himself to chase after an old friend as Vrasna brought them more drinks.

“So what do you think?” Darling asked.

“I think all of you live in a very dangerous place. And now I understand why my father has always been so overprotective of me.”

A strange look darkened his features. “I hear you.”

She studied the refinement that bled from his pores the same way savagery bled from Nykyrian and tried to understand how it was he’d come to be friends with The Sentella members. “Hauk told me you do explosives.”

He nodded. “I live to blow shit up.”

“It seems like a strange occupation for an aristocrat.”

He took a drink before he answered. “Not really. I loved chemistry in school and got into demolition as a hobby. The skill it takes . . . I don’t know, there’s nothing like it . . . but my father wanted me to be a politician.”

“Would that be so bad?”

He smirked. “I don’t like people well enough to play nice with them. It’s why I treasure Nyk, Hauk, Syn and Jayne so much. With them you always know exactly where you stand. If you’re getting on their nerves, they tell you—granted, sometimes gruffly, but they do tell you. There’s no backstabbing bullshit or manipulation. They don’t play head games or lie. There’s no deception. Believe me, it’s a rare thing and I don’t want to be nice to someone I can’t stand because I have to be politically correct. If I hate you, I want to be able to tell you to get out of my face and go die.”

She could more than understand that and she admired him for being able to stand up for himself even when others were trying to knock him down. The bruises still marring his face were a testament to his strength and convictions. “Yeah, I don’t like playing those games, either.”

He held his drink up to her. “Here’s to life without drama.”

She smiled and clinked her glass to his. “Amen, my brother. Amen.”

She set her drink down and scanned the crowd, noting the members who were still watching them. “Do you think any of the people here know about the bounty on my life?”

“Probably. But the good news is virtually everyone here has a price tag on them. Those who don’t are wishing they did.”

“And this is a good thing, how?”

He laughed. “They know better than to try and build their reputation with the clientele here. And those like Aksel who are hunting you would never think to look in Club Blood for you. You’re hiding in plain sight. No place safer.”

She hoped he was right. “And what about the woman Nykyrian’s with? Who is she?”

“Aksel’s wife.”

Kiara’s eyes widened. “What?”

He patted her hand. “Relax. She hates him and it’s how we know none of his people are here. If they were, she wouldn’t have come.”

Kiara wasn’t so sure about that, but she trusted them. Most of all, she trusted Nykyrian.

“Cruel, you slimy little bastard.”

Kiara jumped at the shout in her ear.

A tall, handsome man sat down in the chair on the other side of Darling. He winced as he saw Darling’s injuries. “No offense, but you look like hell, buddy. You want me to kill someone?”

“Thanks, Cai, but I got it.”

Kiara studied the newcomer’s gorgeous face. Ebony eyebrows slashed above hazel eyes that glowed with intelligence and mischievousness. His dark hair was shoulder-length and worn in a short ponytail. There was an air of playful exuberance that was tempered by an equal aura of “You mess with me and I’ll feed you your own liver.”

Leaning forward, he whispered something in Darling’s ear that made Darling laugh, then he looked over at her. A slow, seductive smile curved his lips. “Greetings, beautiful.” He extended his hand to her.