The girl showed no fear. Nothing. Zayn couldn’t help but like her. He started laughing.

  Lala grinned. “I’m in. Happy to help. When do we go?”

  “Now. I’m Zayn, by the way. Zayn Phoenix.”

  “Phoenix. Related to Dathan Phoenix?” The girl’s eyes turned misty. “I read all about him and his treasure hunts.” A dreamy sigh. “He’s sooo good-looking.”

  Zayn grinned. “He’s my brother. I’ll be happy to introduce to him. And his wife.”

  Lala waved a hand. “Wife, smife.”

  “And I’m Ria Dante.”

  The explosives genius looked her way. “You’re an assassin. Can tell by the way you move. Kind of sneaky.”

  “Was. I was an assassin. I’m trying to…retire.”

  The girl’s brows rose. “No one leaves the Guild.”

  “That’s why we need your help. We need you to lure the assassins out of their headquarters. Then I’m going to sneak in and steal one of their prized possessions to buy my freedom.”

  Lala whistled long and loud. “Ballsy, girl, ballsy. I like it.”

  Suddenly a deep rumble echoed through the cavern. All three of them froze.

  The ground began to tremble. A cloud of dust sprinkled down on them from the roof of the cavern.

  All three of them looked upward.

  “Oh, shit,” Lala said.

  ***

  Rocks started to rain down around them. One glanced off Ria’s shoulder. “We need to go. Now.”

  Zayn nodded. Lala shook her head. “I can’t leave my friends.” She took off back toward the center of the cave.

  “Shit.” Ria sprinted after the girl. What friends did she have back here?

  A huge boulder slammed down a few feet in front of her. Ria lunged to the right.

  “Ria!”

  “I’ll get her.” Ria yelled back at Zayn. “Wait at the entrance.”

  She ran after Lala who was tearing boxes apart near her makeshift lab. More rocks crashed down.

  “Lala, we have to go.”

  “I can’t leave without them. They’re my family.”

  That’s when Ria saw them. A small insect-like robot and the metal ball from earlier hovering above the first one. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  Lala snatched the ball out of the air. She was reaching for the other when Ria looked up. Shit. She dived, taking Lala with her, both of them rolling across the ground.

  The jagged boulder slammed into the bench. Boom.

  Explosives ignited. Sparks flew, radiating out like fireworks. Ria felt something singe her cheek and smelled her hair burning.

  “Fuzzy!” Lala still had the ball tucked under her arm and was scrambling to reach the insect-shaped robot. She grabbed the machine’s leg but his body was trapped under a rock.

  “Lala, leave it.”

  “No.” The girl looked up, tears shimmering in her eyes. “They’re all I have. The only things I care about.”

  Ria was frozen, staring into the face of a young girl. Lala might act tough and adult, but she was a child. One who was alone yet had carved a life for herself and had managed to survive. Ria looked at the metallic arm of the robot. She’d never had toys. Nothing that had been hers. Nothing that had given her comfort.

  She scrambled over a rock and then hefted the smaller one on top of Fuzzy upward.

  Lala snatched up the robot and hugged it. “Thank you.”

  “Now, let’s go.”

  With a nod, Lala bounded up, shoved the robots in a bag and sprinted for the entrance. Instantly Zayn was there, gripping her arm. His gaze hit Ria. “Okay?”

  She nodded. “Better once we’re out of here.”

  They ran in a zig zag pattern, dodging falling debris and the rocks already scattering the floor. They flew through the tunnel. Ahead a bright arch of blue sky beckoned. The tunnel walls around them were vibrating, more dust raining down.

  So close. Ria pushed for more speed. She heard a deep rumble, like a giant beast on the hunt. She glanced over her shoulder.

  Oh no. “The tunnel’s collapsing. Faster.” She gripped Lala’s arm, thankful the girl was quick on her feet.

  Zayn was bringing up the rear. “Run!”

  Ria broke out of the tunnel, Lala a step behind her. They dove, tumbling a few meters down the hillside.

  With a deafening roar, the tunnel collapsed. A huge cloud of dust washed over them.

  Ria coughed and rubbed at her stinging eyes. She couldn’t see. Her eyes watered. “Lala, you okay?”

  The girl coughed. “Yeah.”

  “Zayn?”

  No answer.

  “Zayn?” Ria scrambled up. She stared at the collapsed tunnel. No. The bottom dropped out of her stomach.

  “Over here.”

  She swiveled. He lay sprawled on his back beyond some rocks. Blood coated his face and neck.

  “Zayn.” She climbed over the rocks and leaped down beside him. “What happened?”

  “Rock to the head. I’m fine. Just a scalp gash. They bleed like hell.”

  She cupped his cheeks, studying his dust-covered features. He was right about the cut. Nothing deep. Releasing a breath, she leaned forward, her forehead bumping against his. “You scared me.” She wasn’t used to worrying about someone else.

  But this man, this reckless flyboy, made her feel things she never knew she was capable of feeling.

  “Sorry.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’m fine.”

  “Yuck.” Lala’s exclamation was followed by various choking noises. “Do you guys do this kissing stuff all the time?”

  “We’ve just started doing it.” Zayn sat up and slung an arm across Ria’s shoulders. “So get used to it, kid, because I plan to do a lot more of it.”

  Lala wrapped her hands around her neck and mimed gagging.

  Ria couldn’t hold back a smile. Give it a few more years and Lala’s aversion to the opposite sex would morph into something else. Heaven help the man that caught her attention. “Sorry about your home.”

  “No probs. This is the third time I’ve blown up my lab. My living area is in a different section of tunnel.”

  “Lala, do you have any horses?” Zayn asked.

  “Nope.” A wicked grin. “But I have some hoverboards.”

  “Excellent.” Zayn’s matching smile was wide. “I love hoverboards. We’ll need them to get back to my ship. Pack a bag and then let’s ride.”

  Ria groaned. “Hoverboards? You can’t be serious.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Are you sure it’s safe to just let her walk about the ship?” Eos’ dark gaze was on Lala.

  Zayn adjusted the controls on the command console of the Infinitas. “She’s fine.” He looked over his shoulder and spotted Lala with her hands pressed against the floor-to-roof windows that showed the stars streaming past them at interstellar speed. Her ball robot, Fred, hovered near her left ear.

  Dathan leaned back in the chair beside Zayn and propped his feet up. “If she blows the ship up, she blows herself up, and if there’s one thing I know about that girl, it’s that she has a killer survival instinct.”

  “Well, I’m still not comfortable with the thought she could have explosives on her,” Eos said.

  “She does.” BEll’s modulated voice came from the command console. “Plasma X, TNTN and lastite. In her bags in her room. I’ll let you know if she starts any funny business.”

  “Suva help us,” Eos murmured.

  “I’m more worried about those inferior machines she’s brought on board,” BEll said.

  Another set of near-silent footsteps echoed on the ship’s metal floor. Funny how Zayn could pick out Ria’s steps.

  She’d showered, her damp hair shades darker than its usual gold. He felt a twinge of regret that he hadn’t been able to shower with her. Press her up against the plas walls of the tiny shower stall in his cabin. He huffed out a breath. Between getting Lala settled on the ship, racing back to Khan to pick up Dathan, Nik and Eos, and setting course for the Devil’s Nebula, there hadn’t been time for anything else.

  Now all their attention had to be on the mission. On gaining Ria’s freedom.

  Zayn caught Ria’s gaze. “Four hours until we hit the Nebula.”

  She nodded.

  “It’s been sitting out near the lava world of Igna for the last two months. If the wormhole it’s attached to follows its usual pattern, it’ll shift soon, taking the nebula with it.” A beep sounded from the console. Zayn adjusted a setting, almost without thinking.

  Ria crossed her arms. “The smugglers and the slavers love when the Nebula moves. They’re always prepared to ambush any unsuspecting ships, stations or planets.”

  “We want to get in and preferably get out before the Nebula moves again,” Dathan said.

  “So—” Lala sauntered up and sat on one of the cockpit chairs, backward. She folded her arms on the back of the seat. “Apart from dangling me under the nose of the Assassin’s Guild, what’s the plan?”

  Niklas moved closer. “Girl’s got a point. Let’s get our plan pinned down.”

  All of them moved toward the holo-table in the neighboring room. Zayn set the ship on autopilot and gripped Ria’s arm. “You healed that head wound?” He tucked her hair behind her ear and only saw smooth skin.

  Her green eyes softened. “Yes. You?”

  “Like new.” He fingered the damp strands of her hair. “I’m sorry I couldn’t wash your back.”

  She gave him a small smile. “That would have been nice. Maybe we can find some time to ourselves later?”

  He already felt the heavy, curious weight of his brothers’ gazes. “We’ll try. Mission is the first priority though.” Zayn felt a desperate need to hold Ria one more time before they launched themselves into the heart of the Devil’s Nebula and a mission that could get them all killed. But her safety and her freedom came first.

  They joined the others at the holo-table. Lala had boosted herself onto a corner and was swinging one leg. Her now repaired insect robot skittered up her leg. She picked it up and stroked it like a cat.

  Dathan leaned forward and tapped the screen. The image of a rocky planet appeared. “We’ll take the shuttle down to Lucifa. First order of business is reconnaissance.”

  Lala yawned. “Boring.”

  Dathan’s lips twitched. “Maybe, but we need to get the lay of the land before we go storming the castle, or in this case, the Assassin’s Guild.”

  Zayn slapped Lala’s shoulder. “After that, the next step is to create a distraction.”

  The girl grinned. “That sounds more exciting.”

  “We want to empty the Guild of as many assassins as we can so Zayn and I can go in, locate the derringer and get it out,” Ria said.

  “And that’s where I come in.” Lala tapped a finger against her lips.

  “You got it,” Zayn said.

  “However we reveal Lala’s presence—” Ria pressed her palms against the table “—we have to keep her safe. I promised her the Guild won’t get her.”

  Zayn watched Lala and Ria share a glance. He shouldn’t be surprised they’d formed some sort of bond. Two lost girls. “We’ll keep her safe.” Zayn looked at his brothers, who both nodded. There was no way he’d let a girl fall into the hands of the Guild. Memories of Vik and the dark cells of the Guild rose up, closing his throat. It made him realize he’d been free of them the last few days.

  A hand slid along his arm and he looked down at Ria. She squeezed his forearm before her hand dropped away. Going on this mission was going to be his last gift to Vik and her memory. It was time he let the past go, and if he helped secure Ria her freedom, maybe she’d like to spend some of it with him.

  “I know how we can create the ultimate distraction,” Lala said. “A dirty big explosion.”

  Zayn looked to the ceiling. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “Good way to get caught or killed,” Dathan suggested.

  “Listen.” Lala leaped off the table and tapped the screen. Nothing happened. “Hey, computer girl, help me out here.”

  BEll sniffed. “My name is BEll. What would you like to see?”

  “Map of Lucifa, area surrounding the Guild.”

  The screen flashed and the map appeared in amazing detail.

  “We cause a massive explosion, maybe pick a good juicy target the Guild wouldn’t like to see destroyed. We make sure the event has my signature style—” she waggled her eyebrows “—and I make a brief appearance. We’re sure to empty the Guild. Every assassin will be gunning for me.”

  “It’s a good idea,” Ria said.

  Lala beamed.

  Zayn considered the map. “How to we make sure we can get Lala out of there quickly?”

  Niklas stared at holo-table. “Disguise might work. After she makes her appearance, we can alter her looks.”

  Dathan was frowning. “I think we have some spectrum camouflage in the cargo hold. We can literally make her disappear.”

  Lala let out a gusty sigh. “You guys are soooo serious.” She waved a hand. “We can sort all that out later. Let’s have some fun. What can we blow up that’s important to the Guild?”

  Zayn’s gaze had strayed to Ria. She was lost in thought, but he saw the moment her face lit up.

  “You thought of something,” he said.

  Ria nodded. “Yes. Something the Guild holds dear. Something they’d be very upset to see destroyed.”

  ***

  Ria tapped the holo-table screen and the image zoomed in. A formidable statue stood in the center of a bustling square. “The statue of a master assassin and founder of the Guild, Balthazar.”

  Lala clapped her hands. “Ooh, good one. Assassins live for honor and tradition, they’d hate their precious ancestor being defaced.”

  Ria felt embarrassed that a part of her felt just a little sick suggesting it. All children of the Guild were taught from birth to revere Balthazar. She wanted to escape, but some training would take time for her to reject and forget.

  “I have some explosives that’ll work a treat,” Lala said. “Small enough to smuggle in and set, strong enough to destroy the statue.” She peered at the image. “It’s metal, right?”

  “Yes,” BEll answered. “Meteoric iron.”

  “Great. What I have in mind will also cause some spectacular fireworks. Far too many explosives makers try and create explosives that don’t make a scene.” A wide grin. “Me, I like explosives that go boom with style.”

  Dathan shook his head and leaned against the table. “Okay, so Nik and I will help Lala set the explosives, detonate them and then escape.” He speared the girl with a direct look. “You’ll head straight back to the shuttle, take off, and meet Eos back here at the ship.”

  Lala fluttered her lashes. “You have such incredible blue eyes.”

  “Wait.” Eos turned to face her husband. “What do you mean on the ship? I’m coming to Lucifa.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  Ria watched in interest as the couple squared off.

  Eos shoved her hands on her hips. “I can help. I’m not some damsel that needs protection.”

  “I know. But it’s too dangerous for you down there. Your looks, your mendhi, are too unique. They might remember you.”

  Ria frowned. “Remember?”

  Zayn shifted. “On a previous mission, slavers from the Nebula kidnapped Eos.”

  Ria watched the other woman shiver. Dathan slipped an arm around her and pulled her close. He rested his chin on the top of her head. Their argument seemed forgotten as Eos leaned into him.

  Dathan looked up. “I had to go in and rescue her from an auction. Needless to say, there’s a slaver down there missing a few million e-creds.” He looked down at his wife. “And the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.”

  “What if you’re recognized, Dathan?” Ria asked.

  Dathan shrugged. “I was dressed as a wealthy gambler when I went in last time. I’ll use some basic disguise this time. Besides, I’m not as unique as Eos.”

  Ria wasn’t so sure about that. Even in the Devil’s Nebula, the legend of the treasure hunter who found Star’s End was well-known.

  “So, Eos will stay on the ship—” Zayn looked up. When his sister-in-law gave him a reluctant nod, he continued “—meanwhile, Ria and I will find a hiding place near the Guild. Once enough assassins have left, we’ll go in.”

  “Cool, we have a plan.” Lala rubbed her hands together. “I have some explosives to make. Come on, Fuzzy.” She grabbed her robot and set it on her shoulder.

  Ria couldn’t quite control her grimace. She saw the same looks on the others’ faces.

  Niklas cleared his throat. “I think I’ll come and help you.”

  “Sure, old man.”

  Nik managed to keep a blank face as he followed Lala to her cabin.

  “Ria, I have some Guild robes in the cargo hold. Thought we could dust them off and wear them to infiltrate the Guild,” Zayn said.

  “Great.” She followed him down the hall to the hold. “How’d you come across Guild robes?”

  “Ah, you probably don’t want to know.” Zayn keyed a code into a panel and the large double doors of the hold slid open.

  The hold was large enough to fit salvaged ship parts in. It was mostly empty, with stacked crates on one side and cabinets along the other wall.

  Zayn made his way to one cabinet and yanked open the doors. Numerous outfits spilled out. The plain, rough garb of colonists, jeweled robes that had to belong to royalty, spacesuits, flight suits. Ria pulled out one black garment and gasped.

  “How on Earth did you get a genuine Centaxian Security uniform?”

  “Probably something else you don’t want to know.”

  Shaking her head, she set the uniform back. CenSecs were cyborgs, enhanced with implants that made them some of the deadliest beings in the galaxy. And they were notoriously hard to take down. Thankfully they stuck to their star system.

  Zayn pulled out two long black robes. The home garb of the Assassin’s Guild.

  Ria fingered the fabric, surprised at the feelings inside her. Once, this had meant honor and duty. Now it was a symbol of her prison.