“None of your business,” Nik growled.

  “Fine.” She tilted her head back. “I got your message. You want to infiltrate the Tekton base.”

  Dathan and Eos rushed into the room, both pulling up short. Dathan cursed and skewered his older brother with a sharp glare. “You fucking contacted Darc?”

  Nik’s face was impassive. “She’s been in the Tekton base.”

  “And I have a map. Including their utilities. I recorded it during my previous…visit.”

  Zayn swallowed a snort. No doubt the Tekton had been missing something valuable after Darc’s visit.

  “I can’t guarantee they haven’t changed or upgraded anything. It’s been a year since I was there.”

  They needed the map. Anything was better than going in blind. But Zayn was worried. “What’s it going to cost us?”

  Darc’s face was empty of emotion but he swore he sensed satisfaction from her. “Nothing. Yet.” She pulled against Nik’s hold. “If you can bring yourself to let me go, I’ll upload the map.”

  Nik’s scowl deepened. After a few humming seconds, he released the treasure hunter.

  Darc stalked to the holo-table and pressed a finger to the surface. “I have an integrated chip. Computer, access file TEK451-2.”

  “My name is BEll, you scum-of-the-galaxy bitch.”

  Darc raised a brow. “Even your computer has attitude. Figures.”

  A sniff from BEll. “File accessed and copied.”

  Darc nodded. “Fine—” there was a zapping sound and she jerked her hand away, shaking it. “Now who’s a bitch?”

  “BEll, enough,” Nik said. “Is the map there?”

  “Yes,” BEll answered.

  Dathan moved forward. “I can’t believe you want nothing. You’re the most mercenary person in the entire galaxy.”

  “You need to get out more, Phoenix.”

  “I don’t lower myself into the scum like you do.”

  Darc’s face hardened. “You know nothing about me. But you’re right about one thing, I do want something in return for the map.” She turned to Niklas. “You’ll owe me. Just you. I’ll collect the debt when I’m ready.”

  “No.” Zayn surged forward. “We’re all part of this hunt. We’ll all owe you.”

  “You have nothing I want, Commander. Your brother will pay the debt.”

  Nik nodded. “Fine.”

  Zayn launched into an argument as did Dathan.

  But Niklas kept his gaze on the tall treasure hunter. “I’ll show you out.”

  Darc gave a small nod. “I’d wish you luck raiding the Tekton base, but I don’t think you’d take it.” She moved toward the door, Nik following her.

  “I hope he helps her out the nearest airlock,” Dathan said darkly.

  Zayn pushed his worry aside. Nik was a big boy. “Let’s look at this map. We’ll be coming into range of the Tekton base soon.”

  ***

  “That’s the Tekton asteroid there.” Zayn pointed out the cockpit screen to a big sucker of a rock that made the others look like specks of dust. “I’ll let them know we’re coming shortly.”

  “And I’ll go in as a wealthy potential client.” Eos moved forward. She’d already changed out of her usual khaki pants and was draped in a sarim, the traditional dress of her home world, Vedia. The burgundy fabric followed her curves and her hair was piled on top of her head and threaded with colored jewels.

  “I don’t like this,” Dathan said from behind his wife. He was wearing a black suit and had brushed his hair into submission. Zayn goggled. Dathan rarely dressed up.

  Eos turned into him. “You’re coming in as my bodyguard.” Her face changed, turning regal and haughty. “You will do as I say. I require a new palace and I want the best.”

  Dathan snagged the fabric of her sarim and tugged her closer. “I don’t recall this ‘do as I say’ business.”

  Eos laughed and let him kiss her.

  Zayn looked over at Ria. “Well, our entrance won’t be so grand.”

  Ria shrugged, her gaze still lingering on the couple. “Not the first time I’ve snuck into a place through a sewer.”

  “Okay, let’s get this mission rolling.” Zayn touched the controls and put the call through to the Tekton.

  Twenty minutes later, he was setting the Infinitas down through the blue shimmer of a huma-dome and onto the landing pads of the Tekton asteroid. Through the synth-glass cockpit screen, he saw the Tekton base spread out across the top of a rocky ridge. The building looked like it clung to the rock with ease, running along the ridge like a sinuous snake.

  Eos swept out, with Dathan a brooding presence behind her. Zayn saw a small welcoming party of Tekton standing together. Their tall bodies were painfully thin and their skin gray.

  Once the group moved inside, Zayn stood. “Nik, don’t wreck anything while I’m gone.”

  “You’re not the only one who knows how to fly this ship,” his older brother said.

  “Yeah, but I’m the best.” Zayn turned to Ria. “Let’s suit up.”

  He led her into the armory room. Around the walls hung various suits, weapons and equipment they used on hunts. There were suits for bad atmosphere, light and heavy body armor, diving suits, and environmental suits.

  “Here.” He snatched an environmental suit off the wall. “This’ll give us basic protection from anything in the sewers.”

  She nabbed it and then started to undo the buttons on her shirt.

  Zayn froze. He told himself to turn his back, to look away, but he couldn’t.

  She shrugged out of her shirt, then looked at him. She stilled. “Sorry. In the Guild, we change and train alongside each other all day. Privacy isn’t something that we get much of, neither is modesty.”

  “It’s fine.” God, was his voice just a little bit high pitched? She wore a simple, fitted black tank underneath. But damn, it molded to the curves of her breasts and made his mouth water. He yanked his own shirt over his head.

  Her eyes widened a fraction. Not as cool as she seemed, apparently. And he was damned if that didn’t please him just a bit. She flicked open the fly of her dark trousers and then slowly, so slowly, skimmed them down her legs. Her long, muscled legs. She straightened.

  Their eyes met again. It no longer mattered who she reminded him of, he was attracted to her. This strong, athletic woman trying to make her own future on her own terms.

  Then she turned away and pulled on her enviro suit. With an eye roll to the ceiling, Zayn did the same. Time to focus on the job, otherwise he could get them both killed.

  “I have Darc’s map uploaded to my mini-Sync.” Ria finished attaching the device to her wrist. Then she held something out to him. “Here.”

  A small laser pistol.

  “It’s easy to use, powerful despite its size.” She’d already tucked hers onto a small catch at her waist.

  “No, thanks.” He fitted his favorite T’norian knife into his boot. It was made from a heavy black metal, with a curved blade. “I don’t carry guns.”

  “Because of Vik.”

  His heart gave a kick. He turned toward the door. “Let’s go.”

  They snuck out the bottom hatch of the Infinitas. Using the hull of the ship for cover, they crept toward the area where their study of Darc’s map had shown an entrance to the sewer system.

  “There it is.” Zayn crouched and pulled out a tiny gray box. He held it over the heavy metal grate and activated the mini-magna lift. The hatch hit the magnet with a clunk. Zayn maneuvered it out of the way. “Ladies first.”

  “Yeah, thanks.” Ria peered into the hole, then gripped the sides and lowered herself in.

  Zayn followed. He was surprised to find the place didn’t reek. Ria flicked on an ion light on her mini-Sync.

  The tunnel wasn’t quite tall enough for them to stand up in. It was also dry. No sewage.

  “It’s not being used anymore,” he said.

  “It’s probably been upgraded.” Ria’s face looked different in the shadows. Less like Vik’s. “Let’s just hope they haven’t blocked the system off.” She glanced at the map on her wrist. “This way.”

  They started down the twists and turns. They moved to the end of the tunnel and saw it blocked by a vertical metal grate.

  “Shit.” Zayn tested the bars. They were welded on.

  “No problem.” Ria pulled a slim device off her belt and fired up a small laser torch. It took her a few minutes to remove two bars. Enough for them to slide through.

  In the next tunnel, a small river of sludge moved through the tunnel. It had a vague fluorescent green tinge to it.

  Zayn frowned. “Doesn’t look good.”

  Ria was frowning too. “It doesn’t smell though.” She crouched and snatched up a tiny bit of dislodged concrete. She tossed it into the sludge.

  The fragment hissed and sizzled as it hit. It slowly dissolved away.

  “Shit. Pun intended,” Zayn said.

  “Will the suits hold up?”

  “Yeah. For a while as least.”

  “Then we’d better be fast, flyboy.”

  “I like to go fast. Let me go first.” Zayn waded out, waiting to see if he was about to lose a limb. “Come on in, water’s fine.”

  She grinned, her teeth white in the darkness. “Let’s go steal some blueprints.”

  They made their way through the tunnels, wading through sludge that was, at times, waist deep. Zayn wondered if he imagined the heat growing on his suit.

  “I think this is it.” Ria pointed.

  A small arched doorway was set into the wall. They climbed out of the sewage and flanked the door. When Zayn turned the handle, he was shocked to find it unlocked. “Finally, some good luck.”

  Ria took one step forward. “I don’t believe in good luck. Usually when things are too good to be true, something’s about to bite you in the ass.”

  He eyed her face. Vik’s face. “Yeah.”

  They waited the few seconds it took for their enviro suits to self-clean, then they entered the Tekton base.

  They were in a plush hallway lined with what looked like real wood—a rare commodity in this part of the quadrant.

  Ria scanned the map. “Let’s find the library. We need to go right.”

  They headed down the hall. Zayn was impressed. The woman moved without a sound, with a liquid grace that was damned sexy and, he knew, harder than it looked. Vik had moved with a brisk stride, like she was always in a rush.

  Ria paused at a corner, checking before she waved him on. Along the hall, she stopped. “You sound like a herd of Tambaa beasts tramping down to the river.”

  He frowned. He thought he was pretty darn quiet.

  “Loosen your muscles. Let your knees absorb your steps. Think light.”

  He followed her advice. After a few steps, she nodded and kept going. Damned if his steps weren’t quieter.

  Soon they passed through another door into a magnificent room.

  “Holy hell,” he whispered.

  Shelves filled with Old World books and folders rose up to the double-height ceiling. The domed roof was lit with a warm glow and coated in some orange-hued metal.

  “Incredible.” Ria turned in a slow circle. She ran a hand over one of the shelves. Fingering the documents. “We’ll never find the plans just by searching.”

  He agreed. “It’d take months.”

  “We need to find their catalogue system and find the Assassin’s Guild record.”

  “There’s some sort of console in the center.” Zayn approached a small domed pedestal that stood waist-high. Inside, it swirled with what looked like smoke. “At least I think it’s a console. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Me neither.”

  “All right then.” Zayn held his palms over the console. “Let me see what I can do. What if it trips an alarm?”

  “A risk we have to take.”

  He touched the dome.

  Nothing.

  He swirled his hands around, looked for anything to activate it.

  Suddenly voices echoed in the outside corridor.

  “Son of bitch.” Zayn followed it with some more curses. They both searched the room for a hiding space. Damn the Tekton for being so neat and tidy.

  “There!” Ria pointed at a tiny niche behind a statue. An ornate grate was attached to the wall. She whipped out her multi-tool and in seconds had the grate off. Zayn frowned. The space behind it would be a tight fit for one, let alone two.

  The door to the library creaked open.

  Zayn ran and dived into the space. Ria followed in behind him and tugged the grate back into place.

  Zayn’s breathing was rapid. One, because of the two Tekton who’d just entered the library.

  And two, because he had a lap full of luscious female.

  Chapter Six

  Ria kept her gaze glued to the two men in the library—at least she thought they were men. Tekton men and women looked very similar.

  She tried to pay attention to what they were doing, but she was distracted by the hard male body pressed up behind her.

  She was used to hiding and being patient. She knew how to deal with the anxiety that came from the risk of being discovered. But she was almost always alone, and on those odd times she wasn’t, they rarely ended up plastered together with no room to move.

  Zayn surrounded her, overwhelmed her. She drew in air but every part of her was aware of him. His scent filled her senses—hot male mixed with plain soap.

  He moved, his mouth pressing to her ear. She closed her eyes, trying to control the shiver traveling up her spine.

  “They’re using the console. Can you see what they’re doing?”

  Ria blinked and tried to see through the grate. God, he was so hot. “One has their hands on the dome. And both of them have their eyes closed.”

  “What else?”

  She focused on the one at the dome. “He’s concentrating.” More successfully than her. Zayn moved beneath her again and this time she thought she felt a hard bulge. She bit down on her lip. “Maybe it’s some sort of telepathic thing?”

  “Nothing in our research showed the Tekton are telepathic. But they are secretive.” He shifted again. “Damn Ria, you have a body designed to drive a man wild.”

  She froze. He felt it too. This powerful pull that was tangling them closer together. But did he see her or Viktoria? She wrestled with her emotions and tried to focus. “Maybe the console is attuned to thoughts. You direct it with your thoughts.”

  He made a humming sound. “Possible.” He moved an arm and it slid around her waist. “Sorry, it’s going to sleep where I had it.”

  She needed air. She needed some space between her and this man or she was going to turn into him and plant her mouth on his.

  “One of them has moved to a shelf,” Zayn whispered.

  Ria saw one of the Tekton at a shelf but his body blocked what he was doing. Then he moved away. “They’re leaving.” Thank God.

  After the two Tekton had left, she pushed on the grate and crawled out of the tight space. She stood, and squashed the small pang of loss she felt now that she was no longer pressed against Zayn.

  Zayn moved to the console and pressed his hands to the dome and closed his eyes.

  Ria watched the gases inside start to swirl. “Something’s happening.”

  His brow crinkled. “I’m focusing on the Assassin’s Guild Headquarters. Come on, come on.”

  She saw an image through the fog. A plan inscribed on a silver plas-sheet. A quiet chime sounded and she spun. Discreet lights built into the base of one shelf were glowing, about eight feet up.

  “Got it! Well done, Zayn.”

  His eyes popped open and he grinned. “Let’s grab the plans and get out of here.” He reached the shelf but couldn’t quite grab the map. He glanced around. “Where’s the ladder?”

  She didn’t see one.

  He made a ‘come here’ gesture with his hands. “Get on my shoulders.”

  Ria straightened her spine and gripped his hands. In a smooth, powerful move, he dipped and swung her up. Ria swallowed a squeak and settled on his broad shoulders.

  “Can you reach it?”

  She focused on the carefully rolled plas-sheet in front of her eyes, and not the fact that Zayn Phoenix’s head was between her thighs. Her fingers closed around the plas. “Got it.”

  He set her down and Ria carefully slid the plas-sheet into an airtight bag on her belt.

  Zayn waved to the door. “Shall we go?”

  “Sure.”

  They’d taken two steps into the hall when the entire building shook. Zayn grabbed Ria’s arm to steady her. There was another dull boom in the distance.

  “Ah, I think our diversion might have been discovered,” Zayn said.

  They ran toward the door to the tunnels. They turned the last corner. And saw a group of uniformed and armed Tekton running toward them.

  “Shit.” Zayn skidded to a halt. Ria almost slammed into the back of him. “Back the other way. We’re going to Plan B.”

  They turned and sprinted back past the library. More explosions rocked the structure. Ria prayed Eos and the others were okay. She tried to scroll through the map on her Sync. Plan B was a secondary exit to the tunnels. “We need to get to the arboretum.” She pointed. “That way.”

  They ran together. Ria liked that he kept up easily.

  They sprinted into another room and both of them stopped, looking up in awe. A glass roof showed the incredible night sky and asteroids flying past. Inside was filled with various forms of plant life. “The exit should be at the back of the room in the floor.”

  They hustled and Zayn lifted away a giant vine. A small octagonal cover was set in the floor. It took both of them to shift it.

  Zayn dropped in first. As she followed, she heard him curse.

  She soon realized why. The tunnel was smaller than the previous one and after a few meters, the angle changed to near vertical. Ria slid downward. Her enviro suit was nearly frictionless and she felt herself gather speed.

  “Zayn?” Her voice echoed in the tight confines of the tunnel.

  “I’m here.” His voice came from below. “Hold on.”

  She felt an increase in heat. Then she heard Zayn yell and a second later she shot out the end of the tunnel. She caught of glimpse of him flying through the air ahead of her, arms pin-wheeling. Below them was a small lake of sewage.