He laughed. "True enough." Darling turned serious. He sat back in his chair and studied her face for several minutes. "I want you to promise me something."

Kiara glanced sideways, her mind thinking of several things he might want from her.

"What?"

"I want you to take care of Nykyrian. I can't explain it, but he's different now that you're here. Happier, I guess. He doesn't seem so serious and emotionless anymore." Darling's eyes narrowed into an intense stare that probed her soul. "I want you to promise me you won't hurt him."

Kiara smiled. "I would never hurt him."

Darling nodded. "Good, now let's go digging around and see what kind of trouble we can find."

Kiara laughed, happy to find Darling such an easy person to befriend. Leading him to the book closet, she tried to keep her mind from worrying over Nykyrian and the trouble he might find.

Hours later, Nykyrian and Rachol sat in the back room of the Bended Maiden sipping drinks. Nykyrian's head pounded from a huge headache.

They continued to review their findings for the afternoon, to little avail. Nykyrian sighed. All he wanted was an end to this whole stupid, dangerous affair with Kiara safe by his side. Agitated at the apparent futility of his wish, he sifted through the sheets of print-outs that lined the tabletop.

The bare, tan walls kept out the noise of the clientele in the bar area. Antilles brought them another round of drinks. Nykyrian watched the elder man fight his way around all the boxes and barrels that stored his supplies.

Antilles smiled, as he was setting their drinks on the table. "It's good to have the two of you back. It's been too long."

Nykyrian nodded his head in appreciation and handed him payment for the drinks."Has Ryn arrived?" Rachol asked.

Nykyrian could tell by the way Rachol shuffled papers that he was bored with their wait.

Antilles offered Rachol an apologetic smile. "He hasn't yet, but I promise to send him back here as soon as he does."

When they were alone again, Rachol let out his own heavy sigh. "Shahara is my main worry. Aksel comes in full force, blasters blazing. She slips up from behind and drives a blade into your lung. Lethal harita."

Nykyrian nodded, knowing all too well the female assassin's reputation. "I'll go to Tondara tonight and try to find Driana. She'll gladly give me Aksel's plans."

Rachol shook his head. "From my reports, I'm surprised Aksel hasn't killed her.

Everything I have says they hate each other." Rachol yawned.

Nykyrian sipped his drink, thinking about Driana. "Aksel won't kill her because of her trust fund. If they divorce or she dies under mysterious circumstances, all her money reverts to her family. Aksel's too greedy to let something like hatred interfere with his wealth."

"Why are you talking about that scum?"

Nykyrian looked up to see Ryn approaching them. Ryn's red hair was a shade darker than Darling's, but his eyes were an identical shade of blue.

"We were discussing ways to kill him," Rachol muttered before guzzling his glass of water.

Ryn shook his head at him. "So how's my renegade brother?" he asked Nykyrian, taking a seat.

Knowing Darling wouldn't want his brother, who couldn't help him anyway, informed about his condition, Nykyrian lied. "He's fine."

"Good." Ryn took a seat and handed Nykyrian a copy of the Probekein's latest contract on Kiara's life. "That hasn't been posted yet," he said, adjusting the voluminous yards of his imperial robes. "All I could find out was Biardi told Emperor Abenbi to burn in a very uncomfortable position for a long time. Abenbi refuses to call the contract off, even if Biardi gives him the surata.""I could've learned that through a terminal," Rachol smirked.

Ryn frowned at Nykyrian. "What did you do to put him in such a hostile mood?" he asked, then continued before an answer could be given. "Abenbi also wants the weapon to go after the Fremick territory. He feels since they're his neighbor, they should be part of his territories. I really wish you guys would put a stop to him."

"Pay our fee." Rachol glared.

Ryn returned the gesture. "That's all I know," he said in an irritated voice. "I hope it helped."

At Rachol's scoff, Ryn faced Nykyrian. "You should keep him on a leash."

Nykyrian barely had time to grab Rachol's arm before his fist made contact with the ambassador's chin. "Calm down!" he snapped.

Grudgingly, Rachol retook his seat.

"Your information did help," Nykyrian said, shaking Ryn's hand before the ambassador took his leave.

"We waited all this time for that?" Rachol sneered.

Nykyrian jerked the papers off the table. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Rachol came to his feet. "You slept with her last night! I waited up half the night hoping you would come back downstairs. But you didn't."

Nykyrian sighed. "I know where I spent the night."

Rachol's eyes narrowed. "When she betrays us, just remember I warned you."

Nykyrian clenched his teeth, tempted to send Rachol flying. "How could I forget, since you'll no doubt remind me every day of my life."

Rachol stared at him and from the clenched fists he kept at his side, Nykyrian knew he wanted to knock his head from his shoulders.

"It's your funeral," Rachol said before gathering up his papers and leaving the room.With Rachol's dire warnings echoing in his head, Nykyrian made his way slowly to his ship. Maybe Rachol was right. Things had been going too good. His life never went smoothly. Just when things seemed to improve, something always happened to mess it up.

Nykyrian climbed aboard his ship. He sat in the leather seat, thinking. His thumb played across the shifter. A bad feeling crept along his spine.

Checking his power and fuel levels, Nykyrian didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Still the feeling of trouble to come persisted. If he had learned anything in his life, it was to always trust his instincts and now those instincts were buzzing loudly in alarm.

Something awful was definitely going to happen.

Eleven.

Nykyrian, Darling and Hauk stood in the main room of Nykyrian's house. Nykyrian continued to doubt his sanity in allowing Kiara to go to Tondara with them. If only she hadn't pleaded with those big amber eyes, he might have been able to stand fast and make her stay behind. But dammit, he couldn't.

"Your advice didn't help," Hauk said darkly, eyeing the stairs.

Nykyrian turned around to see Kiara descending. As he had requested, she pulled her hair severely back from her face and left it in a thick ponytail to trail down her back in soft ringlets. The old, ragged battlesuit that added inches to her waist, didn't deter from her beauty in the least.

"What else can we do?" Darling asked, looking at Nykyrian as if he knew the answer.

"Put something over her head," Hauk suggested.

Kiara's face flushed bright pink. "Why don't you wear something over your head, you big- "

"That's it," Nykyrian said, interrupting her before she said something to enrage Hauk.

"Keep her mad!"

Kiara stared in confusion as Nykyrian dashed past her, up the stairs and returned with a thick, padded leather jacket. "I already look like a shuttle-craft," she said with a pout. "If I wear this, I'll look like I weigh three times my size."Nykyrian winked. "That's the idea."

Kiara pursed her lips, no longer sure if she should go with them. When Darling had told her what type of club it was, her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

While Nykyrian helped her into the jacket, her gaze drifted over his body. Kiara burned with desire. Nykyrian wore tight leather pants and an oversized leather jacket without a shirt beneath it. His tanned, muscled flesh begged her hand to touch him. If not for Hauk and Darling, she would pull him back up stairs and yield to the burning need inside her.

She licked her dry lips as she met Nykyrian's eyes. Color stained Nykyrian's cheeks at her hungry look.

Hauk's laugh rang out. "That may actually be the first time in my life I've seen that boy blush!" Nykyrian cast him a dark scowl. Hauk took a step back, still laughing.

Muttering a curse about the Andarion, Nykyrian untied Kiara's hair and gently plaited it into three braids, then the three into one. He stood up the collar of her jacket and turned her to face Darling and Hauk.

"Now what do you think?" he asked.

Hauk shook his head. "I still think she's too damned attractive. She's going to get us killed!"

"Relax," Darling said. "Shahara goes there all the time and no one ever bothers her."

Hauk snorted. "That's because she'd kill you for nothing more than asking her the time of day."

Kiara looked at Nykyrian, afraid he would listen to them. After a lifetime spent with restrictions on her freedom, she desperately wanted to see a real smuggler's / criminal's dive.

Nykyrian shook his head at Hauk. "We'll watch her closely," he said, taking her hand.

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

They docked outside the grimiest bay Kiara had ever seen. As the hatch raised, shechoked on the pungent odor of rotting garbage and body odor. Maybe she should have listened to Hauk and stayed home after all. This place was disgusting!

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."

"Are you serious?"

"Very."

She definitely wanted to go home. With a long sigh, she got out and did just as he told her. When her feet hit the pavement, pain jarred through her knees.

Kiara shrieked as several unidentifiable species of vermin squeaked past her feet, rushing under a nearby garbage heap. Several beings turned to stare at her with interest.

Kiara gulped, looking up to see Nykyrian jumping down beside her.

He gave the onlookers a fierce scowl, then muttered under his breath, "I hate jumping down on pavement. It kills my knees."

Kiara squelched her laughter. Darling and Hauk joined them.

"Looks crowded," Darling said, perusing the ships crowded inside the bay.

Hauk narrowed his eyes. "I think we should turn back before we get pulverized."

Nykyrian pushed Hauk toward the entrance.

Kiara's limbs trembled at the bedraggled individuals watching them approach the door.

They seemed a little too intent on sizing up her companions.

"Don't meet anyone's gaze," Nykyrian warned, wrapping an arm possessively around her.

Kiara nodded, a lump of fear blocking her words from leaving her throat. When the doors 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 panic. After being with Nykyrian and his group, she had mistakenly thought most smugglers were similar to them, but she was wrong. The men, women and aliens moving inside the dark club were the roughest, mostintimidating individuals she had ever seen and she had no doubt any of them would kill someone for nothing more than looking at them askance.

Dim lights blinked overhead. The stench of cheap alcohol lodged in her throat. Creatures tumbled over one another, shoving, picking fights. Her legs trembled.

Nykyrian paid their fee. "You won't be hurt as long as you stay with us," he shouted in her ear over the noise, pulling her into the crowd.

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

"There's a table up ahead!" Darling shouted, bobbing in the crowd to get to it.

Kiara breathed a sigh of relief as she made it to the table unscathed. At least in the table section it didn't appear nearly as crowded. When they were all seated, an unknown species brought them drinks.

"She's new," it lisped between bubbled lips. "What does she favor?"

"Grenna," Nykyrian replied.

The server appeared to smile, but Kiara couldn't quite tell with the strangely shaped lips.

"It's good to see you again, warrior. I had begun to worry if someone had gotten in a lucky shot at you boys."

Nykyrian smirked. "You know better than that, Vrasna."

Vrasna looked up at Kiara in a way that made Kiara want to sink under the table. "Is she yours?"

Nykyrian nodded.