Page 72 of Sublime Target
“Exactly. That’s why you need someone like him. Super direct. No pretensions. Knows what he wants. Doesn’t give up in the face of rejection. Inhuman levels of confidence. ”
Clarissa nodded wryly. Bea had just described the guy in a nutshell. “I suppose you have a point.”
Suddenly, she really wanted to see him again.
He made her feel this giddy excitement that she hadn’t experienced with anyone else, ever.
What did she have to lose, anyway?
A low whistle from Bea stole her attention. Something had flashed up on her friend’s link-band. “I think I know why, but Garner Corp’s stock price just fell through the floor. I might be looking for a new job soon, too.”
“He should’ve just taken the deal,” Clarissa sighed. “We would have all been better off.”
“Would you, though? Maybe all this business with Jerik Garul wouldn’t have panned out like it did.”
“True.” Clarissa stared across the beach, watching as a pair of dark-clad figures drew nearer. They wore wraparound sunglasses and baseball caps.
Why are those guys wearing so much clothing on the beach?
If she was a paranoid person, she might almost think those strange men were heading straight for her.
Now they were close enough that she could make out the guns holstered at their waists and the comm devices in their ears.
“Um, Clarissa, who are those people? They look like mercs or undercover enforcers.”
“If that’s undercover, I’d hate to see what the actual uniform looks like. Never seen them before. I have no idea who they are, but I have a sinking feeling this is something work-related.”
“Time to make a run for it?” Bea said in an un-serious tone as if this was nothing more than fun and games for her.
Clarissa started to stuff things in her beach bag. “I think so.”
But just then, two sunbathers stood up.
Two big, buff men with long hair sweeping past their shoulders. They moved with an uncanny grace that reminded Clarissa of a certain someone.
No way.
These men were human, surely. Their skin was human-colored, and they both had brown hair. Their eyes were concealed by dark wayfarer-type glasses.
But when she looked closer, she saw the pointed taper of their ears.
Kordolians?
But why did they look like that? Where was the silver skin and snow-white hair? Had they affected some sort of disguise?
They quickly moved in and intercepted the black-clothes-wearing guys, engaging in a heated conversation.
And when that didn’t work, they simply moved faster than the human eye could possibly see and decked the pair, throwing them onto the golden sand with great finesse.
It happened so fast that the bystanders could barely react, let alone understand what had happened.
The dark-haired pair left them there, lying unconscious in the sand. They walked toward Clarissa and Bea, their bare, honed torsos gleaming in the sunshine.
Oh, they were definitely Kordolian.
They reached Clarissa’s little shade umbrella and stopped, their imposing forms casting shadows across the sand. Bea actually moved out of the way of their shadows.
“Can I help you?” Clarissa said coolly, carefully masking her anxiety.