Page 4 of Alien Naga's Prize
“What the fak happened last night?” I groan.
“We had a few drinks, you agreed to take the job, and we went for a Remek curry,” Tisel says as he taps on the nutrition console. “You fell asleep in yours, but I got them to let us have what was left to go.”
His apartment fills with the scent of reheated Remek food, and I do my level best not to lose what I apparently ate last night.
My wrist comm pings, and I stare at it blearily. I can’t remember when I last got this drunk, except Tisel was involved that time too, which means I really, really need to stop accepting drinks from him.
“What’s this?” I ask, offering up my wrist comm and regretting it instantly as Tisel moves away from the console and I’m face to face with his junk. “What the fak is ‘Starlight Brides’?”
“Oh, when you took the job, you said you’d need a mate to take with you in order not to draw attention to yourself,” Tiselsays breezily, thankfully moving back to his previous position but less than thankfully removing the carton of leftovers and slurping at it. “I recommended Starlight Brides.”
“It says I have a match.” I narrow my eyes to stop my comm from dancing around. “I can attend their hub in the next nova-day to complete the transaction…wait? Ipaidfor this?”
“Technically it’ll come out of your fee, but it’s a good fee, and you negotiated me up,” Tisel says, chomping happily. “Apparently, you said it’s your last job and you’re retiring.”
Out of everything which apparently happened last night, including signing up to Starlight Brides, whatever the fak they are, I can remember the fee. The eye-wateringly huge fee.
Enough to retire on, buy myself a top of the range ship, and tour the outer reaches of the galaxy, never having to encounter another living soul…or my family… ever again.
Which, when you’re expected to capture the galaxy’s biggest narcotics dealer and bring him before the Council, among others, isthe sort of job you should retire on.
I lever myself upright.
“I’m taking a bath. My scales feel like I’ve been swimming in a ditch. Then I’m calling Starlight Brides and telling them it’s all off,” I announce. “The last thing I need is a female, and certainly not one who knows nothing of chasing criminals.”
“Suit yourself,” Tisel says. “But you were pretty adamant last night.”
“Last night I was not in my right mind,” I grumble. “Or I would never have taken the job.”
Tisel opens his mouth, but I fix him with my legendary glare, my tail tap tapping on the floor.
“I know the deal, Tisel. I’ve agreed to take the job, and I can’t go back on it. Consider the mark caught and delivered. I’ll be in touch once I have him in my coils. And afterwards, we’re done. I’m retiring.”
Behind me, before the door slides shut, I hear his protests.
I don’t care. My mind is made up. This life is over for me.
JENNA
My alarm is blaring. I attempt to shout at it, but my throat is dry and no sound comes out. It means I have to pry open an eye and actually look for my comm.
There’s a bottle of water next to the bed, which I grab to down the contents. I get a mouthful of stale water and that’s it.
My life is a disaster zone, but at least I can speak.
“Alarm off!” I croak.
Why the hell did I set an alarm? It’s not like I’m going to work today. It’ll be the same as yesterday, staring at the walls of my quarters because I don’t have the credits to go anywhere or do anything.
Because I gave my last ten-pound credit chip to the stupid lottery.
The alarm has not shut up. I blearily scrabble around on my messy bed to find the source of the noise and find my wrist comm down the side.
It’s not an alarm. It’s a message, a holo message.
No one sends me holo messages. They’re expensive, which means most people don’t send them anyway, but I don’t have any friends who could afford to throw away money.
As for my family…they all disowned me the minute I joined the security section when I came of age as apparently I wasdishonoring the familybecause they preferred to be on the wrong side of the law.