Karil felt for his knife. He unsnapped the sheath and pulled the wickedly long blade free. Such motions had been etched into muscle memory and were simple to perform, even when high. Hopefully, cutting a man’s throat would be as easy. Respel had taken Karil off enforcement detail for the gang some months ago. The Nobek hoped the lack of practice wouldn’t be an issue.
I can do this. In fact, if Bacoj stayed the night after all, Karil could kill them both with little trouble. They were into each other to the point of being blind to all else. They’d probably hightail it straight to the sleeping room to fuck their horny little brains out. He could slaughter the Dramok after they fell asleep, then take his time with Vax before finishing him too. It wouldn’t be a problem.
His left eye stung, and he armed sweat off his forehead. Elate made a man feel pleasantly warm, but his physiology went into overdrive, pouring perspiration. Especially if he’d taken a large hit. Karil noted he was looking at the floor, nodding as the soothing effects set him drifting again. He snapped his gaze up, and the hall before him jerked violently. Karil grabbed the doorframe and barely kept his balance.
Fuck. He was wasted. He’d meant to take the bare minimum to keep from shaking. He must have miscalculated, then injected more when he became too drugged to resist the hypnotic call of peace. It was hard to strike the right balance with Elate even when the user was careful.
More impaired than I’d planned. Come on, concentrate on why you’re here. Huk. Vax. Retribution and redemption. Be a man, damn it. Be a Nobek.
The apartment door hissed open and closed again. Had the Dramok left? Was Vax alone? Karil forced himself to stand up straight. He willed his eyesight to hold steady. He tightened his grip on the blade and listened.
Soft pad-pad-pad of footsteps. Just one man. Bacoj had gone.
The hall brightened. Sounds of scraping metal, clunking, cabinet doors opening and closing in the kitchen. Karil could go there, taking Vax by surprise. He could sneak up to the doorway, wait for the Imdiko’s back to be turned, then rush at him. Get him down on the floor and listen to his pleas before stabbing him full of holes. Hold him down, watch his existence bleed from him. Seeing Vax cry, the terrified knowledge he was dying as Huk had, the life slowly dimming in his eyes…
Karil took a step, and his surroundings rocked. Violently. He swayed, close to collapse. The Nobek retreated to prop himself against the doorframe within the shadowed common room once more and waited for the world to stop twisting.
He couldn’t assault his prey in the kitchen. Not when he was off-balance and Vax had access to cutlery. Being a chef, the bastard would know how to wield a knife with skill. That could present a problem, should Karil’s unsteadiness provide Vax with an opportunity.
He’d strike as the Imdiko passed by. Gripping the doorframe, Karil widened his stance, giving him the stability for a successful leap. He’d knock Vax to the floor and land on him, pinning him down. Then he’d do his cutting and claim justice for Huk.
He didn’t have to wait long. Vax’s voice carried as he moved his way. “Greeting room, kitchen, lights out. Hall light, twenty percent.”
Karil braced as that soft pad-pad-pad closed on his position, staring at the spot he’d chosen to take Vax down. The scent of herbal tea wafted in his nostrils. Tea the little shit would never drink.
The Imdiko came into view, not looking Karil’s way, holding a steaming cup. He hit the ambush point. Adrenaline spiked through the Nobek.
Karil screamed a warrior’s attack cry. He leapt.
The surge of energy offered him perfect clarity as he lunged at Vax. The other man’s startled face filled his vision, a wonderful image Karil could enjoy when he played back the memory of killing his enemy. Shock turning to terror as Vax recognized him.
Next would come the understanding he was about to die, the most delicious expression of them all.
However, adrenaline hadn’t mitigated other effects of the Elate crippling Karil’s system. At the last instant, as he pushed off the floor to complete his spring onto his prey, Karil’s balance wobbled. Not much, not as bad as moments before, but enough to make him strike the doorframe with his shoulder as he went airborne.
That second of delay and few centimeters of altered trajectory made all the difference, giving Vax the opening to jerk out of Karil’s path and fling the contents of his cup at the Nobek.
Scorching liquid splashed Karil square in the face. He crashed to the ground blinded, his warrior’s shout turning into a pain-filled screech. Though his flesh flashed agony, his very being insisted he fulfill his mission. Blinded for the moment, he scrabbled for his quarry. His fingers curled around a bunch of fabric, probably the leg of Vax’s trousers—then it jerked from his grip. Vax had slipped free.
Karil swiped at his eyes, trying to clear them, bellowing in rage as he did so. He sensed movement nearby and swung, opening his lids in time to see Vax jump over him as he flailed on the floor. Karil simultaneously tried to spring up and grab the fleeing Imdiko, but again, his equilibrium failed. He rammed himself headfirst into the wall instead.
Screaming for help, Vax disappeared down the hall into the greeting room. The opening and closing of the apartment’s door followed.
“Fucker!” Karil shrieked. He forced himself to his feet and staggered to escape the apartment. Outside, he searched the cavern for his escaped prey, but Vax was nowhere to be seen.
The few people in the area stared at Karil as he lurched away from Vax’s home. After a moment, it occurred to Karil that he was still holding his knife, waving it about as he stumbled from one rock wall to another.
Cursing, he sheathed it smoothly. Muscle memory continued to work for that. Too bad it had chosen to abandon him when it came to the act of murder; a deed that had once been almost as much of a habit.
Damn Vax. It was his fault. Everything was his fault.
Threatening those who gaped at him with a fanged snarl, Karil ran as best he could for the in-house transport, desperate to escape before law enforcement could show up and catch him. Before Respel could come to bail him out just for the pleasure of having his bodyguard goons tear Karil apart.
The cavern was a kaleidoscope of confusion as Karil ran. He bounced against the cavern walls, fell, got up, and ran again. The hunter searched for a place to hide before he could be hunted down.
* * * *
Investigator Yas, a middle-aged Dramok, wore an expression that announced he suffered no fools whatsoever. He showed his handheld to Vax. Its holoscreen displayed an intake vid of Karil, shot a couple years before when he’d been arrested on drug possession charges.
“This is the Nobek whose clanmate you killed.”
“Yes. He’s lost weight since then.” Vax shifted in his chair, though the past couple of hours had proven there was no good way to sit in it. It, like the station’s interview area, was not built for comfort.
Vax was the victim of violence, but he was the man who perspired. The environment was too hot, too bright, and it smelled of years of sweat. Yet it wasn’t the worst of the whole experience.
Why should law enforcement bother with such a distressing environment when the officers were intimidating enough to put even an innocent man on edge? Investigator Yas, sitting across the scarred table from Vax, was the embodiment of don’t-fuck-with-me. His Nobek partner, Enforcer Genwa, was the other side of the coin: a breathing incarnation of I-will-fuck-you-up.
Standing next to Yas’s chair, Genwa was all muscle, all scars, all terrifying. His stare alone could have set an idiot Tragroom screaming. Vax didn’t think the craggy-faced Nobek beast had blinked in the last hour.
After Karil’s attack, the Imdiko had run straight to Bacoj’s apartment, needing not mere safety, but also his lover’s reassuring presence. Now he wished his friend was sitting by him, rather than standing silently. Seeing those handsome features would have gone a long way to calming the Imdiko, but Bacoj leaned against the wall behind him, out of sight unless Vax turned around.
Yas ran the show, and he’d told Bacoj to stand where he was and to keep quiet. Don’t-Fuck-With-Me Yas as yet had betrayed no hint of feeling for Vax’s story. He’d no doubt refuse a request for Bacoj to stand within the shaken Imdiko’s reach.
“Karil’s been showing up where you work, you said. I’m going to interview the owner of the bar—Dramok Deras—for confirmation.”
“Great.” Despite the stress, Vax couldn’t restrain a weary sigh. They’d been doing this dance for two hours now. Two hours of repeating the same questions and answers. Two hours since Bacoj had brought him to the station to report Karil had damned near killed Vax in his own home.
Vax went cold despite the too-hot room. He’d seen the knife Karil had come at him with. He’d seen Karil’s expression—murderous hatred, far beyond sanity. Karil had meant to kill him. Had almost done so. The blade had nicked his shoulder. If Karil hadn’t lost his balance when he did—
I should be dead.
“You never gave a report to law enforcement about Nobek Karil stalking you.”
That’s what it kept coming back to. Vax hadn’t filed a complaint in all those weeks. He saw how dubious it made Yas about his story.
“All he ever did was stare at me. His coms were nothing but accusations of me being a murderer who was overdue for justice. He never said he’d come after me. What could you possibly do about that?”
Yas snorted. “We could’ve kept an eye on him, for one thing. We certainly couldn’t help you without knowing what was going on. Most people would have filed a complaint.”
“Okay, I screwed up. I almost paid the price. I’m sorry.” He’d been assaulted, and he was apologizing. If the officers hadn’t been so terrifying, he’d have stormed out.
“Tell me, Imdiko, do you feel guilty about your cousin Huk’s death?”
Vax blinked at the seemingly unrelated question. “Of course. If I’d known body-slamming him the way I did would kill him—”
“Do you feel guilty to the point that you think you deserved to be harmed by his Nobek?” At Vax’s shocked expression, Yas shrugged. “I’ve seen it before, especially from Imdikos. Usually, it’s a subconscious issue. You defended yourself as you had to, but it still weighs on you.”
“Taking someone’s life is not an easy thing to live with, no matter how desperate the circumstances.” It was a shock to hear that from Genwa, whose appearance gave no hint he possessed a conscience.
Vax turned their statements over in his head. Was guilt among the reasons he’d not filed a complaint against Karil? After a moment, he decided it wasn’t. “I feel terrible about Huk. In hindsight, I’d have done something else to control the situation. I would have gotten in my shuttle and left. But I can’t reverse time and save him. No, I don’t believe I deserve to die for what happened.”
At last, Yas’s imperturbable demeanor eased. He appeared close to a smile. “Good. I agree with you. It’s just a shame it took near tragedy to come forward with this.”
Vax nodded.
“I don’t suppose a lot of the reluctance had to do with Karil’s Dramok being the kingpin of a growing criminal enterprise, did it?” Yas chuckled when Vax gasped. He glanced at his partner. “That got a reaction.”
“Big one. This kid’s no user or mule, though.”
“No. Just trying to keep his ass intact.”
Vax was torn between surprise that Respel was considered a criminal kingpin and bristling at the inference of cowardice. “Actually, most of it had to do with respect for family. Huk’s parents, my aunt and uncles, are kind, honest people. They knew he was addicted, but not that he was involved in Respel selling Elate.”
“Oh, you know Dramok Respel is involved in the Elate epidemic?” Yas leaned forward, folding his thick arms on the table between them.
“I understand that’s what Huk was hooked on, and he once offered to sell me some. Karil also deals what he doesn’t use himself. It seems pretty obvious that as clan leader, Respel’s behind their drug activity.”
“But you’ve never seen that for yourself?”
“No, but Huk bragged about Respel’s business bringing in big money. The few times I encountered his Dramok in person, he had some shady characters with him. I assumed it all had to do with drug dealing.”
“Shady. That’s one way of describing them. Go on, Vax. Why else did you keep quiet about Karil threatening you?”
“Just worrying about Huk’s family, like I said. It seemed cruel to add to what Huk’s parent clan was going through when he died. If they find out their son was a petty criminal on top of the addiction, selling that stuff—”
“Not quite so petty. How big a deal do you think Respel is when it comes to Elate?”
Vax shrugged. “He supplies addicts. He pays others to sell it, so I suppose you could say he has a gang. If you’re asking me where he gets it from, I couldn’t tell you. I keep my distance from that bunch as much as possible.”
“It’s a good thing you do, since Respel is no mere dealer. Your dearly departed cousin’s clan leader is the top guy when it comes to Elate in this territory. And that ‘gang’, as you put it, is a full-fledged crime syndicate. Trafficking, smuggling, drugs, murder…they do it all.”
Vax stared at him, aghast. Respel? Huk’s clanmate? A leader of organized crime?
Yas regarded him with a world-weary smirk. “It’s advantageous you kept a wide berth between yourself and your cousin’s clan. Otherwise, Dramok Respel might have decided you were a threat to his business. In fact, that was my first guess as to why you’d taken so long to report Karil for stalking you.”
No wonder Yas had treated Vax as if he were a suspect to be grilled. The Imdiko’s head swam with the revelations. “How did I not realize what the situation was?”
Genwa answered that one. “Respel’s sly. He keeps his head down, moves behind the scenes, surrounds himself with those who won’t speak his name. If they do, they disappear. Permanently.”
Yas tapped his handheld. Actually, he was damned near pounding it with his fingertips, but Vax didn’t believe it was out of anger. His casual expression hinted he was naturally heavy-handed. “He’s a master at staying a step ahead of enforcement. However, his Nobek’s attempt to assault you is about to make things quite uncomfortable for him.”
“And me?” Vax thought of how close Karil had come to killing him. Would Respel send someone to complete the job now that he’d gone to law enforcement? Some goon not debilitated by Elate?
“Coming after you after Karil made an attempt on your life is too obvious a move for Respel. He’s careful; I’ll give him that.”
“Karil isn’t.” Vax wondered how much trouble the Nobek would be in with his Dramok.
As if hearing his thoughts, Yas said, “He’s probably earned himself a world of hurt from Respel. Respel will want to take a pound of flesh from his ass, not yours. Even so, you shouldn’t return to your home tonight. Let’s not make it easy for anyone who decides you’re more trouble alive than dead.”
At Vax’s horrified expression, Genwa waved a scarred hand in a calming motion. “Again, Respel isn’t likely to target you, not when you know zip about his operation. We’re just taking precautions.”
Yas glanced up at the silent man behind Vax. “If I assign a patrol to watch your apartment, can he stay with you, Dramok Bacoj?”
“For as long as he needs.”
Despite the horror of the past hours, Bacoj’s steady voice made Vax smile. If any good could come of this nightmare, it would be because of Bacoj.
“If you have vacation time saved up at your job, Imdiko, I suggest you use it rather than accepting the extra payout. Maybe you could go out of town until we’ve caught up with Karil.” Yas continued pounding his handheld. Vax wondered how many of such devices the investigator had gone through with his rough handling.
“Do you think Karil will come after me
again? I mean, if Respel is really that extreme, won’t he make him leave me alone after this?”
Genwa scowled. “Karil’s a junkie. Worse still, he’s a Nobek looking to reclaim some skewed notion of honor over his clanmate’s death. He has to realize how furious Respel will be, but in his current state, even that might not stop him from searching for you. Absence from the places he’d expect to catch you is a highly recommended course of action.”
“We’ll be in touch with you, Imdiko. You can go.” Yas didn’t look up from whatever kept him so dedicated to abusing his handheld.
Vax rose on shaky legs, relieved that at least this part was over. Genwa, surprising him yet again, escorted him and Bacoj to the door. For such a terrifying creature, he had wonderful manners.
Out in the corridor, Bacoj wrapped his arm around Vax’s shoulders, holding him close until they stepped outside the station. The cavern that housed the station was closed in, but the ceiling vid gave the wonderful illusion of the outdoors. Vax gazed up at the stars and the moon Lobam and drew a deep, grateful breath.
Bacoj grabbed his arms and turned him so they faced each other. “I want you to do as they say. Call in sick tomorrow. Use your vacation now. You have what, two weeks?”
“Yeah. It falls short of the notice I gave though. I hate to put Nepor on the spot to fill in for me.” At Bacoj’s raised-brow stare, Vax ducked his head. “You’re right. Showing up where Karil can easily find me could put others in danger. I’ll com Nepor and the bar first thing in the morning.”
“Give law enforcement time to locate Karil. Maybe then you can go back to Nepor and enjoy your last few days of work without looking over your shoulder.”
Vax peered up at him through the hair that had fallen over his eyes. “I’m sorry. You weren’t looking for trouble, and it seems I have a lot of that.”
“This situation isn’t your fault. Come on. I’m taking you home.” Bacoj’s arm circled his shoulders again. Vax leaned into his support, unashamed to accept the other man’s strength.
Clan and Commit (Clan Beginnings Book 7) Page 7