by Frost Kay
“We cut off his legs.”
She shivered at the malice in his tone. “I can’t do it.”
“You don’t have to do it. We’ll do this together. You’re not alone.”
“Promise?” she whispered.
“I swear it.”
9
Elvish Cosplay
“There’s nothing. Not one trace,” Coal said as Eve left the apartment.
Lev cursed. “But we’re clear?”
Coal sat wearily and eyed Allie. “The best I know how.”
It was the least of her problems, but his knowing look caused heat to rise in her cheeks. She lifted her head from Blade’s shoulder and wiggled until there was a little more space between them. A soft, dangerous sound rumbled from Blade’s chest that caused the hair on her arms to stand.
“Stop that,” she chastised, snuggling down in the blanket.
It abruptly cut off. “Sorry.”
“Accepted.” She glanced around the room at the quiet occupants. “It is completely clear?”
“Yes,” Virgil answered from her left. “There’s nothing.”
Allie arched a brow at the wrinkly alien. “Including what you installed?”
Jer stiffened, and her blue eyes began to glitter. “They’ve been bugging our apartment?”
Lev answered before Allie could, “It was necessary. For your protection.”
“Protection, my ass. How long?”
“Since you moved in,” Lev answered calmly.
Her roommate’s face flushed. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Get rid of it. Now.”
“It’s to protect you.”
Jer stepped closer to Lev, chest to chest. She tipped her head back and glared up into Lev’s face. “Since it’s kept the monsters at bay so well…”
Allie hid her smile as displeasure rippled across Lev’s face before he schooled his features.
One point to Jer.
“Jer, you’re letting your emotions get the best of you.” Coal interjected.
Allie’s eyes widened, and she jumped into the conversation before Jer could respond. Lord help them if her fiery friend attacked Lev. “So, what do we do now?”
“We wait,” Lev answered.
“For what?”
There was a knock at the door.
Jer grabbed the towelbar from the floor and marched toward the door.
“That’s not necessary,” Lev said, passing Jer on his way to the entrance of their apartment. Her roommate muttered something underneath her breath, looking murderous, but didn’t drop her crowbar as she stared suspiciously down the hall.
Allie craned to see down the hallway, but Lev’s form blocked whoever had arrived. The front door hissed shut and Lev moved back into the living room; a petite hooded form followed him.
“Welcome to our home,” Jer said dryly. “Just come on in.”
The new person chuckled, the sound husky and dark. “Don’t mind if I do.” She stepped closer to Jer and held her hand out. “I’m Karma.”
Jer shook her head and lowered her crowbar. “Well, you’ll fit in with this lot. They have no sense of privacy or personal space.” She shook the female’s hand. “So, what’s with the cloak and dagger outfit?”
The stranger turned to face Allie and lifted the hood from her face.
The blanket slid from Allie’s fingers as she gaped at the other female.
It was her. Allie. Her exact replica.
“What the…?” Jer trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words.
Allie stared, and Karma stared back. It was eerie. But one thing was abundantly apparent. They’d managed to find her a double. So, this was their plan. She shook her head.
“It’ll never work.”
Virgil, who lounged against the wall to her left, glanced at Karma. “It’ll work.”
“It can’t.”
Karma swaggered across the room, nudged Coal out of the way, and sat on the table facing Blade. “Can you find any cracks in my disguise? She’s your mate, after all.”
Allie stiffened and glared at Blade. Was he telling people she was his mate? Blade didn’t look in her direction but leaned forward and focused on Karma’s face. Coward.
Coal heaved himself from the table and rounded the couch. “You got anything to eat?”
Allie glanced over her shoulder at the Av rummaging through her cabinets. “Just make yourself at home, why don’t ya?”
Coal plucked a box from the cabinet and wrinkled his nose at it, before carelessly tossing it back inside. “We’re practically family.”
The idea warmed her, but she scowled at him before turning back to Blade’s examination. He ran fingers along Karma’s cheeks and through her hair. Allie’s breath caught in her throat as he tipped Karma’s head back and inhaled deeply along her neck.
Heat swooped through her as she watched. Was that what she looked like when in Blade’s arms? Blade opened his eyes and glanced in her direction, his pupils dilated. He smiled at her, dark and sinful. Allie blinked. Apparently, Coal didn’t get all the naughtiness in the family. Blade took one last deep breath before pulling back, never glancing away from Allie’s blushing face.
“The scent is a little off,” he said roughly. “But it’ll fool anyone else.”
He glanced away, breaking the moment, and Allie felt like she could breathe again. Goodness, was he intense. Allie glanced to Karma. Her double didn’t look affected at all, which soothed something inside Allie that she didn’t want to admit was there: a wee bit of jealousy.
Karma smiled at her. “You guys excited for another roommate?”
“Another roommate?” Jer asked.
“She’s going to be staying with you until we can get a handle on this situation. Karma will impersonate Allie. Ms. Sai, you’ll have a new look,” Virgil said. He gestured toward her shared room. “If you’ll follow me?”
On stiff legs she stood, keeping the blanket tightly wrapped around herself and the towel. Her knees ached, and her legs felt like they might collapse any moment, but she smiled when she entered her room. She glanced longingly at the bed. It was so close and yet so far.
Blade followed her into the room and quietly closed the door. Her nerves jumped as she watched him approach her. He pulled another wrist comm from the pocket of his black leather trousers. “Please, can I have your wrist?”
Allie complied, quietly watching as he pulled off her old comm and tucked it into his back pocket before securing the new one around her wrist. She stared at his face as he fiddled with the comm, the soft murmur of voices filtering into the room.
“What are you doing?” she asked softly.
He glanced up at her through impossibly-long lashes, his blue-black eyes watching her. Unfair. Guys always got the best lashes.
“It’s a distorter.”
Like the one he’d used on her. The unspoken truth hung between them before she looked down at the new comm. “Is Karma using one as well?”
“Yes, and no.”
“She looked too young.”
Blade paused. “She’s your mirror image.”
Allie flinched at the word mirror and forced herself to breathe calmly. Could she live with putting someone else in the hands of Sloven? It seemed wrong to let Karma play her. “I don’t want her to get hurt. She’s an innocent.”
Blade smiled and shook his head, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “That girl is one of the most dangerous assassins to ever grace the Lock sector. She wears your face; that’s why she looks so innocent. Don’t worry for her. She’s got this handled.” A pause. “I handpicked her. She’s dangerous in a way you can’t comprehend.” He stepped back and spun around, giving her a view of his wide muscular back. “Get some clothes on and we’ll test your distorter.”
Allie stared at the handsome male in her room for a moment before scurrying over to her closet. She quickly pulled a dress over her head, dropping the towel to the floor and tugged her long damp hair from the neckline. “I’m dressed.”
Blade
spun and paused, staring.
She ran her hands along the little white babydoll dress and curled her toes into the carpet at the look he gave her.
He exhaled and slowly moved toward her like she’d run from him. But it was the furthest thing from her mind. She’d never had anyone look at her like he was right now. Heat, longing, compassion. She wanted to take everything he was projecting and wrap herself in it.
His fingers touched her wrist comm and she shifted nervously.
“These are illegal, you know.” Smooth, Allie. Real smooth.
He smiled. “Yes.”
“What if I get caught with it?”
“You won’t get caught.”
“I’m really clumsy.”
“I’m aware,” he said dryly.
“But I guess I’m not really law-abiding anyway. My family brews moonshine. Technically, it’s still not that legal, but everyone loves it so much and it brings in so much income that our government turns a blind eye.” Allie snapped her mouth closed. Why did she have to ramble when she got nervous?
“You don’t need to be nervous.”
She jolted. “How did you know...?”
“Your face is really expressive. And I know you.” He adjusted the distorter again. “You ready?”
“Yeah. So, what’s my disguise?”
“You’ll be taking one of Karma’s unused aliases. Don’t freak out when you change. You’re still you.”
“Okay.”
He tapped something into her wrist comm and twisted the small screen. “Give it a moment.” His thumb ran along the back of her hand once before he dropped it and took a step back.
The air around her hummed, and her skin softly vibrated. She giggled and scratched at her arm. “It tickles.”
Blade smiled. “Look in the mirror.”
Mirror. She didn’t want to. But she forced her feet to turn toward the mirror. She wouldn’t let Sloven get the best of her.
A small gasp escaped as Allie’s reflection blinked back at her. Pale pink strands of hair started at her roots and fell in soft waves, deepening into hot pink at the tips. Delicate pointed ears peeked out of her hair as if to say hello. She reached up and touched one point. Her eyes darted back to the male standing behind her. His ears were much more pointed than hers.
“Why are my ears different?”
He shook his head. “Of course, you’d notice that difference. Your ears are rounded, because this alias is part Human, part Av.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m playing a hybrid?”
He nodded, his gaze soft. “That’s what all hybrid children inherit from their parents. It’s a perfect blend,” he said softly.
Allie watched him. There was a wealth of emotion in that statement. “You want children?”
Blade straightened and stared unabashedly at her. “I do. More than anything.”
She shivered, her belly swooping. She needed to get herself under control.
Allie continued her examination. Her complexion was a creamy ivory with a pearlescent quality. Her figure was still around the same size, but she was a bit willowy. It was a little disjointing. Her chin was pointy. But what she liked the most were her rose-gold eyes. “These are killer,” she squealed, pointing at her eyes. “This would make for an amazing costume.”
Blade blinked at her.
She winced at the stupid comment. Of course, she wouldn’t use this for a party. This is serious. But, in all honesty, she’d happily dress like this all the time.
“So, when do I get to try out my new looks?”
“Tomorrow, at the Scarlet Kiss. You’ll be working with Allie.”
Allie blinked. “Well, that’s a little weird.”
“You’ll get used to it.” He glanced at the door and back to her. “We need to debrief you and prepare you for the next couple of days. It’s going to be a lot to handle.”
Her life since she’d been drafted had been a lot or craziness. It couldn’t be much stressful that being uprooted and forced to live on another planet. “I can handle it.” She glanced at her bed and then back to the door. “Let’s make this quick.” She paused. “What’s my new name?”
“Pepper.”
She rolled the name around in her head. She liked it. “Pepper what?”
No hesitation. “Pepper Xrir.”
Butterflies took flight in her belly. Blade’s last name.
“And who exactly is Pepper Xrir?”
“My new mate.”
Her breath whooshed out. Somehow, she knew pretending to be his mate wouldn’t be a hardship. But she’d have to be careful. How badly could things really go?
A psychopath, an attractive fake mate, a secret identity, and a clumsy Human mixologist…
Who was she kidding?
It was a recipe for disaster.
10
Give me sleep or give me death
Her first day as Pepper Xrir sucked.
After being whisked away from her apartment and warm bed the night before, she was dumped at the lab.
Allie rolled her neck and frowned at herself. Well, she wasn’t exactly dumped, but it felt like everyone disappeared almost immediately while she was left with a lumpy pillow, a thin blanket, and a hard cot for company. It was laughable that they expected her to sleep, but she tried. Unsuccessfully.
As the hours ticked by, she had found herself wanting to stab whoever was snoring in the corner. It had made her irritable and downright irrational at the thought of anyone else sleeping while she wasn’t able to.
When everyone had filed in the next morning as chipper as squirrels, it made her almost homicidal. Only psychopaths were happy in the mornings. Nonetheless, she’d forced herself from the horrible torture device that was supposed to pass as a bed and had shuffled like a zombie across the room to pour herself a cup of tea.
The day progressed and so did her exhaustion. But the worst was how the team kept looking at her when they didn’t think she was paying attention. Allie blew a piece of her hair from her face and glared at Kale who was blatantly staring at her.
“Seriously? Don’t you have something better to do than watch me?”
Kale grinned, his eyes sparkling. “It is my job to watch you.”
“Creepy,” she muttered, turning her back to the Kanji. She didn’t have enough energy to deal with his shenanigans.
When would this day end?
Her gaze slid to the cot and then to the sparring pad. The floor had to be more comfortable than the cot.
“Allie?”
She blinked slowly in Lev’s direction, pulled from the haze of her thoughts. “Yeah?” Please have good news.
“We’re going to move you to a more secure location now. Are you ready?”
She chuckled and pointed a finger at the abandoned cot. “If it means I don’t have to sleep here again, I’ll go anywhere you’d like me to.” She glanced behind him, looking for Blade. The male hadn’t shown his face all day. He’d been suspiciously absent.
“You look like you just sucked on a lemon.”
“How do you know what a lemon is?” she grouched, following him into the hover bay.
“I’m not completely ignorant of Human culture.”
She snorted as he held the black door of the hover open for her and hopped in. A sigh escaped her as she sat into the comfy seats. Heavens, she should’ve snuck in here earlier and slept.
Kale materialized at the hover and hopped in. The door slid silently closed behind him as the two males settled in their seats across from her.
“So where are we going?” she asked.
“To a safe house.”
Allie rolled her eyes at Lev’s vague answer. The Av was incapable of giving a straight answer. “How did Karma do today?”
“She did great. None of your regulars suspected a thing. She passed with flying colors.”
“Has anyone contacted her?” she asked, her throat going dry. All she could see was her friend lying in a pool of blood.
“No one out
of the ordinary has come in contact with Karma.” Kale said as the hover moved out of the bay.
Out of the ordinary. They didn’t know that it was Sid that they were looking for.
She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from spilling the information about her friend. She couldn’t say anything. Lives were at stake and if Karma was as good as they said, she’d figure out what was going on.
“That’s good,” she whispered. The hover darted around other vehicles, and her eyelids began to droop. Right as she started to slip into sleep, a hand touched her arm.
“We’re here,” Kale’s deep voice murmured.
Allie forced her eyes open, her surroundings blurry. Lev slid the hover door open and stepped down into a darkened bay. He held his hand out, and she took it, still trying to make sense of where she was. The toe of her shoe caught on the stair, and she stumbled into Lev, his arms wrapping around her.
“We’re almost there,” he said softly.
Allie nodded and let Lev guide her through a dark door and into a softly lit elevator. Lev placed his hand against a scanner, and the doors closed behind them.
“Isn’t Kale coming with us?” she asked as the elevator lurched upward, the pale green light making Lev’s skin even more alien.
“No, he’s staying with the hover.”
The elevator slowed, and the doors slid open. Her jaw dropped as they stepped into an enormous apartment. The open concept lent to the incredible view of the city. Her sandals clicked against the rich wooden flooring as they moved into the room. Plush cream sofas surrounded a lit fireplace that cast a warm glow over the apartment. She briefly glimpsed a modern kitchen as Lev directed her to the couch. Allie pulled her sandals off and sank her toes into the soft navy rug that lay before the fire. Her knees gave out as she flopped onto the cream couch, a moan escaping her as she snuggled in.
“Give me a moment, and I’ll make sure the room is ready for you.”
“Uh huh,” she muttered as she watched the flames dance in the darkness.
She’d just rest her eyes for a moment.
Allie snuggled closer to the fluffy pillow underneath her head and tugged the warm blanket over her shoulders. She inhaled deeply and sighed in satisfaction as an incredible smell teased her nose. What was it?