Shoulders brushed mine as I maneuvered through the streets. I cringed when a Meta with horns and red skin sneered in my direction. The Meta was more beast than man, but with the raging hard-on in his pants showing, he was definitely all male.
I needed a weapon. It would be the first item I procured. Perhaps a segif would do. Those guns radiated a pure blue energy when fired and rendered the individual unconscious. It wasn’t deadly so I might not be kicked out entirely from the Complex if I was caught with it.
The numbers on the Uni businesses indicated I was almost at my shop. Thank the galaxy, since that Meta’s hard-on pointed directly in my direction now. It was as if his dick was a missile tracking his prey.
My feet halted abruptly when I saw my shop.
“Oh, hell no.” I shook my head in disgust.
The hologram awning was baby pink.
The door was baby pink.
The neon flashing Uni Sweet Shop sign was baby pink.
But it got worse…
The—yes, pink—glass for the floor to ceiling windows covering the front of the shop were busted, shattered inside on the pink carpet of the ransacked business. Someone had already robbed my place of work.
I blinked in astonishment as I glanced up and down the street. All the other businesses were intact. None showed any signs of vandalism.
My attention teetered back to my busted store. “What the actual fuck?” I couldn’t even comprehend this. “Who the hell breaks into a candy store?”
The passersby gave me quizzical glances.
I pointed at a random Meta walking by with four glowing eyes. “Hey, you! Is there a sweet-tooth monster I don’t know about with your people?”
She actually stopped and cocked her head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
My nostrils flared, and I swung my pointed finger at my shop. “Well, does the tooth fairy hold grudges against kids with cavities?”
All four of her eyes blinked. “What’s a tooth fairy?”
I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation and shouted at the eye-in-the-sky. “This fucking sucks!”
The black, shiny orb was silent. It was just there for the six Presidents to use when they visited, a way for them to watch down on the residents from inside the domed Main City. I didn’t expect a response from it, and none came.
The Meta skittered past me, glancing back periodically as if I were going to chase her. Poor thing.
Give me a break.
I rounded on the hovering Meta with the dick issue. “If you come any closer to me, that thing you’re sporting in your britches will be a garnish for any candy left in my store.”
His red skin shimmered like diamonds, catching my eye. I stared. Hypnotized. Until I took a step in his direction. His eyebrows waggled. “Are you sure you want me to stay away, Human?”
“Fuck off,” I muttered.
Humans were given an implant directly above their left ear—created by Human technology—within the first year the Metas arrived in Seldova. The implants kept Metas from directly entering a Human’s minds, a force field of the brain.
That didn’t mean they didn’t have other powers.
Like his skin attracting me.
He did back off, though, with a shrug. “Your loss.”
“Sure.”
He snickered, his wicked eyes gleeful. “Really.”
I rolled my own eyes. “Do you have any clue who might have trashed my shop?”
“No, but…” He pointed to the business behind me. “The Uni Swiggers Bar may have seen who did it. They were open all night.”
I blinked in surprise at the helpful advice. “Thanks.”
As he sauntered past me, hard-on zoned in on another Human woman now, he shrugged. “Not all Metas are bad.” He lifted a red finger into the air. “Most are. But not all.”
I stared after him. “What’s your name?”
“Blazena,” he called over his shoulder.
“I’m Harley. It was nice to meet you.” I lifted a quick hand when he started to turn back around, interest glittering in his gaze. “Not that kind of nice, Meta.”
Another shrug of his shoulders, and he was back on course, the red horns on top of his head even pointing at the woman he was now following. “See you around, Human Harley.”
I shook my head in amusement. He was a character.
Then my attention altered to the Uni Swiggers Bar.
Whereas my store was disgusting-in-pink, this place was more my style. The undertones were dark navy and burnt orange, with splashes of black glass. Very trendy to attract customers, but the skull and bones gracing the door (without an orange Uni stamp of approval on it) were enough to keep the innocent away.
I even paused, my eyes cast on the personal decoration. The bones were real—that much I could tell.
I swallowed down my nervousness and headed toward the door. A bar across the street from a candy store. You would only find this in the Complex—the AS were really testing the waters.
5
The door swung shut behind me with a resounding thud. The heavy bass of the music made my shoulders straighten in shocked awareness, not able to hear any of it on the street. There were only a few Metas inside the bar at such an early hour, but it was definitely an alien bar run by a Meta. No Humans were inside except for me.
All Meta eyes turned in my direction.
I took a hesitant step back toward the door.
My eyes scanned each of the individuals.
They were all male. And all were enormous.
I had walked into a Giant’s bar. They were the strongest Metas in existence. Immortal. Sly and intelligent.
They had always scared the living shit out of me.
Out of the three planets the Metas lived on, there was even a President who was a Giant—out of all the Metas who could have been elected. He ruled the largest of the three Meta planets, Pinao. A brutal Slayer and a devious Monk ruled the other two.
I lifted my right hand and waved at the gawkers.
To leave or to stay…
How important was my baby pink business to me?
Not worth my life—that was for sure.
The Giant sitting closest to where I stood tilted his head, his red hair braided to accentuate his attractive features. “I think you’re in the wrong bar.”
“No shit,” I whispered.
He bared his teeth, his hearing excellent. “Then turn around and leave before you piss off the manager of this place.”
I rubbed my lips together and rushed to ask, “Actually, is the manager here right now? I need to speak with him or her.”
A Giant in the back of the bar, deep in the shadows, flicked his hand into the air, not looking up from the translucent reader he held in his hand. He called loudly over the music, “I’m back here.”
I exhaled my apprehension and rushed past the patrons scowling at me. I stopped in front of the high tabletop made for a large Meta and evaluated the Giant still scrolling through his reader. His shoulders were broad and fit, his pecs straining against his shirt. He appeared to be a good foot and half taller than my six-foot height—the best guess I could make with him sitting down.
He was built like his race, total killing machines.
My jaw dropped when he looked up.
For a person who could stomp the life from me easily, he had the prettiest face. Strong, yes. However, his features were much too perfect to be called rugged. A perfect straight nose. Lavish rosy lips. Defined cheekbones. Arched black eyebrows.
And the chilliest, light silver eyes I had ever seen.
He sat back on his chair and draped a muscled arm over the back of it, his distinct eyes wandering over my features and then down my person. His black hair hung in a messy aloof style over his forehead and down into his right eye. He asked quietly, “You wanted to see me?”
I wouldn’t mind seeing much, much more of this man.
I shook my head at that thought. Meta. Enemy.
Not fuckable… Ev
en if my body said otherwise.
I stated on a dry throat, “I’m Harley Boyd. My shop is across the street, the Uni Sweet Shop. It was broken into, and I was wondering if you’d seen who did it?” I sucked in a large breath and inhaled the cool scent he wore—or maybe it was just his own natural, delicious scent. “Any information I can give the Intra would be helpful.”
He sniffed in my direction, and his lips twitched. “No, I didn’t see anything. I didn’t arrive until twenty minutes ago. I have an employee who runs the night shift. I can give him a call, if you’d like?”
I nodded eagerly. “That would be wonderful.”
My hands came together in front of me, and I tried not to fidget as I waited for him to make the call.
He only stared at me.
My brows puckered. “You said you were going to call.”
He smiled, showing pretty whites. “I will. Eventually.”
“Oh.” My brows furrowed even further.
What did I say to that?
We both remained silent, staring at one another.
This was awkward, even though he didn’t appear to mind. His body was relaxed and at ease in his sexy as hell skin.
When I didn’t know what else to say, he leaned toward me, and whispered, “I’ll need your apartment’s number to contact you if I have news.”
“Oh!” I swallowed, attempting to wet my throat. “I guess that would help.”
“That or you could give me access to call you directly.”
I instantly nibbled on my bottom lip. “I think my apartment’s number would be plenty.”
He smiled once more, his silver eyes sparkling in the low lighting. “I think so too.” He waited, patiently.
I rattled off my apartment’s number after double-checking it on my reader. Then I pointed over my shoulder. “I’ll just go outside now and call Intra.”
He sniffed me once more and smirked. “You can stay if you wish.” His silver eyes scanned down my body again. “For a Human, you’re not completely hideous. Getting to know you may prove entertaining. I’ve never been with a Human before, and your smell is fascinating.”
My eyes widened before I quickly narrowed them. I’d heard Giants could scent when a woman was turned on. “That isn’t very kind of you—” My mouth snapped shut. I didn’t even know this Giant’s name. “Um, Mister…”
“That was a compliment, Harley Boyd. I cannot help what I am, and I have many gifts. Scenting that a woman wants me is only one of them.” He leaned his elbows on the table, his beautiful face illuminated further by the light. If it was possible, he was even better looking than I had originally thought. My feet were now like lead on the floor. I wasn’t going anywhere. His voice lowered to an intimate tone. “And my name is Gan Laun.”
My back instantly straightened, all attraction evaporating with two words. “Did you say Gan Laun?”
His intense gaze scanned my features. “You’ve heard of me.” It wasn’t a question.
I snorted softly. “Everyone in this solar system has heard of you.” I took a slow step backward, and then another. “Did you really sleep with your President’s wife?”
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, not missing that I was gradually backing away from him. “Yes. That is what finally put me in jail. Though I find it odd you asked that question first—out of any question you could have asked.”
“I’m not sure if I want to know the answers to any other questions I might have.”
He was a killer. The worst out there.
“Come on. You must have a better one than that.”
The badass Giant was taunting me.
I stopped for only a second, now three feet away from him. “Did you actually kill an entire Human city on the planet Wreston?”
His head teetered back and forth, amusement lighting his gaze. “Perhaps you were right. I doubt you want to know the answer to that question.” One black brow rose. “But anything I did, I did under my commander’s orders during P-Extinction.”
“The same commander who is now your President?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “He’s also my best friend.”
My mouth dropped open, unable to contain my shock. “You’re telling the truth, aren’t you?”
He was so smooth with his words, completely unruffled. “I never lie.”
“But—”
“The situation was complicated with his wife.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “You were fucking your best friend’s wife—your President’s wife. It doesn’t get more plain than that. And you got caught, so your best friend threw you in jail to keep you away from her.”
He chuckled softly. “True enough.”
It was my turn to evaluate him. “You have no remorse for any of your actions, do you?”
“I’ve lived a very long life, Harley Boyd. If I had remorse for all of my wrongdoings, I would be a pitiful man indeed.”
“Or a man with a heart.”
He nibbled on his bottom lip, eyeing me. “What if I said I did regret sleeping with her?”
“I would ask why you regretted that instead of killing thousands of Humans.”
“One is war. One is love.”
I was honestly interested. “You love her but regret sleeping with her?”
“I never said it was her I love.”
I blinked, understanding dawning. “Your President. You love him.”
He nodded once, the only confirmation I knew I would get. “I’ve known him since we were children together. He is my best friend.”
I stared, not sure why I was giving him this information. “I heard he divorced her.”
“As did I.” He smirked, and it was victorious. “He should have tossed her out far before then.”
My eyes flicked back and forth between his, asking candidly, “You meant to get caught with her, didn’t you?”
His lips twitched. But he didn’t comment.
I glanced down and noticed I had traveled the three feet back to his table during our conversation. I cleared my throat and pointed over my shoulder again. “I really better get going. Otherwise, there won’t be any candy left at all in my store.”
Moreover, I should probably check to see if I actually had any employees as Gan did here in his bar.
I added honestly, “It wasn’t horrible chatting with you.”
He chuckled. “Come back anytime, Harley Boyd. I didn’t hate our talk, either.”
I nodded and backed two steps away from the killer before turning around and heading to the front door. My shoulders stiffened when I noticed all the Giants inside the bar were silent and watching me. In fact, I don’t think I heard them the entire time I was here.
Damn eavesdropping Metas.
Once I stepped outside, I pressed on the microchip in my palm and stated, “Call Kerry Green.”
My new favorite Intra pervert appeared before me in a hologram. I knew she had given me permission to call her directly. “You just can’t get enough of me, can you, Ms. Boyd?”
I laughed outright, all the tension exiting my body. “You wish!” I shook my head at her. “But I do have a problem.”
She snorted. “What did you do now?”
“It wasn’t me this time. I swear.”
6
Kelly made me go back to my apartment while the Intra investigated the break-in. It was probably because there was a dead body found inside my shop. It was fortunate the person wasn’t the one employee I apparently had. That individual had shown up late—on his first day—and been too interested in the ordeal to make me feel comfortable.
He was a Meta. I still wasn’t sure which kind he was, but he apparently found dead bodies fascinating. There had even been a little drool dotting the side of his mouth at one point before the Intra officers pulled him away from the scene—with force.
So far, I wasn’t awestruck with my new job.
A candy shop decorated in so much pink that it would make a toddler jealous. A corpse littering t
he ground amongst the gumballs. And a deranged employee I was supposed to keep from eating the dead in front of customers.
No, I wasn’t impressed.
A knock on my door had me growling under my breath. I rolled off my blankets on the floor and jumped to my feet. With my right hand holding a water bottle, I used my left hand to allow the door to open.
I stared at the man standing in the hallway. I tried for a lighthearted hello considering a notorious killer stood across from me. “Um…whatcha doing here, Gan?”
He leaned his broad shoulder against my doorframe and crossed his arms, all comfortable—as if he was supposed to be here. “Hello to you too, Harley Boyd.”
When I only blinked back at him like a moron, he walked into my room. His silver gaze traveled over my sparse room. A few belongings I had brought with me were lying on the lone table. He lifted the picture of my family and turned to sit on my bed.
I threw up my free hand, and shouted in alarm, “No! Don’t sit down!”
Gan paused solid, his eyes flicking up to mine. He gradually stood to his full height of—I had been right—seven and a half feet tall. My family’s picture was still clutched in his fingers.
“Why can’t I sit? I have news I need to share with you.”
I waggled my finger behind him. “My bed eats people.”
He stared, not making a sound.
I blinked. “Really. You won’t be able to get out of it alone. And you’re too big for me to lift you out.”
He peered behind him, staring down at the bed. “I’ve heard a lot of weird shit in my day, but a people-eating bed is a new one for me.”
“One of the only things I asked for specifically in my contract was a comfortable bed. So, Uni apparently gave me the newest bed they had designed.” I glared at the mattress. “And. It. Malfunctions.” I kicked at the mattress. “Piece of shit.”
Gan peered down at the blankets on the floor. “You’re sleeping there instead of on the piece of shit?”
“Exactly,” I grouched. I really was upset by this.
I hadn’t slept in an actual bed in years. Piled up blankets on a cold floor were my normal inside my one-bedroom apartment on Emalo. I wanted a damn bed if I was staying in the fancy Complex.
Blade of Forever (The Complex Book 0) Page 2